I used to use Nutro Lamb and Rice but I had 1 bad bag that caused lots of diahera. I finally switched when my puppies wouldnt stop peeing their crate. they had issues with the lamb being too rich. Now we are on Pro Plan Preformance or adult chicken and rice when we cant find preformance. Dogs are happy and healthy and a great weight

I'd take all that with a 'grain' of salt. You sure don't want too much grain products and soy is extremely undesireable since dogs don't digest it well from everything I've heard. However, corn and wheat are NOT necessarily evil per se. If your dog is allergic to something then by all means avoid it, but many dogs have eaten corn and wheat in food, looked great, performed well, and lived to a ripe old age. I would focus more on how much meat sources were in the top 5-10 or so ingredients. In more-or-less decending order of preference: eggs, fish, poultry, lamb, beef.

If you're talking about a hard keeper (many GSPs are), be sure to scope out the protien/fat percentages carefully while reading that label. My food had better be 30/20 or more if I'm going to take it home. That's also going to be an indicator of how much meat is in the bag.

I know that Nutro has an ardent following, but I haven't been nearly as impressed as they are when reading the labels. Then I saw the ultimate weirdness... My sister's dogs- a boxer and a collie- were on a Nutro Lamb and Rice and their feet stayed dinged up all summer just running around for a few hours a day on dirt when my parents had them during their move from AK to WA. I might have expected some of that at first since they were indoor dogs from pet stock, but after weeks and months their feet SHOULD have toughened up IMO. Since both dogs were from wildly different genetics my next move personally would have been to at least suppliment w/ zinc, if not change over to a different food entirely. I know it's purely anecdotal and other folks haven't had the same problem, but I was extremely unimpressed with the results for what they were paying. If it had been cheaper I might have been a little more philosophical about it.

Thanks MegC for that.  I definitely agree that wheat and corn are not bad for anything able to eat it.  Too much of anything is bad really.  I did find out they are feeding Red Flannel to all the dogs there.  I did a search as I was unfamiliar with that brand and all that came up was about 38 recall notices involving that brand.   I am sure i will switch them as soon as possible without messing up their tummies too bad.  I will probably go with something around the $25-30/bag mark.  I've already spoiled these 'pups' and they aren't even home yet.  I must say I use the term pup loosely... I called my last dog a puppy his whole life!  

Are the senior formulas worth getting for the GSP?  The 10 yr old female is relatively small, but I will probably try out something with glucosamine or that other thing that helps with the hips.  

Thank you all for not making this a war between different feeds, but for helping me out in this.  I do appreciate it!

-James 

I love hearing about people taking rescues!  You are a good person.

Spot and Lola eat Chicken Soup(it's a dry food) and every now and then a can of Merrick.  That's a premium mail order food.  Treats are some commercial stuff, veggies like baby carrots, and meat.  I won't lie.....they get a little of whatever we are having for dinner too.  That Chicken Soup gives them great skin and coat.  Very shiny and pretty.

38 recall notices?!? YIKES! FWIW I've switched my dogs off one thing onto another cold turkey without noting a problem. I suspect some dogs are just more prone to tummy problems than others.

I personally wouldn't bother with senior food, especially if glucosamine is what you're after since the amount in a normal quantity of food is insufficient by most standards. I'd just pick a good regular food and add glucosamine after the fact.

Fair warning: my coming 10yo GSP is still running around like a squirrel on caffiene... depending on the dog you may find she's still well above 'normal dog speed' as my husband puts it, lol! Definately no 'reduced calorie' food in her future- just a little less if she comes up a little more padded. Besides, much of the calorie reduction in such foods is in reduced fat, and I find my dog's coats go haywire unless they're getting enough.

Congrats on adopting these hounds BTW. It has to be SUCH a relief for the family to know that these dogs are going to a good place during such a stressful time.

Someone else mentioned  Innova, I feed it because it has so soy or corn, it is very high quality.  It is rather pricey, but I switched from Pro Plan and only feed  a little over  half as much of the Innova compared to Pro Plan.  I have a dealer about an hour away, so it costs a little less than in a store.  Many of the other brands metioned are also good- Eagle, Nutro, etc.   I would stay away from Iams or Science Diet. 

Which versions of Innova and Eagle pack specifically do you use, as I looked these up, and actually Eagle Pack(Holistic LArge Breed)) did not rate very well - Mostly grain(primary ingredient because they split the list between white and brown rice). 

Seems every food has its good and bad

I am currently using Eagle Natural formula which is a 25/12 protein/fat ratio. We changed from the Eagle Kennel pack which is 28/15 to feed the same volume but reduce weight.  We tried the Innova Evo just recently hoping to improve their breath odor. It did not help. Grains fermenting in the stomach can cause bad breath. I will feed Eagle Power formula during the hunting season which is a 30/20 ratio. They also share one can of Innova Evo wet food with their dinner which is 95% meat. Otherwise they get just dry food.

Dan

I also feed Innova Dry Puppy Food. Get solid stools and lots of energy. Both foods are also rated "5" on dogfoodanalysis.com and EVO is rated "6" on there.

I also use Canidae All Life Stages...after the DRASTIC change it made in one of my fosters in about a month, I doubt I'll ever change...if you could see, feel and watch him the day he came in versus the day he left your jaw would drop.