[Spooki]

Hi! I'm new here, haven't got a chance yet to introduce myself in the introduction section, will do soon! Run off my feet with my new puppy haha!

I'm a first time German Shepherd owner by the way...
I got my puppy about 3 weeks ago, shes GORGEOUS, love her to bits and shes settling in great.. Basically settled now!

I have an important question I'd love an answer for as soon as, if anyone can help!?...
So when I got her at JUST before she hit 8 weeks back on the 8th July, for some dumb reason the breeder we got her from had got her on adult complete food!!!?? Grrr really annoying so we switched her to puppy food when we got her, kind of gradual, and vet approved but the 'gradual' part didn't seem to even matter because she was scoffing down her food the first 2/3 days, a little too quick but either way, eating great! But then a few days in it's as if she only noticed the change in food and suddenly wasn't nearly as excited or interested so she would not really eat it or finish it. And I'm trying to feed her the daily recommended 4 times a day amount but she would sometimes not eat them at all really! We thought it could be the treats so we cut them out to see would that make her eat, but that didn't do much, she was still picking at her food the odd time but the enthusism was gone completely. The food she was on was Pedigree puppy tins and another branded puppy nuts complete. We then just took away the Pedigree tins for a bit and gave her the nuts on their own for a while, which worked as she ate more. Thennnn she soon got sick of that and went back to picking at them to hardly eating until we switched again and gave her just the tins and she DIVED in?! And now with a change to Bakers puppy nuts and Pedigree pouches/tins shes back to hardly eating again!... She was at the vet yesterday and her weight has gone up nicely (have no idea how)! The weird thing is she LOVES everything, loves her food! Like all her treats, pineapple, banana, even her own poop which she eats alot (its hard to stop her ALL the time) probably from lack of food! So I personally think she just doesn't like the taste of 'dog food' and I'm worried about her, even though people are saying "a healthy dog won't starve itself" I really wanted to start properly from day one with the proper amount of food to build a healthy happy dog, I feel she or even WE are depriving her of a healthy strong growth! It seems like shes waiting for us to give her some other new food she'll dive into again, I don't like the idea of constantly changing her food so I'm unsure what to do! I know she would love some chicken or something, would it be so bad to feed her some boiled or BBQ'd (no sauce or seasong etc) chicken with a small bit of gravy and maybe some diced boiled carrots?? I say she would devour that... But don't know for how long until she would get sick of that... I really did not want to give her 'human food' for dinner until she hit at least over 6 months or even a year but if it helps her EAT I'll try anything! Can anyone share some helpfull advice? She's full of energy and everything but would LOVE to just see her excited little face again when she sees her food and then her contented look on her face after eating it HELPPP!

 

[Contrary]

You need to do your research. What food was she on at the breeder? Adult dog food is quite common for large breed puppies, it slows down the growing and reduces the chances of pano, dysplacia, etc.

Pedigree is GARBAGE food, you're feeding her the equivalent of feeding a newborn Doritos. Hopefully someone will post the link to the dog food site soon, so you can pick a MUCH better food...an adult food, without a ton of fillers. (Garbage in = garbage out...all junky food does is make a LOT of poop)

If someone doesn't post the link soon, I'll try to get on my computer and find it...mobile at the moment.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App

 

[Spooki]

Thanks for the info! Would a puppy food from the pet shop be better? My vet said she should be on puppy food, so that's the reason I put her on it, and to be honest I think I'd prefer her on the puppy food.. Would boiled chicken be a bad idea?

 

[Contrary]

There are lots of opinions. IF you insist on a puppy food, it needs to be a QUALITY LARGE BREED puppy food. THIS is of the UTMOST importance. There is NOTHING wrong with a quality ADULT food for her. Out of all the opinions you will read about feeding your puppy, pretty much the one thing we all agree on is that vets are bad sources of info about feeding. The only nutrition info they really get in vet school are courses sponsored by Science Diet (garbage, despite the price!), Purina, etc...see the conflict? The nutrition courses are SPONSORED by million/billion dollar PET FOOD companies...

Vets aren't necessarily well-versed in the different nutrition needs of different breeds, either. Puppies are NOT one-size food fits all. Small breeds can eat regular puppy food, but large breeds need slower growth to prevent bone problems, and that's where large breed puppy foods come into play.

My first GSD, we fed Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice (adult) his entire life. This puppy is going to fed raw food, but if there is ever a need for kibble, I will use a high quality adult kibble.

I can't find the website I'm thinking about, so off the top of my head, Orijen, Nutro Natural Choice, Taste of the Wild are good kibbles. Dogs cannot digest corn, it is a filler (thus only makes more poop, provides no nutritional value), so avoid ANY kibble with corn, or a corn product, in it. (Read the ingredients, you want a meat as the first ingredient.)

If you're on a limited budget, I have no hesitation in recommending Nutro Natural Choice, they have a large breed puppy if you want puppy food, or use an adult formula. NUTRO NATURAL CHOICE Dog Food : NUTRO Natural Dog Foods - The Nutro Company

Just make SURE any "puppy" formula SAYS it is LARGE BREED, if it just says "puppy," do not use it.