Feeding Your German Shepherd

In this chapter

• Choosing dry versus semi-moist versus canned food
• Considering natural diets
• Knowing what not to feed
• Coping with weight problems

Your Shepherd’s athletic build — as well as his energy level, condition, health, and longevity — depends in part on which foods you set in front of him. Unlike humans, dogs are usually fed only one type of food, which makes choosing that food even more important and intimidating. All it takes is one dizzying trip through the dog food section of a supermarket or pet supply store to leave you utterly baffled.

Before you become paralyzed with indecision, keep in mind that dog nutritionists have done most of the work for you, and that as long as the food you choose meets some basic guidelines, it will be adequate to sustain your dog’s life. It may not make him bloom with condition, however. For that, you do need to do a little investigating, as this chapter explains.

Going Bowling

To eat and drink, your dog needs separate food and water bowls. Although you can let him use your people bowls, most people prefer for the dog to have his own. Your choices are plastic, ceramic, and stainless steel.

Dummies Approved

• Look for stainless steel bowls. They last forever (except for the occasional dog who chews his bowl) and are easy to wash.
• Forget plastic. Dogs can chew it up, and many dogs are allergic to it. It’s also hard to keep clean.
• Ceramic bowls are a nice aesthetic choice but can be awkward to clean and will harbor germs if they crack.

Get a good-sized food bowl, at least 10 inches in diameter. Most German Shepherds prefer a wide, rather than deep, bowl. Otherwise, their jaws bump against the sides when they try to eat.

Make sure that the bottom of the food bowl you purchase is flat or has nonskid material on it. Round bowls tend to tip when your dog is trying to get at those last morsels — or if your dog thinks it’s more entertaining to dump the food on the floor than to eat it out of the bowl!

Tip

If the dog’s bowl is outside and you develop an ant problem, you can buy a special ant-resistant bowl, or you can simply place the bowl in a shallow pan of water so that the ants would have to cross a moat to get to the food.

Choosing Your Dog’s Chow

Once you have the dog’s food bowl, you need to decide what type of food to put in it. When you first bring your puppy home, you can continue to feed him whatever he had been eating at his breeder’s or former home, but you’ll want to experiment to find a food that meets your growing dog’s needs — and taste preferences. If you need to start with a new food, choose a high-quality food that’s appropriate for your dog’s age.

Warning!

When changing foods, introduce a new food gradually. Dogs can get upset stomachs from sudden changes in diet.

Dry, semi-moist, or canned?

Although dogs are members of the order Carnivora (“meat-eaters”), they are actually omnivorous, meaning that a diet derived from both animals and plants best meets their nutritional needs. Most dogs do have a decided preference for meat over non-meat foods, but a balanced meal combines both meat- and plant-based nutrients. These nutrients are commercially available in several forms. Most Shepherd owners feed a combination of dry and canned food, supple mented with dog biscuits as treats. For example, a typical meal might be made up of dry to canned food in a 3:1 ratio, with dog biscuits given as occasional snacks. The exact amount depends on your dog’s age, activity, metabolism, weight, and health.

• Dry food (containing about 10 percent moisture) is the most popular, economical, and healthy choice, but it’s the least enticing form of dog food.
• Semi-moist foods (about 30 percent moisture) are tasty and convenient but are not an optimal nutritional choice for a dog’s regular diet because they contain high levels of sugar as preservatives. Pay no attention to their meat-like shapes; they all start out as powder and are formed to look like meat chunks or ground beef.
• Canned food has a high moisture content (about 75 percent moisture), which helps make it tasty but also makes it comparatively expensive, because you’re getting only fewer solid nutrients for your money. Keep in mind, too, that a steady diet of canned food does not provide the chewing necessary to maintain dental health.
• Dog biscuits can help provide the chewing action necessary to rid teeth of some (but far from all) dental plaque. (See Chapter Grooming Your Dog for more on dog dental care.) The better varieties of dog biscuits provide complete nutrition. Dog owners most commonly use them as snacks or treats.

Warning!

When you add table scraps and other enticements to your dog’s food, you disrupt the diet’s balance. A few table scraps won’t hurt, but a diet made up of a large percentage of scraps will almost certainly not be balanced, and that could be harmful to your dog’s health (not to mention his waistline).

