# Royal Canin GSD?



## Adirondackman (Apr 6, 2017)

Hi folks bringing home our puppy in three weeks, we know our breeder is providing then selling us Royal Canin puppy dry. Any thoughts on Royal Canin GSD which we'd like to supplement with cooked food. Thanks


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## telavivgsd (Jul 6, 2016)

The whole breed specific food thing from Royal Canin is just a gimmick. We actually started out with that food before I caught on and did a lot of research about dog nutrition. Once I switched him to a higher quality food I saw improvement in his condition and coat. We switched to Natural and Delicious by Farmina which he been great. We would love to switch to fully raw ideally but right now we just supplement with it. 

Here's the dog food advisor summary on the Royal Canin (you can see it only receives a 2.5): <a href="http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/royal-canin-breed-specific-puppy/"> Royal Canin Breed Specific Puppy </a>

And here's their list of best foods: <a href="http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/"> Best Foods </a>


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## Freyja (May 24, 2016)

I'm not a huge fan of Royal Canin. For a quick analysis of the ingredients and quality you can have a look here:

Royal Canin : Pet Food Reviews (Australia)

We're currently using Taste of the Wild's salmon formula in combination with BARF and Rollo is loving and thriving off it, previously we were using Ivory Coat (a brand here in Australia, not sure if its available internationally) and the quality is amazing, but we had some issues with allergies. If you have a meander through the site I linked, I'm sure you can gain a bit more understanding around dry dog foods and what ingredients to avoid... It might even point you in the right direction for which brands to opt for. Hope that helps!


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Royal Canin contains *By-Products*! :shocked: The following kibbles do not.


*PUPPY FORMULAS:*

*FROMM’S: **http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy** Store Locator: *http://frommfamily.com/retailers/usa/#progress=2 This is Family Owned, Family Run, & Family Manufactured. Most pet food companies are not.
*Fromm Family Foods is a fifth-generation family-owned and operated artisan pet food company. 
*Produced with a commitment to quality and consistency at Fromm's hands-on facility in Wisconsin. High-nutrient digestibility and utilization offers complete and balanced nutrition. 
*Third-party pathogenic bacteria testing is practiced on all production batches to ensure safety.


*ACANA PUPPY (only available in Canada) : **http://acana.com/our-foods/heritage/puppy-large-breed/* Store Locator | Acana Company owned and manufactured. “We own our own kitchens and make our own food, so you can have confidence knowing where your pet’s food comes from. We don’t make foods for anyone else! When you choose ACANA, you can be sure your pet’s food has been made by us with the same authentically fresh ingredients. 
*WHOLEPREY™: Fresh meat, organs and cartilage deliver nutrients 
naturally, dramatically reducing the need for synthetic supplements.
*ONLY TWO ADDITIVES: ACANA’s rich meat and WholePrey™ inclusions 
supply nutrients naturally, limiting supplementation to zinc and copper.
*29% PROTEIN FROM MEAT: No glutens or plant protein extracts or 
concentrates. 


*ORIJEN *(note that Orijen can give *some* dogs very loose stool)*: **http://www.orijen.ca/products/dog-food/dry-dog-food/puppy-large/** Store Locator: *http://www.orijen.ca/where-to-buy/ Company owned and manufactured. Source origins are stated on their site. https://www.orijen.ca/orijen/fresh-regional-ingredients/ 
*“ORIJEN’s fresh regional ingredients rival Mother Nature, supplying nutrients in their freshest, most natural and nourishing form. *Our award-winning kitchens are located in the heart of Alberta’s fertile farmlands and ranchlands, which provide inspiration for our foods and world-class ingredients from farmers with whom we partner directly. 
*Responsibly farmed, ranched or fished by people we know and trust, our fresh local ingredients are delivered to our kitchens daily.”

*
*
*NATURE’S VARIETY: *
*http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-raw-boost-grain-free-kibble-large-breed-puppy-food-chicken* Also available at PetCo and PetsMart. Store locator: Find A Store | Nature's Variety




Hope this helps!
Moms* *


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

I fed Royal Canin Maxi puppy per my breeder the first 7-8 months not the gsd formula and my pup did well with it. I tried other kibbles with better ingredients and they didn't work for her. 
I would feed whatever the breeder was feeding for a month and then try to transition to a better quality food. If it doesn't agree with your puppy you can always go back to RC.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

RC is a Mars Petcare brand -- Mars is the same family-owned conglomerate that you know from candy bars. Mars also owns Pedigree, and many other brands. On top of that, they own the Banfield vet clinic chain, and they just bought the VCA chain.

In thinking about transparency (an issue that is HUGE in dog food right now), I'm personally troubled that they reportedly spent several hundred thousand dollars to oppose California's proposition to label GMO foods. 

Mars' management of Banfield got a pretty interesting write-up here -- it says a lot about their corporate culture:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-01-05/when-big-business-happens-to-your-pet


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## kimbale (Mar 7, 2017)

Continue to feed what the breeder was feeding for a bit to help with the transition. The pup will already be stressed out because of the new location, crate training, etc. No need to add to that with a food transition that may upset the pup's stomach. I brought a new pup home over the weekend and plan to transition him to Fromm, but am going to feed what the breeder was feeding for a few weeks first.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Agree with Kimbale


 Always transition with small amounts of new food mixed with old, taking a week or two to change. If stool get loose, go back to previous amount fed (where stool was solid) and hold at that amount for a few days until his gut gets use to it. Then increase again. This is called "bowel tolerance".


As for using other cooked meats:
If you do choose to do this......just make sure that the cooked fat is rinsed off of the meat very well. Dog's don't digest cooked fats appropriately and that could lead to gut upset. 
And again, very small amounts to begin with working up to what this particular pup will tolerate, as all dogs are individuals. 


Moms


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## Adirondackman (Apr 6, 2017)

Thanks for the tip on Acana, I live in Canada! Sounds good thanks!


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## Dracovich (Feb 24, 2017)

Here's a price comparison between RC and Fromm:

Royal Canin

Fromm

Fromm is a pretty reputable company, I'm currently feeding their adult gold formula. Normally I wouldn't suggest switching so soon, except for the ingredients in RC are pretty low quality and what I feed a growing puppy is really important to me. What I would suggest is finding a good large breed puppy food with good ingredients and a good reputation and switching as soon as you've decided what to feed.

Royal Canin's large breed puppy food mostly consists of 'Chicken by-product meal', and while chicken feet and heads aren't BAD for dogs, there's also a lot of other yucky stuff in by product, even the feces of the specific animal. A majority of a dog's diet should consist of muscle meat, so the first ingredient should always be a NAMED meat meal (ex. 'chicken meal') , or a named meat followed by a named meat meal (ex. chicken, chicken meal') . NEVER anything containing the words animal, meat (when not following a named animal), or by-product.


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## MissourLover1 (Apr 10, 2017)

I've done Fromm Large Breed Puppy formula when I first got my GSD girl because they had her on Purina Puppy Chow, she had huge intestinal upset, the Fromm's did ok but not as well as I thought it would for the price, after talking to my vet she recommended Iam's Lg Breed Puppy, Science Diet or Nutro, I went with Iam's Lg Breed Puppy, she's done fine on it and her coat is glossy and smooth, I also tried a meat based dry food but it was too rich for her right now, she's growing well and right on track, no issues to speak of, good luck, they'll do fine with what you select


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