[RollTide10]

Been catching up on everything that’s been discussed since back in ’12. Thank you to everyone who has contribute to the topic/discussion.

I have a question on what to feed my Lab/GSD Mix. The shelter estimated him to be 2-years old. They were feeding him Royal Canin Medium Adult so I thought to keep it as his food. That is, until I discovered the numerous questionable ingredients. I also noticed that my dog would be scratching/nibbling on his back every so often, not constantly but still a cause for concern. So I thought to attempt to combat this with some grain-free food. After much research, I settled with Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Chicken/Turkey…seeing that it’s not only affordable but contains decent ingredients.

My pup loves food so he has been chowing down WEF with no problem (for 18 days now- including a week of transition time) but I’ve noticed that he’s been shedding a lot more than usual and small clumps of hair is falling from his tail. I also discovered a 2″ long (literally a line) bald patch where his back and hip-bone connect (ruled out fleas). I’m not sure where it’s from but I have a hunch it may be caused by WEF and their lack of Omega-3 data (they won’t say how much Omega-3 is in their grain free chicken and turkey recipe, just that it is formed naturally in the ingredients)

Due to this reason, I’d like to transition my pup to another food that has at least the same amount of Omega-3 RC has (they said .48%). Should I move him back to Royal Canin or try another type of food (whether with or without grains)? I guess I just don’t exactly know which type of food to look for. When I started researching I looked for food that has Growth and All Life Stages profile. Then I looked at the numbers for protein, fat, fiber, Omega-3 %, Calcium and Phosphorus % and C:P ratio.

But now, after reading some posts on here, it seems that the Calcium and Phosphorus % is not as important as my pup is now 2 years old but the and ratio should still be between 1:1 – 2:1? Should I still be focusing on Growth / All-Life Stages food or should I broaden the search and look at Maintenance and/or Unspecified profile?

Ah, so confusing D:
I guess I just want my pup to eat food that is close (or better) to what RC offers, without the questionable ingredients. Here are the data I gathered from RC:

Crude Protein – 23%
Protein (DMB) – 25.56%
Crude Fat – 12%
Fat (DMB) – 13.33%
Fiber – 3.1%
Fiber (DMB) – 3.4%
Omega-3 – 0.48%
Calcium – 1.20%
Phosphorus – 0.80%
C:P – 1.5:1
kcal (kg/cup) – 3633 / 336