Best food/diet for a German Shepherd

If_My_Pennies_Were_Pounds

tr3mor wrote: »

I don't think that site is of much use. They're very American focused and don't even have accurate ingredients for the food I use - Arden Grange Premium. They criticise it for containing maize, which it doesn't.

Cross post there! Thanks tr3mor, hadn't realised it was american focused! Will try to find a similar British one.

lisawood78

You can feed raw chicken on the bone quite happily but never ever give cooked chicken bones, or any other cooked bones for that matter.
I feed raw, as Beckyy does above, with 2 Great Danes and they have a mix of raw chicken carcasses, turkey wings, minced beef and bone, organ meat and the occassional bit of raw fish as a treat.
There are a few website dedicated to RAW or BARF feeding and it is not as tricky as it seems, but it is not for everyone of course.

bethie

tr3mor - it may be American based, but they do have British brands on there - CSJ, Barking Heads, JWB, etc etc. and although it may have a few inaccuracies, i do think it helps give some more details about foods and fillers.


We currently give our dog Barking Heads (just switched to it from JWB) and at night she gets a couple spoonfuls of Nature Diet or Bozita. We also have some cans of Arden Grange we are going to use up, but her stomach doesnt sit well on Arden Grange. It is about the same price as JWB, but has much higher meat. I know orijen is supposed to be good, but i dont know if my dog needs THAT amount of meat considering she also gets chicken/liver/kidney throughout the week, and the amount of shipping mileage (from canada) also concerns me a bit... but you never know, i might switch to that, or Taste of the Wild at some point! (TOTW is much cheaper and very similar ingredients).



and yes, raw bones are fine, cooked bones are a no-no!

Rev

Friend of mine feeds her GSD Arden Grange lamb and rice. He's looking great on it ans his coat is lovely and soft now. And he doesn't poo for England anymore lol.

He gets 400g a day over two meals.

I feel my two (not gsd's) 50/50 raw dry diet. Natural dog food company dry and natural instinct raw.

Beckyy

lisawood78 wrote: »

You can feed raw chicken on the bone quite happily but never ever give cooked chicken bones, or any other cooked bones for that matter.
I feed raw, as Beckyy does above, with 2 Great Danes and they have a mix of raw chicken carcasses, turkey wings, minced beef and bone, organ meat and the occassional bit of raw fish as a treat.
There are a few website dedicated to RAW or BARF feeding and it is not as tricky as it seems, but it is not for everyone of course.

Ooh, is this Magic and Storm from the GD forum?! :j (Sorry if I'm barking up the wrong tree!)

lisawood78

Certainly is, knew I recognised the name :-)
My 2 are saying hello with lots of slobber.

arlybarly

I feed my 2 GS the raw diet and i dont think you can beat this health wise.

gettingready

My Zara (almost GS - apart from pedigree papers LOL) is being fed Orijen.

Orijen may look expensive but you feed quite little so works out better than some cheaper foods most of the time.

Zara is 35kg (she will be 4 on the 28th August) and I deed her about 330-350 gram per day.

Occasionally she gets a pig trotter or a spare rib (she does not like raw chicken) and enjoys it too.

Have a look at Orijen...

I used to feed her BARF for the first year, then Burns and then switched to Orijen and never looked back.

You will not get decent dog food in supermarkets but is available to order online with often free home delivery....

lisawood78

Gorgeous dog as ever :-)

missworks2jobs

My parents have had german shepherds for as long as I can remember. Every dog is different but some of our food experiences are as follows:
pedigree chum wet food & some other high quality wet foods are just too rich for our dogs and give them an upset tummy. We find baxters complete dry food very good (they love it when its soaked in the juices from the sunday roast). Sometimes they get a little bit of butchers or bounce mixed in with the dry food.

They also love (this is a bit vile)....pigs trotters from the butchers (raw). My parents have ran pubs for years and always had german shepherds for their size, most burglars would think twice about tackling a big dog. They're very loyal and protective so make perfect pets and guard dogs (although obviously we were never left alone with the dogs when we were very small, and the dogs were very well trained). As a result our dogs used to always get their dog food in the morning (a small bowl) then they'd get the scraps from the carvery in the afternoon. I know you're not supposed to feed dogs human food BUT all dog food contains carrots & peas & meat and gravy now...and basically thats what they would get in the sunday lunch leftovers bucket. They loved it. All of our dogs (including the current two) are big strong healthy dogs with beautiful coats. My mum sometimes feeds them a can of tuna in brine between them (fish is meant to be good for their coats).

Also something I heard on a dog behaviour show (dog whisperer/dog listener something like that)...dogs are scavengers...in the wild they will make a kill and eat until they are full, then bury the rest for later. They may then go days without another kill (or another meal). This is why dogs will eat everything you put infront of them, its a natural instinct that helps them cope when food is scarce. HOWEVER if you always have food available for them (there is always a full bowl) they do not have this urge because food is not scarce and will often leave food for days. Apparently the best thing to do (this also stops them hiding scrap bits of food around the house....you'll know exactly what I mean if your dog does this - ours used to hide dog biscuits behind the sofa only to find them furry and mushy weeks later when you hoovered behind it) anyway, the best thing to do is as soon as they've finished eating pick up their food bowl and move it out of their reach, then put it back down again at the next feed time (i.e. evening) and again take it away as soon as they've stopped eating or lost interest in the food. This way you are tricking the dog into thinking "oh the foods not always there....there's not loads of it, hmmm I best eat it all just incase I dont get any more". This should encourage your dog to slip back into their "scoff and starve" instinct and they will eat all the food in their bowl. Obviously if you're feeding large quantities of food at each meal your dog could still end up overweight, but regular weighing at the vets (or if you can encourage them to stand/sit on a wiii fit board for treats) you can monitor their weight and adjust their quantities as necessary.

We do not tend to feed our dogs any form of chicken as it gives them terrible wind - not good in a dog that size esp when you have 3 living indoors!!!

NOTE: most dogs like the taste of raw carrot (healthy, good for teeth and low fat) and will eat it and think of it as a treat if you feed it to them like a treat.

Ps: my parents current german shepherds are Shadow (11 - grumpy old man, and a good 5stone in weight, head is at least door handle height) Amber (5 lazy lump a little podgy but runs like lightening, slightly smaller in height with dainty feet & features and her head is about the height of an office desk) and last but not least Cooper (3years old solid giant fluff ball, afraid of spiders, softie....looks similar size to a horse, eats like one too...head height is kitchen bench/dining table, has broken 4 fence panels CONCRETED into the ground by jumping up on them to see over the fence). Apart from arthritis in Shadow's back legs, which means he gets up and lies down a little more carefully and stops him jumping up at the fence all are in good health and very happy, fit, cuddly noisy dogs.

Good luck.

This is Cooper when he was about 18months old - sorry its the only pic I have on my PC the rest are on my phone! He loves his cuddly toys (Grumpy in the pic) He's filled out loads since then.
http://i763.photobucket.com/albums/xx274/DebbieBrien/Cooper.jpg