I realize most kibble sucks, which is why I have been on the hunt for a good dog food for my GSDs.
Raw is out of the question. I have to be able to have my dogs stay with others when I travel. Raw would make that hard.
I read many articles on dogfoodadvisor.com for reviews and also found an article about good brands of dog food for German Shepherds on a blog.
The blog owner of has a GSD, which is shown with lots of pictures on the site. The owner also does a review of different foods he/she's tried, and he/she mentions all the popular boutique brands like Acana, Oreijen, Fromm, Castor & Pollux, etc. There is mention of Victor dog food, which I never heard about until now.
The product is not super expensive, ranging give or take between 45-55 bucks for a 30lb bag. The protein percentage is high, and there doesn't look like there is a lot of garbage fillers in the product.
I did do more research on German Shepherd forums and found that Victor is a pretty good food for the price. Many GSD dog owners on that site feed that brand. I am going to give it a shot and see how it goes. I ordered a bag of the Victor Active Puppy.
I was torn between the Active Puppy and the Hero Canine. According to Victor, the Hero Canine is an adult maintenance formula, which I am not sure when my dog needs to start that type of formula.
One of the differences I noticed between the two is the Hero Canine has glucosamine and chondroitin. Both those products may help with joint health and joint pain. As any GSD owner knows, hip and elbow dysplasia are big concerns with large breed dogs like shepherds. With this in the food, I thought I might be able to avoid future problems.
Another option is to give glucosamine and chondroitin. I did come across information about it. One of the articles is here: What is the best glucosamine for dogs?
I am on the fence about buying supplements for the dog's food and overall health. I am a big proponent of breeders doing a better job of breeding German Shepherds with good flat backs like the working line dogs you see from Europe than giving supplements to fix what showlines think is appropriate. I digress.
I did order the Active Puppy and skipped out on the Hero Canine just cause my dogs are young adults. They are super active, getting a lot of off-leash-free-roaming time. I figured if they get fat on the higher protein diet, I can always restrict calories.
