Help Feeding 9 Week old GSD

Hi there! How is the puppy today? Did you take him to the vet?

IMO purina puppy chow is like junk food for dogs. Not so much worried about hip dysplasia as that is hereditary; either he'll get it or not. Yes, good food and exercise will help prevent hip dysplasia BUT...GSD have sensitive stomachs and they must be fed a good, human grade food for their sensitive tummies. Also I highly suggest that you read, under "health issues" the sticky on bloat. Especially if this is your first GSD, this is something you should know what to look for to make sure you can prevent from happening. That includes (and I can't emphasize enough) the importance of a good diet. With that said, you should look for food with NO citric acid, soy, no "by-meat products" and also NO propylene gycerol (which is anti-freeze). Yes, they use that on a lot of the cheaper treats and dog food. There are a lot of good food out there and I truly believe that you either pay now or pay later (in vet bills) if you don't feed your GSD a good diet from the start. Don't keep him on puppy food too long as it's not good for their growth. You could just go right to adult food if you want to as long as it has proper protein in it. Too much protein for a puppy is not good due to their growing sensitive stomachs but once they are older, they can tolerate higher levels of protein a lot better. In the nutritional section of this forum there are tons of suggestion on high quality food. Also with high quality food you don't have to feed as much and they don't have as many stools as they would on the cheap food.

Not to be picking on Purina puppy chow but here are the ingredients. Notice that the first ingredient is a grain and not a meat. Second ingredient is a by-product so there isn't much protein left after it's dehadrated into dry food. If you compare that to something like Canidae all life stages, WOW what a difference!

Puppy Chow (large breed ingrendients)
Whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), barley, dried beet pulp, animal digest, calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, fish oil, salt, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, DL-Methionine, manganese proteinate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

Canidae (all life stage) - a suggestion so that you don't have to transition from puppy food to adult food....
Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb meal, brown rice, white rice, rice bran, peas, potatoes, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), millet, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed meal, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, suncured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta-carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, papaya, pineapple.

Brandon13 said:

well i wanna know your ideas on purina puppy chow for a 9 week old german shepherd pup will it increase the change of hip dysplacia or is it healthy for him

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To answer your question bluntly, purina puppy chow is terrible for your pup and definitely not healthy for him. There are way too many fillers (which have no, or very little, nutritional value that can be used by your pup), and not enough meat. As for hip dysplasia I'm pretty sure that's more genetic then food-related. There are many more higher quality kibble options available to you, such as the before-mentioned Wellness LBP (Large Breed Puppy). I'm not an expert on large breed kibble since I no longer feed kibble, but I'm pretty sure you do need a balanced CaHO ratio. Also you have to make sure the calcium level in the food is not too high; generally people try to stay in the ~1.5% range. Just make sure you transition slowly to prevent runny stools.

I noticed you're home cooking for your pup right now and I would like to point out that home cooked and raw are better options IF you know what you're doing and the dog is getting balanced meals over time. Of course that's a whole other subject.

ETA:
I would take your vet's food recommendation with a grain of salt. Most vets do not recieve any courses on nutrition in veterinary school, and if they do it's usually sponsored BY one of the big commercial brands (aka Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, etc) and are taught what THEY want them to know. Many vets will recommend foods like Science Diet or Iams because of this. THESE FOODS ARE ALL TERRIBLE FOR YOUR PUP. So I personally dismiss a vet's recommendation as far as food goes, unless they actually are very well-educated in this aspect.

I feed Fromms Gold







Large Breed Adult Gold
FOR DOGS

Naturally formulated with fresh Wisconsin duck, fresh chicken, fresh lamb, fish, whole eggs & real cheese. In addition, we enhance this recipe with probiotics to aid digestion and salmon oil for a healthy coat. This product contains no corn and no wheat.

• Fresh Wisconsin Duck
• Fresh Hand-Trimmed USDA Chicken
• Fresh Low-Ash Lamb
• Real Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese
• Chicken Cartilage Rich in Natural Glucosamine
• Prebiotics & Probiotics to Aid Digestion
• Optimum Omega Fatty Acids Ratio
• No Corn and No Wheat

Ingredients:
Duck, Chicken Meal, Chicken, Oatmeal, Pearled Barley, Brown Rice, White Rice, Tomato Pomace, Whole Egg, Menhaden Fish Meal, Lamb, Potato, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Cheese, Salmon Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed, Brewers Dried Yeast, Alfalfa Meal, Carrots, Lettuce, Celery, Lecithin, Chicken Cartilage, Calcium Sulfate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcous Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sorbic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite