home Drugs Calcined cottage cheese for German Shepherd puppies. Feeding a German Shepherd: diet for a puppy and an adult dog. Main characteristics and differences of feed

Calcined cottage cheese for German Shepherd puppies. Feeding a German Shepherd: diet for a puppy and an adult dog. Main characteristics and differences of feed

According to the rules of domestic cynology, the transfer of a German Shepherd puppy is advisable at the age of 80-90 days.

However, there are cases when the baby ends up in new hands much earlier: the milk has run out, the bitch herself is sick, there will be no opportunity to come for the puppy later, etc.

In any case, until the baby is 45-50 days old, while the bitch is still able to feed him, you should not take a puppy from a mother shepherd dog - there is a high risk of “disrupting” the developing work of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT).

Why is it worth replacing milk with cottage cheese at this age?

From the age of 3 months, the gastrointestinal tract in dogs is sufficiently formed, and the baby’s body no longer needs milk sugar (lactose) in the amount it needed from birth.

A two-month-old German Shepherd puppy also practically does not need “pure” milk, as such. At this age, casein, a fermented milk protein found in yogurt and cottage cheese, is more important for him. The nutritional value of casein is significantly higher than that of lactose.

This means that a puppy’s diet at 2 months must necessarily include fermented milk products that can provide the growing body with minerals for the timely strengthening and further formation of bone tissue.

There is more casein in cottage cheese than in milk

In addition to casein and minerals, fermented milk products contain a number of amino acids that support healthy liver cells.

There is especially a lot of casein, amino acids and microelements in cottage cheese!

Lactic acid bacteria improve and normalize the activity of the gastrointestinal tract of a German shepherd puppy left without mother's care.

Please note! For the younger generation of German Shepherds, proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is the basis for the puppy’s full development into an excellent working dog.

And this foundation is extremely susceptible to disruptions during the growth process if the baby has not received additional immunity through mother’s milk. A weak gastrointestinal tract is an almost guaranteed lagging puppy BUT in the main characteristics of HEIGHT-WEIGHT, which will inevitably affect its further development and health.

What to do if your “German” is only 8 weeks old and you have the responsibility to nurture this miracle? First of all, ensure proper feeding!

Feeding a 2 month old German Shepherd puppy

A conscientious breeder will definitely tell you how complementary feeding was provided and what quantities of which products were used. High cost or complex diets are not popular with German Shepherd puppy breeders or owners. Complex diets are fraught with the fact that they are observed by the new owner only for a short time, and then “fade to nothing,” which can adversely affect the development of the shepherd dog.

An optimal diet should be simple to implement, not intimidating with an abundance of hard-to-find or super expensive ingredients, and at the same time be balanced and nutritious.

It is best to take the breeder’s diet as a basis (for at least 2 weeks!), and gradually transfer the puppy to a food that is more convenient for you, so that from two to six months he completely switches to the new diet, bypassing stressful situations with the gastrointestinal tract.

Separation from littermates, an unusual environment and a new person nearby are sufficiently traumatic circumstances for a tailed baby to be aggravated by an upset stomach from unusual food.

Principle of nutrition for a 2-month-old German Shepherd puppy

Currently, there are several methods on how and what to feed a German Shepherd puppy 2 months and older:

Natural products.
Dry and canned food.

Natural products

When eating natural products, the owner himself selects the set that seems most rational to him for a properly balanced diet.

Meat and offal

The German Shepherd is a carnivorous animal, so meat protein components should make up the bulk of the diet. An adult should eat at least 600-800 g of meat per day, and a puppy should eat at least 160 g if it weighs 8 kg. The calculation is simple: at least 20 g per 1 kg of the shepherd’s “live” weight.

However, in reality, a puppy at 2 months needs more meat.

By-products must undergo heat treatment

The German Shepherd's body's need for protein directly depends on its stage of development and physical activity. If an adult dog leading a sedentary lifestyle (an enclosure, a city apartment where free walking is limited) will need 18-20% of meat from the daily diet, then a puppy of such a large breed as a “German”, growing and developing very rapidly, the percentage of meat protein should be increased by 2 times. With a complete refusal of milk after 8 weeks - at 2.5 months.

Fortunately for owners, puppies willingly eat tripe (tripe, heart, lung, liver, kidneys, throat). Feeding conditions: mandatory heat treatment of chopped offal. There is no need to cook them; just scald the pre-washed parts of the offal with boiling water.

Be careful with your liver! It should be given no more than once a week and no more than 50 g per day - a strong laxative effect.

A third more by-products are required than meat, and the meat itself is easily replaced by flank and trimmings with a small amount of animal fat.

