What do I feed my new GSD Puppy - Page 2

The problem is my wife is not sold on the health benefits of RAW...I have shown her many websites etc but she still thinks that it is dangerous...She does not want me to feed RAW to the dog...I am not going to be disrespectful of her wishes...the dog is as much hers as it is mine.

Hi jrs,

if your wife refuses to feed raw, you may try to get her to go with K9 Kraving, which is raw, but it comes in neat and convenient tubes, like sausage, and they are easy to feed, just tell her it's canned food but saving the environment by using less packaging 

www.k9kraving.com

If you are more on a budget, and have to feed kibble, I love Royal Canin.  I have fed several different foods, including Innova, Nature's Variety (befoer they changed to using meals) Canidae, and Solid Gold.  I have found the Royal Canin gives great coat and also very little poop that is dry the next day and very easy to clean up.   I used to fee K9Kraving but for now can not afford it.

I would get enough of what the puppy is currently eating to last at least a couple of weeks.  Feed the puppy the same as the breeder has for at least the first couple of days in your home.  Moving to a strange home is stressfull enough without also being fed something TOTALLY strange from day 1.

After a few days, start mixing what the pup is eating at the breeders with the kibble and SLOWLY increase the kibble and decrease the other stuff.  You need to do WHAT EVER IT TAKES to convince your wife that this needs to be done for the puppys sake.  And if there is NO way she will go for a SLOW change to kibble, Make HER take the puppy out and clean up the "runs" it will likely get from a fast switch to a different food. 

You could always cook the food. It is not as good as raw but better than commercial dog food IMO. Here is one ladies site and recipes, book etc. www.naturaldogfood.com  I haven't ever tried the prepared raw foods so can't comment except that they are kinda spendy. Orijen is a good food but I think its to rich for a pup. I feed it to my adult dogs.

Sorry that link is www.k-9kraving.com

Hi jrs,

I was in a similar situation to yourself a few month back when i acquired my new puppy. His breeder is one of the top breeders in North America and raised the puppies on "Common Sense". It is a Frozen Raw diet that is prepared for you much in the same way as K9-Kraving. It comes in 3lb logs and is a mixture of meat (including liver and heart), essential oils,  vegetables and other ingredients which are all human grade. 

There is no doubt that it will be more expensive initially as the recommended feeding for a puppy is 5% of their body weight daily, hence, at 6 months of age you are looking at  2.5 to 3 lbs. The cost of a 30lbs box is approx. $55.00 (yep $150.00 a month dog food bill) if you buy direct.

As some have mentioned, this is a stressful time for the puppy, and maintaining his diet is one way you can help him adjust. If you intend to switch i would recommend doing so after the puppy has settled. The breeder has probably informed you of the difference in digestion time between raw and kibble and recommended a fasting period. This will undoubtedly be hard on the puppy at 8 weeks of age.

I can certainly vouch for common sense dog food, my puppy looks great, is very healthy (my vet was impressed, especially with his coat) doesn't have puppy breath and has never had a soft stool to this day. 

I would suggest you  explain to your wife how it is important to maintain his diet, at least initially, and hope she comes around to your way of thinking. Perhaps you might also wish to share this information with her;

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

Good luck with your puppy and feel free to message me should you want more information. P.S. I am in no way associated with nor profit from common sense dog food.

I second Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Raw.  I think it's better than dry kibble.  You add water  to rehydrate, and it looks like mush, but smells good and the dogs like it.  For a puppy try Embark or Force. It's expensive, but you can use a coupon from Retailmenot.com for a discount. 

Or you could try a pre-made like Nature's variety raw frozen.

Why buy from a breeder who feeds raw if your wife is not sure it's a good idea?

If she thinks dehydrated, baked hard pellets are better or safer, then she clearly does not trust the judgement of the breeder you are buying a puppy from. I don't mean to be disrespectul.

Buy one raised on the nice "safe" convenient pellets.

I wish my puppy had come from a raw fed kennel. They are few and far between. I had to switch him to raw and he had giardia. Pups who eat raw meat and bone have stomach acid strong enough to kill many parasites. Dogs are predators, short digestive tract and strong stomach acit. Raw food passes through the system quickly. Kibble can take 24 hours or more, during which time, bacteria, parasites etc are having a feast and growing and multiplying  and putrefying.

Kibble poops are twice the size and really foul.

Michele and Pharaoh

Find a kibble breeder or give up the idea of having a GSD.

If you're not on the same page this early in the game, it doesn't bode well for the future of the puppy does it?

Not trying to be disrespectful....just realistic.

jrs,

You state multiple times that your WIFE is against raw feeding, but you don't state how you feel.  My wife WAS against raw feeding, then she saw the benefits and now is a firm believer.  She still has issues with the bulk foods that I buy, but overall, if she had to, she would continue the feeding in my absence.

Expensive?  I was feeding four dogs for less than $2.85 per day.  Homework has to be done and persistence is key.  Opening a bag of crap is one way to feed dogs, but, would you like to eat jerkey EVERYDAY?  The other way to feed them is how they are supposed to be fed.  Continued feeding does become an economic issue, but I've decided that spending some time researching and finding vendors is worth more than the ease of opening a bag and scooping a cupful of dried crap that I have no idea of the contents.

Dry dog food is only about 50 years old.  Domestic dogs have been around for around 14,000 years.  If real - raw - food was a problem, wouldn't dogs have been killed off by now?

The four dogs in my house now (two GSD, one Golden and one pit/bull dog mix) shed less than ONE kibble fed GSD.  All of the dogs are healthy, which means no vet bills (knock on wood that none get injured).  All of the dogs have clean teeth - meaning now vet bills for knocking the dog out to clean the teeth.  They are also muscularly sound.

Like I said, my wife does not like to be around when I process a 55+ pound box of beef heart, but to me it's worth it.

I'd be happy to answer any questions.  Dog ownership isn't as easy as opening a bag of crap - whether it's cheap, grocery store crap in a bag or claimed quality crap in a bag.   When it comes down to it, it's still crap.