# 4 1/2 month old german shepherd diet



## tugginntrackin715 (Apr 23, 2010)

well she used to be on raw/kibble mix which i loved but she got really sick with parvo (2 weeks ago) and now we cant do that diet. we have her on natural balance LIMITED INGREDIENT DIET since we arent sure how her stomache would react to the raw or anything else. we are feeding her canned food and dry food mix. right now im feeding her a can in the morning and 1/4 cup mix, 1/2 cup dry at lunch, and 1 can and 1/2 cup at night. she seems like shes still starving after we feed her, should we be giving her more a day? how much should we feed her of this diet a day do you think? shes 41lbs and about 18 weeks.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

I think you should be feeding him more and a different food. Why are you feeding him wet food if he might have stomache issues? 

You need to switch to a food with a lower amount of calcium to help support her joints.


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## tugginntrackin715 (Apr 23, 2010)

this is the ONLY food she will eat after she got sick, she wont eat anything else, trust me i have tried everything. i dont think there is anything bad about the food and its pretty bland for her stomache, i just want to know how much to feed her.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

That doesn't sound like enough. The best way to judge is keep an eye on her actual weight which should be increasing and on her ribs. You want her lean, but not skinny. The ribs should be easy to feel and see a few of them, but they shouldn't feel sharp. If she starts getting a little pudgy, then you can cut back.

There is nothing wrong with what you are feeding her as long as it's agreeing with her. She does have special feeding needs after the damage that parvo did to it. Feed what works.


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## tugginntrackin715 (Apr 23, 2010)

thank you, how much would you suggest? i was thinking 1 can and 1/2 cup in the am, 1 cup at lunch, 1 can 1/2 cup at dinner time. sound like enough? or should it be 1 can 1 cup to make it around 5 cups a day roughly. i just dont want her growing too fast and disruppting joint growth. she only eats this food (allergic to grains also), nothing else since she knows what agrees with her.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

No dog is allergic to grains in general. They might have problems with some or even a lot of them, but there is no such thing as a general grain allergy. She may well have problems with various meats too.

I would be cutting out as much of the canned food as possible and I don't believe in limiting kibble to puppies unless they are one of the few that will gorge themselves. Puppies are busy growing and go through growth spurts where they need to increase their food intake some days and not others. You can still keep an eye on how much your puppy is eating by measuring how much you put down for dinner and how much is left when she's done. I would feed as much as she wants of the dry kibble three times a day and pick it up between meals.

Don't worry about the growing too fast thing, just keep an eye on her weight so she stays a lean machine. Your girl has a damaged GI tract and who knows how well she's absorbing things. See what happens when you let her eat as much dry kibble as she wants three times a day; be sure to pick it up when she's done eating. People put way too much thought into how much their puppy needs to eat; they look at the bag, they ask other people, when they should be letting their puppy tell them by making sure they keep gaining weight while staying lean.

If you don't want to try this, then I would go with how much you were thinking and take it from there. She clearly needs more to eat.


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

Have you seen the feeding guidelines for puppies on their website, that might help you. I don't know which formula you are feeding.

**** Van Patten's Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Formula For Dogs and Puppies

I am glad your puppy is at home and doing well after the parvo.

Michaela


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Do you realize that too much calcium can cause her to grow too fast and ruin bones/joints?


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

This puppy has bigger problems right now than worrying about that. It's not like he's adding extra Ca to the diet.


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## tugginntrackin715 (Apr 23, 2010)

this food actually has less calcium than most large breed puppy foods, such brands as eagle pack and other big names have 1.5% min calclium, this only has 1.2%. we are going to wean her off the wet food, only kept her on it since the vets recommended it until she was 100% back to normal, going to try to give her 6-7 cups of dry a day and go from there.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when my dog was a pup i fed him
3 cups a day. there was always
something mixed in his kibble.
his kibble always had chicken, raw ground beef,
green veggies and fruit. one or the other was mixed in.

my pup also had snacks. we gave him table
scraps (depending on what they were).


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## AvaLaRue (Apr 4, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> when my dog was a pup i fed him
> 3 cups a day. there was always
> something mixed in his kibble.
> his kibble always had chicken, raw ground beef,
> ...


I thought it was bad to mix raw food in with kibble because they digest at different rates???


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

6 to 7 cups a day seems like a lot to me. i read
**** Van Pattons guide line but that still seems like
a lot.

my dog is 3 yrs. old and he gets 2 cups a day
mixed with can food, chicken, raw ground beef,
fruit, an egg periodically. i like mixing
different things in his food. my dog weighs
88 lbs.

you have to feel it out. you'll figure out
what's best for your dog.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

"I thought it was bad to mix raw food in with kibble because they digest at different rates???"

Another one of those internet myths.


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## AvaLaRue (Apr 4, 2010)

Elaine said:


> "I thought it was bad to mix raw food in with kibble because they digest at different rates???"
> 
> Another one of those internet myths.


Well that's handy to know. I wish I knew what thread I read that on. Oh well...my shih tzu's will be happy I can add some chicken or whatever to their kibble. They get so jealous over Ava's food.


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## Wolfiesmom (Apr 10, 2010)

I feed my 4 1/2 month old 2 cups in the morning, and 2 cups at 5 pm. In between he gets marrow bones, carrots, and green beans to snack on with the occasional treat in there. He is 50.1 lbs at 18 weeks.


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## tugginntrackin715 (Apr 23, 2010)

thanks alot for the info, im going to try feeding her 5 cups a day right now, 2 in the am, 1 at lunch, and 2 at night just until shes 6 months, shes pretty now so im sure shes burning alot, shes not skinny but shes def. lean. then feed twice a day.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

If she's getting dry kibble only, chances are she will self regulate her own weight and there may very well be left overs. That is a lot of food; I would keep an eye on the quality of her stools. It's good that she's willing to eat, let's hope that she's digesting it well.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i mix a 4 oz. or 5 oz. raw meat ball in my dogs kibble.



Elaine said:


> "I thought it was bad to mix raw food in with kibble because they digest at different rates???"
> 
> Another one of those internet myths.


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