A few words about meat and bone broth

There have been a lot of complaints about broths as a maintenance food for dogs (from 2 months and later). Apparently, this is due to the inability to make a useful decoction from the bones. You cannot refuse such a useful product for a growing shepherd! Boiling over low heat from bones and connective tissues contains:

Collagen, massively contained in raw bones, passes into the broth during long cooking and saturates it with animal gelatin. Gelatin is the most important building material for bones, joints and tendons. The weight of a German Shepherd puppy increases every day, and if there is a lack of building substances, the baby’s skeleton can become deformed.

The body of a 2-month-old puppy happily uses the remaining beneficial substances to build connective tissue, and arginine and chondroitin will protect and heal the gastrointestinal mucosa.

The healing liquid must be cooked correctly: for 2 kg of meat and bone product - 4 liters of water.

Don't let the broth boil! It should simmer for at least 4-6 hours under the lid. After which it must be cooled and be sure to remove the layer of fat that has formed from the surface of the broth.

The ready-made broth is used for soaking biscuits, diluting steep porridges, and simply for feeding the puppy if the traditional diet is not enough. Shelf life in the refrigerator is 5 days.

Attempts to replace meat protein with cottage cheese or eggs will have catastrophic consequences for the puppy’s body BUT, but feeding a German shepherd and its children exclusively with meat is also a crime.

The diet of German Shepherd puppies should include meat, offal, cereals and dairy products

Cereals and carbohydrates

Without carbohydrates entering the body, a proper diet for a 2-month-old German Shepherd will not work, since carbohydrates are the main product for a balanced metabolism of fats and proteins. Thanks to this exchange, enzymes and secretions, mucus and hormones are formed in the body:

Up to 3 months, buckwheat is prohibited for babies, so porridge will have to be cooked from two or three cereals. And the main grain will be rice;
from 2.5 months, shepherd dogs can gradually add buckwheat (crushed buckwheat grain) or buckwheat flakes to the rice;
by 4 months, the main composition of cereals for a German Shepherd will be this pair of cereals: rice + buckwheat;
semolina can harm a puppy only if he loves to eat and is prone to overeating;
oatmeal is a traditional cereal for maintaining health, but it should only be fed in compressed form - Hercules;
pearl barley will be useful for the diet when the puppy has gained excessive weight at 2-3 months;
corn, pasta, bread made from white flour are not included in the diet of puppies, both 2 months old and older;
rye bread crackers are fine.

Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that is also necessary for German Shepherd puppies, although it is only absorbed by their body by 15-20%. It is necessary to enhance gastrointestinal motility and normalize digestion.

Present in all vegetables and fruits.

While it’s too early to talk about cabbage and potatoes in the puppy’s menu, the most affordable healthy fiber is raw carrots, apples and raspberries. In addition, such fiber contains many fat-soluble vitamins that are easily accessible to the body.

Dry and canned food

The exact nutritional value of natural food at home is difficult to determine, no matter how hard you try. The owner of a German Shepherd puppy will benefit from canned and ready-made dry food, specially designed for different breeds and ages of dogs. This food is complete nutrition for a German Shepherd puppy, balanced and excluding the introduction of additional products or vitamin and mineral supplements into the puppy’s menu. Ready-made rations of premium food and semi-moistened holistic food fully meet the needs of puppies of different ages, although they are not cheap.

Premium dry food contains all the necessary vitamins and minerals

Most kids willingly eat dry food, and they also like ready-made canned dog food. Freeze-dried food is often called “dry food for the lazy.” Once properly selected, the diet saves owners from the hassle of cooking.

When feeding BUT dry and canned food, you should first of all be guided by the puppy’s behavior before and after meals and his appearance, and not by the table of the approximate amount of food given by the manufacturer. Not enough food or too much food can have a detrimental effect on your pet's health. Is your puppy losing weight? - Add ration! Getting fat? - Cut it! The number of daily feedings should remain the same – 4.

Change of feed

Many owners practice periodic replacement of dry and wet food with natural food: giving completely natural food one day, and the next from a bag. The explanation is simple: “This way the puppy eats better and his appetite does not decrease!”
Others advise mixing canned food into your puppy’s porridge...

There are many options for combining “drying” and natural products, but such a diet can only be used under the supervision of an experienced dog handler, if there are medical conditions for such nutrition.

What should be the diet, sample menu for the day

Since from two months the puppy is transferred to 4 meals a day, the approximate daily diet (how much a puppy should eat per day) on natural products will be as follows.

