How Much Raw Food Should My Germans Shepherd Eat?

The general rule is to feed a healthy adult dog between 2-4% of its weight daily, and then adjust as needed. If you have an overweight dog, start on the lower end of the spectrum, if you have a dog who needs to gain a little bit of weight, start closer to 4%. You will also be able to judge by looking at your dog- if he is looking a little thin, bump up his meat intake.

How Much Raw Food Should My Puppy Eat?

Puppies may require up to 10% of their weight daily during growth. Raw diets are ideal for growing puppies, too, but they can’t eat all the same bones an adult dog can. Give puppies non-weight-bearing bones, as their young teeth can’t handle thicker bones.

Now, what if you are feeding your adult dog 4% of their body weight and they still don’t put on weight?  Welcome to our problem.  I’ll need to follow up with some more substantial research, but a recent discussion with a surgeon reminded me that an all-meat diet is effectively the “Atkins diet” (commonly used to LOSE weight in people).  Health concerns aside this was interesting. (remember: people are Omnivores, dogs are Carnivores).

Raw meat contains significantly more water than dry, baked, heat-pressed crap, excuse me, kibble.  So, if I account for water weight, I might not actually be at 4%.  …at lest the 4% relative to what Vets tend to recommend. Gunner can’t eat 3 lbs in a single sitting without barfing… so the challenge then isn’t how much to feed him, but how often.

We’ve broken it into two main meals morning and night and one small snack mid day. A little bit of work, yes. But we’ll do what it takes to get him big and strong.

I’m curious if anyone has a strategy around this. Compress the food maybe?