Hi all,

Sis has got a 16 week old GSD that was on JWB but was giving him terrible squits - to cut a long story short, he's been switched over to Burns mini bites and is doing ok now, firming up nicely.

My question is.... should she be supplementing this with something bearing in mind the lower protein and his breed/age??

Thanks in advance.

xxx

I've just taken my working cocker off the minibites as he was looking so thin on this.  He was constantly starving and screaming the house down when we were preparing his meals. It's not a cheap food, so I was reluctant to add things to it as it then becomes really expensive, though if you want to go down this route there has been a recent thread in which a lot of people suggested adding tripe to dry food to bulk up a thin puppy.  I've switched my pup onto CSJ (the CP27 feed) which is padding him out a bit - it's got a higher protein and fat content than the Burns.

I put my working cocker on Burns over a week ago he has already lost weight BUT Im not going to switch back just yet as he does get alot of training treats however if he continues to loose weight I will switch back.  At first I thought he really liked burns BUT I think its just that hes hungrier than before. 

A lot of gsd owners that I know seem to find arden grange good

You could try the High Energy Lamb for larger breed puppies, thats what i have our wee boy on. Not so wee really but he is doing well on it.
Yvonne

or there is canine extra for large breed pups - to be honest it didnt make a difference to my boys weight but I swear he has super fast metabolism !!

I've raised Giant Schnauzers on Burns, mini to adult without any problems but have recently changed to Arden Grange for two reasons; my young male just wasn't putting weight on (although his brother looks superb) and they offer a breeders discount which saves me loads on my food bill!!!

Have fed my Lab/Ret and Affenpinschers on Laughing Dog Terrier Meal and Tripe-plus a treat once a week of any kind of fish in oil.

All look in good firm condition no tummy problems.

Old fashioned type of feeding I know, as there are so many different products on the market at the moment-however it is what works for your dogs and your purse strings.

Hi Em
My 3rd pup was fed Burns mini bites up to 12 months.  She did very nicely on it - she is quite skinny but that's down to genetics rather than lack of protein!  The only thing that I added was the occasional spoon of Butchers Tripe mix, just 'cause I thought she might like it, and she did! I don't currently feed Burns as they hoiked up their price which made it a bit expensive for the number of dogs I have, I now feed AG, only been on it 6 months and am interested to see how the current pup fares on their puppy food. I would gladly return to Burns to feed my current pup if they could match the price of the AG food I'm currently using.
My 3rd dog did fine weight wise on Mini Bites, the only problem with weight loss came at 12 months when I switched her to the adult food.  You have to bear in mind that the feeding recommendations are only guidelines, so all these people that say their dogs lost weight on it should really have fed them a bit more - me included!  Both my 3rd dog and my little lad (who just loves Henry!!!) lost weight on the adult, it just took a bit of time to work out the right amounts required.
If in doubt, get your sister to have a chat with the nutritionists at Burns, I've always found them very good, and pretty honest.

Both my 3rd dog and my little lad (who just loves Henry!!!)

?????? - My Henry???????

Yes, your Henry!!  It's amazing who you meet on these forums (and training courses), but some of us change user names.

so who are you?? ha ha x

Ok, so it's Lochain's owner, not that exciting!  Hope your sister got the food sorted.  Went on a Jenny Lunn course on Saturday - very inspiring but also sickening ... think I might as well give up now!!
Best wishes, Lorna & Co

ahhh I had a feeling it was you!! ha ha

Nice to bump into you on here.

The Burns food is suiting Kymba nicely.  He is coming on so well. 

xxx