Our Rescue Female Purebred GS

Question
Hello,
We adopted our little gal who's a picky eater (as I've come to find out some
sheps are).... We feed both rescues (her brother is a 110 pound Lab)..!
EVO and Innova Large Puppy combined in calculated ratios.   At first, her
appetite was great, (she was last on the list to be fed i think)... now, she's
tentative.  Today she'll be spayed and I'm hoping that will help.  My next thing
is to find a high quality canned food (which I loathe the idea of doing) to
integrate into her dry food(s)...

What do you think?  
Thanks very much for your response.

P.S.  She's a purebred, registered with the AKC... turns 1 year old on July 11,
2009 and is a fantastic athlete!!!!!  She jumps like a gazelle~!!!  

Answer
I think it is extremely rare to need to bribe a dog to eat more with tempting food.  If the dog never did eat very well, and has seen the vet since the problem existed, you may be over feeding it. A vet check still won't hurt. Many dogs will wolf down more than is good for them and look for more. Others refuse to eat more than than they need. Evaluate the dog as illustrated in this link, http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx You may want the vet to confirm your judgment. Adjust the dogs food and exercise as needed to reach its ideal body condition. Some German Shepherds and other breeds may refuse to eat enough to completely hid their ribs. As long as you are feeding a concentrated, meat based chow, the best thing is to accept it.

The worst thing you can do is to bribe a dog with rich foods into eating more than it needs. Instead, Put down the dish with what the dog should eat, and give it 15 minutes to eat. Then take it up. Do not give it anything to eat until its next scheduled meal. In a few days, it should be eating what it needs. Continue to check its ribs and adjust the food as needed. This is not easy. I had a Shepherd go 3 days on a few nibbles. I was a wreck, but she was fine. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. Unfortunately, in too many cases, it is less than the package says, and less than the owner thinks the dog should have. Many dogs are quite good at holding out for tastier chow. Like kids, sometimes it calls for tough love.

At a year old, I would cut back to the EVO and nothing else.  Puppy chows are formulated to maximize growth, the worst possible thing for large breeds.