German Shepherd Dog Puppy and Adult Health Tip: Lean Dogs

German Shepherd Dog Puppy and Adult Health Tip: Lean Dogs

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Hi Everyone,

Today I’m going to provide a very simple but extremely important health tip for your German Shepherd Dog. Simply, keep your German Shepherd Dog lean.

Everyone wants a fat healthy German Shepherd Dog puppy.  A plump puppy indicates good health.  However, German Shepherd Dogs, as do all large breed dogs, grow rapidly and even a few extra pounds can place undo stress on vulnerable and growing joints.  Puppies play hard and often can come up lame, and the difference between limping for a few days and having a lifetime of lameness resulting from injuries can be a few extra pounds in a growing German Shepherd Dog puppy.

Lean Puppies Playing

Lean Puppies Playing

Many owners cannot wait for their German Shepherd Dogs to bulk up once they turn two and have slowed in growth.  Therefore, they often overfeed and unknowingly make their German Shepherd Dogs fat.  Unfortunately the look they really want is not the rolly-polly dog that they have created, but rather that of a muscular mature German Shepherd Dog. German Shepherd Dogs are not stocky breeds by design, such as Rottweilers, St. Bernard, or Bernese Mountain dogs.

Usually by the time your German Shepherd Dog turns five they will have started to develop a mature well muscular look.  This lean well muscled German Shepherd Dog will come naturally with proper nutrition and exercise.  Be patient, with good genetics, diet, and exercise it will happen.

A Four-Year-Old Champion Heidelberg's Bismark Naturally Bulking Up

A Four-Year-Old Champion Heidelberg’s Bismark Naturally Bulking Up

Having your German Shepherd Dog adult overweight is more detrimental to their overall health than having them too heavy as puppies.  While joints are still a concern, your German Shepherd Dog is now predisposed to diabetes, autoimmune disease, heart attack, stroke, and increased risk of cancer.

Keep your German Shepherd Dogs lean, and they will perform, feel, and look better.

Ask me a question and I will provide my opinion.

Sincerely,

KeystoneGermanShepherds

German Shepherd Dog Puppy and Adult Health Tip: Lean Dogs

German Shepherd Dog Diet Tip: Yogurt

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Hi Everyone,

Today, I am going to recommend that you add to your German Shepherd Dog’s diet one tablespoon of plain white yogurt to every meal. Yogurt contains the essential calcium in a highly digestible form that is needed for maintenance and growth.  Once German Shepherd Dog puppies are weened they become lactose intolerant, which means they no longer are able to produce the enzyme lactase in sufficient quantities to digest most milk products.  Certain cheeses and cottage cheese in small quantity and yogurt are digestible by your German Shepherd Dog.

German Shepherd Dogs love the taste of yogurt.  Yogurt may help a finicky German Shepherd Dog eater to eat their food.

Yogurt is especially good for your growing German Shepherd Dog puppy by promoting and supporting proper bone and joint growth.  Most all dry-food companies that sell puppy formulas, advertise their kibble as being fortified with calcium, but if you read the label the form of calcium added to the kibble is calcium carbonate.  Calcium carbonate is ground up limestone and is not a readily digestible form of calcium.  Therefore, the limestone powder passes through your German Shepherd Dog puppy’s digestive system unabsorbed and may even be detrimental by adding undo stress to your German Shepherd Dog puppy’s digestive system.

One heaping table spoon of a high quality Yogurt such as Dannon provides your German Shepherd Dog’s daily requirement for calcium, as well as probiotics such as acidophilus.  Acidophilus will help your German Shepherd Dog digest their food more efficiently by assisting the breakdown of nutrients into a digestible form.  This is one supplement for your German Shepherd Dog that may pay for itself by assisting in the more efficient digestion of your dog’s food. Thus, better absorption and less poop.

In addition, yogurt can help with diarrhea by replenishing the flora that is lost in your German Shepherd Dog’s digestive system during a bout of diarrhea.  When one of our German Shepherd Dog has an upset stomach, we give them 5 to 6 heaping tablespoons of yogurt added to their dinner and in most cases this settles their stomach and reduces or ends their bout of diarrhea.

A good source of yogurt is as close as your local food store.  We recommend a high quality yogurt because the cheaper brands may not have live acidophilus cultures.

Include yogurt in your diet regime for your dog, and your German Shepherd Dog will love you the more for it.  You will not be disappointed, and will love purchasing less dog food and picking up less poop.

Ask me a question and I will provide my opinion.

Sincerely,

KeystoneGermanShepherds

 

 

 

German Shepherd Dog Puppy and Adult Health Tip: Lean Dogs

German Shepherd Dog Diet Tip: Cod Liver Oil

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Hi Everyone,

Today, I am going to recommend that you add to your German Shepherd Dog’s diet a table spoon of cod liver oil.  Cod liver oil contains the essential omega three fatty acids that are need for maintenance and growth.  Cod liver oil is especially good for your growing German Shepherd Dog puppy by promoting good brain growth and a strong vascular system, as well as providing essential macro-nutrients for good eye health.

Another benefit of cod liver oil for German Shepherd Dog is that it will keep their coats bright and shiny.  In addition, if your German Shepherd Dog has skin allergies, cod liver will help alleviate the itching and scratching associated with skin allergies and hot spots.

Cod liver oil can also be used to flavor bad tasting medicines.  Just pour a little cod liver oil on the pill or powder and your German Shepherd Dog will readily take their medicine.

We sell one quart bottles of the purest North Atlantic cod liver oil that is available.  We charge $17.50 for the one quart bottles that are human grade cod liver oil.  Our cod liver is also preserved only with vitamin e (no artificial preservatives or harsh chemicals) and can be placed in the freezer for long term storage.   A one quart bottle will last approximately 3 months.

Include cod liver oil in your diet regime for your dog, and your German Shepherd Dog will love you the more for it.

Ask me a question and I will provide my opinion.

Sincerely,

KeystoneGermanShepherds

 

 

 

 

 

German Shepherd Dog Puppy and Adult Health Tip: Lean Dogs

Diet Improvements for Your German Shepherd Dog or Puppy

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Why Does Your German Shepherd Dog or Puppy Eat Grass

Hello, today I thought I would blog about the correct way to feed your German shepherd dog and/or your German shepherd puppy. We’ve all seen German shepherds eat grass and then vomit the grass back up. Most of us have heard that the reason for this is that they have an upset stomach and that is why they are eating grass.

German shepherd dogs eat grass because they are not strict carnivores, but rather omnivores that have a nutritional requirement, as we do, for chlorophyll.   Unfortunately your German shepherd dog cannot digest the Johnson, rye, or Bermuda grass in your yard.  Therefore, they must vomit it back up.

We satisfy this need for Chlorophyll in our German shepherd dogs’ diet by adding cooked spinach and/or raw alfalfa sprouts to their diet. We add about 1 ounce per day of cooked spinach or alfalfa sprouts to our German shepherd diet.  Your German shepherd dog or puppy will be able to digest and fully assimilate these vegetables, thus benefiting from these rich sources of chlorophyll, vitamin A, and iron.

In addition, we monitor our German shepherd dogs and if we observe them eating grass, we increase the amount of spinach and/or alfalfa sprouts to their diet.  German shepherd dogs are like humans in that their nutritional requirements change; sometimes daily depending on environmental stressors and hormone levels such as going into season.

Try adding cooked spinach and/or alfalfa sprouts to your German shepherd dog’s diet.  You will be presently pleased with the results and your German shepherd will love you the more for it.

Ask me a question and I promise I will provide my opinion.

Sincerely,

KeystoneGermanShepherds