what kind of dog food can I use?

Question

I have a 2 yr old German Shepard who is just too skinny and yes we do feed him....He has been checked for worms, treated even though they couldn't find any....All his blood work came back fine. He is very hyper...He weighed 90 lbs in Jan. then by July had lost 20 pounds....I changed the food and give him the expensive stuff now from the vet...dry and canned...I think he is gaining a little weight back...He was on a very cheap food before and we think that is what the problem was....But I want to know if there is a high fat or better food out there to help him gain his weight back and look better..he just looks so skinny still. We live in a small town, and have a small fenced in yard and I do take him on a 2 mile walk around the park nearby each day......for me and him....training and for health....am I over doing it there???? Any suggestions welcome!
Thanks!

Answer 1

Try putting some REGULAR oatmeal in the dry food. Cheap or expensive dog food doesn't really matter, its whats in the food, not the name or price. I took my dog to the vet for the same reason and was told to do that. Not too much though, start out with a 1/2 cup and then about 2 weeks later increase to 1 cup. Do not do more than 2x per day.

Hope this helps!!

Answer 2

Scoring Your Dog Food
*Please note that the following is for entertainment purposes only and has not been researched by DAN and may not be a "true" grading of food. If you have any questions regarding the food you are feeding your dog consult your veternarian.
This is a very interesting way to check out the quality of the dog food that you are feeding. It's interesting, because sometimes paying more, does not get you more and vice versa.
The scores are rather interesting.
How to grade your dog's food: (Some brand reviews already calculated here)
Start with a grade of 100:
1.For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
2.For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal
or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3.If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4.For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5
points
5.If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five
ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer rice", "rice flour" are all
the same grain), subtract 5 points
6.If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2
meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7.If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8.If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
9.If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10.If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2
points
11.If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic
to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12.If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13.If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to
wheat), subtract 2 points
14.If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to
beef), subtract 1 point
15.If it contains salt, subtract 1 point
Extra Credit:
1.If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2.If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or
nutritionist, add 5 points
3.If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4.If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5.If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6.If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3
points
7.If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2
points
8.If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9.If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10.If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11.If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12.For every different specific animal protein source (other than
the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein
source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13.If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14.If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are
pesticide-free, add 1 point
94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D 69 = F
Here are some foods that have already been scored. If you don't see your dog's food here, ask and someone will score it for you.
Brand Dog Food scores:
•Authority Harvest Baked: 116 A+
•Bil-Jac Select: 68 F
•Canidae: 112 A+
•Chicken Soup Senior: 115 A+
•Diamond Maintenance: 64 F
•Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice: 92 B
•Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula: 99 A
•Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium: 122 A+
•Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato: 106 A+
•Foundations: 106 A+
•Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold: 93 D
•Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium: 73 D
•Innova Dog: 114 A+
•Innova Evo: 114 A+
•Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables: 110 A+
•Nutrisource Lamb and Rice: 87 B
•Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy: 87 B
•Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice: 23 F
•ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley: 103 A+
•Purina Beneful: 17 F
•Purina Dog: 62 F
•Purina Come-n-Get It: 16 F
•Royal Canin Bulldog: 100 A+
•Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult: 106 A+
•Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice: 97 A
•Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+: 63 F
•Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies: 69 F
•Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken: 110 A+
•Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold: 97 A

Answer 3

Check the labels on the food for fat and protien content. Puppy food will generally have more fat.

Nutro Large Breed Puppy is good, and also their High Energy formula for adults. Avoid cheap food at all costs, because your dog will poop out all those fillers and by-products and not gain weight.

There are also many supplements out there to use to add more calories to his diet. Nutrical is a high calorie paste. Missing Link is a very good powder supplement. If you can't find these products at a local pet store, you can probably find similar ones there, or online.

Answer 4

I think that you need to find a dog store in your area that sells high protein food. If your dog is that active he needs more protein. If you live in an area with dog specialty stores they can help lead you to a good food for active dogs. You will pay a bit more at these stores but it is worth it for your dog's health.

If no specialty stores in your area here are some really good Petco/Petsmart choices.

- Nutro Natural Choice High Energy for Active Dogs

- Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® Ultra-Premium Dry Food has been voted as a good food by Whole Dog Journal

Answer 5

I agree with Kitkat, I think it was, if you mix in some puppy food with the regular food, that might help. It has more calories in it to help them maintain their bodies for what they need to grow.

Maybe you can also cut back on the exercise and give the dog a chance to bulk up. Maybe cut back to one mile? I've never heard of that problem, I'm sorry. It just might be a hyper thyroid problem- which there isn't much you can do I don't think.

Answer 6

Most commercial pet foods are absolutely horrible for dogs. They are made from by-products such as hooves, intestines, scraps and even euthanized animals. Many of the health problems that that our dogs face is due to the commercial food they are fed.

The additives and preservatives contains chemicals that have been known to cause such diseases as Addisons's Disease, Cancer and arthritis and more.

And as for Iams, well I would never buy anything from them considering they are at the forefront of animal cruelty. They cage and experiment on cats and dogs for whatever cruel agenda they have.

You can view a video of their cruel practices and learn more about the danger's facing your dogs with commercial pet foods here:

http://www.savingourdogs.com

Please be sure to sign the petition and pass it along to all the dog owners you know.

Answer 7

If your vet has him on a prescription diet, you should probably stick with that.
If he is going on a 2 mile walk every day and you're trying to get him to gain weight, you may want to try feeding him morning and evening. He's getting a lot of exercise, which is a good thing, but is not conducive to weight gain.

Answer 8

Item: Old Roy Dog Food
Location:
by Walter Stevens

Review: This is a Wal-Mart brand of dog food, and is among the cheapest dog food you are going to find (18 Kg for $13 Canadian). I’ve been buying it for my dogs for a long time now, and they still love it as much as ever. Although it is not a name brand like Pedigree, it seems to satisfy them far more than other generic brands out there, which makes me happy. And it lasts for a long time, which is always a good things.
Try buying it for your dogs, see if they like it as much as mine do.
Rating: 7




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This entry was posted on Friday, December 16th, 2005 at 5:55 pm and is filed under Pets.
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Answer 9

i think a 2 mile walk every day is too much,use dry foor instead of canned.its better for your dog. pal or bakers is best.

Answer 10

iams is good dog food. it's healthy and apparently dogs love it. when i have a dog and i feed him iams all the time and he's as healthy as ever now.