What To Feed My German Shepherd Pup?

[Jean26]

Okay,

My Kaiser is 11 weeks old. (GSD puppy)

He eats very well, no problems there. The only thing is that the breeder's diet (Natural Balance + occasional chicken wings) was giving him the runs. (I've already posted about his diarrhoea)

Anyway, I've been giving him the following: cooked rice, vegies, chicken and Natural Balance soaked in water. This has had a DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT on his bowel function. Its a bit 'wet' at times, but much better than the puddle of diarrhoea he used to leave.

I was actually wanting to take him off Natural Balance eventually and put him on another type of dry food. Preferably premium stuff. I'm a bit worried that the mixture I'm giving him wont have enough of the nutrients his growing body needs. He puts on an average of 1kg a week. I just wanna make sure he's getting enough vitamine and minerals he needs. Can i supplement with natural stuff like vegies, tuna etc? I'm not too keen on giving him dry food only. I'd like to mix in some other stuff too.

Also, I'm adopting a 2.5 year old Labrador cross female. She's been rescued by the lovely people from SAFE (Saving Animals From Euthanasia) Perth and was wondering what i should be feeding her. She's healthy, but looks a bit chubby.

I know this is a HUGE topic, but a bit of clarification would be great!

Thanks Everyone!

[Tilly]

When we got our GSD as a pup - his breeder recommended Pedigree Breeder Formula - Growth. They also recommended feeding raw chicken wings, necks, whole carcasses, mince, brisket bones, vegetables, rice and pasta.

Because our other dogs were being fed Eukanuba and doing well on it - we put the GSD on the puppy variety. He did really well on it and is now a very healthy 60kg boy ... he has always been a big boy

We have recently changed both dogs to Nutro and they are also doing well on it. The reason I changed from Eukanuba to Nutro was our elderly rottie started dropping weight and condition - this was to do with his age. The Nutro seems to be keeping his weight/condition stable and has improved his coat etc.

[♥Bruno♥]

I have a ridgeback boy who is 5 months. He's currently 31 kilos and growing at a rate of a kilo a week. I feed him royal canin dry food, and top it with either shin steak (about $6/kilo, eats 2 kilos a week), chicken breast or human quality mince. He gets three meals a day still, but I have cut his lunch feed down to about half the size of brekky and dinner.

He gets chicken wings, necks, frames, pig trotters, pigs ears, lamb flaps, brisket bones, and roo tails as his bones and treats. I also occasionally give him some sort of dog bikkie (schmako or similar) as a reward when we are doing some training stuff. I also give him two eggs a week, shell and all, mixed into his meal. His coat is so shiny you can almost see your reflection in it! I have worked out it costs me about $30 a week to feed him, which I think is reasonable.

[Danois]

I am not too different from Bruno06. Angus is a 5.5 month Dane who is 34kg and grows about 2 kg a week.

I feed Angus a real mixture. For his breakfast he gets Royal Canin Giant Puppy kibble.

For dinner most of the week he gets a mix of rice, home made and pureed vegetable soup, human grade mince (or blade steak or chicken), sardines and a little bit of chicken stock.

Other nights he gets his kibble with sardines (great for coat) or puppy mince or a whole raw egg (I leave this whole with a tiny crack to get his interest going)

He gets a pig's ear during the day and a couple of his toys have either a few pieces of kibble in it or some dried chicken breast along with peanut butter.

I found he threw up after brisket bones and he just breathed chicken wings in!

Yoghurt on kibble is a really good idea too - it can help with the farts!

[♥Bruno♥]

Oops, I forgot to mention the vegies! Yep, plenty of veggies too, Bruno loves carrots, potato and pumpkin, and also loves eating apples, he eats them whole and leaves the core!

[Danois]

I suspect Angus will eat anything given to him but he has spat green beans out!

FYI - the best thing to bind and upset tummy is rice, chicken and pumpkin mixed together.

[KOE]

Optimum puppy is pretty good for GSD puppies or try Royal Canine GSD,

Oliver now lives on chicken frames and his gut is great.

[~JoLu~]

Hi Riverstar

I love GSD's and your's is beautiful ....

Anyhoo - like the others my Jonty (6 mth old RR and hello to Bruce06 by the way) is also on Royal Canin. He loves carrots and apples and I'm about to try the sardine thing. I'll also have to try the yoghurt trick re: farts (wonder if that would work on my OH ).

I had a couple of dramas when we first bought him home as he would often eat things off the ground and end up with an upset runny tummy, also some popular dogs treats have a horrible effect on him (he once woke the neighbour up with his howling - she thought he was dying or something).

When this happens I starve him for 24hours (just access to fresh water) and then put him on chicken and rice (as per MyCatMilo) and slowly introduce him back onto his usual.

With regards to your Lab x, Royal Canin has a Maxi Light to help with weight loss - they also do special breeds for GSD's and Labradors (sorry if I'm sounding like an ad for RC).

Good luck...

MP

[pawpaw]

Your pup is beautiful. Don't know much about GSD but our labby has Eukenuba 5 days per week and the other 2 days gets a mixture of pure chicken breast mince, pureed fruit and veges (I blend them myself so I know what's in them), half a can of sardines and a raw egg on top!! These two days are her favourite but being a lab will eat anything at anytime so just be careful when you get you lab X. There eyes make you feel guilty if you're not sharing but don't give in. There slim frame for life is worth it!!