help me feed my GSD. New ? in post 1

[Frizzled]

OK, I need help deciding what feed to give my GSD, She is 1 year and 1 month old I had her on Enhance large breed puppy until she turned 1 year old in June, now I have her on Enhance adult feed. I started out with Ecanuba until the man at the feed store said Enhance was as good and cost less. I know GSD's shed bad, but for the past couple of weeks if I vaccuum in the morning, I need to do it again before lunch. She had never shed this bad. It's coming out in clumps. I'm wondering if it's the food I'm giving her. She does get on the steps of the swimming pool and lay to cool off, maybe the chlorine is drying her skin out. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks

I just found a dog food made by Southern States that is higher in protein and fat than eucanuba, or any of the other high priced foods I have compared. It is 26% protein and 16% fat. Would this be a good food for her?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

One of the best foods I have ever found is Wellness. It is all human grade ingredients, and they have grain free, and limited proteins line for dogs with allergies or skin issues. My dogs did better on that food than anything else I have ever fed them! I love Wellness. (I feed it to my cats also).

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/index.aspx

I feed them dry and caned morning and evening.

I also feed them raw for their afternoon snack. http://www.naturesvariety.com/

 

[lorieMN]

raw...

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Raw meat, bones and organ meats.

Best to give whole pieces of the above as it takes her more time to eat and digest as she rips it apart. I give her meals frozen solid which extends the time it takes to eat which adds to the enjoyment of her meals

I do not give minced or small pieces to her as they go down too quickly.

Her treats come in the form of kibble in a big orange ball that she bounces around to get the food out. Her tummy is used to it in case I may not be able to feed her raw at times or/and in case I'm not balancing her raw food well enough.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Yes, the place I get it from (Nature's Variety) already does all the "work" so to speak, so I just give them the already formed patties or balls for their snacks.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Quote:
The hair coming out in clumps is normal for shedding. The profuse undercoat that a GSD h as comes out dramatically twice a year. It will normally be light tan to light grey in color depending on the color of the dog. GSD's are year round shedders however and daily brushing when shedding season is here is required if you want to keep your house from looking like your dog exploded inside it. LOL. I brush my GSD weekly when not in shedding season....I vacuume a lot though

 

[Wolfwoman]

Quote:
A more accurate description I have NEVER seen. I have double coated dogs and they look like SHEEP when it comes to shedding season 2x a year... I only have 2 inside, but when vacuuming 2-4 times I day I swear that all nine of them snuck in sometime when I was gone!!

 

[Akane]

When my akita was growing I used timberwolf organics but the company is a bit shady and shot their prices up sky high so I no longer recommend them. Instead I was using Natura Pet products but when we picked up the last bag of California Natural for my akita we got told they recently sold out to proctor and gamble. The dog bakery I buy from now suggests Taste of the Wild which is Diamond's more expensive grain free version but surprisingly affordable for being grain free. Sometimes we use Diamond Naturals but while the shiba is a garbage disposals my akita was having hot spots and I wasn't happy with her coat or weight. It's also very hard to get her to eat meals and she's one of the few dogs that will refuse to eat to the point her health is at risk. She's now getting TOTW canned every night since 1 can a day to supplement the raw she gets is no more expensive than buying a bag for the month and having the shiba manage to eat half of it. Eagle pack and wellness are 2 other popular good and generally affordable brands. If price is not an issue but you don't want to go with raw orijen is probably the top of most people's list for quality and for price aside from places like timberwolf and flint river ranch which are about as expensive as feeding prepared raw. Satin balls can also be a good treat but while vets have approved them as a balanced diet for long term use I would be cautious feeding too much to a large breed pup. They have a lot of calories, protein, and fat which if not balanced correctly could cause growth problems. They do make excellent supplements though for dogs that aren't getting enough from the kibble you are feeding and they include raw meat. We freeze them at a little under baseball size and my akita chews them up about like a raw bone. http://www.heartlandgdr.org/satin_balls.htm

I have 2 double coated breeds and during shedding season they've killed several computer fans as well as blocking the vents so bad we couldn't figure out why we weren't getting any heat late last winter. My akita decided to explode early and then repeated the process in spring.

 

[Frizzled]

Thanks for the responses. I am just worried about all the scratching she doing. This morning she pulled hair out of her chest with her mouth. I have bought a supplement that suppose to help with dry skin, she's going to get an oatmeal bath this afternoon and comfortis just in case there a flea I can't see. if this doesn't work I will start on food allergy. Is it possible for her to get a food allergy from the same brand of food just because I switched her from puppy to adult food? And what do you guys think about a raw egg in the morning and 1 in the afternoon to help with her coat?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Sounds like shedding to me. It's gotta be hot with all that fur. Have you tried using a deshedding tool to help her out? (Might want to have a black trash bag ready for the fur...)