Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what type of food do you feed your dobermans? how much a day? how much do you think you spend a month on food? i am just trying to see if i am going to be able to supply the best for my puppy that i want to get before i bring one home.

couple of the people i train with have dobe and i believe they feed the kirkland chicken and rice. not sure how much but they seem to do really well on it. and for the price suppose to be one of the better food.

my ab's get Timberwolf organics a little bit pricier but my dog are doing awesome on it. my pup started to get rocked out when i switched to it and i probably wont feed anything else. unless i go to raw

here is something that was posted on a message board i frequent. might help u out a little. have a good one.

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I saw this on Mollosertalk and thought I would cross post as a FYI.

FRom LBA
Start with a grade of 100:
1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat meal
or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5
points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used two or more times in the first
five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer's rice", "rice flour"
are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than two
meats in the top three ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
9) If corn is listed in the top five ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2
points
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic
to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to
wheat), subtract 2 points
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to
beef), subtract 1 point
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5
points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3
points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the
first one, count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but
"chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are
pesticide-free, add 1 point

Scores:
94-100 = A BEST!
86-93 = B STILL GOOD.
78-85 = C May need to change or add additives.
70-77 = D Need to think about changing.
69 = F AWFUL! CHANGE!

Here are some foods that have already been scored.

Scored Dog Foods:

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60 Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A
Foundations / Score 106 A
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 73 D
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A
Innova Evo / Score114 A
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7 / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Wellness Super 5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

You should continue to feed a pup what the breeder has been feeding them for at least a week. They have enough adjusting with the new surrounding, being away from his/her littermates at night and new people, leave the food alone for a short period.

I feed our Dobes Canidae All Life Stages. It comes in different varieties, Chicken & Rice, Lamb & Rice, but I use the multi-protien (Chicken, Turkey, Lamb & Fish).

Compare prices:
Iams, 20 lb bag about $17 (ALOT of grains and by-products)
Canidae 40 lb bag $38 (minimal grain and NO by-products)

When you start to change foods, add 1/4 new food to 3/4 regular food for at least 3 days. After that, up the new food to 50/50 for 3-5 days, then 75/25 3-5 days, then 100% new food.

The feeding schedule I've followed for 25 yrs:
2 c. 3 times a day. If the bowl has been down 20 min and they leave food, pick up the bowl, meal time is over. It's YOUR schedule, control it early! After 6 months, cut it back to 2x a day but offer 2 1/2 c each feeding.

Hope this helps you out some. Good luck with your new dobe!