How to feed a German Shepherd puppy

Welcoming a German Shepherd puppy into your home is an exciting adventure! These intelligent and loyal dogs grow up to be fantastic companions, but it all starts with proper care, especially when it comes to feeding. Choosing the right food and understanding their nutritional needs can set the stage for a healthy and happy life.

Puppies of German Shepherds require a balanced diet to support their rapid growth. Puppies have different dietary needs than adult dogs, so it’s important to find a food that meets those needs specifically. A healthy diet will support the development of strong bones, muscular growth, and sustained energy for all those fun times.

When it comes to puppy feeding, keep in mind that quality counts. Seek out premium puppy food that doesn’t contain any fillers and has meat listed as the first ingredient. It’s important to have a balance of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in addition to essential vitamins and minerals. The kibble’s size should also be taken into account; your puppy should be able to chew it easily.

Creating a feeding schedule can also have a significant impact. Regular meal timings facilitate better digestion and may even help with housebreaking. Puppies typically require three to four meals per day, but as they get older, they may only require two. Remember to keep an eye on their weight and modify portions as needed to maintain them at a healthy size.

There’s more to feeding a German Shepherd puppy than just filling a bowl. It all comes down to giving them the right nutrients to support their growth and making sure they mature into healthy, content adults. You can raise a wonderful companion with the correct food and feeding schedule.

Tip	Description
Choose Quality Food	Pick a high-quality puppy food rich in protein and essential nutrients.
Feeding Schedule	Feed your puppy three to four times a day to keep their energy up.
Portion Control	Follow the serving guidelines on the food packaging to avoid overfeeding.
Monitor Weight	Regularly check your puppy’s weight and adjust food intake as needed.
Fresh Water	Always provide fresh water to keep your puppy hydrated.
Transition Gradually	If changing food, do it gradually over a week to avoid stomach issues.

In order to ensure a German Shepherd puppy’s healthy growth and development, feeding them requires an understanding of their specific nutritional needs. To begin, select premium puppy food that is high in protein and other necessary nutrients, and set up a consistent feeding schedule. German Shepherds can gain weight, so watch portion sizes and don’t overfeed them. For added health benefits and to make mealtimes more fun, think about including some fresh foods and treats in moderation. By taking the proper care of your puppy, you can ensure their success and lay the groundwork for a robust, active adult dog.

Feeding a newborn puppy

She will feed the puppies herself if the bitch is in good health. All you have to do is make sure that the puppies learn to feed themselves by the time they are weaned, which can be achieved by starting supplemental feeding on time at three weeks of age. However, it becomes difficult to nurse the newborns when the mother passes away during childbirth or shortly afterward, as her milk stops.

In order to gauge the extent of the issue, let’s examine how dog milk compares in composition to potential alternatives. The milk from a bitch has twice the amount of dry matter in it as compared to store-bought and human milk. In a bitch’s milk, the proportion of proteins to fats and carbohydrates is 1: 0.8: 2.3; in a cow’s milk, it is 1: 0.9: 0.5; in women’s milk, it is 1: 0.25: 0.15. Puppy formulas are therefore inappropriate for infants.

The subsequent synthetic puppy formulas have been modified to be produced using cow’s milk:

1. Add a tablespoon of dry milk to a glass. This achieves the consistency of dog milk in thickness. But the imbalance in carbohydrates and fats remains.
2. Add an egg yolk to half a liter of milk and mix thoroughly. The protein contains an anti-nutrient – Avidin, which destroys vitamin H.

Investing in an alternative to bitch’s milk is the best course of action. The least expensive choice is Beaphar lactol, which costs 974 rubles for 0.2 kg.

The dry mixture is diluted 15 g (measuring spoon) per 50 ml with hot water (not boiling water) for newborns. Let it get down to 40 °C. After being prepared, the mixture can be consumed for 24 hours straight from a pipette or bottle. The milk substitute is fed after two hours and then after three the first few days. The mixture is poured into a saucer and the number of feedings is decreased to six for puppies that are two weeks old. You should calculate the dosage. Ad libitum feeding is my suggestion.

