So i am picking up a german sheperd tom and I want to get everything I need ready for him... he is 9 weeks old. He is a wite German Sheperd... What food do you guys reccommend for him? Vitamins? Treats? Anything you guys can suggest would really be appeciated. Thnk you...

german shepards are tough as bullets. I'm sure anything you buy will be fine. My buddy's dog ate two boxes of chocolate cake mix and grapes, and lived (took a massive dump) but he was all good. I don't recommend those two items for dogs at all

artifice wrote

german shepards are tough as bullets. I'm sure anything you buy will be fine. My buddy's dog ate two boxes of chocolate cake mix and grapes, and lived (took a massive dump) but he was all good. I don't recommend those two items for dogs at all

LMAOOOO....

Oh btw... the dog knows all his commands in German. It is awesome.

Orijen is supposed to be one of the best foods out there. I use it for both my dogs. http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/

feed him a healthy supply of intruders

LOL ^^

I am starting him off with the same food his breeder was giving him. ROYAL CANIN

Bought him some wellness treats as well... Off to a good start... I cant wait for him to get here tom

gthirtyfizle wrote

So i am picking up a german sheperd tom and I want to get everything I need ready for him... he is 9 weeks old. He is a wite German Sheperd... What food do you guys reccommend for him? Vitamins? Treats? Anything you guys can suggest would really be appeciated. Thnk you...

We own a King German Shephard and Rotti German shephard mix.
We feed them Eagle Pack. One of the best we have found. It is good balance food. As for the treats we give them beef jerky, turkey jurky , peanut butter, cheese, chicken strips and many more. We also bake liver cake and they love it.
One thing you need to keep in mind is to watch the weight. They are known for having hip issues and knee issues.
If you need any more info PM me.
Good luck. You will love him

jaiman wrote

Orijen is supposed to be one of the best foods out there. I use it for both my dogs. http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/

We feed our dog the same stuff. 99% of the food at Petco/Petsmart is crap. One of the worst foods you can buy is Science Diet. They actually give out pamphlets that say your dog could survive on shoe leather. Vets always push that crap too because they get discounts on them. Most vets are not nutritionists so be careful what they recommend.

Innova is another pretty good dog food brand. Here's a pretty decent article on dog foods:

http://4dogma.net/food_nutrition.html

I feed my mini german sheperd (pomeranian) royal canin.

I feed my Staffordshire Bull Terrier Wellness Just For Puppy food. It ain't cheap but it's lightyears better than anything you'll find at the chain stores. Charlie Bear treats are also good as they're only 3 calories each.

We feed ours Science Diet
Lots of chew things and balls!!

my boxer bruno gets merrick mixed with merrick canned. he LOVES it!!! the best part about is when you mix some warm water with the kibble it creates a nice gravy that dog love. plus merrick is a 5star dog food, so its good for dogs. its good practice to rotated dog foods every few months to prevent accumulation of certain vitamins and minerals in food

I strongly suggest you get a crate and start crate training him. It's for his protection as well as your sanity. When he gets older and you're aware of his behavior, you can slowly work him out of the crate. Take a basic obedience course as well. A few simple commands can possibly save his life (leave it and drop it in particular).

+1 on wellness. also +1 on watching the weight. DM (degenerative myelopathy) sneaks up on them and semi-paralyzes their rear legs. My German Shepard/Alaskan Husky mix is going through this and it's heart-breaking to watch. Less weight definitely makes their life easier.

I think they are great. very loyal. I have one, and i love him.

Post pics!!! I barely found out there were white German Shepherds. I've had the normal ones throughout my childhood and they are the best guard dogs and obedient.

You don't plan to have him neutered do you?

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ should help you out. If you aren't too picky about price, drop in the extra $10/bag and go for a 5 or 6 star rated dogfood.

i feed both my german shepherd and doberman "Taste of the wild" It is the cheapest. 30lbs= $48 and its a grain free diet. anything grain free is game. everything at petsmart has by-products and other crap in it. find a natural dog food store. mine is pretty far from my house but its worth it.

make sure you get lots of toys because he will chew everything and anything he can get his hands on. good luck they are wonderful dogs.

Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin are both very good. And, I am extremely jealous of you getting a German Shepherd puppy. I have been wanting one for years now, but I'm just not home enough to justify getting a little one. Enjoy, and post lots of pictures.

Oh, and be very careful with toys. I can't tell you how many times I would see dogs at our hospital (where I used to work) who would come in and require emergency surgery because they ate their tennis ball, or swallowed a stuffed animal. Just something to think about.

When picking up a new dog, it is recommended that you have it checked out at the vet within 48 hours. Be sure to buy a collar, leash, and a tag for it. You should also get it microchipped and neutered if you like (doesn't have to be right away). Be sure to buy some puppy food for it (purina, iams, etc.). With puppies you should feed it 3 times a day (one in morning, afternoon and one at night). You could also free feed it (water should always be available regardless). When it gets to be about 6 months or so you can cut it down to 2 meals a day and then 1 when it reaches a year old (switch to adult food then).

Be sure not to feed it 30 minutes before or after exercise to help prevent bloating which is common in large dogs.