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Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,324
Just got a second GSD. Had him for three weeks now, this is the little guy (Tex) at 6 weeks when he came home; and his big brother Indy (who’s a year old, 98lbs, and came from the same Dam and Sire) Tex is growing like a weed, much faster than Indy, even though I avoid high protein diets. I like the low and slow method to help them avoid pano and similar ailments.View attachment 130565
What a cutie.


Not sure what you meant by avoiding 'high protein" diets.
If that's referring to kibble brands; the fact is that vets get on average, four hours of lectures on pet nutrition which is often given by pet food reps.

Dogs are canines which should not ever be fed carbohydrates [The modern rise in diabetes in dogs closely follows and parallels th rise in use of commercial pet food]

My 50kg Rotti lived to 14yo. He had no health issues apart from arthritis in his back legs the last 18 months of his life. He was fed a 100% raw meaty bone and offal diet.

My German Shepherd, a rescue with a shocking history of abuse and neglect, had only ever been fed kibble his whole first 2 1/2 years of life.
He was so excited when he smelled the large chunk of raw for dinner the first few months he was in my care, he'd zoom around the backyard at full speed. He still gets excited at dinner time, leaping and dancing.

My local vet is right to call kibble "junk food for dogs".
Here's his website for those who might be interested.
www.rawmeatybones.com
 

Aomalley27

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 8, 2021
763
1,701
Chicagoland area
What a cutie.


Not sure what you meant by avoiding 'high protein" diets.
If that's referring to kibble brands; the fact is that vets get on average, four hours of lectures on pet nutrition which is often given by pet food reps.

Dogs are canines which should not ever be fed carbohydrates [The modern rise in diabetes in dogs closely follows and parallels th rise in use of commercial pet food]

My 50kg Rotti lived to 14yo. He had no health issues apart from arthritis in his back legs the last 18 months of his life. He was fed a 100% raw meaty bone and offal diet.

My German Shepherd, a rescue with a shocking history of abuse and neglect, had only ever been fed kibble his whole first 2 1/2 years of life.
He was so excited when he smelled the large chunk of raw for dinner the first few months he was in my care, he'd zoom around the backyard at full speed. He still gets excited at dinner time, leaping and dancing.

My local vet is right to call kibble "junk food for dogs".
Here's his website for those who might be interested.
www.rawmeatybones.com
If you look at commercial feed, you’ll generally see between 28%-32% protein in the puppy offerings. That’s way too high, especially for large breeds. It just promotes an artificial and rapid growth rate which leads to weak bones, bad bone structure and panostitis.
I feed raw diet, but supplement with Adult feed with a 24% protein. I also give all my dogs a dietary supplement that includes amino acid chelates, turmeric, and other fortified minerals and vitamins.
They grow at a slower but more consistent rate. My dog gs don’t reach their full adult size until 2 1/2- 3 years. I see a lot of GSD’s topping 90lb range at the 8 month mark..... that’s WAY too fast. It’s also why you see a lot of GSD’s with hip displasia problems. All too often, there’s the knee jerk reaction that’s is simply a result of poor genetics and breeding. That’s too simplistic to explain the abundance of hip displascia amongst GSD’s.
 

chopper

Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,324
If you look at commercial feed, you’ll generally see between 28%-32% protein in the puppy offerings. That’s way too high, especially for large breeds. It just promotes an artificial and rapid growth rate which leads to weak bones, bad bone structure and panostitis.
I feed raw diet, but supplement with Adult feed with a 24% protein. I also give all my dogs a dietary supplement that includes amino acid chelates, turmeric, and other fortified minerals and vitamins.
They grow at a slower but more consistent rate. My dog gs don’t reach their full adult size until 2 1/2- 3 years. I see a lot of GSD’s topping 90lb range at the 8 month mark..... that’s WAY too fast. It’s also why you see a lot of GSD’s with hip displasia problems. All too often, there’s the knee jerk reaction that’s is simply a result of poor genetics and breeding. That’s too simplistic to explain the abundance of hip displascia amongst GSD’s.
No not true. One can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear.
Genetics determines a dogs physical characteristics,
Hip dysplasia IS due to poor breeding practices. [Hip dysplasia has become less of a problem here in Oz since reputable breeders have addressed the issue entirely through breeding]
We will just have to agree to disagree on that point.

It's said that the majority of injuries in adult dogs, like ACL tears for example, are a result of over exuberant play when a puppy.
Though how one could sensibly protect a pup from being themselves I would not know.

You clearly love your dogs and do the best for them that you thinks right. Respect.
My GSD gets offal [either liver, kidney, green tripe, gizzards or heart] and a raw salmon head once a week.
There's all the minerals and vitamins a dog requires to give them the best chance of a long healthy life.

Here's Wooki at his ideal weight, 38kg, six months after he came into my care. He was 32kg when I brought him home.
z-wooki at the car wash in the back of the ute.jpg
 

Aomalley27

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 8, 2021
763
1,701
Chicagoland area
I’ve seen two OFA certified parents produce three solid pups that upon initial X-ray showed great developing structure, but all three developed inadequate hip joints. All three were on high protein diets.
I’ve also seen the catastrophic effects of neutering too soon. Here in the States, vets push it at Six months. Seen the stunted growth, and I’ll effects of that faulty recommendation. Read several peer reviewed papers linking early neutering in large breeds to diminished bone structure and higher instance of both cancer and hip problems in adult dogs vs those that were neutered after 1 yr of age to the tune of 4 times higher.
 

HawkeyeLinus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2020
5,815
42,063
Iowa
Diet discussions are always interesting and I'll stay out of that, just not knowing enough - we've tried to provide balanced diets for our dogs, but try to avoid "filler" and corn and grain as a significant part of the formula, etc. FWIW.

I became pretty in touch with hip dysplasia research when I was looking for a Golden Retriever (field bred). He'll be 15 in a couple of weeks, and our little setter is 4 1/2+ and we've been lucky with their hips and all the way around. We just have kept them at a proper weight, balanced diet and ours are neutered and it was done much, much later than the vets suggested it could be done, same with our daughter's Golden.

You hope mom and dad and grandpa and grandma, etc. provide the best foundation possible and try not to mess it up on purpose - kind of like kids sometimes!
 

Scottishgaucho

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 22, 2020
671
7,183
Buenos Aires Province.
Another one of our eleven dogs. This is Pepe who is a bit of a mystery. We were driving back from the countryside place about five years ago. It's not that far from the edge of town. We were on a dirt road when we spotted something moving to the side. We stopped to see what it was. What we found was this wee dog with his fur all dirty and matted. Soon as he realised we were friendly he came rushing up to us with tail wagging wanting to be picked up. With no houses close by and the very busy Ruta 5 just down the road we took him into the car where he happily sat on my lap for the 15 minutes it took to get home.
The plan was to search the local website which has a lost pets section and also to ask around. Nothing was found so my wife reckons, due to the state he was in, he must have been abandoned. There's an industrial state in that area with a lot of the factories closed down so my hunch is he came from there.
So matted was his fur my wife was able to more or less cut it off in one piece. He was washed de-flead and has stayed with us ever since. He's a right wee character! ?

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