GSD pup- best diet?

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Pix

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Hi all! Having lurked around here for a long time, I've finally got around to registering in the hopes I can get a little advice from you knowledgeable lot :o

Our newest family member has finally made his way home and I'm afraid I've done something a little unforgivable to him! As the food he was supplied with from the breeder has run out, I've been switching him over to Baker's Puppy Complete. This was mainly on a recommendation. There are no specific ingredients on the bag (apparently it seems they only have to list them on larger bags?!) just basic contents advice. In the few days he's been on it I've noticed a change in his poo in terms of quality and frequency, as well as a change in his behaviour when he's excited. Having looked into it more closely I think it may be the food I've put him on :(

So, my question.... what do you bring your puppies up on for the best start? It's been a few years since we had a dog and much longer since we had a pup, and I think I'm pretty out of date in the fast paced world of nutrition! Not to mention also rather dim for not researching it enough in the first place!

Also, as a GSD, is there something extra he should have for his joints without risking over feeding any particular nutrient (eg too much calcium messing up calcium/phosphorous balance?). His parents have good hip scores, but having lost our elderly lab to eventual bad hips I'm really anxious that this little fella has the best start I can give him. He's also growing rather faster than I expected, giving me even more reason to worry!

Enormous glass of wine to anyone who reads this far, I didn't mean to go on so much! Any advice is much appreciated!
 
I would not use Bakers, sorry. Smarties for dogs.

if raw doesn't float your boat, or DUCK (basically raw, but packaged, distributors are hard to find) Arden Grange all the way. It is dear, but it was designed and distributed by a GSD breeder and almost every dog at our club is on it. And you can tell.

At this stage, I wouldn't go for supplements, just watch him, no mad hooning or over exertion, lift him in and out of the car or up and down from heights like the sofa or bed (if he is allowed there) no intensive exercise like biking, running, roadwork or jumping until 12 months old. At this stage, walks are for socialisation and getting him used to stuff, not for exercise. Tire him out by making him use his brain, training, thinking etc.

If doing basic training, encourage him to sit and down by placing food up and behind his head or out and between his paws, long and low, don't push his bum or shoulders into position.

He will change and grow massively in the first 18 months, don't panic :)

What's his breeding and where did he come from? PM me if you prefer, and welcome to the GSD Mafia :D you're part of da family now :)
 
CaveCanem said:
I would not use Bakers, sorry. Smarties for dogs.
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Aye, wish I'd figured that one out earlier. Feel a bit like one of those mums that shoves big macs down their kid's throats and writes them a note for p.e now :o

I like the idea of raw but don't quite have the confidence to go ahead with it at this stage, particularly with a pup if that makes sense? I'll definitely look into Arden Grange asap though, he needs off the Baker's soon as I think. I'm glad you confirmed any sort of supplement wont be necessary, was thinking that was me being over anxious :)

Am trying to limit the tearing around. Out on walks is easy enough, as he doesn't have time in between sniffing everything to hurl himself about too much. If he gets too much energy in the home we play games and do the basic sits, downs, stays etc. for as long as puppy attention spans will allow :)

Thanks so much for the quick reply! Will PM where he is from :)
 
Welcome to the mafia, we need picks of your pup. I'm curious as to his breeding too, any chance of a pm as well (we're a nosy lot). Nothing else to add to CCs excellent advice really. AG is an excellent food, I use Skinners myself which I would also recommend, lower price than AG which is important when you have 3 to feed.:D
 
Pix said:
In the few days he's been on it I've noticed a change in his poo in terms of quality and frequency
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What, twice as often, twice the volume and bright orange? :D

A grain-free alternative to Arden Grange and Skinners is Fish4Dogs, just to add another to the confusion. Anything's better than the Bakers. :p
 
blackcob said:
What, twice as often, twice the volume and bright orange? :D
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Nail on head lol! Jaw has been dropped and eyebrows raised at what has been coming out his little puppy arse the last couple of days :o

Will put some pics up as soon as I can get the camera to play ball with either comp. Will be nice to have other people cast an eye over him, as I naturally think he is the most handsome thing on four legs at the moment!

Thanks again all for all the advice :)
 
It would be raw for me as I know exactly what they are getting, it's human quality and an appropriate diet.

But if you are going to feed commercial feed then avoid anything with cereals in it especially wheat. The higher quality feeds are generally either carbohydrate free or use alternatives to cereals. Dogs don't actually need any complex carbs in their diet at all that is for omnivores and herbivores. But carbs are a cheap bulk as protein is expensive, which is why they are used.

There is a raw supplier if you wanted support to start out, once you have started you can then start to source your own.
http://www.naturalinstinct.com/

Basically where dog food is concerned labels mean nothing as the companies only have to give you the bear minimum and do not have to declare anything they add to the food that is prepared by someone else!!! They do not even get pulled up for naming things inappropriately e.g. Chicken and Maize when the stuff is a whopping 70% Maize and about 16% chicken meal, but what bits of the chicken is anyone's guess!

Ask questions when you change a food, ask them what exactly is in their food here is a link to something I posted a while ago which will give you an idea of how to read the labels.
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=339836

Things are beginning to improve as more people question the quality and contents of their dog foods and move to better brands which is something.
 
Well it seems your pup is quite closely related to Evie :D, so you definitely need to get him off the Bakers, he will no doubt be quite nutty enough without the help of blue Smarties :p Really looking forward to seeing the photos now.
 
Oh good, I'll blame his mad side on breeding then, remove some of the guilt for feeding him smarties :p

KarynK- Thanks for all the info. I'll check out the links and look into raw in more depth. It's definitely something I'd consider once I trusted I knew what I was doing.
 
I've recently started feeding IAMS and so far I'm relly pleased with it. My previously scurfy lurcher has now got a lovely shiny coat and actually cleans up his bowl - something he has never done before.

I don't dare do the raw food thing as the JRT is way too aggressive with bones etc
 
The Baker's killed him :( Woops.

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Having crashed on fugly carpet, he moved on to cream carpet, which he feels goes better with his coat colour.

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Depression then set in when he went to steal the toilet brush, only to find it had been moved :(

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Thanks for all the food recommendations :) Am switching him over to Arden Grange large puppy for now. Hopefully will agree with him a lot more than his bag of smarties :o
 
Lovely looking lad.

This is his "cousin" at a similar age (now this is a bad carpet:o)

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And a couple of his other relatives, his gt gt aunt (with one eye) and her daughter.

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Wheee family pics! :D

Have shown Loki his extended family.... was trying to hint that he should attempt to copy his cousin's impressive ears, but he just gave me the 'daft bint, unhand me at once' look. C'est la vie :(
 
Love his name, my gran used to have a GSD called Loki.:D Re his ears, give him lots of things to chew, if you can get hold of them marrow bones are great. Evie's ears were up very young, but Chaka, the bitch with one eye, was very slow, she was about 5 months before they finally decided to stay up.
If you want to bore him with more family pics have a look here
http://mirrwood.homestead.com/

Or put relatives names in the box that says pedigree search here, and they may come up.
http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/index.html
 
Getting plenty to chew shouldn't be a problem, he does nothing but at the moment. Spend half the day it seems fishing inappropriate objects out of his mouth and replacing them with one of his toys :o

Though today has mainly been spent sniggering at him trying to eat ice cubes on a slippery lino floor :D
 
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