OMG! He gained 11 lbs.!!!!

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Okay, so shoot me, but I feed Purina One to all my Dobies and GSDs and have done so for many years. They all have gorgeous, sleek coats, sparking white teeth, and proper weight for their size. However, in 40 years in dogs, I have NEVER fed free choice. I've also never had an overweight dog either. We are schutzhund enthusiasts, so our dogs are large, active, and very muscular. They all have staying power.

Yes, I know Purina One is not an "in" dog food. But fads come and go in dogs just like every place else. A few years back everyone was feeding Eukanuba and Science Diet. Now there are new names out there. Raw diets are "in" again after being out of favor for awhile. But here I am, still plugging along with my same ole Purina. I used to use their High Pro before the Purina One Lamb and Rice came along. But whichever version of their stuff that I have fed, I always have great-looking HEALTHY dogs that live long, active lives.

So please don't think that if you cannot afford 60 bucks for a bag of dog food that you are somehow mistreating your dog.

JMO


Rusty

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Quote:
I have to say I 100% agree with this. Now, I AM feeding my new baby Taste of The Wild, but one of my main motivators is selfish. This guy can POOP!!! I mean a LOT so I want as small of poops as possible. Our next vet visit is around the 15th so I will see how much he has gained then. Our stupid scale is dying a slow and painful death and varies 20 to 30 pounds each time you step on it. *GRUMBLE*

 

[Bluemoon420]

I agree with ya. Just so it's clear, My dogs are not total free choice, they do get a "dinner time" in the evening which is either raw or a quality canned food that I don't mind paying higher price for. The dry kibble is left during the day for free choice. I know how many cups he ate during the day because I know how much the bowl holds. My male GSD ( passed away in April) was fed that way his whole life.

Purina one is a decent food. Premium isn't always better. Some are way better, but very expensive. That's hard to do for some folks.

Only advice for gritsar I had was read the label. First ingredients should be meat. ( not by products) She lives in a rural area like I do. It's most likely similar to mine. Walmart and feed stores. I found a feed store near me that produces a decent dog food. The raw we use comes from a local pet store. We make that trek once a month. We get nature variety raw, and canned. That's what all our dogs get at dinner time.

Bluemoon

 

[Brindlebtch]

Purina is a fine food. Iams is a fine food. We fed out first dog on Purina and table scraps (oh my!) and he lived 17 happy healthy years.

Dogs that do well on those foods should be fed those foods. Dogs that do not should be fed something else. Sometimes what is fed to the dog makes the owner feel better but really isn't necessary for the dog to be healthy and happy. Sometimes if the dogs have skin problems etc. they need to be fed on raw or special foods. Each to his own and there is no 'right' way. As long as the dog is healthy and happy.

I have never free fed a dog but as long as the dog is not fat I don't see a problem if the pup is free fed. A vet that is used to seeing pet dogs that are over desirable weight will not really know what a desirable weight for a dog is so take the vet's opinion with a grain of salt on the weight issue. Performance dogs are thinner than pet dogs and need to be thinner and more muscular than pet dogs.

I am sure gritsar is taking wonderful care of her puppy. She just needs to keep an eye on his weight and if he starts limping. If he gets pano she can change foods to slow his growth. I had an AmStaff puppy with pano that was on adult food. A lot of pano is caused by genetic inclination along with hot foods and not just by hot foods alone.

 

[Redyre Rotties]

I have to say I have not had a single case of pano, not even in heavy boned males, since I stopped dog food and went raw years ago.

GSDs definitely are high risk for Pano, especially the males.

 

[EweSheep]

never had the issue with Pano on Heidi, my GSD I had.

Purina Pro Plan was the feed we always get and it was expensive for a good while. Let alone for two Borzois! However I like that feed because our collies lived a long time and beautiful teeth and coat and muscles! And they poop less too! Iams used to be good for some reason, I noticed our last dog I had, they pooped ALOT!

I fed my cat Iams and had to switch back to Purina All Natural cat food, since she lost weight, coat was dull on Iams. This time, shiny coat, bright eyes and active, is what Purina will do for us!

If we ever get another dog, we will stick with Purina. Ol Roy is crap if you ask me!

 

[Brindlebtch]

Yup, Old Roy is not a dog food of choice, but the soft Old Roy stuff makes great training treats, as long as you don't feed them too many. Doesn't OR have peanut hulls as a filler?

 

[gritsar]

I'm glad to hear the info. on Purina. We are facing a financial squeeze as my DH's two DDs have decided they don't want to be grown ups anymore and need help from Dad - or to get a real job, but that's a whole 'nother story.
I tried the Iams with my cats, but they were having none of it. When a cat that eats 3 day old dead mice turns her nose up at a food.... At any rate, they are now eating the good life recipe, which is made by pedigree. They both love it and KiKi looks so much better than she did just a few weeks ago when we adopted her.
No one has mentioned pedigree?