Hi there everyone,
I am getting a GSD in the next few weeks and I am wondering which brand of dog food you people recommend I feed my dog. If it has a loyalty card that would be brilliant but otherwise I'm only interested in what is best for my dog that isn't too expensive.
Katie <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />

Hi porcupinetree. How old is the GSD you are getting. If it is just a young puppy you must of course use only a puppy food and they are on that until they are 18 months old. This is essential to ensure they get the right nutrition for their growing bones.

If it is older than 18 months the type of food depends on it's physical condition, body weight and age.

My puppy is fed on
Bosch pet food which is imported into NZ by my puppies breeder. It is not available in the shops but they deliver it to you. Take a look at their website.
Eukanuba, Hill's Science Diet, Nutrience and Proplan are also excellent foods. All of them have customer loyalty cards but they are more expensive then the Bosch, so do your sums on that. The cheaper foods at the supermarket are not really the best, it is a bit like raising your kids on a diet of McDonalds.

Yep I would agree with the recommended brands. I fe my girls on Eukanuba for years and they di really well. Hills tended to give them awful flatulence (doesn't mean it has that effect on every dog though).What ever you choose to feed your new furbaby just make sure it's a 'complete and balanced' formula. (Most supermarket brands aren't). And once you find one that suits your dog and your purse don't chop and change - you could up with an upset tum and a runny bum! Dogs don't tend to need the variety in diets that humans do. Denise, would you agree GSDs can be a bit sensitive when it comes you changing foods?

Thanks very much that sounds great! We are looking to get a dog from around 9months to a year old, although we are open to dogs up to 3 years. Ray Head came around today to inspect our property and he also recommended Bosch. We have looked at brands like Eukanuba but it does seem to work out more expensive so I think I like the sound of Bosch. Thanks again for your advice!

There is a specialty food for specific breeds. I saw at pak'n'save before...there were food for GSDs, Labs, and others...

I've been researching a lot actually and I saw a brand of food called Royal Canin that has a specific food for GSDs like the one you're mentioning, K9, although I'm not sure of the cost. Bosch appears to be $77.50 for a 15kg bag, which supposedly lasts a month?? Can anyone come up with a reputable brand that is cheaper?

My Bosch bag last about 6 weeks and that is feeding 4 cups a day for a 9 month old puppy. The puppy food (Growth) is recommended until the dog is 18 months old and is $89.50 (works out to around $15.00 per week which is what 3 dog rolls of rubbish would cost you at the supermarket). My adult formula bag lasts about 7-8 weeks for my 27kg girl. I won't tell you how long a bag of food lasts for my 53kg boy though lol - You won't want to know. Bosch deliver promptly to your door.
Royal Canine has a good reputation from what I hear and Supercoat is also another that I know many people with GSD's use.

If you are the family I think you are that Ray called on today I hope we have a dog very soon for you as Ray was full of praise. I thought I might have had a suitable one for you today but she really is a dog that needs to have a stay at home person and be a predominantly inside dog and not ideally placed with a working family as that is the reason she is needing a new home because she can't cope with extended periods on her own, so she is off to Christchurch as soon as we can get a lift for her.

Royal Canin is expensive - I have a friend with 2 adult Border Collies and a puppy and she's changed from RC because of the cost (nothing wrong with the quality tho). I've just changed to Super Cost - much more cost effective than Eukanuba (used that for almost 12 yrs) - the girls seem to be doing well on it. $6kg Euk is about $54, 12kg Supercoat was about $61!

I'm proud to say, yes! We are the family you were talking about. We have decided to go for Bosch so thank you to everyone for their input and help in our decision...next question! Can anyone recommend a good boarding kennel in south auckland???

We went and checked out a lovely one by the airport, Airport Pet Hotel, (09) 275-1212 and it is located at 576 Oruarangi Road. They take cats too.

Good luck

Andrea

Definitely a good choice. I am glad you liked it Andrea. No doubt you found Christine and Carey to be as lovely as I said they were.

Certainly has a different look to any other kennel setup doesn't it. More like kiddies playcentre. I think it is a fantastic place.

I am sure you will be happy with the Bosch food porcupinetree.

Not sure who we talked to, but yes it was lovely, though one very grumpy lady there telling them off whenever they made too much noise lol, same with the cats, and boy, did they all listen to her too. A very gorgeous looking german shepherd was there, a big, handsome boy

Hi Denise, I was wondering if you had any photos of Tessa? If so we'd love to see them. Send them to sneakyandzip@hotmail.com
If not we can wait! Also we are keen for a sweet small young girl so whenever you see one let us know. Thanks!!

