Diet For German Shepherd

[barbi]

Hi,

Im not too sure if this subject has been brought up before. My 15mth German Shepherd still looks like he is about 8 - 9 months. He is a few inches shorter and not as developed than my female Shepherd who is 21mths. I have also read that it can take up to 3years before a dog is mature both physically and mentally. Is this true? as Xena grew quite quickly for being such a young age still.

I spoke to a vet who advised me that some shepherds cannot tolerate Wheat or Beef in their diet. And that we should be feeding him lots of chicken, mutton and even fish with the working dog kibble we are currently giving him.

My question is;

Is any type of seafood ok? and can we buy the mornay mixes etc available in supermakets in the fresh fish section to give to him?

Barbs :-)

[Miss Danni]

Barbs,

fatty fish with edible bones are best as they provide great oils and fatty acids for skin and coat, lots of Omega 3/6/9.

For convenience, we feed tinned mackeral and tuna to our GSDs but they LOVE prawns (they get the heads and tails when we peel them) and when we feel rich they might also get some salmon. I would think that marinara mixes would get a bit expensive, the cans are a bargain - around $1 for the No Name mackeral, less if on special.

[Vehs]

very cute

my GSD does fine with beef - haven't actually heard that advice before. He mostly gets roo, beef, chicken and sardines/mackeral

does your dry food have wheat in it? often grain allergies will make the dog itchy, but if he's not itching don't worry about it

[poodlefan]

What has led you to conclude your dog has food allergies?

What's in the kibble you feed now? What brand is it?

All dogs benefit from having Omega Fatty Acids in their diet and fish is a good source. But yes, canned mackeral is as good a source as any.

I don't see the link between your boy's apparent lack of size/maturity and his diet - is that what you're thinking?

[Tilly]

My guys get whole fish (gutted and scaled) from the local fish guy - 1 or 2 a week. They love eating them frozen solid like a fishy ice block.

Sardine in oil is added to their raw food once or twice a week.

My guy is not quite 9 months and 42kg ... he is almost as tall as our full grown boy but not quite as long.

[barbi]

Barbs,

fatty fish with edible bones are best as they provide great oils and fatty acids for skin and coat, lots of Omega 3/6/9.

For convenience, we feed tinned mackeral and tuna to our GSDs but they LOVE prawns (they get the heads and tails when we peel them) and when we feel rich they might also get some salmon. I would think that marinara mixes would get a bit expensive, the cans are a bargain - around $1 for the No Name mackeral, less if on special.

Thanks for that advice, its a big help as what the vet told me was far too broad :-)

[barbi]

very cute

my GSD does fine with beef - haven't actually heard that advice before. He mostly gets roo, beef, chicken and sardines/mackeral

does your dry food have wheat in it? often grain allergies will make the dog itchy, but if he's not itching don't worry about it

Ill have a look at what our dry food has in it. but i really dont think they have allergies. I think they are quite healthy anyway :-)

[barbi]

What has led you to conclude your dog has food allergies?

What's in the kibble you feed now? What brand is it?

All dogs benefit from having Omega Fatty Acids in their diet and fish is a good source. But yes, canned mackeral is as good a source as any.

I don't see the link between your boy's apparent lack of size/maturity and his diet - is that what you're thinking?

We arnt sure why boss is taking a while to develop physically and the only advice we got from a vet was to change his diet a bit. Not too sure why as we give him working dog kibble (he is very very active ;) ) with nicken necks, mince etc. He just isnt as developed for his age as to what other male shepherds are. Not too sure if he is just going to take years to grow or if he will alwasy be a little boy? Another vet who saw him told us that Shepherds are now much smaller than what they used to be????? however i have never seen one as small as our boss. The same vet also told us when Xena was 1 she had reached the end of her growing and since then she has grown a lot more.

[barbi]

My guys get whole fish (gutted and scaled) from the local fish guy - 1 or 2 a week. They love eating them frozen solid like a fishy ice block.

Sardine in oil is added to their raw food once or twice a week.

My guy is not quite 9 months and 42kg ... he is almost as tall as our full grown boy but not quite as long.

Boss is lucky to only be 30kgs. Is your boy very active? Thats why we had to change to the working dog kibble for boss as he was just too active for anyother kibble, he wasnt putting on any weight.

Id love to see a photo of your boys.

[poodlefan]

Maybe he's just a small dog... or from a late developing line. Have you talked to his breeder? I'd be taking their opinion over your vets on this issue.

[ish]

Boss is lucky to only be 30kgs. Is your boy very active? Thats why we had to change to the working dog kibble for boss as he was just too active for anyother kibble, he wasnt putting on any weight.

My 2 year old GSD is 29kgs, and I wouldn't say he's underdeveloped ;) He's a smaller sized male though and did take ages to grow up

This was him at about 15 months

and him recently at 26 months

A 42kg GSD is a very large dog at adult age so at 9 months Tillys boy is going to be a whopper! Your boy could be from slow maturing bloodlines, or as Poodlefan said, just a small dog. Your vet is very wrong that GSDs are getting smaller, dogs being oversized is a problem in the breed of late

[barbi]

Hi Ish,

Your boy is beautiful!! Boss is actually quite simillar at the moment although he doesnt stand quite as nice ;)

I thought was the vet said about them getting smaller wasnt right. Afterall he is only 15mths and i believe he still has some growing to do. (Xena just grew so quickly then expected and that we should stop comparing Boss to Xena as they come from different bloodlines) Xena is from a working bloodline and Boss is from Show dogs. (completely different!)