Give Royal Canin starter or a comparable meal of at least premium class during one of the puppy’s feedings once it is able to drink from a dish. Start by soaking one or two croquettes in three times as much water.

One kilogram costs roughly 600 rubles.

The puppy should only be fed solid food by the time it is one and a half months old. Gradually cut back on the water used for soaking.

Start feeding boiled rice, cottage cheese, meat, and soups to a German Shepherd puppy if you believe in natural nutrition. You will need to become proficient in meal preparation, if only to assess the diet’s protein completeness.

Maybe you are aware that a puppy’s diet should contain 30% protein. When you learn that beef has 65% moisture, 18% moisture, rice has 14% moisture, and cottage cheese, with 75% moisture, has 7%, don’t freak out. Recalculating it as dry matter yields 64; 50; 8%. Natural food typically has a dry matter content of 30%. The protein norm will therefore be 30*30/100=9%.

Feeding a puppy by month up to a year

The frequency of food intake is gradually decreased in accordance with the following scheme, regardless of what you feed the puppy—natural food or prepared food:

Age, months.	Frequency of feedings per day
	6
1.5-3	6-4
3-6	4-3
>6	2

Stop begging and teach your puppies to eat at specific times. The dog has to finish the portion that is being offered. Return to the previous dosage if he doesn’t eat, but if he doesn’t have enough, slightly increase the amount of food. It is worse to overfeed than to underfeed. Speak with the breeder and make a comparison between the puppy’s actual live weight and the growth plan indicators.

There won’t be any issues if you use premium class or higher ready-made dry food. Never give economy-class food to your pet. For instance, a Chappie has 18% protein, compared to 30% for a puppy at two months and 22–25% for an adult dog. Decide whether to use prepared food or a natural feeding method. Granules should not be mixed with natural food; this will cause the enzyme system to malfunction and cause gastroenteritis.

Avoid making sudden changes to the type of feeding. It is best to complete this at least seven days in advance. Regarding the subject: Introducing dry food to a puppy. For a minimum of two weeks, feed the puppy in accordance with the breeder’s recipe. If your puppy is going to be fed store-bought food, use Royal Canin starter for the first four months. Next switch to a diet appropriate for older adults. The business manufactures prepared food especially for German Shepherds. However, there is no need to make this decision. For puppies aged one month to a year, Eukanuba or comparable food from another manufacturer can be used.

When the puppy is a month old, naturally feed him a glass or a glass and a half of hot, thick soup. Initially, instead of discarding the leftovers, store them in the refrigerator for a full day.

Beginning at three weeks of age, teach them to eat raw, finely chopped meat. Minced meat is not something I advise, especially if it is bought from a store. The products used to make it are not of the highest quality. Food deterioration occurs as a result of some supermarkets’ nightly electricity outages.

At two months old, a puppy willfully consumes boiled fish without bones and finely chopped beef. In addition to worm larvae, raw river fish can include thiaminase, an antinutrient that breaks down vitamin B1. Trimethylamine oxide, found in sea fish, turns feed iron into an indigestible form.

Puppies play out their appetites by imitating one another. Others will eat your food if you are a picky eater.

The pet receives a heart and heads of cartilaginous tubular bones at three months of age. The infant’s jaw muscles are strengthened and receives chondroprotectors, which are essential for bone growth. Playing with bones facilitates the replacement of baby teeth with permanent ones more quickly. Once or twice a week, you can add chicken eggs to your dog’s diet. Boiling renders the antinutritional factor Avidin inactive. Protein contains it.

Adolescents get used to offal between four and six months of age. Since liver might contain worm larvae, it is usually given boiled. Don’t serve raw pork for the same reason.

There is no evidence to support the widespread belief that pork has a poor digestive system. This idea most likely originated from the raising of obese pigs in rural areas. Pork in processed form is a component of Royal Canin, Acana, and NOW-holistic ready-made super premium feeds.

