Acana for $80 a bag is just to much for me. No matter what food he is on, he still has his problems. I think I need to stop worrying about food labels and accept that my dog may do best on a lower "quality" kibble. I have spoken to waschampionfan and am awaiting a reply to a PM but thought I would also post here for your advice. Here is what I narrowed it down to.

Eukanuba German Shepherd (says it can be used for Belgian Shepherds) $66.99 for 36lbs
German Shepherd Dog Food | Eukanuba.com

Eukanuba Sensitive Skin $64.99 for 28lbs
Sensitive Skin Dog Food | Eukanuba.com

Eukanuba Performance 28/18 $66.99 for 33lbs
Food for Active Dogs | Eukanuba.com

Eukanuba Large breed adult lamb/rice $54.99 for 30lbs
Large Breed Natural Lamb and Rice Dog Food | Eukanuba.com

Keeping in mind, he is a hard dog to keep weight on. Hes 59lbs currently and I want to see him hit 65lbs. He will eat anything....hes not a picky eater. What formula would you pick for him and why? I can get all the above formulas at my local petsmart as I checked.

Another company I was looking into was Blue Buffalo. The rep at petsmart today for Blue Buffalor said I had one fine specimen with me (I had Lincoln with me). Not sure if she was just trying to push the food or...he really is a fine specimen

I would go with the Eukanuba Lamb and Rice to begin with. It is the least expensive. I would probably stay away from a chicken based food if he has skin issues.

Max ate Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy until he was about 16 months old, and did very well on it. He eats Acana Wild Prairie now.

Good Luck. I hope Lincoln does well on whichever food you decide to feed.

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Dave

Bump! Anyone????

Euk SS or the Shepherd formula. I would probably go with the SS.

I looked at both formulas to compare. Im kind of concerned about the calories per cup and the protein/fat content of both formulas.

The SS and GSD formula have the same 23% protein and 13% fat content but the

SS formula is only 298 calories a cup and he would need 3-3.5 cups a day.

The GSD formula is 313 calories per cup and he would need 3-31/4 cups a day.

Anywhere im reading a dog his size needs 1200 calories a day.

Could you please explain it to me so I understand so I can stop fretting about it. Also, why your preference over the SS vs the GSD formula. I will be grabbing a bag friday

He's had skin issues, right? I've known a couple of dogs with skin issues who did really well on the Euk SS. I'd probably try that first and see how he does after a few weeks. We feed the 30/20, but the dogs are very active. I like it, but it's not for skin issues, so I'd probably pick the SS to start and switch to the 30/20 if you have trouble keeping weight on him.

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Okay so the lower kcals per cup is not going to hurt him? I dont want to end up feeding 5 cups of food. I know this may not be a good idea but what about mixing the SS with the Performance formula?

I think you should feed the same number of kcals as you're feeding now, and stick with the SS, even if that means more bulk. It might give him some skin relief.

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Any of the fish food I was feeding in the past didnt provide any relief. Ugh I hate tough decisions. The SS formula costs $2 cheaper then Acana here for the same number of pounds per bag

I'm a fan of the regular ole maintenance formula. My dogs did well on it--and I wish Wagner could eat it because they would still be on it.

While I like the ingredients in the SS--I like the protein/fat levels and the omegas better in the maintenance personally.