Morning

Cereal porridge + milk mixture or broth + cottage cheese (kefir, yogurt, etc.) + peeled apple, chopped in a mixer, finely grated raw carrots + 1 tsp. brewer's or nutritional yeast. Total – 2 coffee cups.

Noon

Meat products, cut into pieces (useful for the development of jaws, chewing muscles and neck muscles) + broth with 1 tsp. seaweed flour or calcium carbonate (chalk). Total - no more than 250 g.

Afternoon

2 coffee cups broth-soaked puppy biscuits.

Evening

Raw meat products (the puppy will sleep better) + broth or mixture. Total – 1.5-2 coffee cups.

To be sure of a sufficient amount of necessary substances, it is enough to inject the drug Gamavit (a complex effect on biological processes with a wide content of vitamins and minerals) once every 10 days or give Fitocalcevit.

What not to give to a puppy

Bypassing the old postulate about the negative impact of food from the human table, we can once again note that a shepherd dog at both two months and two years is not allowed to:

Smoked, salted, spicy, pickled, flavored with seasonings.
Additional medications not prescribed by a veterinarian (especially calcium!).
Various sweets and baked goods. Chocolate is poison for the liver and pancreas.
Over-salting or under-salting food. The amount of salt for a puppy at 2 months is 3 g per day.
Pork and fatty lamb. Later, lean lamb will be available.
Legumes and raw vegetables (except carrots).
Tubular bones.
Coffee and alcohol (including medicines).
Raisins and grapes.
Spoiled products.

How many times your pet eats and what it eats literally determines its future. A healthy German Shepherd puppy should gain at least 5 kg in a month, while remaining active, curious and ready to happily carry out the owner’s tasks.

It is difficult to achieve obedience from a starving, sick or obese German Shepherd child!

German Shepherds often suffer from digestive problems. This is due to the relatively short gastrointestinal tract compared to smaller dogs. Therefore, the diet should be high in calories and easily digestible.

Another feature of German Shepherds is their higher intestinal permeability and enzyme activity. In addition, this breed belongs to the group of dogs that have a low level of immunoglobulin A in the blood and special antibodies that protect the mucous membranes from infections. This property also explains the high sensitivity of the digestive system.

Shepherds' skin has a more alkaline environment compared to other breeds. In this environment, bacteria multiply more intensively than in a more acidic environment. The breed is prone to skin infections. High loads affect the condition of the joints of dogs of this breed - all these features must be taken into account when preparing the diet.

General diet rules

Each owner himself determines what to feed his pet: natural homemade products or specialized factory food. Some owners prefer a combined type of nutrition. This option contains both types of food. From the first, the shepherd receives natural nutrients, from the second, the necessary vitamins and supplements.

There are general rules for feeding your German Shepherd:

protein content: up to 70% (meat pulp without skin, bones and fat, as well as cottage cheese, milk and eggs);
carbohydrate content: up to 40% (slowly digestible grains, cereals, vegetables and fruits with healthy fiber);
fat content: 20-40% (animal and vegetable).

Spices and canned foods are not allowed in dog dishes. Occasionally, you can add citrus fruits to your diet if it does not cause allergic reactions.

German Shepherd feeding chart

Regardless of the diet (natural products or dry food), the German Shepherd's water bowl should always be filled. When deciding to switch from one type of food to another, the pet should be transferred smoothly over 7 days. For an adult, the following feeding rules apply:

eating strictly according to the clock, twice a day;
food should be slightly warmed or at room temperature;
absorption of food should last no more than 20 minutes;
the food should be thick, without excess liquid.

All this contributes to good digestion and soft stools, and also prevents the dog from losing or gaining weight. The food bowl should be located at chest level - this rule is dictated by the characteristics of the musculoskeletal system of the German Shepherd. The size of the bowl should match the volume of food.

If the pet is accustomed to natural products, then among the unwanted reactions there may be allergies to certain products. In this case, they will need to be identified and excluded from the menu. In other cases, general dietary rules apply.

For meat, it is better to choose beef or poultry (chicken, turkey, goose). Occasionally, you can add lean pork to your diet. It is better to choose beef bones (not tubular ones) and give them only on a full stomach. You can use different porridges and cereals: buckwheat, rice, oatmeal.

You can give raw eggs several times a week. Half-raw poached eggs are also allowed, which saturate the body with protein. It makes the coat soft and silky.

In the first years of life, it is recommended to feed the dog beef meat, beef liver and offal: tails, ears, tripe, lungs, trachea. Cottage cheese is also added to the diet. But no more than a kilogram per week. It can be mixed into porridge, where you can add sunflower oil and flax seeds or bran.

Feeding depending on the age of the dog

There is a more detailed chart of the German Shepherd's diet depending on age.

