[DobManiac]

I have been feeding proplan to my dogs for the past three years. I was told be numerous vets that it is the best food on the market. I am beginning to learn that is not the case. I recently purchased a dobe pup that I have begun showing. It amazes me that around 90% of the breeders I contacted feed proplan. These were all responsible breeders that were referred to me by the AKC breeder list.

I was hoping that I can get some more specific recommendations from you about food choice. My pup is 13 months old and is prone to soft stool. This may be due to the corn that is found in proplan. He also keeps getting bacterial staf infections on his stomach. I was wondering if the food could have something to do with that, since the vet tells me it could be due to allergies. He is a dob about 65 pounds but always tends to be under weight. Not by a lot, only three or four pounds. I am wondering if I should do low or high protein, and if he needs to be on a large breed puppy food. I have seen a lot of all life stage food that is recommended on your site.

My female is three years old and is slightly overweight. She went through three surgeries when she was a year old to fix a spinal malformation. She lost almost all of her muscle capacity during this time and has never been able to fully get it back. She is not supposed to exercise heavily, so I need I a food that will be able to redistribute her body weight properly without much assistance from exercise.

Any suggestions you can make will be greatly appreciated.

P.S.
My handler tells me I should try stuffing wet food down my pups throat a couple of weeks before a show so he will have his weight on. Please help so I don't have to result to this.

Thanks

[Shalva]

handlers like fat.... they think it makes the dog look more substantial..... I prefer thin.... its better for their health.....

the best food is the one that your dog does well on and many handlers and show folks do use hte pro plan.... you will hear from many people how their food is the best in the world because it works for their dog.... but those same foods may not work well for another dog.... its like some poeple can eat hot peppers and some people can't .... and get heartburn.... it all depends on the individual dog....

if you want a good list of foods the whole dog journal comes out wiht a yearly list of foods they have evaluated and there is another link..... to another food analysis site....

personally I feed a raw diet and to me most kibble is junk.... not anything that I would feed.....

but if you read through here you will get lots of opinions and lots of links to pet food info sites
s

[BoxMeIn21]

I feed RAW as well, but if I have to feed kibble it's Timberwolf Organics. They have two grainless formulas that I am very found of: Ocean Blue and Wild & Natural. Here is a website on dog food analysis. www.dogfoodanalysis.com they rate foods on a 1-6 scale, 6 being best.

[luvntzus]

I think a lot of breeders feed Pro Plan because of the incentives from the breeder program. I'm sure it works fine for some dogs, but I bet a lot of them are like yours that have soft stool and various other issues that the breeder or owner perceives as "normal".

For your girl that needs to lose weight I'd recommend a higher protein food. A lot of times the foods high in protein and low in carbs will help a dog lose fat and put on muscle. For her I would try the new grain free food from Wellness- CORE. It's higher protein than most foods, but not the extreme amount as in EVO and Nature's Variety Instinct. Those foods have 42% protein and 22% fat which I feel is VERY high. EVO has a high ash level also- 12.38% and it's usually recommended not to feed over about 8%. It works for a lot of dogs, but I've heard too many cases of previously healthy dogs having abnormal kidney and liver levels after eating EVO for awhile. The high fat affects the liver and the ash and protein affect the kidneys.

Regular CORE is 34% protein, 14% fat. I like that it's not too extreme. I'm trying to remember the ash % off the top of my head, if I remember right it's 7 or 8%. For your girl the reduced fat CORE would probably be good. 33% protein, 9% fat. Here's a link to that food:

http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/well...n_reduced.html

For your boy I would recommend either Wellness CORE or Eagle Pack Holistic. My dog has had the softest coat on this food (out of countless holistic foods). One of the things I love about EP Holistic is that it that the heat sensitive ingredients like probiotics are added after the cooking process. I really can't say enough about the food. I'm REALLY picky about ingredients and Eagle Pack Holistic has all of the ingredients I look for and none of the ones that I avoid. I think any of their holistic varieties should work for your boy. Here's a link to their website:

http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_Dog.html

[DobManiac]

Thanks so much for the coments. I have been looking at these foods all weekend and just become more confused. I think Dawn will do great on the wellness core and they sell it at my local feedstore. What you mentioned about the protien made complete sense. I would really love to see some more protien on her. However, I was wondering if that would be to much protien for Dusk. Also, does he need to be on a puppy food since he is only 13 months. The feedstore also carries inova and candiea. I can also purchase solid gold at petco.

I looked into the eagle pak and I am a little worried about the beet pulp. I have been told before that it can dull the coat of black coated dog. That it takes away the shine. This would be difficult for Dusk since he participates in confirmation events.

I was also wondering if I should be rotating the food. I have heard that mentioned in some of the forums and websites.

Thanks agian for your all of your advice. I never realized how much was involved in picking the right food for my dog. That's for helping me correct my bad judgement calls.

[luvntzus]

Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, but it's a prebiotic and I have no problem with it. On another forum there are a couple of people who feed EP Holistic to their black dogs with no problems. One of them posted a picture of their tri color Sheltie that has a jet black, shiny coat. What people say happens with beet pulp is that it turns a black coat red. Beet pulp is made from white sugar beets though (with 99% of the sugar removed). A red tinge or dryness to a black coat is usually caused by sun damage.

Here's some more information on beet pulp:
http://www.greatdanelady.com/article..._pulp_myth.htm

I think that a 13 month old Dobe should be eating adult food, but I'm not sure. A lot of people actually never feed puppy food and put their puppies on adult food right away. If in doubt I guess you could always e-mail Eagle Pack and get their opinion. Their nutritionist has always answered my questions. I think their large breed puppy or large breed adult would be really good. Wellness CORE is recommended for dogs over 1 year of age.

Canidae is a good food and it's one of the most inexpensive holistic foods. I know a lot of people feed it with good results. It could be worth a try. Solid Gold and Innova are also good. I've really read mixed reviews on all of them since different dogs do well on different foods. The one thing I don't like about Solid Gold is how grain heavy their foods are. Several of the foods have 5 or 6 different grains, including barley, which I'm not a fan of. It's a high gluten grain similar to wheat.

[DobManiac]

I went to the feedstore today. They no longer sell eagle pack, so I bought a bag of innove large breed puppy. I like everything I have read about it. They are ordering in the wellness core for me. Thanks for all of the great advice, I feel good about my choices.

[luvntzus]

Innova large breed puppy is a great choice. I'll be crossing my fingers that it works well for your boy!!

[Dobermaniac]

Innova is an awesome choice. Anything by Natura is A+++