It so important to provide supplement nutrition including macro and micro nutrients to the diet of your German Shepherd Dog especially as growing puppy.Researchers have just discovered how important vitamin c is to proper growth and development of joints while German shepherd Dogs are growing.If insufficient amounts of vitamin c are provided in the diet during growth spurts that joint disease can develop even in puppies that are not genetically predisposed to joint disease.
Feeding just dry-food will leave your German Shepherd Dog or puppy deficient on macro and micro nutrients, vitamins, and certain minerals.The reason why these supposedly balanced and even the top-of-the-line dry-foods cannot supply these nutrients, vitamins, and minerals needed for proper growth and maintenance is due to the way it is manufactured.Dry-food is cooked at such high temperatures and extruded at such high pressures that the nutrient values that are in the starting ingredients are destroyed or altered in such a way that they cannot be assimilated or digested.
This is why we supplement our Heidelberg German Shepherd Dogs’ diet with our Pure Total Dog Supplement, which provides all the macro and macro nutrient, vitamins and minerals in a form that is readily digested and absorbed by your German shepherd.Our Pure Total Dog Supplement is loaded with vitamin C, all the B-complexes including biotin and B-6 and 12, Digest K yeast which helps with digestion, desiccated liver powder, which helps with finicky eaters, selenium that is important with skeletal growth maintenance, Omega 3 oils, which supports the circulatory system, and Diatomite powder, which provides the macro nutrients needed for joint growth and maintenance.
Pure Total Dog Supplement
Our Pure Total Dog Supplement in combination with a daily tablespoon of Cod liver oil, which provides vitamin A and E and a good quality dry-food will provide everything needed for your German Shepherd Dog or puppy to grow correctly and thrive.
We sell our Pure Total Dog Supplement and Cod liver oil to the public.Our Pure Total Dog Supplement cost $19.95 and is a four month supply for one dog.Our cod liver oil comes in a quart bottle and will last two-months for one dog and is priced at $19.50.Our cod liver oil is imported from Iceland and is the most contaminant free cod liver oil available.We only purchase human grade for our dogs, which decreases possible contaminants such as PCB’s. Dioxins, and mercury. Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested in purchasing these items from us.
A Happy Healthy Correctly Fed and Supplemented Puppy
Today I’m going to offer a short but important basic obedience tip. When heeling with your German shepherd Dog or puppy start off with your left foot. This may be awkward especially for right handed people because most of us will start walking with our dominant side, but with a little practice it will become natural.Starting off with your left foot provides a visual clue to your German Shepherd Dog to start heeling with you. Also, if you have proper leash placement by starting with your left foot the leash should be engaged by your left knee or thigh coming forwards, thus giving a physical cue to your shepherd to begin heeling when the engaged leash pulls them slightly forwards.The other advantage of starting to with your left foot is while your dog or puppy is in the heeling position and in a sit-stay you can move out of the heeling position by starting with your right foot and not trigger your German to move out of the sit-stay position.This is useful for moving in front of your dog to begin a different training exercise such as ‘stay’ followed by the come command.
German Shepherd Dogs in Heeling Position While on a Sit-Stay Command
German Shepherd Dogs Heeling at Keystone German Shepherd Training Class
Remember even if you only have 5 minutes a day to practice obedience training with your German Shepherd Dog or puppy, go ahead and utilize those 5 minutes because overtime it will pay off with great benefits for you and your German shepherd.
We at Keystone German Shepherds love to go on hikes in the woods and after 15 years of living in Northeastern Oklahoma, we actually purchased a book on ‘Hiking Places in Oklahoma’ and discovered a wooded 6 mile hiking loop within 5 miles of us on Keystone Lake.Patty and I took GCH. CH. Kodi on the hike yesterday.We all had a blast; although, we were not sure where on the trail we were all the time because there are many loops and intersections that were not well marked and I left the map at home.
A picture of the Hiking Trail That We Walked With Our German Shepherd Dogs
What a resource for us to exercise and enjoy our German Shepherd Dogs and to lose weight and get in shape.This trail is rugged and requires coordination and strength to avoid the rugged rocks that splatter the trail.We were sore and exhausted after hiking for two hours, but we are going back today. Today we will probably take Heidelberg’s Daphne Oklahoman and Heidelberg’s Patriot v Atlantan.
Another Picture of the Rugged Trail We Hiked With Our German Shepherd Dogs
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
What We Did After Our Hike With Our German Shepherd Dogs
It is the end of November in Northeastern Oklahoma, and it is time again to pull our dog houses out of storage and place them in the kennels.After the 15th of November, we often get cold snaps in Oklahoma, which can include several days of freezing rain or even snow.Our Heidelberg shepherds are well equipped to deal with the cold with their correct plush double-coats.Likewise if your shepherd has a correct coat and no health problems, you will probably notice that when you crank up the heater they well probably ask to go outside more often than normal. This is because they have their winter coats on and cannot remove them as we remove our jackets upon entering the house.Fortunately for our shepherds that are inside, my wife and I run a little hot and we keep our thermostat down during winter months.