Age	Features of feeding	Number of appointments per day
Up to 2 months	Low-fat food, minced beef (no more than 150 grams per day), cottage cheese, kefir, milk, dry food soaked in water	6
2 months	200 grams of meat per day, switching the puppy only to natural products, vitamins	5
3 months	300 grams of meat, cut into thin pieces, beef liver, offal, vitamins	4
4-5 months	400-500 grams of meat, occasionally raw potatoes or raw corn, stewed or boiled cabbage, vitamin supplements	3
6 months – 12 months	More than 500 grams of meat per day, fish once a week, acceptable vegetables	2
From 1 year to 6 years	Less carbohydrates and fats, more proteins and vitamins	2
After 6 years (old age)	Reduced amount of meat, cereals and fatty foods. More dairy products and vegetables.	2

Pregnant female German Shepherds have their food portions increased in the second half of pregnancy. During this period, the dog must be fed with specialized vitamins. They are prescribed for a shepherd dog during the recovery period after childbirth for 12 months. There may be manifestations of addiction to certain foods, in which case it is better to consult a veterinarian.

Industrial feed

Dry (industrial) food is a convenient option, primarily for German Shepherd breeders. People who breed dogs often travel with their pets, so this type of food is optimal, as it saves time and money. For amateur owners, dry food is also suitable, but you can introduce it and canned food from 2-3 weeks of the puppy’s life.

When preparing a German Shepherd's diet based on dry or canned food, it is important to monitor the level of water consumption. It should be higher than when consuming natural food. When choosing a brand of dry food, read the ingredients on the packaging. The energy value must be at least 350 calories per 100 grams of product.

The ratio of KBJU must be balanced. These characteristics are found in premium and super premium food.

These include: Royal Canin, Purina Dog Chow, Advance, Bozita, Brit Premium, Pro Plan, Nutra Nuggets, Nutra Gold, Pronature Original, Hills, Happy dog, Brit Care, Arden Grange, Bosch, Belcando, 1st Choice. For the puppy, choose food similar in composition to the mother’s food in the second half of pregnancy. The size of the product granules should be as small as possible. There are also soft mousses suitable for feeding puppies.

For an adult shepherd, when choosing food, the following indicators are taken into account:

granules should not be greasy, with the exception of lactating females and puppies;
the food should not be green or red - this is a sign of the presence of chemical dyes;
A quality product does not contain soybeans or beans, but must contain grains;
preference should be given to food in original packaging rather than in bulk;
You should refrain from feed manufactured under license; you should choose local products or imports.

Side effects of a “dry” diet may include tartar. Therefore, once a week, the shepherd dog should be given boiled cartilage or another product from a pet store to prevent this problem. If the food is unsuitable, the dog may experience a sharp reaction, with symptoms similar to poisoning. For rehabilitation, the pet is transferred to a light diet of boiled meat, fish and vegetables.

Combined nutrition

Another type of German Shepherd diet combines a diet of natural products and dry food. With such a diet, it is difficult to determine the required daily dosage of food. Therefore, mixed feeding requires constant monitoring of the pet’s digestion. Mixing both types of food into one feeding is strictly prohibited.

The fact is that dry food for a German shepherd is a ready-made product that is easily absorbed by the dog’s body. Natural foods take much longer to digest. As a result, ingesting two types of food will negatively affect intestinal function.

At least 7-8 hours should pass between eating dry and homemade food. At the same time, it is better for a shepherd dog to consume dry food in the morning, and meat with vegetables in the evening.

It is customary to add to factory feed those elements that are not included in the composition. These include: raw meat, vegetables, fruits, berries, cottage cheese, eggs, liver and sea fish. You should not add porridge and grains, as dry food is rich in these components.

Vitamin and mineral supplements

The diet of a German Shepherd at any age should contain vitamin and mineral supplements. For a shepherd puppy whose skeleton is growing and developing quickly, it is useful to receive supplements containing calcium. Calcium gluconate and glycerophosphate are given one tablet each to a one-month-old puppy.

Up to 6 months, tablets are given in ascending order: at two months, 2 tablets, at three months, 3, and so on. Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K are intended for an adult dog, each of them is responsible for specific processes in the body.

