Puppy Food

[labesilol]

Hello all
Im a new owner of a 4 month GS 'Ella',and Im in love with her! Its the first dog I managed to housebreak so quickly, it took me 3 weeks to do it, despite a few accidents of course (she likes to poo in the Living room in the morning). I always wanted to have a GS, and I have read plenty about them before I got Ella, but I still would like some advice on two things. The first is the type of collar I should get for her? She usually behaves well when we go for walks, but she gets very excited when she sees other people or dogs, which is normal for a puppy, and tends to push me away with her, and she is quite big already (Im only about 5 ft) I would like your suggestions on the type of collar you normally get for a GS, for walks and for training! The other question is about food. The lady I got her from, told me she only feeds her GS dry food, but I feel that its too little for her to eat only dry food,even tough its cheaper. If in fact the best thing is just to feed her dry food, what things can I mix with her dry food. Example in the morning I would like to give her something more than just the dry food. What extra bits do you usually feed your GS? I give her tiny carrots for her treat, and some cheese, and she loves it, but I dont want to upset her stomack. What do you advice?

Thanks
Isabel

Welcome to the forums Isabel,..and of course Ella.

Have to be carefull with collars at 4 months, Ella is growing very fast, and you will need to be very carefull about how tight the collar is getting.

If it is her first collar, then try and pick something quite light, a flat collar would do at this stage,.. but I cant say enough watch the slack, make sure you can always get a couple of fingers under it,.. Ella will not like it I am sure,. but flat collars are light

Once she get used to haveing a collar on, you might be better off with a half check collar, no chance of it going tight, and will last for years to come.

Dry food is o.k.,.. but not what I would feed my dogs, I feed a raw diet, you can ofcourse change what she eats, but what ever you want to do, make the change over many days, little by little, or you will end up with a sour tummy for poor ella
Veg, cant be digested by dogs,.. so if you want to give Ella veg, then you have to make sure it is well mashed up, many people liquidise it, you can give Carrot as a treat, but will probably come out the other end in bits,..lol. cheese is good, but fattening,.. chicken is perfect

She gets excited with other dogs, has she been socialised, has she met many dogs, or gone to some sort of training classes?,.. she will need to meet lots of dogs, people, everything is going to be new to her, and the more experience in life she can get the better

[labesilol]

Thanks for your answer, yes she is wearing a flat collar at the moment, and I always make sure its not too tight, actually every day. She grows up a little bit everyday, every time she has a nap! Raw food for me would not be very practical, but its a good option and certainly very healthy! The classes I have been looking around in Newcastle where I live, there a few places, and Im waiting for the summer when I have more time with her. She has contact with people that come into the house, as I made sure some of my friends came to meet her, when she first came to our house. And there are a few people with dogs in my area, that come for walks right in front of my house, as there is a big open field, and also a big park, down the river. So I try to socialize as much as i can, and she is good natured and very friendly. At the moment she is into nipping at my 5 year old, but if i tell her off and she stops. Thanks for the post and for your help.

Isabel

[labesilol]

Oh and ignore my lapse, she is actually only 3 months, not 4! She looks so big, I get conviced she is actually older, than she is!

Isabel

Firstly Welcome to the forum Isabel and Ella
I would not feed my dogs on dry food/Kibble either and have Raw fed mine since they were 4 months old, IMO It is the healthiest option
I would say there isnt much you can add to a dry kible TBH You cant mix raw and Kibble together as this will upset their delicate tummy
The only thing you could add is probably tinned dog meat(which I think is awful)but the only thing that would go with kibble
What food is she on at the moment?
As for collars I would keep her on a flat collar til at least 6 months old then you could try a half check

Enjoy her Hon
The nipping will stop

Linda x

[LOVEGSD]

Hello and welcome

Your pup looks gorgeous I would suggest a flat collar and as for the food Diesel eats Arden Grange with no problems. There are plenty of good quality dry complete foods out there, such as JWB, Burns, Orijen.

