I too , have been raising , breeding Purebred dogs for at lest 35 years and have alwys fed Purina. I asked the vet what he fed and I was told that If Purina was g'good enough for the U of Ga'vet school, it was good enough for him.Also, when I raised Shelties , I asked Don Combe what he fed and again it was Purina, He is and all breed judge and 50 year breeder of Shelties ! All my dogs hhave done beautifully on it and anyone who has been here and seen the dogs can attest to that ! Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Purina Hi-pro, Raw, or what? You are right on the mark, Carol. Find out what your dogs do best on and be happy. We have used Purina for almost 30 years and it's been good enough to produce 20 AKC and 40 CKC Champions, 5 of which have been top ranked and BIS winners in either the US or Canada. We have had one bitch that tended to hot spots while blowing coat so we changed her to a corn-free product during that period and it worked fine. There is no one perfect solution for every situation. As for raw, dog related animals in the wild didn't get nice clean chicken from a supervised and regulated butcher. They ingested every thing edibile in that carcass, including intestines and stomach contents.. and it wasn't always fresh ....in other words, they ate what they needed to survive. All I am saying is there is nothing wrong with raw if that is what your animal does best on....but it is not the same thing that animals eat in a natural state. What ever works is what is right for your particular GSD. -Kay Reamensnyder and Betty Doerpinghaus -Home of Bedkar German Shepherds -bedkar@xxxxx -Visit our Website: www.bedkargsd.com > From: Scharo777@xxxxxxx > Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:30:06 -0500 > Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Purina Hi-pro, Raw, or what? > To: pbgs@xxxxxxxxxxxx; kmc@xxxxxxxxxxxx; showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > That is the good think about opinions - Everyone has one - And they are > about the only free thing left to us. > With an opinion and 50 cents you can make a phone, if you can find a pay > phone. :) > Here is mine: > > I feed different foods. My dogs seem to like a change every now and then. > I add NO supplements. > I find coats to be mostly genetic and seasonal. I could starve my Fire - > Bailey kids and they still would have full, thick, coats. I have tried > EVERYTHING with EBONY and she stays VERY close coated and sheds every 2 months. > Cathy did get her to gain weight by changing her kibble every 2 days to keep up > her interest in eating. Now she is with a handler and eating everything in > site. Go figure. > With a heavy back ground in Food Sanitation feeding raw scares me to death. > Yes, I know a dog's digestive system is different from human's. And I taught > all the terrible things that can grow in raw food & my families regigiously > practice the "Rule of 4" ,and I remember the story from 15 or 20 years ago of > some famous Wet Coast dog who ate a dead fish on the beach and got > salmonella and almost died. (No I don't remember the name or owner) So I choose not > to dabble in raw. I am happy for the success of others. > Carol > ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2008. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================ ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2008. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================