What food is best for my German Shepherd puppy? Is grain-free okay?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Dog | German Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 9 months and 6 days old | 85 lbs
What type of food ingredients would be good for a German Shepherd? Grain free?
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on February 17th, 2018
Great question! I personally never recommend a grain free diet for dogs unless they have a proven (i.e. diagnosed by a vet) grain allergy. Grain allergies are actually very rare in dogs. Only about 5% of dogs with allergies have a food allergies, and of that 5%, the majority of the allergies are protein. Grains are beneficial to dogs, they provide a sustained source of energy and help them keep fuller longer. When feeding a puppy like Zeus, I recommend a puppy formulated food. Puppies need higher amounts of protein, calories, and calcium than adult dogs, and a puppy formulated food will provide that. Once he's 12 months old, he can have an adult formulated food. He needs protein, fat, and carbs as well as many vitamins and minerals to have a balanced diet, which is why feeding a dog food is easier. Brands of dog food I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. If you want to do a home cooked diet, I will put links below to two websites that provide recipes for homemade diets. Keep in mind that finding the correct balance of nutrients for a dog is hard with a homemade diet, so that's why these websites are excellent sources of information. The recipes are formulated by veterinary nutritionists. Good luck, I hope this helps! https://secure.balanceit.com https://www.petdiets.com
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on April 14th, 2017
Congrats on your new puppy! Georgia Bell should be getting a giant breed puppy formulated food, and I would feed her according to the instructions on the label of the food bag. Divide the daily allotment into three equal meals because puppies under six months of age should be fed three times a day (morning, noon, evening). There is no need to feed her a grain free food. Grains are actually beneficial to dogs, and I never recommend feeding grain free food unless the dog has an allergy to grains. In dogs, less than 10% of them actually have a food allergy and the biggest food allergy in dogs is protein not grains. Rarely are dogs allergic to grains, so it's not recommended to leave it out of a growing puppy's diet unless there is a proven allergy to it. I recommend feeding Georgia Bell a high quality giant breed puppy food such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science diet, Iams, or Purina ProPlan.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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