Vitamin	Source	Influence
A (retinol)	Carrot, liver, apple, milk	Promotes the correct and uniform formation of skin tissue and mucous membranes. Improves vision. Deficiency leads to weakened immunity and nervous system disorders
IN	Liver, yeast, dairy products	Responsible for the carbohydrate metabolic process. Prevents the occurrence of pathologies in the endocrine system. Deficiency can cause vomiting, bloody diarrhea and muscle weakness
C (ascorbic acid)	Cabbage, liver, tomatoes, potatoes, kidneys	Helps normalize metabolism in connective tissues. Protects the body from calcium leaching. Cleanses the liver of toxins. Vitamin C deficiency can lead to hemorrhages
D (calficerol)	Herbs, seafood, cottage cheese, vegetable oil	Regulates metabolism. Accelerates the process of absorption of beneficial microelements into the bones and intestinal mucous membranes. Deficiency leads to rickets
E (tocopherol)	Olive and vegetable oil	Affects the formation of striated muscles. Promotes the breakdown of fats, normalizes hormonal levels. Deficiency leads to problems with muscles, heart, infertility
K (phylloquinone)	Lettuce, nettle, cabbage	Responsible for blood clotting. K deficiency can lead to hemorrhages in internal organs
Folic acid	Liver, yeast, cauliflower, oatmeal, buckwheat	Vitamins for puppies, promote muscle growth and strengthening
PP (nicotinic acid)	Pork, cheese, beef liver, eggs, kidneys, milk, fish	Normalizes the exchange of BZHU. Deficiency can lead to damage to the gastrointestinal tract, skin disorders and hair loss

But the main rule when choosing a vitamin and mineral supplement is to consult a veterinarian.

At the age of six months, the usual feeding regimen must be adjusted due to external and internal changes in the pet.

Let's look at the diet of a puppy at 5-6 months and tell you how many times a day and in what portions he should be fed.

Feeding mode

Five-month-old puppies are fed 4 times a day, and six-month-old puppies - 3 times, adhering to the following recommendations:

You can only give food during the day. Providing food on demand is not correct. Feeding at night will develop a bad habit of begging.
You cannot leave food with uneaten food. Only fresh water should be available at all times.
It is better to feed your German Shepherd only at certain hours. The dog must develop the correct routine.

A puppy at the age of 6 months should eat approximately 1.5 liters of food per day. The volumes for a 5-month-old baby are a little more modest - 1 liter.

IMPORTANT! If food remains in the bowl on a regular basis or the dog eats it forcefully, then reduce the recommended serving sizes. All numbers are individual and can be adjusted provided that the pet is completely healthy.

Feeding a 5-6 month old German Shepherd puppy should not combine 2 types of food.

When feeding dry food, choose high-quality super-premium and holistic products designed specifically for shepherd puppies. The advantage of such feeding is that the manufacturer took care in advance of compliance with the KBZHU. The owner simply needs to follow the recommendations on the packaging.

If you decide to feed your German Shepherd dry food, then it is advisable to give preference to super-premium and holistic food classes.

When choosing natural food, the puppy’s daily menu should be based on:

Let's consider all the points in more detail.

Protein products

The puppy's protein menu should consist of:

Meat. Meat products enriched with B vitamins strengthen muscles and promote overall growth. The dog's body is designed to digest raw meat, but it digests boiled meat better. Combine 2 types, leaving preference for raw (3/4 of the meat diet).
By-products. Due to the high risk of infection with worms, offal is served only boiled and not >3 times a week. From 6 months of age it is allowed to feed raw lungs, hearts and udders in crushed form.
Fish. Sea varieties, cleared of fins, scales and heads, are given raw and ground, and river varieties are boiled to avoid helminthiases. Your pet should eat fish no more than twice a week, as excessive consumption leads to:

dandruff formation;
slower growth;
digestive problems.

IMPORTANT! When temporarily replacing meat with fish or offal, increase the usual volume by 1.5 times.

At the age of 5-6 months, a German Shepherd needs 500 grams of meat daily

Eggs

With frequent consumption of eggs, diathesis develops, so 2 pieces is a weekly maximum. Eggs are served soft-boiled or as an omelet.

Cereals

Among cereals, give preference to rolled oats, buckwheat and rice.

IMPORTANT! Avoid frequent feeding of oatmeal. It can lead to inflammatory processes in the paraanal glands. It is also not permissible to use whole rolled oats grains. Up to 6 months, rolled oats are served in ground form.

In addition to cereals, puppies can be given gray bread in the following proportions:

5 months – not >50 g per day;
6 months – not >100 g per day.

Fresh white bread is poorly digested, so it is allowed only in the form of crackers.

Dairy products

For fermented milk products, focus on:

kefir;
curdled milk;
cottage cheese.

High-quality cottage cheese is enriched with calcium, which strengthens children's bones, so try making it at home by mixing milk and kefir in equal proportions. Wait for the mixture to sour and remove the whey with gauze. Both the resulting cottage cheese and the expressed whey are equally beneficial for the puppy.