Protein and fat contents

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) recommends mini- mum nutrient levels for dogs based on controlled feeding studies. Unless you are a nutritionist, the chance of you cooking up a homemade diet that meets these exacting standards is remote. So the first rule is to select a high-quality, name-brand food whose label states that it not only meets the requirements set by the AAFCO but also has been tested in feeding trials.

NATURAL AND HOMEMADE DIETS

More and more, people are cooking for their dogs just as they do for themselves and their families to ensure that they’re eating a healthy, balanced diet. Homemade diets guarantee that you know what you’re feeding your dog — and if your dog has certain allergies, you may need to cook for him. Although knowing everything that’s going into your dog’s bowl is reassuring, it can also be troubling. Dogs are not people, so you can’t just figure that what’s good for your human family is good for your Shepherd. If you want to go the homemade or natural route, you need to bone up on canine nutritive needs. And because each dog is different, you need to experiment to be sure that your dog is getting what he needs. Fortunately, a lot of information is available on homemade, natural diets for dogs. A particularly reliable source is the book Holistic Guide to a Healthy Dog, by Wendy Volhard and Kerry Brown, DVM (Howell Book House).

When you compare food labels, keep in mind that differences in moisture content make it difficult to directly compare the guaranteed analyses in different forms of food unless you first do some calculations to equate the percentage of dry matter. The components that vary most from one brand to another are protein and fat percentages.

• Protein provides the necessary building blocks for growth and maintenance of bones, muscle, and coat and the production of infection-fighting antibodies. The quality of protein is as important as the quantity of protein. Meat-derived protein is generally of higher quality; it is more easily digestible than plant-derived protein. Most Shepherds do fine on regular adult dry foods that have protein levels of about 20 percent. Canned foods appear to have a lower percentage because of their high water content.

Tip

A good general rule is that three or four of the first six ingredients should be animal-derived. These ingredients tend to be tastier and more highly digestible than plant-based ingredients; more highly digestible foods generally mean less stool volume and fewer gas problems.

• Fat is the calorie-rich component of foods, and most dogs prefer the taste of foods with a higher fat content. Fat is necessary to good health, aiding in the transport of important vitamins and providing energy. Dogs that are deficient in fat often have sparse, dry coats. Yet foods that are too high in fat can also produce coat, weight, and other health problems. Only extremely active dogs should eat high-fat dog foods.

Choose a food that has a protein and fat content that suits your dog’s life stage, adjusting for any weight or health problems. (Prescription diets formulated for specific health problems are available from your veterinarian.) Your vet or breeder can help you make this determination.

• Puppies and adolescents need particularly high levels of protein and somewhat higher fat levels in their diets, such as those found in puppy foods.

Tip

German Shepherds are among the breeds predisposed to hip dysplasia (see Chapter Working with Your Dog’s Other Best Friend: His Veterinarian). Studies have shown that extremely rapid growth can increase the probability of developing hip dysplasia. The current recommendation is to discontinue feeding puppy food and switch to a lower-protein food (about 21 percent to 24 percent) at about 3 months of age. The puppy will grow more slowly but will reach the same adult size.

• Healthy adult dogs should get average protein and fat levels found in adult-formulated premium dog foods.
• Stressed, highly active, or underweight dogs should get higher protein levels or even puppy food.
• Obese dogs or dogs with heart or digestive problems should get a lower-fat food.
• Older dogs, especially those with kidney problems, should get moderate levels of very high-quality protein. Studies have shown that high-protein diets do not cause kidney failure in older dogs, but a high-protein diet will do a lot of harm to a dog who already has kidney problems.

Testing Your Dog’s Tastes

Mealtime is a highlight of a dog’s day; although a dog will eventually eat even the most unsavory of dog foods if given no choice, depriving your family member of one of life’s simple — and for a dog, most important — pleasures hardly seems fair. So shop around for a food that your Shepherd enjoys. If your dog doesn’t like it by the end of the first bag, try another brand. Although many individual differences exist, the average dog prefers beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and horse meat, in that order. They also tend to prefer higher-calorie (and of course, higher-priced) dog foods.

Warning!

Heed this word of warning as you experiment to find the right food: One of the great mysteries of life is how a dog who is renowned for his lead stomach and prefers to eat out of garbage cans can at the same time develop a violently upset stomach simply because you switched from one high-quality dog food to another. But it happens. When changing foods, do so gradually, mixing in progressively more and more of the new food each day for several days.

