Puppy/Junior/Adult complete dry food?

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nijinsky

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My GSD is 17 months and is fed Arden Grange puppy/junior. Am thinking of changing her over to adult now. Problem is she's very lean (according to comments from other people)! She's very active and wonder should I keep her on the junior food as I'm sure I read it has more protein/energy?

She's a bit of a fussy eater, as a pup she would have the food out of your hand but now she seems to be picky, I have her on the AG as that's what she was fed by her breeders, a lot of people use it but some I've spoke to can't get on with it, so wonder should I change?

Reason for post is that I need to order her food now & wonder would it be worth going over to adult food/keep her on puppy or change food altogether.

Not the best picture as she's lying down but the most recent one I have, taken a month or so ago, does she look too thin to you:
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Its hard to tell her weight from that photo, do you know what she actually weighs in kg? As a guide, Buffy at 8 years old weighs 32 kg and I reckon her weight is about right, she is quite big for a bitch. Regarding food, I have never used AG but would think it would be fine to take her off the junior now. I always used to feed my adults green tripe, once they reached about 12 months with a small amount of complete. Now I can't get tripe very easily I have found they do very well on Skinners Maintenance, but bear in mind these are both mature ladies
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Evie is still on Beta puppy large breed, I intend to change her gradually over to Skinners once she is about 14 months old - anything with less protein will be a bonus if she has slightly less energy, she is dragging poor Buffys bed round the floor as I type, with Buffy on it
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tell me if I'm wrong but I really think gsd shouldn't carry alot of weight. I mean aren't they prone to hip dysplasia and wouldn't too much weight put pressure on this.
Please do tell me if I'm wrong, I always like to learn something new.
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btw I personally think dog looks really healthy
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Thanks MM.

I know it was a bit of a useless picture I posted, no idea what she weighs. Think I may at least try her on the adult now & see how she goes. I mix a little bit of some kind of meat in with the biscuits to give it some sort of taste.

Haha, sounds like my house, Xara is always pawing at Blue & going for his legs, he in return hangs off her neck, she now has a flabby neck
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and God help anything that gets in their way.
 
No, you are absolutely right - it isn't good to have excess weight on any animal but especially the larger breeds. I don't actually think she looks that bad, but I've had a couple of comments from people "in the street" saying she could do with a bit more meat on her.

You feel awful when someone says that to you, I mean, the dog is healthy & of course I feed her but comments like that make you feel like you're not doing something right, if you know what I mean.
 
My GSD didn't carry much weight when he was young, due to dashing about alot. You could try the Greyhound mixes or working dog (cheaper) look and see which ones have got most protein. I always found that mine was a bit picky and only really cleared up when pressurised by the labrador. People food is always readily accepted so I tend to make gravy to go on top of biscuit. I can't see your photos, will look later when I'm home, but I wouldn't worry too much.
 
If its people in the street commenting on her weight I wouldn't worry too much. People always used to think my show standard weight/size Shepherds were tiny. The only one they considered a "proper" GSD was Buffys mum, who bless her was weight over standard height wise and weighed about 40 kg, she wasn't fat just solid
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I had my two GSDs on AG puppy/junior, changed to James Wellbeloved then to AG hypoallergenic, which the male still seems to be allergic to.

On AG, my male, who is super active, is not holding his weight or coat condition and we are looking at a number of alternatives. Having said that almost all our friends use it without any problems.

From your picture and comparing her to skinnyboy, X looks a good weight and her coat is looking very well.
In my experience people often confuse a 'hard/dry' type with a thin one!
 
Yes - she's very active, very much an outdoor dog, I think that's why I've kept her on the junior as I think the protein level is higher.

Thanks MM - you're right I shouldn't worry really not when I see the state of some of the animals & stories I hear where I live
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She goes through stages, sometimes she looks narrow behind, then she'll seem to fill out but look narrow at the front, she's still growing so I'll just bear with it.

She's going back to school on Thursday - that will be interesting
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We tried Arden Grange a few years ago after winning a supply of the stuff. We have a maxi breed and all both young and old dropped condition, their coats were awful after a month. A nornally glossy b&w bitch went an odd copper tinged b&w. I know alot of breeders say the same thing.

Royal Canin do a breed specific kibble for GSD which I have heard good things about.

Feed recomendations on switching from puppy - junior - adult varies from feed company to feed company, and also from vet to vet. Nutro say for large breeds to stay on their lbp mix to 18 months, RC say Junior to 15 months, others to 12 or 14 months.

Remember maxi and giant breeds go through such huge growth spurts that at times they look gangly and almost skeletal like. If you can get to see some littermates from your girl just to compare condition.
 
Hiya,

Do you have your puppy on the AG Large Breed Puppy/Junior? If so it might be worth swapping for the standard AG Puppy/Junior NOT the large breed... as the LBreed will have less fat content than the standard Puppy/Junior and higher oils/glucosamine/supps for joints etc. The Standard will be just fine and your dog won't miss out on the glucosamine etc but you may consider adding a glucosamine tablet (Holland & Barret do them) to each meal - it can only aid her in later life!!

I would suggest you keep her on puppy food til she is around a 1yr-18months as the puppy/junior foods are higher in fats/calcium that she'll need to develop fully.

Arden Grange is a premium branded food however isn't the best on the market for the money your spending.

I would suggest using either Nutro Choice or Royal Canin, the reason being is that ingredients in both these foods actually contain MEAT not just the 'left overs' ... my dog excelled on Nutro Choice as the meat is firstly dried then weighed and added to the food, most feeds contain 'wet' meat which means that 60% of the stated weight is water so the meat content isn't brilliant!!

Royal Canin I would suggest the Maxi Junior32 for your pup. Food link - Royal Canin

Nutro Choice I would suggest LB puppy Foof Link - Nutro

ALTERNATIVELY - you could add a couple of raw chicken wings and some oil to her current dinner each night!! ;-)

Good luck!!
 
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my dog excelled on Nutro Choice as the meat is firstly dried then weighed and added to the food, most feeds contain 'wet' meat which means that 60% of the stated weight is water so the meat content isn't brilliant!!

Nutro Choice I would suggest LB puppy Foof Link - Nutro


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Ditto Nutro as I mentioend previously. We fed our last litter on RC to 4 months then switched to Nutro LB puppy to 18 months. Have used Nutro LB puppy now 3 different times on puppies (large breed) to 18 months and they have all excelled on it. Much better than RC - RC is not the best for coats.
 
Recommend Royal Canin as well I work as vet nurse and this is what I feed my own dogs. Your dog looks lovely to me, better on the lean side than fat! You should be able to easily feel her ribs...
 
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