What's the best dog food and feeding schedule for my 15-month GSD?

Jordan is so cute! At 40 days of age, he can be started on a puppy formulated food. He needs a puppy food because puppies need higher amounts of protein, calcium, and calories than an adult dog to grow properly. A puppy food will provide this for him. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. He should be fed three times a day, once in the morning, afternoon, and evening. On his bag of puppy food, there will be a daily recommended allotment of food, and I would divide that into three equal portions. Once he is six months of age, he can be fed twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Good luck, I hope this helps!

As German Shepherd dogs are very prone to having food sensitivities and also are prone to exocrine pancreas insufficiency you should not feed him any food that is not dogfood, ie human food, treats, etc. The best is to feed specific puppy food for German Shepherd Dogs such as Royal Canin Maxi Puppy Dry Dog Food Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy Dry Dog Food or similar specific complete puppy foods for large dogs. As for quantities and how often to feed your puppy, , stick to the instructions on the bag as quantities depend on ingredients, weight of puppy and age. I would feed my puppy 3-4 times daily.

Great question! If your GSD is less than six months old, she should be getting fed three times a day. Once in the morning, once at lunch, and once in the evening. I would feed her according to the package instructions, and divide the daily allotment into three equal servings. Once she is six months old, she can be fed twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening).

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Honestly the best thing you can do is feed him a complete healthy balanced already prepared dry diet that contains the right amount of protein. That way you ensure that he is eating the right amount of protein without having the worry about feeding him meat per se. I prefer the Purina Pro Plan and Science Diet foods. Good luck!

I recommend a large breed puppy food for your GSD puppy, and a medium breed puppy food for the 10 month old puppy. I can understand it may be a pain to have two separate foods, but large breed puppies have different nutritional needs due to their size. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I feed my own dogs Iams, and they love it. Good on you for taking them off the raw food diet! Best of luck.

Hi there and thank you for your question. Any of the premium dog foods such as Hills, Purina, Royal Canin, to name a few are excellent choices. Which ever food you choose I highly recommend getting the diet specific for large breed dogs. You also want to be diligent about being sure to weigh Zeus once a month and adjust the amount you are feeding accordingly. Following the suggested feeding amounts provided by the food is perfectly fine. Keeping on top of Zeus' weight and body condition now is important for the future health of his joints and bones since he is a breed predisposed to diseases like hip dysplasia. Keeping him leaner while his bones are still growing may not prevent him from having problems down the road, but it will give him a better chance. Unfortunately, genetics is the determining factor. This was probably way more information that you wanted, but I hope that it is helpful. Best of luck to you and Zeus.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Unfortunately I can not make a recommendation about food amounts until I know how much she weighs and if she is underweight or ideal weight. You an repost with this information if you like. I do actually recommend doing the Royal Canin “Puppy” until she is about 8-10 months old- then you can switch her to the “Junior”. In general, the guidelines on the back of the bag are a good place to start but If she seems too thin or too fat, you can adjust up or down. Most German Shepherd puppies of this age are eating 3-6 cups daily but it depends on her size and how fast she is growing and if she needs to gain weight. A last note. Even if you cannot afford Royal Canin all the time, she needs to be on some kind of puppy food as much as possible. Chicken and rice ok for short term or occasional use but is MUCH too low in calcium for a puppy. I’d rather you mix a cheaper puppy food with the Royal Canin (or all the time) than have her on chicken and rice too much. I hope this helps and best wishes to you and your pup!