Also beware of this: Dogs often seem to prefer a new food when first offered but balk after the novelty has worn off. Only after you buy a cupboard full of this alleged ambrosia do you discover that it was just a passing fancy.

Knowing What Not to Feed a Dog

Warning!

Avoid feeding any of the following to your dog:

• Alcohol: Many dogs like the taste of beer, but dogs can become intoxicated very easily. Some dogs have been killed while intoxicated, and others have died from drinking too much alcohol.
• Bones that could be swallowed whole: Swallowing these bones can cause choking or intestinal blockage.
• Chicken, pork, lamb, or fish bones: These bones can be swallowed, and their sharp ends can pierce the stomach or intestinal walls.
• Cooked bones: Cooked bones tend to break and splinter.
• Chocolate: This human treat contains theobromine, which is poisonous to dogs.
• Mineral supplements (unless advised to do so by your veterinarian): Adding minerals can upset the balance of other nutrients, causing health problems.
• Onions: Onions can cause red blood cells to break down, sometimes causing serious illness in dogs who eat them.

Also avoid food that has been sitting on the shelf for a long period. One sign that a food may be old is that grease is seeping through the bag. Dry food loses nutrients as it sits, and the fat content can become rancid. Also avoid bags that have holes in them or show any evidence of bugs. Steer clear of bags on which you can see tiny webs or moths, too (they love dog biscuits); these are signs of insect infestation. Always strive to buy and use only the freshest food available.

Thirsting for Water

Water is essential to your Shepherd’s health and comfort. Your dog’s body is made up of mostly water, and many of his organs require proper hydration in order to function properly. Dehydration is one of the first things your veterinarian looks for when you bring in an ill dog to be examined; if a dog is dehydrated and can’t drink, the veterinarian will give fluids intravenously.

Fortunately, in most cases you can keep your dog properly hydrated simply by providing a bowl of fresh water at all times. Adding ice cubes will encourage your dog to drink.

Warning!

Don’t keep your dog’s water bowl full simply by topping it off every day. This habit allows algae to form along the sides of the bowl and gives bacteria a chance to multiply. Instead, empty, scrub, and refill the water bowl daily. And keep it filled. If the water bowl runs dry, your dog may turn to the toilet bowl as an especially deluxe alternative source. It should go without saying that drinking from the toilet is not a healthy practice — and definitely not conducive to dog kisses! Make it a habit to keep the lid down.

Deciding How Often to Feed Your Dog

Dogs are creatures of habit who like to eat on very regular schedules. Of course, your dog will probably eat whenever you feed him and as often as you offer him food, but setting up a healthy feeding schedule and sticking to it is in the dog’s best interests. The schedule depends on the dog’s age:

• Very young puppies should be fed three or four times a day on a regular schedule. Feed them as much as they care to eat in about 15 minutes.
• Puppies aged 3 to 6 months should be fed three times daily.
• Young dogs aged 6 months to 1 year should be fed two or three times daily.
• Adult dogs should be fed twice daily.

Some people let their dogs decide when to eat by making food available at all times. This is not a good idea for several reasons. First, a lack of appetite is often the first sign of a health problem. A self-feeding dog may seem picky, but he may be sick. You need to know which is the case. Another reason not to let your dog self-feed is that if you have other pets or children in the house, they may get into the dog’s food — not a good thing.

Remember

Your healthy dog should be eager for his meals. He should gobble them down within 15 minutes. Don’t encourage fussy eating by giving him any more time than that.

Weighing In on Fat and Thin

Just as important as feeding the right type of food is feeding the right amount of food. If you overfeed or underfeed your dog, he will become overweight or underweight — neither of which is a healthy state.

A Shepherd of the proper weight should have a slightly hourglass figure whether viewed from above or the side. There should be no roll of fat over the withers or rump. The stomach should be slightly tucked up. The ribs should be easily felt through a layer of muscle. A GSD is an athlete and should have an athlete’s body: lean and muscular. (Figure 7-1 shows a German Shepherd at the appropriate weight.)

FIGURE 7-1: A German Shepherd should be lean and muscular.

