What type of food are you feeding?

[Mavides]

Hi everyone, I don't post much, but I do lurk a lot. I have a 19 week old male Rottie pup that is currently on Eukanuba large breed puppy (that's what his breeder was feeding him and he seems to be doing fine for now). I tried switching him to Solid Gold puppy when I got him home, but it didn't seem to work for him, so we went back to the Eukanuba. Now it is getting close to the time to switch him to adult food and I'm not sure which way to go. My breeder feeds her show dogs (Legend will hopefully be a show dog) Eagle Pack Professional (or Power, I can't remember the exact word). I had planned on doing that...but I looked at the Eagle Pack site the other day and it has a REALLY high protein count...it specifies that it's great for dogs that are campaigning and under high stress and have high activity levels - obviously, this doesn't fit Legend yet. I know there are TONS of opinions out there on food, and I've read the top ten lists, but I'm still not sure which direction to go. Would everyone PLEASE tell me which commercial food you are feeding your Rotties (and their ages) and why you chose that food? Thank you in advance for your help and opinions!!!

Shawna - mom to...

Legend, 19 week Rottweiler
Destiny, 7 year old Chow (currently on Solid Gold)
Panza, 2 year old Basenji mix from Africa (currently on Solid Gold)
Sarah (10 yrs) & Ellie (8 yrs), kitties
Raina, 12 year old Scarlet Macaw

and Maverick - my wonderful Rottie waiting at the Bridge

[Carina43]

Well, I feed raw (non commercial) and am very happy with it.

Before that - before I encountered rott.net, actually, I was feeding Canidae, which seems to be a board favourite here. I chose it because at some point I got educated and realised that Science Diet was NOT the gold standard in food I'd been led to believe.... :p...
Tthe very knowlegable owner of a little pet store gave me the rundown on what to look for in good kibble, and after trying several I settled on Canidae because the dogs did very well on it. I also (have always done so) added various select table scraps to their food so it didn't get monotonous for their systems.

[Rott-Wiley]

I feed a diet of 40% kibble and 60% raw plus supplements. The kibble is Canidae or Innova. I use some Steve's Real Food as part of the raw, the remainder I rotate; lean ground beef, chicken, turkey, ox tails, raw meaty bones, organ meats, you name it. 3 days a week is low fat yohurt, 2 days fat free cottage cheese, and 2 days raw eggs. I also feed veggies juiced up.

[mercedes]

I feed Canidae. I had Mercedes on Science Diet at first, then switched due to good advice given here. She is doing absolutly wonderful on it and I wouldnt change if ya paid me to!

[Mavides]

So it sounds like so far, Canidae is a good choice. Are there any drawbacks to it that you all know of? Also, are there different formulas or is it just a maintenance formula? Thanks for all your help and please keep the opinions coming!!! Shawna

[lblax]

Originally posted by Mavides
So it sounds like so far, Canidae is a good choice. Are there any drawbacks to it that you all know of? Also, are there different formulas or is it just a maintenance formula? Thanks for all your help and please keep the opinions coming!!! Shawna

there are several drawbacks to canidae i used to feed it and i know several people that tried it or fed for a couple of years and had to change due to alergys there are just to many ingrediants in it and everyone that i know has had to switch after 6 months to 2 years i now feed california natural lamb and rice it is simply high quality with few ingrediants

[Carina43]

Canidae is a quality food, but like Larry points out, there's plenty of excellent kibbles on the market - there's no one perfect food for all dogs.

It's an all life stage food.

[LeannK]

Shawna,

I'm new too, and am currently feeding my rottie (1 1/2 year-old female, Ashley) Sensible Choice chicken and rice formula. I plan to switch over to the Natural Blend after some great advice on this website. I know a few other members feed their dogs Natural Blend and are very happy with the results.

HTH

Leann

[JD102175]

We feed Brodie (19 month old) Nutro Natural Large Breed. While it is not a premium food like Innova or Canidae, it is still a little better quality than Eukanuba, IAMS, or Science Diet. Brodie does very well on it.


Jaime

[BostonRott]

I do not, and never will again, feed puppy foods. I've raised 4 Rottweilers from age 8 weeks up, 1 from birth. Only one of those dogs ever got puppy food (B/c I thought she wasn't getting enough calories from the adult food), and she got pano (panosteitis - growing pains, bone disorder). Switched her immediately back to adult formula and have not had another bout with the pano.

Keep in mind, my dogs are all competitive SchH/Agility dogs and are kept in good shape and low weight. About two weeks after being on the puppy food, lame pup. Never again.

That said, I feed Innova. My pups were weaned to adult forumula Wellness and raw. I prefer Wellness and Innova over Canidae, and at this point, can get the Innova at a better price, so the herd now eat Innova + raw diet (Oma's and Bravo). I do like the Innova forumula over all others, it has the most meat listed in the top 4 ingredients.

[chivas]

It depends on your dog what works best so you may have to sample different ones. I am so glad I found Canidea, I used to feed CA Gold and my sheltie's skin never did too well on it. He is far from 100% because it is a genetic disorder, but Canidea has been the saving grace for him. Coat full and shiny, no more ear infections and full of energy, but what works for one may not work for another. Ive fed Canidea for 5 years now and wouldnt change if you paid me. Plus I do add some raw.
Kim

[Mavides]

Thank you all for your continued opinions!!! I'm still at a loss though. :( I know that it seems to be different foods have different effects on different dogs...but it takes so long to find out what those effects will be (usually) - I could be changing foods every six months all his life!? I read another article that said changing foods was a good thing to do every 3-6 months...however, I've always been taught (from vets) not to do that...it can upset their digestive systems and cause them to become a bit finicky...any thoughts on this, or is that just a myth? I don't think I want to go into the raw diet...just because I don't think it would work right with my lifestyle - however, I did have to cook for my first Rottie when he became ill and I've had to cook for my Chow to get her to lose weight...so I would be willing to do that for Legend - does anyone have thoughts on that and/or know of good recipes (and fairly easy!) for homemade dog food? Thanks again!!! Shawna

[Rott-Wiley]

Vets are not really trained in selection of dog food and a lot of what they will tell you is what they are being told by the commercial food companies. Of course all vets are not alike also so you can take that for what it's worth.

If my dog was doing well on a particular diet and I felt good about giving it to them, I would not change every 3-6 months. I don't think I would change at all.

I would say, your best bet is to read some of the info on the sites that were suggested on this forum. The same ones keep popping up in all the threads. See what is available in your area and make a decision based on that. I think the main thing is to feed your dog a balanced diet that they will enjoy.

[moondog]

I home-cook for my dog. :) If that is a choice you are considering, I can recommend a great book to help ensure you prepare a fully balanced diet for your dog. The book is Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets, The Healthful Alternative by Dr. Donald Strombeck, DVM, Phd. It is an education in nutrition and not only gives recipes for both healthy dogs/cats and animals with special medical needs, but teaches the why's and what for's along with it. Best money I ever spent.....well......second best. The best money I ever spent was for my dog! :D

[Mavides]

Thank you moondog!! I will check that book out - it sounds great!!! Shawna