You can feed ruminant tripe and abomasum to a growing puppy. Meat substitutes are only partially effective. They need to be boiled after being bought from reliable vendors. By-products have two times less nutritional value than muscle meat. Giving fruits and veggies, whether raw or stewed, is beneficial for German shepherds of all ages.

Recommendations for feed and vitamins

No further feeding is required if you use pre-made premium and higher class feeds. The cost of sticking to a natural food diet is having to adjust your diet on top of it. Folk remedy proponents advise supplementing the feed with sulfur, eggshells, seaweed, and meat and bone meal. If such products are used carelessly, they are at best worthless. They may even be harmful to your health.

It is not advisable to heed the counsel of "smart people." Speak with your veterinarian before selecting any of the following veterinary products:

• VitOkay;
• Laveta;
• Multivit;
• Multivet.

Responses to commonly asked queries

I’ll do my best to respond to queries from dog enthusiasts. How often should I eat each day?

The topic of feeding a pet multiple times a day was covered in the section "Feeding a puppy by month up to a year." I will reiterate that six feedings a day are given to weaned puppies. By the time a child is six months old, the digestive system has fully improved. As a result, cut back on feedings gradually until you’re feeding twice a day. Follow this diet for the remainder of your life.

Dry food norm

The quality of the dry food determines how much is needed for optimal nutrition. Super premium products come with every component that’s needed. Their composition is better than that of natural food. Below is the recipe for Go Natural holistic granules.

This food is economical; a dog will require less to be satisfied than with economy class food, and the amount of waste produced will be cut in half.

The standard for dry food varies based on the reason for growth. Find out the parents’ weight from the breeder and attempt to raise a companion that is similar in size.

The table provides an approximate range of feeding norms:

Age, months	Average live weight, kg	Live weight of an adult dog, kg
		27	32	37	42
2	7.5	230	242	262	287
3	13	282	307	342	377
4	18	312	347	382	415
6	27	380	427	475	517
8	29	380	430	477	520
10	33	380	430	480	522

Keep in mind that the pet may require more food for up to six months. Then, even though the growth is not yet complete, consumption stabilizes. Aim for a final live weight of 25 or 50 kg if you intend to breed your pet; otherwise, follow the growth plan and modify the pet’s weight accordingly. The indicators in the "Average live weight, kg" column should be your main focus if you want to raise a good guard and companion.

Natural food norm

It is generally accepted that porridge and food have the same ideal consistency in terms of digestion. Manufacturers of canned foods adopt this stance. The data from the dry food standards table can be multiplied by three to approximate the amount of natural food required for a puppy. The following table contains the data:

Age, months	Average live weight, kg	Live weight of an adult dog, kg
		27	32	37	42
2	7.5	690	725	790	860
3	13	850	920	1025	1130
4	18	940	1040	1150	1245
6	27	1140	1280	1425	1550
8	29	1140	1290	1430	1560
10	33	1130	1290	1440	1560

Everybody has different needs and preferences. As a result, make sure your pet finishes the food. Remember that while cold raises consumption, heat decreases it. A dog is a more ideal animal than a person. It is capable of producing internal heat.

A German Shepherd puppy’s diet is all about balance and attention to detail. It’s crucial to modify their diet in accordance with their changing nutritional needs as they get bigger. Their growth and energy levels will be supported by a premium puppy food that is high in protein and other vital nutrients.

Maintaining consistency is essential. Maintain a feeding schedule by serving meals at regular intervals throughout the day. This aids in digestion and may help you avoid overindulging. Fresh water should always be available because staying hydrated is just as important as eating.

Remember how important portion control is. To find the appropriate amount based on your puppy’s age and weight, speak with your veterinarian. In this manner, you can prevent the risk of obesity and help them develop into robust, healthy adults.

Lastly, pay close attention to how your puppy responds to their food. Prepare to adjust if you detect any symptoms of allergies or digestive problems. Your German Shepherd will live a happy and healthy life if you lay a solid foundation now.

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