what is the credibility of this person?

thanks guys for everything!

few more stupid questions/clarifications that i hope no one minds, just trying to make sure i know whats what before i get a dog -

jesirose, i clicked on your link and there are so many 4,5,6 star dog foods that ive never even heard of or seen. i couldve sworn ive seen people swear by science diet on here but i guess im wrong. what would be a good brand for a german shepherd?

i fully plan on exercising my dog. my problem is that im afraid of OVER exercising it. i heard that i should be doing 2 walks a day, about 45 mins each time. now, i realize thats probably for an older dog. but what about when hes still a few months old, just a pup? i read that if i over do it ill mess up some bones?

its better to actually feed the dog itself when youre eating, right? dont just leave a bowl of food there 24/7? older dogs eat 3 times a day, puppys twice a day? what about water?

theres a specific list of what not to give your dog to eat, right? i know of corn, garlic... but not much after that. is there anything wrong with, now and then, giving the dog a french fry or a little bite of pizza?

davidstereo said:

thanks guys for everything!

few more stupid questions/clarifications that i hope no one minds, just trying to make sure i know whats what before i get a dog -

jesirose, i clicked on your link and there are so many 4,5,6 star dog foods that ive never even heard of or seen. i couldve sworn ive seen people swear by science diet on here but i guess im wrong. what would be a good brand for a german shepherd?

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Nope, very few fans of Science Diet here! A good brand for a German Shepherd puppy would be a low-protein puppy food, in order to slow their growth rate and give them time to develop their bones properly so they don't end up with hip problems when they're older. You may want to look into brands like Solid Gold, Wellness and Taste of the Wild. Avoid brands like Orijen and Innova EVO for now -- they're great foods, but the protein levels are too high for puppies. If you wish you can switch over to those foods when your dog is an adult.

i fully plan on exercising my dog. my problem is that im afraid of OVER exercising it. i heard that i should be doing 2 walks a day, about 45 mins each time. now, i realize thats probably for an older dog. but what about when hes still a few months old, just a pup? i read that if i over do it ill mess up some bones?

Click to expand...

Realistically, you may end up doing slightly more than 2 x 45 minutes a day. It really depends on your dog. It will likely be something like 2 x 45 minutes a day plus some fetch at home, coupled with training sessions to work the mental energy off.

For a pup, the most important thing is to take it at the pup's pace. The strictest guidelines I've read say no more than 15 minutes at a time, increased to 30 minutes at a time once the pup hits 8 months, and you can walk him for as long as you want after he is 1.5 years old. No hard running on pavement or concrete, no jumping off beds/sofas. However, there are also differing opinions who say that it's fine to walk for as long as the puppy wants. Once he gets tired, take him home. The reason for this is that forcing the pup's joints to withstand more impact than they are able to will cause bone development problems. Your puppy's bones won't fully calcify till he is about 2 years old.

its better to actually feed the dog itself when youre eating, right? dont just leave a bowl of food there 24/7? older dogs eat 3 times a day, puppys twice a day? what about water?

Click to expand...

Actually, puppies should eat more times than adults. Puppies should eat three times a day, adults twice a day (some feed once a day). Of course, puppies will eat less food at each meal. Don't leave food down 24/7 -- feed him at regular points throughout the day, doesn't have to be exactly when you are eating. Water should be left down 24/7, although some people like to take up the water at night when the puppy is still being potty-trained.

theres a specific list of what not to give your dog to eat, right? i know of corn, garlic... but not much after that. is there anything wrong with, now and then, giving the dog a french fry or a little bite of pizza?

Click to expand...

No, there's nothing wrong with stuff like fries or pizza once in awhile.

Regarding feeding:

IMO, feeding two times per day for a GSD puppy is perfectly acceptable.

Science Diet is indeed awful food... chalk full of "fillers" the dog simply does not need and cannot digest.

While the foods recommended (Innova, Taste of the Wild, etc.) are indeed great foods, their protein content is a bit high and their calcium/phosphorus ratio is off for a large breed puppy. DO NOT buy regular puppy food. It has way too much protein and will make your pup grow too quickly, which can cause a whole slew of issues. Even some of the foods marketed specifically for "large breed puppies" contain too much protein.

A great food I've found for large breed pups (I have a GSD/Akita mix) is Wellness Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy Formula. I've even compared the labels on the Large Breed Puppy Formula and the regular Large Breed Formula and found them to be almost identical. The only real difference is that a few ingredients way down on the list are switched around and the puppy formula has a bit smaller nuggets. Oh, and the puppy formula is a bit more expensive. As soon as your pup can handle the larger dog nuggets, you could go ahead and switch over to the Large Breed Formula rather than the Large Breed Puppy Formula.

After my pup's a bit older, I'm planning on switching to Taste of the Wild. I like grain free foods, but all of them I've looked at aren't right for large breed puppies.