Puppy Information

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Get all the facts about dog food

See what your paying for and what your dog may be paying the price for or benefiting from. Just a little bit of your time to research will make a difference. Remember your dogs’ diet relies solely on what you choose to give it. This is all they get to eat. If you ate the same thing 3 times a day all your life wouldn’t you want to know if it was a balanced nutritional diet?

Brands from A to Z rating. A real eye opener. Dog food reviews

Each of us has a budget and each dog different. I recommend to feed your dog the very best type of kibble you can afford. But keep in mind, price of kibbles doesn’t necessarily mean better. There are some very high end kibbles that are very good running $80 for 25 lbs if you can afford it. Origen is a top quality kibble and so is Acana that would be very good to feed your dog. Obviously the very best type you can purchase is raw frozen prepared (don’t try to make your own unless you are very educated about how to go about it). Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t afford or have the time for raw diet. Most people can’t do raw or dehydrated food, including myself. So that’s why its even more important to find the very best dry kibble possible at an affordable price. There are quality kibbles for $1 a lb. shop around and try to find warhouses for best prices.

Video on dog diet from the best to worst type. How to read label

Currently our puppies are being fed Nutri-Source Chicken and Rice Small/Med breed Puppy and at 7 weeks we start to mix with NutriSource Adult Chicken & Rice. We recommend that you purchase a bag of NutriSource Adult Chicken & Rice to continue to feed your puppy after purchase. GSD’s grow very fast and too fast of growth with too many fillers (rice, corn, potatos, peas, etc) or just simply feeding too much, can cause pano, also known as growing pains, and also is the #1 factor in causing bad joints. I’ve seen some advise to feed your dog all he wants “free feed”. A healthy dog with a good appitite, like our pups have, would overeat, get diarrhea and be overweight in no time. This is bad bad advise. Don’t do it! Each dog is different so take observations weekly on his/her weight. Stomach should not hang lower than rib cage and stomach should not stick out farther than rib cage but rib cage bumps should not be visible. See Chart

When looking at dog food. Look for quality key ingredients, whole meats, not animal bi-products (which is junk left over from an animal after meat is cut off and not fit for human consumption), no corn, are chelated (easy digestion), have added probiotics(promote growth of healthy bacteria for intestine/immune digestion health).
Carefully Read here and know ahead of time so you purchase the right bag.

See here why higher protein does not mean necessarily mean higher quality. I seldom look at that %. Look at the ingredients and where the % protein is coming from. Any type of meat Bi-product or corn is always always bad!!!

It is probably safe to say that if you get at least a 4 star rated dog food you will be ok. I found most anything under 4 star rated dog food drops significantly in quality and begin to get a lot of fillers, questionable controversial ingredients and main meat source bi-products, have added corn, most often not chelated, and no healthy probiotics.

Remember 2007 when so many dogs died from a recall on dog food and most people did not know until it was too late. To get email alert find out ASAP if your dog food is on recall.

Statistics

German Shepherd Dog % of innocents of of Hip Dysplasia and Elbow Dysplasia Also see all breeds and compare.

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Information on Coat length

The whole package must be wrapped up in a coat which is capable of withstanding temperatures ranging over a 150 degree variance. Animals working in the tropics must tolerate temperatures of well over 100 degrees, while those in the Canadian north may face temperatures of minus 40, so cold that exposed skin can freeze almost instantly. Obviously then, the amount of undercoat a dog carries will depend entirely on the climate he lives in, and should be judged accordingly. A very short or mole coat may be less attractive, but it could cope with extreme heat better (Fig 12). Normal coated dogs who possess the recessive long coat gene seem to show a little extra plushness and density (Fig 13). True long coats, which are no longer acceptable under the standard, can vary from an apparently normal coat with a bit of fringing at the ears and behind the legs, to a coat that a show collie would envy (Fig 14). The latter can be a chore to groom, and is not really practical, but it is weatherproof. I’ve never seen a coat which had no undercoat at all, but I’ve noticed that in very long coats, the long, soft undercoat mingles with the long, soft guard hairs so that they can be very hard to tell apart. The coat should be flat, not kinky or curled, but this is probably more esthetic that strictly practical. There are any number of hardy, cold weather breeds with curly and broken coats that have braved icy waters and winds for generations. While no one would want to see a kinky coated shepherd, a little wavy hair over the back or croup is not uncommon and is of no practical consequence whatever. — Linda Shaw MBA

GSD Breed Types:

Are you curious as to the different colors that are produced in German Shepherds and what it may signify in temperaments? Answers below are my general observation based on extensive research and ownership of the different “types”.Answer: There are two major types of German Shepherds, Working and Show . There are always exception to the the norm, but below is common for their “type”.

Typical Working: DDR & Czech. Sable, solid black, bi-color and/or darker features. Czech have higher drive and agility. Performance is key and tend to not be quite as big. DDR’s are noted for size, have blockier stout bodies and/or heads with not quite as much drive as their counter part Czech. Pros=Workable. Cons=non-typical colors and may be too much energy for an inactive family that does not want a dog with a high drive. These types likely will become destructive if lots of mental and physical activities do not take place.

German Show: black and red. Usually have substantial drive but usually wont excel in agility as well as working lines. They tend to have good size structure and excellent rich colors. Caution to check pedigree for too much in-breeding (line-breeding). Pros=Color and appearances. Cons=Top line back (roached).

American Show: black and tan/cream. American show snubs all Working GS dogs in their show ring and most German Show lines. They prioritizes body length, angulation, and their custom bred flying trot. American show lines usually have a lower drive and are better suited for less active people or show fanciers. Pros=AKC Shows only. Cons=Limited abilities, unstable frame with loose knocked back knees and typically lack nerves and I have personally observed a high incident of skin allergies.

What we do at Sehr Gut Wesen: Outcrossing. This is a cross between German Working and German Show lines. Our goal is to promote diversity and bring together positive attributes of both types. We do not have any American lines. GS dogs have more to offer than running them in circles in a ring and posing them for an exaggerated sloping backs with crumpled hind legs. Outcrossing will produce straight back frames. The end result is more of an old fashion, early type looking GSD. We avoid line-breeding.

We Are Licenced by the State of Nebraska:

Note: Just because a dog is AKC or APR registered does not mean it has good hips or health or even comes from a reputable breeder. It just simply means the dog had a piece of paper signed and mailed into AKC or APR. It is the Breeder’s responsibility to select healthy dogs and provide healthy environments. It is the Buyers responsibility to purchase from Breeders who screen their dogs for genetic disorders, maintain healthy environments, and supply a health guarantee. Any Breeder who has 3 or more breeding female dogs is required to be licensed. Unfortunately in the USA, x-raying hips and elbows is not required and only an option for the Breeder. We have taken the extra effort to to have our breeding dogs’ hips and elbows x-rayed and HD-Fair or (A3) or better. Selected dogs are DM tested via OFA prior to breeding them to insure that none of the offspring will be at risk for DM. All documentation is on hand.

Never buy from a pet shop or someone who won’t let you see the parent dogs or puppy prior to purchase. Take caution to puppies registered other than AKC. Other registries have less regulations than AKC.

We are and have been licensed and inspect for years by The State of Nebraska. We have also been inspected by AKC. What do these Inspector inspect? Proper housing, bedding, pen size and cleanliness, health of dogs, permanent identification via tattoo or microchip, AKC transfers, up-to-date vet records, food storage, pest control, and order and accuracy of paperwork on each dog and every puppy produced. Surprise inspection are the norm. This keeps the Breeder accountable year-round.