[Andrea O]

We brought home puppy on a Wednesday evening, I got puppy formula for first few days and did raw chicken breast ground up with some formula in it. She’s ate that for three days now. Tonight this is the formula I gave her and of course she devoured it.
She is a German Shepard and weights exactly 7lbs. I did not have my chicken livers, hearts, or gizzards completely thawed so she didn’t get those yet but will incorporate those tomrw.
Would just like everyone’s opinions and advice on this formulation and what I should adjust. This is BARF model diet, I do not want to do PMR at this time so please do not push this. Thanks for your time
0.15 oz of spinach
1.00 oz of green apple
1.60 oz of carrot
1.85 oz chicken wing meat
2.80 oz of blended chicken wing meat and bone
1 teaspoon grounded pumpkin seed(for parasite prevention)
1 teaspoon coconut oil
2 teaspoon plain non fat Greek yogurt
1 medium egg shell and all uncooked

I fed her half of this finished concoction which was around 4.8 oz and then the rest I put in fridge for tomrw morning feeding.

Thank u for reading and feedback 🙂

[pitlove]

Hi Andrea-

Here is a good article written by holistic veterinary nutritionist Dr. Susan Wynn on large breed puppy growth and development

Feeding large breed puppies

I would recommend reading is over and considering what she has to say before continuing on this diet path with your GSD.

[crazy4cats]

Excellent article, Pitlove. Thank you!

[InkedMarie]

Five weeks old? 🙁

[Annie J]

Good article! There are plenty of board-certified veterinary nutritionists who would be happy to serve you and develop a diet that meets your intentions while ensuring the pup gets the nutritional requirements she needs. I know you have good intentions but this is a critical time in the baby’s life for growth and development of her skeletal, central nervous, and other systems. I can tell you from experience that we’ve had at least 3 young animals come in to our specialty clinic due to malnutrition from online diets that people swore by. the most unfortunate case was actually a 4 month old german shepherd pup who was extremely painful and couldn’t walk. when we took x-rays you couldn’t even count the number of micro-fractures this poor boy had all over his body from months of improper calcium/phosphorus ratio, amongst other nutritional deficiencies. the family members mean well but please at least seek advice from a trained veterinary nutritionist before keeping her on a homemade diet. Raw food harbors numerous microbial agents/pathogens that her immune status may not be able to tolerate at the moment but a nutritionist can also advise about this

[momofGSDs]

Just wanted to clarify that GDSs are NOT a large breed. Second it is spelled ShepHERD. Third, just wondering how you managed getting a 5 week old pup.

[crazy4cats]

Wow! I saw a very large beautiful ShepHERD yesterday when I was out walking. He had to be at least 75 pounds and not overweight. Definitely a large breed dog!

[pitlove]

Hi momofGSDs-

Male GSDs can weigh between 66-88 lbs and females can weigh on average between 49-71 lbs. According to AAFCO a large breed puppy is any dog breed that will grow to be 70 lbs or larger at mature weight and according to veterinary nutritionists a large breed puppy is any puppy that will grow to be 50lbs or larger. I tend to air on the side of caution and follow the advice of nutritionists. So yes I would say GSDs are a large breeed. I would also encourage any GSD owner who has an “AKC” German Shepherd and not a working line to use a LBP formula given the back and hip issues these dogs are facing by being bred for a sickle hock and roach back.

[Acroyali]

Depends who you ask.

“General appearance
The German Shepherd Dog is medium-size, slightly elongated, powerful and well-muscled, with dry bone and firm overall structure.”

Breed Standards

“The German Shepherd Dog is a medium-size, slightly stretched, strong, and well muscled, with the “bone” dry and firm in the over-all construction.”
http://www.germanshepherddogs.org/sv-standard/

Akc doesn’t specify that I can see.
http://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/GermanShepherdDog.pdf?_ga=1.75638421.160310691.1487289527

(Not trying to be nitpicky, but it seems to be the norm that people think GSD’s are supposed to be these huge things and weigh 120 pounds when it’s not so. But for feeding purposes, I’d agree–LB.)

[pitlove]

It depends on what those folks consider the weight ranges for medium breed to be. I’ve heard people call Rottweilers medium size dogs and idk about you but I would consider our Rottweiler a large breed at 130 lbs. He’s not overweight.

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