[labesilol]

Thank you for your answers. She is on Pedigree (yes I know its not the best), and I got her Royal Canin the other day, specially made for GS, she liked it. I know the raw food seems the best option, but unfortunately I dont have that kind of budget to afford to give her raw food everyday, sp[eacially with the amounts they eat. I know a few people who mix things like goats natural yougurts, or weetabits!? with the dry food in the morning and then a few other bits during the day. I just wonder if there was an alternative to the dry food, I mean somthing I could mix with the dry food, that she could look foward too eating you know! How boring it woulkd be to eat the same dry cereal day in day out! Even if it makes you thin? Hhah. Thank you for the advice on the collars, yes I will keep her on a flat collar until she is 6 months and see what kind of collar she will need then, depending on her behaviour then? She is very cheeky, thats for sure! And a bit sneaky as well! I have more photos I will post them soon. Very nice to meet you all, and very happy to have found a forum where people are in love with their GS, as much as me! Yesterday, someone saw me with Ella, and they were showing me, their GS photos on their mobile! I'm even socializing more than I was before!

Thabk you
Isabel

[Diesels Mom]

Hi there and welcome to you both. I'm feeding Diesel Royal Canin Chicken and he loves it. Raw is awesome to feed your dog, I already had two on dry food so didn't want to rock the boat lol I do give my other dogs plain yogurt on occasion, they love sardines which they get on Sundays with their dry food. Sometimes I buy small tins of wet dog food like Caesars to give them as treats. Mine love carrots, doesn't do much but I was told cleans out their digestive tracts? also they love fruits (no grapes) bananas and apple without the cores. I never give my dogs bones to chew on, I find it too dangerous unless you are feed barf. Diesel wears a flat collar only when I take him out, my Rotties a haltie and my boxer a flat collar. I think if a dog is made to heel and walk properly it doesn't really matter what kind of collar is has on, JMO.

Originally Posted by Diesels Mom

Hi there and welcome to you both. I'm feeding Diesel Royal Canin Chicken and he loves it. Raw is awesome to feed your dog, I already had two on dry food so didn't want to rock the boat lol I do give my other dogs plain yogurt on occasion, they love sardines which they get on Sundays with their dry food. Sometimes I buy small tins of wet dog food like Caesars to give them as treats. Mine love carrots, doesn't do much but I was told cleans out their digestive tracts? also they love fruits (no grapes) bananas and apple without the cores. I never give my dogs bones to chew on, I find it too dangerous unless you are feed barf. Diesel wears a flat collar only when I take him out, my Rotties a haltie and my boxer a flat collar. I think if a dog is made to heel and walk properly it doesn't really matter what kind of collar is has on, JMO.

Mine love carrots, doesn't do much but I was told cleans out their digestive tracts? also they love fruits (no grapes) bananas and apple without the cores.

Raw Carrots can be given in strips but they will not receive the nutrional valuesas the stomach cannot break through the membrane of the veg that is why veg and fruit should be pulverised first, this is what happens in the wild the animals eat the veg it is then pulverised naturally in their stomach and then they get eaten by the wild dogs ect. Not heard about cleaning out digestive tract.
Fruit yes but no stones or pips, bananas will slow metabolism down so I wouldnt give weekly
Raw meaty bones are fine as long as they are frozen and fully defrosted first(more dogs choke on kibble than bones(its the cooked bones that splinter and cause the damage)
You should never mix Raw, BARF or kibble and if you are feeding a good quality kibble you wont need to add extra's
Raw feeding costs me approx £40-£50 per monthfor two dogs(13 and 15 months old)

Linda x

Isabel... do a little research into the raw diet if you like the idea, because you may like it even more when you find out that it can be a lot cheaper,.. I certainly find it much cheaper,..look to your suppermarkets to start with, they always have meat close to sell b y dates, or the buy one get one free, dont worry if it is past its sell by dates, it will not do the dogs any harm.

Have a word with a few butchers in your area,.. and have a read of the many threads about raw feeding,.. Ella would then get the very best