Heidelberg German Shepherds Enjoying a March Blizzard
We place straw in our dog houses in our kennels to provide warm insulation for our shepherds. In addition, their runs are covered to protect against rain and snow.We have found unless our shepherds are wet that they will not use their dog houses even in subzero temperatures.We often have observed that our shepherds prefer to sleep on the snow rather than their well-insulated dog houses.
Heidelberg German Shepherds Playing in a Winter Storm
Therefore, if they can stay dry and out of the wind and your German shepherd is healthy and correctly coated, they comfortably can withstand subfreezing temperatures .Actually you may find that they prefer and are much more comfortable outside during the winter months than they areinside your cozy warm house.Remember to always provide fresh unfrozen water for your shepherd during the winter months because they will get dehydrated almost as quickly as they would in the summer.
Heidelberg Puppies Are Well Equipped to Be Comfortable in the Winter
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Hi Everyone,
Damon is a young 14-month-old, long-coat Heidelberg German shepherd that has almost completed his first level of Rally.Damon and his owner went out to the barn to feed their horses . Damon is still on leash while feeding because he likes to chase the neighbor’s cats (he mainly wants to play) and he wants to herd the horses at inappropriate times.The owner had experienced some health problems and has been falling a lot, and this time she fell at the barn and badly twisted her leg.She screamed and dropped the leash.
A Six-Month-Old Heidelberg’s Damon Relaxing at Home
Once she had dropped the leash she thought ‘oh no Damon is going to chase the horses and I am hurt too bad to stop him.However to her surprise Damon straddled her while she was lying down and stood over her until she was able to stand.Damon stood there on alert guarding her and trying to figure out what happened and why did his owner fall.She said, ‘it was so obvious he was guarding me’.Damon completely ignored the neighbor’s cats and horses and focused completely on protecting his owner.Once Damon realized there was no real threat he got behind his owner and started pushing on her back with his head to help nudge her up.
A Six-Month-Old Heidelberg’s Damon Sitting Nicely at Home
I have experienced similar behavior with our Heidelberg German shepherd while falling in the show ring.I have taken some hard falls over the years while running around the ring and each time our shepherds have immediately come up to me and start licking my face.Whereas, I have seen other shepherds being shown where the handler has fallen and let go off the leash and these shepherds that are not Heidelberg’s have taken off running away out of the ring and if they didn’t have a leash where somebody was able to grab them, they would probably still be running today.
A Six-Month-Old Heidelberg’s Damon Standing Nicely at Home
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
Today I have another diet tip for your German Shepherd Dog.It is fall again, and for those that live in rural parts of the United States that means it is hunting season and more specific it is deer season.Here in Oklahoma, we have two large deer processors nearby and daily I collect their scraps from their deer processing operations.I usually pick up four large trash cans full of meat and fresh bones.We separate the bones from the meat scraps and place the bones in the kennels every evening.The following day we remove the bones before they dry out and become brittle and, therefore, become possibly a danger by breaking off in sharp shards.
Heidelberg’s William Loves Deer Bones
Fresh bones have the consistency of a bar of soap in that you can shave them as you can shave soap.Fresh bones in moderation are easily chewed and digested by German Shepherd Dogs.We even provide bones to puppies as young as 8-weeks-old.Our shepherds enjoying chewing off the fresh meat still attached to the bones and they enjoy eating some of the bones and the nutrient rich marrow inside the long bones. Our shepherd get very fat and healthier in the fall.In addition to the nutritional benefits of fresh bones, the process of chewing on the bones removes all the tarter off our shepherds’ teeth.
Grand Champion, Champion Heidelberg’s Kodi has a Perfect Smile Because He Keeps His Teeth Clean from Chewing on Deer Bones
Give your German Shepherd Dog fresh bones from time to time.Find a deer processor near you, and ask them if you can collect some fresh leg bones from them.Offer to bring a container that they can throw the bones in it for you. Most processor are more than happy to provide their bones to you.For the most part they just throw them away anyway.Collect and freeze enough to provide a fresh bone treat to your German Shepherd Dog a couple of times a month.
Note a word of caution: if you have not previously given fresh bones to your shepherd, you may need to monitor their consumption for the first couple of times because they literally will eat all the bones that you give them, which can cause gastric upset and constipation.Your shepherd never before having fresh bones will devour them as a kid would if they were experiencing chocolate for the first time as teenager.No amount will satisfy.Once you give your shepherd bones on a regular basis of a couple times per month they will then just chew on them and eat very little of the actual bone, which is what you want.After twenty-four hours remove any uneaten bones from the yard and throw them away.
12-Month-Old Heidelberg’s Nelson With A Perfect Smile
If you are considering getting a German shepherd puppy consider getting one of our older puppies and save a little money on some very high quality shepherds.
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