I have a four year old gsd with an extremely sensitive stomach. I would like to start him on a raw diet. He never has a solid stool and any type of food change causes major diarrhea. Can you suggest how I should start the process and also recommend the best book to start with.

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 Nutrition 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.

I try to limit high impact activity like Frisbee, I know several dogs who have ended up really injuring themselves while playing. The jumping in the air is spectacular and fun to watch but it’s really dangerous especially for a longer bodied and heavy dog like a GSD. One of my friends GSDs had a career ending back injury that resulted in multiple surgeries and rehab. There are many other lower impact ways to exercise and play with your dog. If your dog is showing a sore shoulder it is possible that he has some damage already. Diet can help overall health and body condition but it can’t protect a dog from injury and wear and tear.

I would suggest some x-rays of the shoulder and elbow area of the sore leg, to make sure there isn’t any serious injury or arthritis going on there.

Cindy