The amount of exercise your dog gets also affects his weight. See Chapter Exercising Your Dog for information about exercise for German Shepherds.

Shedding the pounds

The dog’s wild ancestor, the wolf, evolved to survive feast and famine, gorging following a kill but then waiting several days before another feast. In today’s world, without the period of famine, dogs who feast daily can easily become obese. Obesity predisposes dogs to joint injuries and heart problems and makes many pre-existing problems worse. An obese GSD can’t enjoy one of the greatest pleasures in life — the ability to run, jump, and frisk with boundless energy.

Warning!

Overfeeding a German Shepherd puppy is one of the worst things you can do. Studies have shown that overfed GSD pups are more likely to develop hip dysplasia. It’s not that overfeeding causes hip dysplasia; rather, if a dog has a genetic predisposition to be dysplastic, overfeeding makes him more likely to actually become dysplastic.

It’s easy to tell that you’re overfeeding an adult when the dog becomes fat; trying to decide whether you’re overfeeding a puppy is much harder. A puppy with rolls of fat is probably being overfed. One with a pot belly may have internal parasites, however. Your pup should maintain a trim figure, neither fat nor thin. Special large-breed puppy foods are available that are formulated to provide proper nutrition without encouraging overly fast growth.

If you have an overweight German Shepherd, use the following guidelines to get him fit and trim again:

• Feed your portly pooch a high-fiber, low-fat, and medium-protein diet dog food. (The section “Choosing Your Dog’s Chow,” earlier in this chapter, explains how to determine a dog food’s fat and protein contents.) Commercially available diet foods, which supply about 15 percent fewer calories per pound, are preferable to feeding less of a fattening food. New research has shown that higher-protein (about 24 percent), low-fat diets are best. Home-prepared diets that are both tasty and less fattening are also available. Your veterinarian can usually provide printed recipes.
• Watch the snacks that you feed your dog. Many people find that one of the many pleasures of dog ownership is sharing a special treat with their pets. Rather than giving up this bonding activity, substitute a low-calorie alternative such as rice cakes or carrots. Make sure that family members aren’t sneaking the dog forbidden tidbits.
• Keep the dog out of the kitchen or dining area at food preparation or mealtimes so that you aren’t tempted to let him nibble on the scraps that may fall to the floor.
• Schedule a walk immediately following your dinner to get your dog’s mind off of your leftovers — doing so will be good for both of you.

Warning!

If your dog remains overweight, seek your veterinarian’s opinion. Several health problems (including heart disease, hypothyroidism, Cushing’s disease, and the early stages of diabetes) can cause the appearance of obesity and should be ruled out or treated. A dog whose stomach is enlarged, but who has no fat around the shoulders or rump, is especially suspect and should be examined by a vet. However, most cases of obesity result simply from eating more calories than are expended.

Putting on weight

Just as some dogs have trouble with excess weight, others have trouble keeping their weight up. Often, a dog will suffer a temporary loss of appetite. How you overcome this problem depends on its apparent cause.

• Many picky eaters are created when their owners begin to spice up their ordinary food with especially tasty treats. The dog then refuses to eat unless the preferred treat is offered and finally learns that if he refuses even the proffered treat, another even tastier enticement will be offered. If you and your dog are playing this game, try a couple of dog food brands. If your Shepherd still won’t eat, you may have to employ tough love. Give your dog a good, tasty meal, but don’t succumb to blackmail or you may be a slave to your dog’s gastronomical whims for years to come. Eventually, the dog will eat what you offer him — a hungry Shepherd won’t hold out forever!
• A sick or recuperating dog may have to be coaxed into eating. Usually, cooked fresh meat prepared with broth and rice will do the job; consult with your veterinarian.

Warning!

• If the dog suddenly loses his appetite or loses weight, take him to a veterinarian. Such problems can be warning signs of a physical disorder. Also see a vet if the dog’s appetite fails to pick up or if he simply can’t gain weight. Some GSDs have enzymatic deficiencies that you can treat by adding digestive enzymes to their food (see Chapter Dealing with GSD Hereditary Health Problems). You are the best judge of whether your dog’s appetite has changed. For some chow hounds, a day without inhaling each meal is cause for concern; for other dogs who may be generally less enthusiastic eaters, it may take a week of pickiness before you realize that a problem is brewing.

by D. Caroline Coile, PhD