IMPORTANT! From four months, the frequency of feeding fermented milk products is reduced to 1 time per day.

The second feeding may consist of porridge, meat and eggs

Vegetables

The list of allowed vegetables includes:

Cabbage. After four months you don’t have to boil it. It is also allowed to pamper your pet with a pickled version.
Carrot. Rub fresh carrots together with an apple, add a spoonful of vegetable oil, a little sour cream and get a tasty and fortified dish that dogs eat with great pleasure.
Beet. Served boiled and added to porridge. May have a laxative effect.
Tomatoes. Allows you to avoid the formation of plaque and reduce the risk of tartar.
Potato. Used only raw.
Pumpkin. The seeds are an effective way to fight helminths, and the boiled pulp is a tasty and healthy addition to porridge.

In addition to the above, do not forget about the benefits of fresh greens (lettuce, young nettles, onion stalks and garlic). Do not overuse fruits and berries rich in sugars and give them as treats.

A German Shepherd should consume at least 250 grams of vegetables every day.

Minerals and vitamins

Natural nutrition for puppies involves the use of additional sources of vitamins, so make sure you have:

Crushed eggshells. An accessible source of calcium is given 3 times a day, 1 tsp.
Fish oil. Let's take 1 tbsp. daily in autumn and winter.
Wheat germ flour. Grind wheat sprouts and add to porridge every day.
Raw seaweed. When consuming a product enriched with iodine, the functioning of the intestinal tract is normalized, and the coat becomes shiny.
Brewer's yeast. 1g of dry yeast, taken every day, normalizes intestinal microflora.

Prohibited Products

Not all products are healthy and safe for a small pet, so avoid consuming:

After a short course on how to properly feed a German Shepherd puppy at 5-6 months, let’s summarize:

Meat is not the only source of protein food. Despite its obvious benefits, the diet should be balanced and include other protein foods.
The regime is the key to the dog’s health and the owner’s peace of mind. With an organized regime, the risk of obesity is minimized, and nightly requests for a late dinner are eliminated.
Natural feeding is not complete without additional additives. If you don’t have enough time to cook, then vote in favor of dry food. In this case, all the necessary vitamins and minerals are already in place.

With a caring attitude and proper care, the puppy will grow not only into a kind and obedient, but also a healthy dog.

READ ALSO:

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It’s hard to even imagine how many German Shepherds are culled due to improper care during the growth period. The breed is prone to a number of pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, and the diseases can be congenital, hereditary or acquired. The risk of acquired and hereditary bone diseases directly depends on how you feed your German Shepherd puppy. Naturally, the correct structure of the skeleton is not the only important factor, but it is fundamental. Muscle mass can be “caught up”, coat color can be enhanced with food additives, coat quality can be improved with care, but deformed joints are forever.

So, the first thing we take care of, in addition to the well-being of the pet, is the joints of the paws and the development of the spinal discs. In the absence of congenital defects, you only need to preserve the characteristics that the dog has by nature. The breed is characterized by a sloping back line and neck position at 45° relative to the ground. Humpbacked German Shepherds are not always a congenital defect; more often, it is a consequence of improper equipment in the eating area.

Meal place

A beautiful and healthy dog requires work and every minute care, which begins with re-equipping the home to suit the needs of the pet. Puppies are offered for sale at the age of 3 months. Naturally, you shouldn’t count on clear coordination and strong joints. To eliminate risks, the feeding area is equipped as follows:

Bowl on stand with height adjuster– by bending over for food, the puppy not only risks curvature of the spine, but also swallows air along with the food. Hiccups, it would seem, are a harmless thing and this is true if it is not chronic. In a normal stance while eating, the dog's neck is tilted forward at an angle of up to 60°, the front legs are set straight (the hands are firmly placed and directed forward), the hocks are set at right angles to the floor.

High-quality containers for water and food– most often, the stand is equipped with stainless steel bowls. If you have equipped the podium for eating yourself, then when buying bowls, give preference to fired ceramics.

The floor covering under the bowl is covered with a non-slip mat– a guarantee that the puppy will not move the bowl and will not slip while being carried away by the meal.

Constant availability of fresh water– puppies play a lot, eat and sleep often, consuming not only calories, but also water. A bowl of water should always be in the public domain. During the hot season, the water needs to be changed at least 3 times a day.

Purity– the food bowl is washed after each feeding and remains empty for the next meal.

Important! Pay attention to the floor coverings in your home; laminitis-type surfaces will cause your puppy to slip. The consequences of such injuries are quite different, up to rupture of ligaments and curvature of the paws.

