I own, likely one of the pickiest GSDs I have ever known in my entire life, having known a great many of them throughout my childhood. Leda (2 as of Dec 2016) has never particularly been a great eater, with her interest in a certain line of food waning even as quickly as a month. So we’ve adopted the habit of switching out her flavors and even rotating through a variety of brands. However, she’s also pretty allergy prone, and cannot tolerate any fish.

I’ve always had her on grain free – since I picked her up at 8 weeks we started on Wellness puppy. However, her pickiness and allergies (even for fish oils which are mega common and sadly one of her favorites) have always made trying new foods (especially the really nice quality ones) difficult because I can’t afford to constantly sample different brands, and a 4 lb sample bag doesn’t even feed the dogs for one day. (2 others in the house)

Recently however after a move I took her to a new local vet who suggested some of the dreaded 2 star foods because in her words ‘ grain free diets are too high protein ‘ sometimes. At the end of my sad little rope, I got her a bag of Purina One SmartBlend, which is 2 stars and still 40+ dollars for a month which makes me cringe-y and sad.

And Leda is SO much better. Her coat is better, her stool is better, she’s SO much less itchy and generally a lot happier now that her skin issues are clear for an extended period of time.

But MY main stumbling block is that I’m feeding her something that I’d rather not support the production of, for the same cost as some really really dog foods.

So, I seek your help here; Can anyone recommend me some approximately four star, (40-55$ for approx. 33-40lbs) foods that have flavors completely free of fish products, but also wouldn’t be too high in protein to upset her? They don’t necessarily have to be grain exclusive, or grain inclusive, really the protein content is what appears to be important.

Thanks in advance from Leda, Frodo, Samwise and Athena <3