[Dogsfevr]

Yep beef & GSD can be a bad mix & well known to give them the squirts,infact for many breeds beef is just no good.

Any large breed can take time to mature although i would consdier then to be full growm by 1 BUT filling out/developing up to 3 especially there heads.

If your dog is healthy then i wouldnt play with the diet unless he is lacking some weight.

Some GSD & lines do develop different & look different & it can be like comparing apple to oranges instead of treating each dog as an individual.

What did your boys parents look like??

What diet did the breeder suggest ??

Have you ask the breeder there thoughts??

[Tilly]

I don't have any really nice photo's of my little boy but these were taken in October.

I was promised he should mature to about 45kg but he will hopefully mature to around 50kg. He seems to have thankfully slowed down in his growth at the moment.

I forgot to feed him him his normal breakfast one morning (but I did give him a small bone) and by the next morning he looked like he had escaped a concentration camp. Poor baby - he has a bad mummy ;)

[Pockets]

Different dogs grow at different rates, as long as he is fit and healthy and happy thats the main thing

Vets these days see a lot of overweight and oversized GSD's so when they see one that is within correct size for the breed standard they say they are small... ;)

Your boy looks lovely as does your girl he looks to be in lovely condition coat wise and very healthy, also has a nice masculine head, he will develop at his own rate ;)

[KitKat]

Hehe...Bronx was a chunky 12kgs or so at 8weeks, his half brother was half that...Sabe is still lighter then Bronx but a good 5kgs or so but is more compact - they are roughly 40kgs and 45kgs respectively lean weight.

But i've seen a lot of variation in GSD's (not just the related pair in my yard! ) some lines are slow to mature, others quick, some go through a lean lanky period forever before suddenly maturing seemingly overnight. Check with your breeder (even send some pics...most breeders love an update of their pups!) and see what they say

Also yes...beef and wheat can be issues for GSD's - but if your dogs don't seem to be showing sensitivities to such then i wouldn't worry tooooo much about it, just keep the info in mind

[barbi]

Different dogs grow at different rates, as long as he is fit and healthy and happy thats the main thing

Vets these days see a lot of overweight and oversized GSD's so when they see one that is within correct size for the breed standard they say they are small... ;)

Your boy looks lovely as does your girl he looks to be in lovely condition coat wise and very healthy, also has a nice masculine head, he will develop at his own rate

Pockets - Thank you

Xena and Boss are very healthy and not overweight at all which could also be the reason why we think Boss is so small, Were prob comparing Boss to the overweight Males we see.??

Tilly - Your boy is massive!!! He still looks like such a cute puppy though

Showdog - I think we are just going to stick to their normal diet as we have had no problems. We did see Boss' parents and they were really big! The breeder only suggested the puppy food etc I think I will contact the breeder after the christmas period. Boss still acts like such a puppy he hasnt matured as much as Xena yet so i think it just might take him a while to grow up mentally and physically

[WildatHeart]

My girl is 2 1/2yrs old. She's only 30kgs too, and she's very very fine and lean. She took ages to fully grow up and fill out, at least 1 1/2yr. I feed her beef and it dones't cause any problems for her whereas as roo does, make her itchy and gives her the runs. I also give her chicken wings, legs, necks, frames and lamb outcuts, offal, and eggs and fish/tuna now and again with some Royal canin about two a week on top of the raw.

I originally had lots of trouble keeping weight on her with a diet of chicken frames, wings and mince (i was giving her 900grams a day!!) but once i added the lamb offcuts its been easier (she's very very active and runs all day)

THis is her just a couple months ago.

[vk2mpj]

45 - 50kg for a GSD is this an example of an over size GSD? I would expect that from my Rottie at full maturity, but thankfully my GSD is only about 32kg... and i dont expect her to get much heavier...

At the end of the day, size is not that much of an issue, it is shape and condition that matters. I follow these points for both dogs:

1) Cannot see ribs

2) Can feel the ribs with a small layer of fat

3) Belly is not round

4) Has a nice waist line (ie not sunken nor missing...)

[barbi]

My girl is 2 1/2yrs old. She's only 30kgs too, and she's very very fine and lean. She took ages to fully grow up and fill out, at least 1 1/2yr. I feed her beef and it dones't cause any problems for her whereas as roo does, make her itchy and gives her the runs. I also give her chicken wings, legs, necks, frames and lamb outcuts, offal, and eggs and fish/tuna now and again with some Royal canin about two a week on top of the raw.

I originally had lots of trouble keeping weight on her with a diet of chicken frames, wings and mince (i was giving her 900grams a day!!) but once i added the lamb offcuts its been easier (she's very very active and runs all day)

THis is her just a couple months ago.

Hi,

Boss Has a very similar shape to your girl, very lean. Im glad were not the only ones who had trouble keeping weight on our puppy. (think were just very used to seeing overweight dogs)

Your girl is beautiful