Hi everyone have just registered today, thought i may as well since I'm continually in this site! My GSD Buck who is five has been at Airport Pet Hotel 3 times, last August for 3 weeks, complete with antibiotics and lotion, which was no problem for the staff. Each time upon picking him up he has been happy, and personally I recommend the Airport Pet Hotel, although not impressed about the shouting lady.

I'm glad to read this topic, because my 6mth old male GSD appears to be a very fussy eater. When we first adopted him at 8 weeks he'd been fed Tux and rice, so he thought it was Christmas when we gave him Hills. However, the enthusiasim lasted a couple of months and the food would sit for half a day (sometimes til dinner) before he'd eat it. So we changed to Eukanuba - same thing! Now we're on Nutrience - you guessed it - "I'll eat it when I get round to it". I've tried soaking the food in oxo gravy, pouring some prepared dog gravy from the pet shop on it - yeah right! He's keen on it when we add our vege's to his bowl - but this isn't practical every night. Just recently I've been adding a bit of dog roll to it - AND that works! Has anyone else had this sort of problem. I've asked for a sample from Bosch - havn't heard of them, but from the website they sound good.

Fortunately non of my girls have even turned their noses up at anything. I think he might have been given too much choice Sands. The 'rule' is leave his food out for 5 minutes, if he doesn't eat it take it away, completely. He'll very quickly learn that you as his leader, are the one who provides the food and if he doesn't eat what's provided, when it's provided, the rest of the 'pack' will take his share. Providing you've had him vet checked to make sure there are no medical problems and he's not losing weight you might find the problem is easily cured. Have you read Jan Fennell's book The Dog Listener - excellent book for all dog owners - she explains this all very well

Hi Sands. Where did you get your pup from. Have you checked with the breeder to see if any of the other pups have been picky eaters. My nearly 9 month old sometimes doesn't want to eat her dinner and I also sprinkle a little of the superior chunky dog roll on it. Only about 1/4inch cut up finely and mixed through. I think of it as salt and pepper sprinkles. She eats Bosch. Her coat is beautiful and shiny. Also remember some dogs don't feel terribly hungry when the weather is hot. Evening meal at my house is often not until around 10pm for them as none of them want to know about food when it is hot and sticky.
Where abouts are you located Sands, if Auckland I am happy to give you a bit of my Bosch puppy food to try.

Thanks Colcol - I agree - I'm being way too soft on him. Yes, he's been checked recently and he's healthy - will eat anything else offered in seconds. He looks healthy and his coat is very shiney.Time for some tough love me thinks. My vet nurse sister also told me to harden up also - lol.

Hi Denise, we're in Wellington - and yes it has been very hot here the last couple of months. Harley is long haired, so he's probably feeling it more than most. Thank you for your wonderful offer, however, I've been in contact with Bosch and they are sending me a sample.LOL, yes I consider the dog roll his 'junk food' - like any kid they prefer that over the healthy bits!

Thanks for your help everyone.

Hi Denise, Katie and all the GSD members, Jo here. We are back on line & looking forward to getting emails. Thanks, Jo,Bruce,Blondie,LG(her new kitten) & Nugget-Auckland

Hi all, I may as well add my 2 pennies worth here as well............ Southern Comfort in Drury is a really lovely kennels. A friend of mine had 2 Boxers & her male hated kennels but this one for some reason he loved. Food maybe I shouldn't get started on this one, I feed my dogs very little dry food, they get a cup each for breakfast, mainly Nutrience. As Denise knows I have an 11month old pup that wouldn't eat when I got her at 6months. I tried every dry food you could possibally lay your hands on including Bocsh. She now eat & enjoys Champ Nutra Plus for puppies. At night I feed them all raw chicken mince mixed with eggs, garlic, dog museli, rice, raw vegi's, cottage cheese or yogurt & they love it

Well I tried Colcol's suggestion - putting his bowl out for 10 mins for Breakfast and dinner, if he didn't eat it, it was taken away. For two weeks he never ate breakfast! Considering his size (at only 7 months - he's a big boy) he wasn't missing it! As his food was getting low, I ordered a bag of Bosch and what do you know - he's been eating it straight away for a week now - breakfast and dinner. Fingers crossed it will continue. Thanks everyone. Mum is happy now :-)