Read also: Teaching a dog the “Place” command: step-by-step instructions for pets from 4 months to a year

Daily food intake, feeding frequency, weight gain norms

Up to a year, the menu for a German Shepherd puppy is regularly “adjusted” to the needs of the body. For 1 month after birth, the puppy eats only mother's milk. Provided that the bitch is provided with a balanced diet and a standard litter size, the babies should only have enough milk. When the puppies are 2 months old, the breeder introduces complementary foods. As practice shows, most breeders are inclined to industrial complementary feeding - soaked dry food. With the natural type of feeding, the tailed ones are given cottage cheese and minced meat to try.

When the litter reaches 3 months of age, most often, some of the puppies have already been reserved, and the remaining babies are waiting for their new owners. If you didn't reserve a puppy in advance, be prepared for the fact that you will buy an older baby than you expected. Next, you should proceed as follows:

For 10–12 days, continue to feed the pet the same foods and with the same frequency as the breeder.

At the age of 4 months (ideally), the dog is fed 3 times.

Depending on individual needs, at the age of 5 months the dog begins to be switched to 2 meals a day. In order to avoid stress and sudden changes in schedule, during the day, let’s have a light “afternoon snack” (3rd feeding).

By 6 months, German Shepherd puppies are switched to 2 meals a day.

The next important point is how much and what kind of food your pet needs. To begin with, the main points that will allow you to create a diet for a German Shepherd puppy:

A dog should not be fed only meat! This is sabotage fanaticism, nothing more.

Proteins should make up at least 30–50% of the total diet– eggs, meat, milk (provided that the puppy does not have growth hormone deficiency).

You should not give your puppy nutritional supplements indiscriminately.– an overdose of vitamins and microelements is often more destructive than their deficiency. Particular care should be taken with vitamins A and D.

You need to regulate the amount of food based on the puppy– if the portion is eaten slowly and reluctantly, and the meal takes more than 20 minutes, then you are overfeeding the dog.

Now about the amount of food. The daily norm, or more precisely, its weight, is a very individual indicator! You should not “adjust” the puppy’s diet to theory; always monitor your ward’s well-being after eating and weigh the dog regularly. So, the approximate daily food intake should be:

At the age of 2–3 months – 200–300 g/1 feeding.

By reaching 4 months – 400 g/1 feeding.

At 5 months – 400–500 g/1 feeding, depending on the rate of weight gain. Afternoon snack up to 200 gr.

From 6 months to a year - each serving (2 feedings) should be at least 500 grams.

Important! When feeding with industrial feed, be guided by the daily norms for age indicated on the packaging!

All of the above recommendations should be adjusted only to the rate of weight gain. Overeating and accumulation of fat mass threatens not only the joints, but also the heart. Excess weight is equally harmful for both puppies and adult dogs. If you weigh your pet regularly, it will be easier for you to adjust the diet. Weight limits by age for females and males are as follows:

Read also: What and how to feed a Jack Russell Terrier: a healthy diet for a puppy and an adult dog

What to feed - natural diet

If you have chosen a traditional, natural feeding method, it will be based on the gradual introduction of approved foods into the dog’s diet. Feeding German Shepherd puppies is more troublesome than preparing food for an adult pet. The main difficulties lie in the delicate balance of proteins, carbohydrates and equally important fats.

List of permitted products:

Beef, chicken, turkey without bones, fat and skin. It is fed raw, processed with boiling water and boiled. Pork is only boiled and rarely.

Sugar beef bones– allow the puppy to chew during the teething period; it is better to replace it with special treats from the pet store.

By-products (beef, chicken)– heart, chopped tripe, liver in small quantities.

Eggs– yolk raw or with milk, white boiled or in the form of an omelet. No more than 2 times a week.

Ocean fish, boned and chopped, only in boiled form. Fish broth is also good for your puppy.

Whole milk, natural milk and milk porridges– up to 4 months is mandatory, after, according to the individual preferences of the dog. Some adult dogs cannot digest lactose and drinking milk leads to intestinal disorders.

Cottage cheese (calcined and homemade), yogurt without additives, curdled milk, kefir, low-fat sour cream, depending on the pet’s taste preferences.

Cereals– rice, barley, oatmeal (for puppies over 6 months, infrequently), buckwheat, pearl barley, wheat. This also includes rye crackers, which you shouldn’t overdo.

Vegetables– carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, beets (limited), raw potatoes and stewed cabbage, tomatoes.

Fruits- apples, pears.

Greenery– onion, parsley, dill, spinach, lettuce.

Oils– sunflower, olive.

In order for a puppy to grow up healthy, active, cheerful and joyful, you need to pay great attention to its nutrition. Therefore, it must be useful, correct and of high quality.

