Today, the German Shepherd is a very popular breed of dog. This is a great pet, who can play the role of assistant, guardian or friend. This dog is well trained and adapts well to different conditions. The German Shepherd is a fairly large dog, so the question arises, how to properly feed a German Shepherd.
The diet of an adult dog and a puppy is different. But still their food must take into account the physiological characteristics of the breed of this dog. These shepherds often have diarrhea, diseases, which are associated with the pancreas. They often have allergies, especially in puppies.
How to properly feed a puppy natural food?
Feeding a puppy with natural food has advantages, and shortcomings. At first, until you get used to it, it will be difficult to cook, calculate calories and keep a balance.
A German Shepherd puppy should eat such foods:
- One month old puppy can be fed fresh meat. It is better to feed the baby beef, lean lamb or horse. Cut the meat into small pieces;
- from the age of two months, add udder to the puppy's diet, heart, liver, easy, stomach;
- use large sugar bones. They help strengthen the jaw muscles;
- feed the puppy fish, best marine. It can be eaten raw or boiled. You can replace meat with fish several times a week. If you give German Shepherd puppies river fish, then it must be boiled first;
- you can use boiled eggs, several times a week. It is also worth diversifying the diet with kefir, fermented milk, cheese or sour milk. Keep in mind, that whole milk is not recommended for dogs, who are older 6 months;
- another puppy is fed cereals, especially buckwheat, rice, Hercules;
- in the form of treats give puppies bread;
- veterinarians recommend feeding a puppy or adult shepherd and vegetables, such as beets, zucchini, carrots, pumpkin, raw greens.
How to calculate the dose of feeding a puppy?
To 2 months German Shepherd puppies should be given 1 glass of food per day, all this needs to be divided into 6 meals.
To 3 months, increase the dose to one and a half cups and feed the puppies 5 times a day.
To 6 months, the feeding dose should be 1 liter of food. Feed the puppies at the same time 4 times.
By the age of one, increase the dose to one and a half liters and feed the puppies 3 times a day.
Features of adult feeding
so, with a puppy more or less clear. But what to feed a German Shepherd adult?
A very popular method of feeding a German Shepherd is dry food. It has its characteristic advantages:
- food in the form of dry food is stored for a long time and does not spoil;
- it is convenient to store;
- there is an opportunity to carry with you easily;
- the daily norm of this forage will not be very big.
German shepherds eat dry food of these types:
- economy class. This feed contains by-products. It also contains a large amount of fiber, but it has poor quality. Economy class food is fully balanced. It does not contain certain vitamins and trace elements. Also low energy value, as a result, there is a huge cost.
- premium class. This already includes used products of higher quality. Premium foods include meat and some plant-based supplements, which are very necessary for good digestion. This food has a normal energy value. Compared to economy class feed, the daily norm is much less.
- super premium class. To prepare this food, always take very high quality products - meat of the highest class. Superpremium dry food contains cereals and cereals. The highest energy value prevails in this dry food. Therefore, it is better for them to feed the German Shepherd. But it is worth considering, that it is an expensive pleasure. Usually, feed of this class can be purchased only in a specialty store.
If the owners of a German shepherd decided to feed the pet dry food, it is necessary, that the dog was always poured water. Feeding should be carried out exclusively according to the rules. The owner is individually determined by the class of dry food, how he will feed his German shepherd.
Sometimes, manufacturers indicate another class of dry feed. Based on this, when choosing food you need to be as careful as possible, you need to carefully study the packaging, be able to distinguish counterfeit from quality product, be aware, which companies currently produce dry food and what class. Most often, owners take premium dry food for their pets.
Adult German Shepherd can be fed with natural food. It, by the way, very useful for the dog's body, because in this way her diet will consist of nutrients, quality and healthy food. Only in this situation will need to spend a lot of time, to prepare food of this kind.
The German Shepherd does not need a varied diet, It is not necessary to change meals every day. However, this should be done regularly, because the dog must receive the necessary elements for the body, and they are all part of different foods.
An adult German Shepherd should eat meat, about 30% from the whole diet. There is a lot of protein, which is necessary for life. It is better to feed the dog raw cut meat, but it can also be boiled. It is not recommended to give minced meat, because it is difficult to digest. You can also feed the dog cooked offal.
Give the dog bones. Just don't use tubular, because, when their parts enter the stomach, then it can be damaged by sharp edges. Do not include boiled bones in your diet, they contribute to the formation of constipation.
As for the fish, then it should be present in the diet. It has a lower energy value, than meat, so its portion should be one and a half times the portion of meat.
The third part of the diet should consist of dairy products. Just don't give your dog whole milk, it is poorly digested.
You also need to feed your dog bread and cereals every day.