I've used "Steve's" in conjunction with the Innova/fish oil. I like the ingredients too, and it gives the dogs some raw nutrients. I've looked into a raw diet; but feel like I don't know enough about it to do it properly, so I'm a little intimidated by it. "Steve's" w/ Innova and a fish oil supplement seemed like a good compromise.

Speaking of fish oil, Timberwolf Organics has a great salmon oil. It's from Atlantic salmon, not farm-raised, so it's hormone-free. Go to http://www.timberwolforganics.com and look under "pet omega oils". I really like their products (so much that I started distributing them-boy does THAT save me money <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> and their site is full of info as to why they use a certain ingredient, etc. Great for "selling" people on trying a better quality food. It's my GSD that's 95lbs and only eats 2.5-3 cups per day, and he eats their Wild and Natural Dry on an alternating basis with raw and THK Embark. He's very lean, but he maintains this weight; it's not like I'm starving him and he's losing weight. Also, I continually hear that stools are greatly decreased and nearly odorless w/this food (or any of the raw kibbles). I don't have personal experience w/this aspect b/c I've never fed mine differently, but I hear it over and over again. People ask me how I keep up with backyard clean-up w/3 dogs, and truth be told, I don't actually clean up my yard b/c their piles just disintegrate after a few days or rain. I can imagine that stools like Hans is describing (and my neighbors describe) would be quite a mess, especially at 2-3 piles per day per dog. Yuck! Give a new food a try! You've gotten lots of great suggestions.

Afterthought: While I do use Evo frequently, I have heard of other people's dogs having a harder time making the switch than they did with Raw Instinct, THK, or Timberwolf. I don't have issues with it, but my dogs have always had variety of this type. Hans' dogs and others who have been on a grain-based food for a long duration may have a tough time w/Evo right off the bat; one of the others may be a better starting point. JMO.

I recently got a 2nd Border Collie. He had been on Diamond High Energy (corn is 2nd ingredient), he pooped 3x as much as my dog who has been on high grade kibble and raw - even though she's about 38# and he's only 30#.

So I quick scanned the shelves of the local farm store for something to feed him until I got back from my trip in a week and a half (then I will switch him to at least part raw). I ended up with Diamond Naturals L&R. Not the greatest, but one of the best choices there (no way I was considering overpriced "premium" like IAMS, etc). He starts eating that, and voila! The amount of poop was reduced by almost 1/2!

Hey Hans, besides the diet tangent, have you thought that maybe your dog is loosing his puppy coat?! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Feed raw, simple. My GSD rarely sheds (except when she blows her coat).

We just dog sat a dalmation for 3 weeks, now you want to talk about shedding!!!!! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> And we had to feed him Science diet for a health condition that dalmations get, talk about a double whammy!

Puppy coat is LONG gone (that's when we got the Dyson). He hasn't been shedding as bad with the brewer's yeast, but still, shedding excessively, in my humble opinion. I'm going convince the wife to let me try The Honest Kitchen food (THK) and see how that works.

I just want my wife to stop with the "Hairy Palm" jokes every time I get done petting him!

 Quote:

I really appreciate all the help. I'm going to run some of these foods past my financial supervisor (aka my wife) and see what she wants to do. If it stops the shedding, then I think she may want to spend the money.

Thanks again!

Hi Hans. Along with everyone else, I applaud your efforts to improve the quality of your feeding program.

I agree with others who have said that evaluating cost cannot be effectively done on a "pound per pound" basis. In addition, here is another cost consideration for you. Better health = Lower vet bills.

I believe crap dog food (and we fell into the trap of believing the "marketing" of the "premium" (NOT) foods i.e. Science Diet)was killing our dogs. This doesn't necessarily show up unti later in the dogs life.

Before we started raw feeding, our 10 year Beagle was starting to go down hill. Into the vet for this, into the vet for that. For the price of just ONE particular vet visit I have in mind, I can buy 1,700 pounds of chicken. (yes, almost two thousand pounds of chicken).

Just something else to consider regarding cost.... Not to mention giving your dogs the longest and healthiest possible life.

Best wishes to you and your pups!!

Beth

My experience with owning these two GSD's have taught me two things so far:

1. Premium "commercial" dog food isn't premium (except for the accountants). It's crap, even before it goes through the dog.
2. Research the breeder you want to buy a dog from VERY carefully.