Below is a list of dry kibble foods that I have personally used on my GSD and can recommend. These foods are generally void of fillers and by-products and because of this are more expensive than most other brands sold in pet stores. Because of the density of the foods you can typically feed less so it evens out in costs. Your dog will benefit from improved coat, less ear and teeth problems and overall better health, i.e. lower vet bills, if you feed a premium kibble or barf diet. I also feed my dog, he's full grown, two meatball sized ground beef patties daily to supplement the kibble. Anyway, below are the list of manufacturers in no particular order.

1. Back to Basics, http://www.backtobasicspetfood.com
2. Canidae, http://www.canidae.com
3. Innova, http://www.naturapet.com
3. Natural Balance, http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com
4. Pinnacle, http://www.breeders-choice.com
5. Wellness, http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com

You need to add Blackwood to your list. It is the very best I've been able to find. For every up there has to be a down, so I expect someone to disagree, however, I will feed Blackwood..

http://www.blackwoodpetfood.com

I read Blackwood's Adirondak 21 and 26 formulas. I was not impressed in the least.

I use Solid Gold Hund-Flocken and really like it. That is another human-grade dry kibble. Just my two cents...

Ah yes..I knew you wouldn't let me down..That is Blackwood's "low end" formulas. I was speaking of Blackwood's 1000,2000,3000,4000,5000, and 7000 formulas.

I also think the Eagle Holistic is a very good
kibble to feed. I have always had good luck with
it. Has anyone had any problems with it?

I feed Blackwood 1000 to all my dogs and have had very good results with it.

Just my 2 cents added here but the VERY best in my opinion "I'm no expert" is Chicken Soup For The Puppy or Dog Lovers Soul!!! I SEE amazing results at half the price of other human grade kibble such as Innova and the like. Those people are sucking the blood out of you're wallet's.

Glenn

I have tried many types of kibble...
I recently tried a kibble called Nutra Source, it is a new brand. The ingredients looked good enough, especially for the price. No corn, no byproducts, no fillers...looked like a good food. Well, I had 8 dogs eating it...out of those 8 one dog lost 15 pounds (eats only sporadically-which is fairly normal for her), 4 (not including the previously mentioned dog) had pudding poo and 3 have done (and are still doing) very well on it. I switched 3 of the dogs (under-weight dog and 2 pudding poo dogs) to California Natural. Within 3 days, both dogs with stool problems are now normal and the anorexic dog is gaining weight. This food is very expensive, but to me it is worth it and with its extremely simple list of ingredients, in my opinion I find it to be the best. I am, of course, no expert but I have done a lot of research about different kibbles and what they contain.
I really like this California Natural food and plan to switch all my dogs as soon as I can.
Elisabeth

Cal. Natural isn't that expensive here. I've found a feed store that carries it, and I think they charge around $34 or so for a 40 lb bag (I can check the price if you are curious, since I have just bought a couple of small bags to try for now). The results are better than those of any Rx sensitive stomach food that I have seen (and it costs about 1/2 as much). It's one of the few foods that only has rice as a grain. Most other foods have another grain mixed in and if you have a gluten intolerant dog that will cause problems. Blackwood 5000 and Wellness fish and potato both have other grains in their formulas, which means that I can't feed them to Auster.

California Natural also has a higher caloric density per cup than many other foods (especially sensitive stomach foods), which makes it a great deal. I'll have to see what a 40 lb bag costs and figure out the cost per 100 calories (comparing the cost per calories instead of weight will give you a much better idea of what feeding it to your dogs will actually cost).

I bought a trial size of chicken soup for the puppy lover's soul and Auster loved it. The ingredients look good, and it is one of the few dog foods that doesn't taste like it was made with inferior ingredients (if the made it into chips I would buy it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ). I would probably feed this too if Auster's stomach wasn't so sensitive (I think it is the veggies they add, but that would be a plus for most dog owners). My cat will probably be switched over to their light cat food, since it has one of the lowest cal/cup of over the counter cat foods. He will even try to open the dog food container and steal the dog stuff.

I also have a 5 lb bag of avoderm that I haven't opened yet, but I will let you know how that goes. If it doesn't bother Auster then it has to be a miracle food.