[Sue L]

Good morning everyone. I just joined today.
1 ) We’ve been feeding my daughters 16 month old shepherd/lab mix Rachael Ray’s Nutrish Zero Grain. Any feedback on that do food?
2 ) We’re about to pick up an 8 week old shepherd & are looking for the best puppy food we can actually find in a local store. Would appreciate all suggestions

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[Kathleen C]

I have two questions. I bought one of those little grass containers they do for cats and my dog loves it. This way I can give him some grass instead of letting him eat it at the dog park because I’m very suspicious as to whether or not they spray for weeds there. Also, I’ve reported before that he eats his poop. It was suggested I use pineapple chunks to try to stop that. I want to start doing that again since I didn’t really give it a good try the first time. However, I gave him too much I think because he pooped in the house, which is very unusual and he must have had an upset stomach. So, How much of the grass and the pineapple chunks should I give him? Thank you.

[zcRiley]

Hi Sue L, nothing like a happy addition to an expanding family. Forget your local store, have a big selection on high quality foods on Chewy.com, free 2-3 day delivery. All ingredients are listed for your approval. Definitely Orijen puppy food (dry) and Esbilac puppy milk (powder), daily 4 times round the clock, with lotsa fresh water available. Orijen Adult for your other babies just look for food sensitivities. As a super healthy topper, add a little Primal Freeze Dried Nuggets (raw), just add a bit of water. That Nutrish stuff…..one word. No.

[DieselJunki]

If budget is an issue for you and Orijen is too expensive (as it is for me at the moment, trust me, wish I could feed it!) there are a few budget friendly dog foods out there like Victor, which I just ordered their Ultra Pro 42 Grain Free but they do have a puppy and active dog bag. Dr. Tims is another brand, one highly spoken of here although they don’t specifically have a puppy formula they do have an All Life Stages one.

All these can be found on the Chewy website. I live in CA, ordered Thursday and the food was here today even though it said it may be here Tuesday of next week. Very impressed with that.

I add fish oil to my dogs food everyday. Occasionally I’ll top my dogs food with an egg, a decent 4-5 star wet food with the gravy in it, or some raw meat if it’s gotten a little freezer burned in my freezer and I don’t care to eat it that way.

[InkedMarie]

Sue:
I don’t think Rachael Ray’s foods are all that good, to be honest. If you go to the review side here on DFA, you can read about it.
Regarding your shepherd, go to the Diet & Health Issues forum here; on top is a stickie on appropriate foods for large breed puppies. We can’t tell you what you can buy at your store; you need to look at the list of foods and call around or order online, like alot of us do.

[Pitlove]

Hi Sue-

Large breed puppies have much different dietary requirements than small and medium breeds. These dogs are at high risk for developmental orthopedic disorders caused by genetics, but also poor nutrition. It is important to watch calcium intake, so I would heed the suggestion to add too many toppers to the dry kibble during growth or use something like Trippett which has very low calcium and phosphorus.

The two companies that have done the most research in regards to large and giant breed nutrition and growth are Hill’s and Purina. A puppy food geared towards large breeds from one of those two companies would be a fine choice. However, I do understand that there are those who do not feel comfortable feeding diets from Hill’s and Purina. A few other LBP safe foods I can suggest that are from smaller companies are: NutriSource Large Breed Puppy, Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy, Precise Holistic Complete Large & Giant Breed Puppy, Nulo Puppy, Solid Gold Wolf Cub, and Dr. Tim’s Kinesis. If you can order online, these are all available on chewy.com.

Another important thing to remember is not to overfeed, as excess weight puts strain on the developing joints and can also lead to orthopedic disorders. Shepherds are meant to be lean by breed standard, so it is best to keep them that way during growth and throughout life.

Edit: In regards to your question about Rachael Ray Nutrish. How does the other dog do on it? How is the stool quality? Does she get a clean bill of health from the vet? Does she enjoy eating the food? Your dog is the only one who can tell you how the food is working for her. The opinions of others are irrelevant.

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