# What is best food to feed my GS puppy



## DaniRo

I want my baby to have the best and healthiest food. Does anyone have any suggestions? My vet says any puppy food as long as it is large breed puppy formula. I have been feeding him Purina One large breed puppy. I put 1/2 a hard boiled egg on it in the morning and the other 1/2 in the evening. His coat is beautiful and shiny he is very fit also. 
Thank you for any suggestions!!!


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## Gretchen

Our pup enjoyed Solid Gold Wolf Cub. You might want to try Royal Canin for GSD pup. We used the adult food and our dog liked it better than most dry foods, but for health reasons we ended up feeding raw.


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## Raffilr

I had that problem when I got my puppy's at 8 wks. He was getting purine chow and I did some research and came up with BLUE BUFFALO but u can do your own research and some people give raw food too good luck 

This Is Maximus at 8 wks















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## doggiedad

i've never fed puppy food to my dogs. you can always
add some fresh meat, fish, chicken, raw egg, whole egg
(bake the shell, place the shell in a grinder and serve
the shell and egg), human grade oils, can food, certain
fruit, canned fish (in water no salt added), etc.


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## DaniRo

I have read about soooooo many different dog foods my head is spinning. I decided to try Blue Buffalo. Dies anyone have any input on this food??


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## Adrian

We use blue buffalo and we are very happy with it. 


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## volcano

If you want to feed the bst then its raw meat, do your research. All "dog"food is crap that I most certainly wouldnt eat, and dogs are ruled by their senses so they must certainly appreciate the difference in a chicken vs a kibble product.


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## Galathiel

Not everyone can or feels capable of doing a raw diet, and some people work into it slowly. OP, Blue Buffalo certainly has better ingredients than Purina. I've fed it for some years with great results.


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## Neko

Our breeder recommended "Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken Lamb Flavor Puppy Dry Dog Food". She has a strong opinion against chicken and chicken fat which most foods use, I have heard this from another source as well, stating that many dogs are allergic to chicken protein. 

My husband is in a medical filed and has been researching this by looking at actual studies and not just random word of mouth. Our previous shepherd lived a very healthy long life on lamb and brown rice. 

Hope this helps =) we have been researching food for our future pup for over a month now.


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## Neko

P.S. it also depends on the dog. My brothers dog started out horrible on Blue Buffalo, but is doing amazing on Fromm. 

We are going to start on the same food as the breeder for 3 months and than gradually switch to adult food (still researching this), but we are probably doing Kirkland lamb and rice.


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## Jack9211

Thinking about trying 4-health at tractor supply. anyone use this ?


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## msvette2u

I believe it's like Costco's Kirkland, and if that's the case, I'd recommend it, yes.
If you have a Costco card and one near you, you may want to check that out, as well.


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## Jack9211

Thanks.....no Costcos in Maine at all....wish we did.


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## Jax08

Jack9211 said:


> Thinking about trying 4-health at tractor supply. anyone use this ?


We had one dog on it. She didn't do well. It seemed inconsistent. Other people have really liked it though.


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## Abby142

We tried Blue Buffalo but Jade has soft stool on it. We switched to Nutro Natural Choice. They have a large breed puppy lamb and brown rice formula. Jade loves it and seems to be doing very well on it!


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## ripley

We also had good success wit Nutro large breed. We mix in a little wet food and she really enjoys it. Of course, my mom's lab ate regular old dog food and lived to 15 years with no issues, so who really knows. I know our girl can be picky.


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## MichaelE

Purina One large breed puppy chow.

Stools are good and firm and she doesn't go as often. Chicken as the first ingredient.

She likes it and I like it.


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## KasiBaby

My 10 week old is on Iams puppy with Natural Life canned food mixed in. She looks very thin to me so I've started giving her cottage cheese also. She doesn't eat nearly as much as i think she should and has a bad case of doggy dandruff. The breeder had her on Black and Gold but I've never heard of that before. What should she be eating? How much should she weigh?


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## Fkennedy

My 10 weeks is on Pro Plan Large Breed puppy. He loves it. I hate it. But it is his food  We tried blue buffalo on him before. He got loose stool and very gassy. On top of that he would rather not eat at all than eat BB kibble :crazy: So we switch to pro plan which was what breeder fed him. It is not going to be permanent though. I really want him on at least 4 stars food. So for now I just add things as a topper like eggs or good brand can foods just to keep him interested.


