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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?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

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

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