I have 2 GSD's (both males). One is almost 2, the other is 9 months old. Both have the same exact diet, same exact living environment. However... The 2 year old has been shedding like crazy ever since we got him at age 12 weeks. Brushing him yields stacks of hair, while brushing the 9 month old barely yields any hair at all. Both are on Pedigree Puppy supplemented with rice and 2 tablets of Brewers yeast daily to help with the older one's shedding problem. The older one has an undescended testicle. Could that be the problem?

I would say the food is the problem. Dogs don't need rice at all and Pedigree is a very low quality food. If you look through the Leerburg web site you will see recommendations for a good diet, the best being a raw diet, next up being The Honest Kitchen, and finally there are some kibble recommendations. I've personally seen fantastic results with Innova. You will pay a lot more for the food but your dogs will eat less of the high quality foods, the coats will improve, they'll likely lose most (if not all) doggie odor, and the overall health will be greatly improved.

Are you planning on neutering the 2 y/o when he is fully mature? Oh also, I do believe the elder should have been long switched off any puppy diet.

Very true. Poor diet can cause a LOT of problems. We feed Innova Lg. breed puppy food as soon as the pups start eating solids, then gradually switch over to the adult formula at twelve months. Our breed (Dobes)is prone to pyoderma as puppies, and we just don't see that much of it. We haven't had problems with allergies, shedding or odor. Folks always comment on what nice coats our dogs have. Obviously a well-balanced natural diet IS the best; but if you've gotta go with kibble I reccomend Innova. Not only do they eat less, they poop less too. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

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I would say the food is the problem. Dogs don't need rice at all and Pedigree is a very low quality food. If you look through the Leerburg web site you will see recommendations for a good diet, the best being a raw diet, next up being The Honest Kitchen, and finally there are some kibble recommendations. I've personally seen fantastic results with Innova. You will pay a lot more for the food but your dogs will eat less of the high quality foods, the coats will improve, they'll likely lose most (if not all) doggie odor, and the overall health will be greatly improved.

Are you planning on neutering the 2 y/o when he is fully mature? Oh also, I do believe the elder should have been long switched off any puppy diet.

I agree 100% with everything Diana says.

Pedigree might be the worst (or at least in the worst three) I have read... with corn in first place on their ingredient list.
http://www.feedmypet.com/dog-food-comparison.html

Pedigree plus rice is a grain-based diet, and dogs have not evolved eating grains. Their systems are not designed for grain protein; they need meat protein.

So I'd read the Leerburg recommendations and go with a better food (and, as we are all learning, advertising is the last place to learn about dog foods <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.
http://www.leerburg.com/feedingdogs.htm

I feed raw, but I believe that there are very good alternatives these days, with The Honest Kitchen and the kibbles Leerburg mentions way up there on the list.

No matter what the basic diet is, I would add salmon oil and Vitamin E. I believe it will make a big difference in coat and skin, but it's also a very beneficial anti-inflammation supplement (for dogs and humans). I doubt that I will ever feed a dog without it.

Good for you to be asking and reading! Your dogs will benefit.

By the way, I'd recommend *not* assuming that Omega 3 essential fatty acids are abundant in a high-quality dog food just because the label says so.

I would still always supplement with salmon oil (and Vitamin E).

This is because Omega 3 EFAs should be in the form of raw unheated oils. This doesn't exist in commercial dog food.

Second, the form of Omega 3s in most commercial foods is plant-based (such as flax and canola).

While humans can indeed process plant sources of Omega 3s into the beneficial long-chain EFAs that are in marine sources, at a rate of about 10%, in dogs that rate is almost zero.

So not only do dogs not use plant sources of Omega 3s the way we can -- but also, the fats need to be unheated to be a good source. Commercial foods almost always fall down on both counts.

So --- ta-da! Distilled fish oil. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

All JMO. I didn't make it up, though! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I appreciate all the info. We're not really in civilization here, but we'll look for that brand name at the vet since Walmart will probably not be carrying it.

We even went so far as to try adding EVOO (Rachel Ray...) Olive Oil to their food to help.

Yes, I plan on neutering the 2 year old next spring. The breeder I got him from turned out not to have a very good reputation (Von Fenwald). He's about 75 - 80 lbs right now and he is maintaining. The 9 month old weighs 80 - 85 lbs and is still growing strong (I got him from a local breeder for a fraction of what I paid for 1st dog).

It's easier on my wife and me to feed them both the same thing since they "wolf" from each other's bowls when they get the chance.

Just kind of strange that one dog has the problem, and not the other.

Thanks again! And keep the info coming! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

In addendum, I kept feeding the older one the Pedigree Puppy since I read the label and it had almost double the protein of the Adult Formula (which I tried and it made the problem WORSE!).

They both have very good skin and coats, the problem is just with the shedding on the older, but if that Innova food helps eliminate some of the ... "poots" <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> then that would be an added bonus.

And let me tell ya... The Dyson Animal Vaccum helps out!!! They both LOVE being vaccumed with it! (Weird dogs!)

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..........Just kind of strange that one dog has the problem, and not the other......

Yes, I know what you mean.

However, I would maybe look at a much bigger picture. Dogs are individuals, just as humans are. One human eating 100% fast food might escape serious health problems, and another might have diet-related coronary artery disease and diabetes. Neither one, though, is in peak health, as they could be if they ate appropriate foods.

Also, again, grain protein is not meat protein. The protein in grains is just not as biologically available to dogs as meat protein. They do not have the enzymes in the quantity we have that process grain-heavy diets (such as the salivary enzyme amylase).

The size of the poop --- has a lot to do with the fact that the food going in one end was not usable and had to go out the other end.

Meat, bones, fat -- these are used by the dog's system, as they were designed to be used. Very little ends up on the ground at the other end.

<img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

P.S. EVOO is a good supplement, IMO. It isn't an Omega 3 source, but it's still good raw fat, and dogs need raw fat. JMO.

P.P.S. In my experience, the vet's office features the worst possible dog foods, almost always. These are foods that result from spending all the money on glossy brochures and posters and ads, and not on the food. Science Diet, et al -- just read the labels. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> Not the brochures, but the labels.

If you can't feed raw, then The Honest Kitchen is a good lightweight shippable food, because it's dehydrated.

Good luck with the shedding, and I am envious of that Dyson vacuum!

My Male had a Shedding problem also. Never stopped year round for 3 years. I changed his food to Precise Lamb and rice and started given him one Derm Cap twice a day and a fish oil cap with Omega 3 and Omega 6 twice a day. for the last 2 months and now there is no shedding even after a bath. He has a nice full coat and very shinny. Dont know if this will work on every shepherd but it did him. I'm very happy with the change in his coat.

There are others besides Innova. Try Nature's Variety or Timberwolf Organics also if you absolutely MUST feed kibble. Regardless of how their skin and coat "looks," I guarantee you will see a difference if you get them off Pedigree. Not being able to find it at Wal-Mart is no excuse-order online!!! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of other health problems that can be caused by feeding such a low quality food over a long period of time. They're both young, so the switch may be easier than with a very old or debilitated, allergic animal.