talentdobe

Precise Chicken Meal and Rice Formula. 2 cups twice daily for Hector, 1 cup twice daily for the girls. I also add some Merrick canned food in the evening meal because I like to spoil them. I used to feed Eukanuba Premium Performance and they did very well on it- until the price went up and they added by-products to the ingredients. Prior to that they were on Pinnacle chicken & oats but I found that it wasn't calorie dense enough- they had trouble maintaining weight- and it was expensive!

The Precise is quality ingredients, high calorie, and reasonable cost. Works for me.

Supplements: glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM, and fish oil, occassionally a bit of yogurt.

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miakodak9

Hi,

Great topic! I will list the questions, with my answers following

• What is the daily menu for your Doberman’s diet? (Kibble, wet food, raw, home cooking, etc) and what made you decide to feed this way? Have you fed any other foods prior to your current menu?

We feed Solid Gold WolfKing. Gunner gets 4-5 cups, daily; the APBTs get 2-3 cups, and the Chis are free fed. I worry about Hypoglycemia with them, so they have food in front of them at all times.

We have tried several foods over the years, with varied results. Everyone but Gunner did fabulous on Canidae. He didn't hold his weight very well on it. We tried just switching him, but the rest of the brats were jealous and kept trying to steal his food, so we switched everybody. I am glad we did. They all have better pigment and shinier coats now.

My absolute favorite diet that we ever fed was RAW. All of our furkids did sooo well on it. Great coats, tons of energy, *gorgeous* white teeth and lots of energy! And they loved it! But it just got really difficult when traveling for shows, trials, vacations, etc. So we tried just feeding kibble when we traveled, but they wouldn't touch it. lol. Smart doggies! So we now feed the WolfKing as a main staple and supplement with RAW a couple times a week. That has worked out well for us, and the dogs enjoy the variety.

• How many times a day do you feed them and how much?

We feed once a day. It's easier when traveling, and this way they are used to it, so it's one less thing to alter in their routine when we're on the road. See above for amounts

• Do you give treats? If so, what kind? How many/often do they get treats each day?

Yes, we give a variety of treats. I like to make home-made as often as possible, but there isn't always time for it. So I try to buy healthier treats that are corn, wheat and soy-free. Especially when we're training a lot and they are getting more treats than usual.

• Do you add any supplements to your Doberman’s diet? If so, which ones do you give? What made you decide to add supplements?

Aside from the RAW, we give Solid Gold SeaMeal and peanut oil (be careful of peanut allergies if you decide to try it!!!). The peanut oil helps condition their coat from the inside out and cuts down (drastically!) on the shedding.

• If you feed a super-premium dog food, what made you decide to switch to it? Where did you learn about the super-premium dog food? (word of mouth, internet, friends, vet, etc)

I have done a ton of research into dog foods. APBTs tend to have sensitive skin and can easily develop food allergies. Plus, we ask a lot of our furkids. They spend many weekends out of the year traveling to various events and we want them to be as healthy, and have as much energy, as possible. Plus, we want to have them with us for a good long time. I personally wouldn't touch the grocery store brands, and wouldn't feed Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc. if you paid me. That being said, I know of a long-time (30+ years) Dalmation breeder who swore by Purina Dog Chow and Puppy Chow. So, at the end of the day, you have to figure out what works best for you and your dog(s).

I found this website: The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare? to be extremely helpful.

And that's my 2 cents

~Kelly~

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Jstlovesdogs

I feed my crew Canidae mixed with canned food twice a day. They go through about 25 pounds of deluxe dog bones - they get raw bones - they get chicken jerky (I have a dehydrator).... if I have left overs they get that - the only thing they don't get is anything spicey we may have had - chili for instance. I occassionally throw in some yogurt - cottage cheese.
I only have the Doberman puppy - but I have three older dogs of different breeds.

red_dobe_syd

I feed syd Biljac kibbles. I was sold because the food breaks down when introduced to water ( & stomach acids i presume) opposed to expanding like a marshmellow as Nutro and most other brands do. Also they dont spray the fat content on so its not oily and shiney like some food. She seems to like it and I think it has good stuff in it, but I'm no expert. Seems better than Iams, pedegree, science diet, and others. Maybe some of you can tell me the nitty gritty on this brand, but so far it's doin the job. I get it at petsmart for $36 a 40lb bag.


Protein, not less than 23%
Fat, not less than 16%
Crude Fiber, not more than 4%
Moisture, not more than 10%
Glucosamine 375 mg/kg *
Chondroitin Sulfate 30 mg/kg *

Ingredients:
Chicken By Products (Organs Only, Including Chicken Liver), Chicken, Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Brewers Dried Yeast, Cane Molasses, Egg Product, Salt, Sodium Propionate, (a preservative), DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Chondroitin Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganous Oxide, Inositol, BHA (a preservative), Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite.

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http://www.onlydobermans.com

LPacker79

Honestly, I wouldn't feed Bil-Jac. It's chock full of by products and fillers.

Here's a review of the Bil-Jac Select formula, which is almost identical to the one you're feeding (assuming you're feeding large breed because of the picture).

Dog Food Reviews - Bil Jac Select Dog Food - Powered by ReviewPost

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Leanne & Poseidon the Siberian

red_dobe_syd

well...good to know I'll look into something else and try it out.

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http://www.onlydobermans.com

CandyB21

I am planning to pick up some Solid Gold later today. I will get the puppy formula for large breeds. Just did a search online after reading posts here and can get it at a pet store in town! I hadn't seen it at the other places I have been. So, hopefully Zeus will like it and will begin to fill out a bit. He is really thin now, though the vet says he's in excellent health and he does enjoy himself to the maximum! His coat looks really nice, but I do worry a bit about his weight. I think I'll make some satin balls as well. I found that recipe on this site as well. Zeus says "thanks a bunch!!"

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"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years." ~ Abe Lincoln

Julie W

• What is the daily menu for your Doberman’s diet? (Kibble, wet food, raw, home cooking, etc) and what made you decide to feed this way? Have you fed any other foods prior to your current menu?

Pro Plan Chicken & Rice. I've been feeding it for 15-20 years. Some of my race whippets eat/have eaten a raw diet.

• How many times a day do you feed them and how much?

I feed Cher twice a day, the whippets once a day. Cher gets anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 cups twice a day depending on her metabolism at the time.

• Do you give treats? If so, what kind? How many/often do they get treats each day?

Everyone gets a small plain old generic dog biscuit every time they go in either their crates or their kennel runs. I also use treats for tracking and training. These are usually our dinner leftovers, either chicken or steak cut up. I also sometimes use hotdogs if I'm out of leftovers.

• Do you add any supplements to your Doberman’s diet? If so, which ones do you give? What made you decide to add supplements?

I add ACV daily because people on this forum recommended it so highly. I also add tahitian noni daily, only because I have another dog on it and he doesn't use it up fast enough. LOL She looks exactly the same now as she did before the ACV and Noni, but she's always had a nice coat to begin with. She also gets 1000 mg of vit C daily.

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talentdobe

Julie, how come you feed the whippets only once daily? Just curious. We've met briefly at the WAE. Remember, I have a whippet too, one of the Truman x Jada kids.

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Blitzter

I feed my dogs Flint River Ranch, it's an all natural food with no by-products, fillers, BHA's, BHT's or preservatives. They also get the FRR dry water.