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## LauraD

I did and my GS loved it. I just couldnt find large breed at tractor and supply where we live so I changed her food to wellness dog food-expensive but she is doing well that is no loose stools , great shiny coat. The only thing is that she doesnt seem to go CRAZY over it. I also didnt go back on 4 Health quite yet because it was new then and there wasnt much reviews on it. I am really thinking about trying it again though.


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## Shawnda H

I have taken my 6month old GSD mix off of Blue Buffalo for many of the same reasons that have been posted on Consumer Affairs website: loose stools, occasional vomiting, drinking gallons of water, and finally lethargy and pano. Within 24 hours she was more than 80% better. We're on day three now and currently giving just turkey and rice until we decide what's next for Ursula.


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## Jax08

That's fine for short term but what are you doing for calcium? You have a growing puppy that needs a balanced diet to grow correctly so I wouldn't wait to long.


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## Shawnda H

*still searching...*



Jax08 said:


> That's fine for short term but what are you doing for calcium? You have a growing puppy that needs a balanced diet to grow correctly so I wouldn't wait to long.


Still searching for best option. Because some of her issues on the Blue could be considered allergy related, I want to keep it as basic as possible for a short time - maybe a week. I would love to go raw - but it's either expensive or labor intensive. I want to see how she's doing at the end of a week and if I feel everything was related to the Blue, then I'll find a kibble based on recommendations/experience of other GSD puppy parents. However, if there's any indication that she has allergies as we proceed...then I will take on a raw and balanced diet.


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## SweetBabyRae

Fromm large breed puppy is awesome. My pup loves it and so does her vet. In my experience sometimes it depends on the specific dog though. My parents have an English Mastiff that was on Fromm and they switched him to Blue Buffalo because it was making his stool too soft, my GSD loves Fromm but when she ate the Mastiffs Blue she got the runs. Everybody seems to love Fromm regardless though, its a great family owned business and are the only brand to never have a recall apparently (just what i've been told however).


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## Shawnda H

Ursula's made 100% recovery after being taken off the Blue. Even the pano went away completely by day 4 (I understand it being caused by food is controversial). Two days ago, I tried to introduce a small amount of TOTW to her turkey and rice and she had MILD allergy symptoms (pawing at nose and a little digging in her doggie bed). 

I really want to go raw, if possible with our budget and lifestyle. I still need to research how to do this and provide her with everything she needs. Curiously, I have 3 sons and have never worried about my ability to nourish them. LOL

Also, her vet has told me that we can move to 2 meals/day rather than 3 now that she's over 6 months. It just feels mean to me to cut out one of her meals/favorite things. I'm thinking perhaps giving her a Kong with fruit and vegetables during the noon hour. Any opinions?


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## llombardo

I stopped feeding all of mine in the morning because the time constraints with exercising/feeding/bloat. All of mine get fed at noon and 10 pm, that way they can run and play in the early morning and evening. The pup used to eat (Fromm large breed puppy)2x a day, he is just over six months. He now eats four times a day, mainly for icky poop issues. 

In the morning they all get a treat of kale and green beans before I go to work, they love kale and green beans. 

My friend is picking me up some coconut flour(one of my dogs is allergic to wheat) and I'm making kale/mint biscuits for the dogs next weekend.


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## ViciousXUSMC

I use Fromm Large Breed Puppy and probably will try to do a introduction to raw at some point.

She eats it but does not devour it, she seems to prefer the cats food lol.


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## J-Boo

Maya was doing fine on Wellness Large Breed Puppy food for several weeks, then had diarrhea for just over a week. We gave her a bland diet of cooked rice and ground poultry and her stools got better. We even tossed in some probiotics to aid in digestion. As soon as we tried to reintroduce the Wellness, she started with the diarrhea again.

I just went to get her a different kind of food to try. I have read here that a lot of GSD owners recommend Fromm, but the store I went to does not carry it. I ended up picking Blue Buffalo Basics (limited ingredients, grain-free) for puppies. Does anyone have experience with Blue Buffalo Basics? Or any other recommendations instead?


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## J-Boo

Only somewhat related, here is a kind of depressing story. 

I'm not sure where Blue Buffalo stands on the spectrum of desirable dog foods, but regardless, it will always have a special little place in my heart. A few years ago my sister worked for Blue Buffalo, selling it in pet stores. She only worked that job 4 or 8 hours a week, I believe. Not too long after starting that job she ended up in the hospital, in ICU for about a month before passing away. Her Blue Buffalo employers sent her flowers while she was in the hospital. She was in an induced coma at the time and never woke to see them, but I thought it was very kind of them to send flowers to a fairly new employee who only worked 4 or 8 hours a week. <3


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