May 24, 2011

I want to start my puppy right on raw, but heard that it can be detrimental to growing GSDs. Is this true?

Full Question:
Sorry to bother you, Mr. Frawley. I've been exploring your website for a long time now and you have truly educated me about certain aspects of training and feeding. I recently purchased a german shepherd puppy from a breeder and will receive her in a few weeks at the age of 4 months. I am very interested in feeding her the raw diet, so I joined several yahoo groups about raw feeding. In one of the groups I received this email from one of the members:

'One thing to be aware of with a GSD puppy is that too much protein is extremely detrimental to their growth. If they have too much protein in their diet their bones grow too fast and they tend to have bad feet, as in incorrect structure. Be very careful about a raw diet with this breed.'

I know you are a pro at raising german shepherds and feeding the raw diet, so have you ever heard of anything like this before? I want to start feeding my puppy raw as soon as I get her, but want to make sure that this person has no clue what they're talking about.

Also, just so you know I'm planning on buying a couple of your puppy dvd's to start off my new puppy's education.

Thank you Mr. Frawley, I appreciate the help.

Joe
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
Usually the problems described in the email you received are only seen in kibble fed puppies.

We have raised countless litters and puppies on raw and have not had any problems.

Read this article on feeding a raw diet. It’s a work in progress but there is a lot of good information there.

I would also recommend these books, Natural Nutriton for Dogs & Cats and Raw Dog Food.

You can also go to our Feeding Dogs Page for a list of articles and books that will be helpful to you.

Hope this helps!

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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