Nutrition for a German Shepherd puppy in the first month of life

From an early age, the first thing you need to do is adjust the height of the feeding bowl. Since German Shepherds are large dogs, their crate must be kept at chest level at all times throughout their growth period. Otherwise, bending low towards her, the puppy will form a hump on his back, weaken the pasterns of the front limbs, or begin to develop a high rear.

In the first month of life, the puppy’s ventricle is still very small, so the maximum amount of food per day should not be more than 200 grams. Feeding is carried out every three hours, which means this amount of food is divided by the number of meals.

From the first days, babies are fed exclusively with their mother's breast milk. If they are bottle-fed, then until 15 days of age they eat only milk or formula.

By the age of one and a half months, when puppies can be given away or sold, their diet already includes two types of meat products. Two types of carbohydrate foods - oatmeal and rice porridge. Milk and fermented milk products (low-fat cottage cheese and kefir).

Metabolism at this age is very active, a month old dog is half the size of a two month old one. Therefore, meals should be regular, the food should be nutritious and easily digestible.

Raw meat

If your dog has an upset stomach, the meat product should only be given boiled. In the third broth, after cooking the meat, they prepare porridge for the kids. You cannot mix milk porridge with boiled meat; such food is very poorly absorbed in the dog’s body.

Porridge

For good digestion, give only rolled oats, buckwheat or rice porridge. Semolina and millet cereals are poorly absorbed by the pet’s stomach.

Grind the cottage cheese as desired, and be sure to dilute it with egg or kefir. If it is too viscous, the puppy may choke on it.

Feeding a German Shepherd puppy at 2-3 months of age

By this age, the baby has already grown noticeably and become a little stronger. The same applies to the organs of the digestive tract. The stomach is able to digest fiber of plant origin. This means that now is the time to introduce boiled carrots into your diet. You need to add one teaspoon of sunflower oil (unrefined) to the porridge.

The volume of food must be increased to 300 grams. per day, feeding frequency – 5 times. The puppy also needs additional mineral supplements in the form of vegetables and fruits. Therefore, babies are offered an apple or a piece of watermelon between feedings. In winter, when there is not enough sunlight, the dog is given an additional drop of vitamin D diluted in oil, so it is better absorbed.

To develop jaws and scratch teeth, it is worth giving your pet a large brain bone. The little one will happily chew on it and play with it for a long time. If the puppy lives on the street, then it is better to give the bone raw, as it is healthier. In apartment conditions, in order to avoid an unpleasant odor from the “toy”, it is lightly welded. And then soups and porridges are prepared for the dog using this broth.

How much and what does a puppy need for nutrition at 4 months

The number of feedings at 4 months is reduced to 3 times a day, the total volume of food should not exceed 400 grams. There are small dogs that eat very little, and accordingly they will develop worse. Therefore, a loving owner will have to supplement the dog’s feeding by any means necessary.

At this age, children begin the adult stage of life - milk teeth are replaced by permanent ones. Therefore, the diet should contain an increased amount of calcium. Vitamin supplements and calcium gluconate can be purchased at any pharmacy and added to your dog’s food daily.

In addition, by the age of four months, German Shepherds' ears stand up. If this does not happen, it means that the dogs have weakened cartilage tissue. To strengthen it, collagen is introduced into the nutritious diet. Most often they give 2 tablespoons of gelatin, pre-soaked in a glass of water. When a jelly-like mass forms, add it every time you feed. Some four-legged owners buy nutritional supplements containing essential substances.

At this age you should start adding meat by-products. They can be trimmings from beef heads or broths from chicken heads and paws; they contain an increased amount of gelatin.

For proper development of the skeleton, it is simply necessary to add special additives containing chondoprotectors to the food.

Enhancing coat color

The color of a German Shepherd depends entirely on its diet. After all, the pigment that is responsible for the brightness of color accumulates in the first two years of a dog’s life. Therefore, they need to add raw grated carrots and dried seaweed to their food. If you do not give the puppy the necessary pigment, then its fur will be pale and faded.

What should a German Shepherd puppy eat under 1 year of age?

The number of feedings up to one year remains three times a day. The required amount of meat can be slightly reduced by replacing offal in the form of liver and hearts from chicken, beef, rabbit or turkey. It is unacceptable to offer pork or lamb offal to an animal.

If the individual is male, he no longer needs milk; girls need this product every day. Porridges are prepared by mixing several grains at the same time.

Prohibited Products

It is forbidden to give dogs, even if they strongly ask, sweets and buns, smoked foods and pickles. Grapes, citrus fruits, sorrel and legumes.