What is the perfect diet for a healthy dobermann puppy? Raw food or commercial?

He is (8 weeks old) on dry food mixed with equal portion of canned puppy food at the moment but im wordering if the BARF or Volhard diet are better as he gets older?will changing him to adult food early create a deficit in other nutrients needed? (other than those for bone growth)Thanks for all your advice, Its good to get many points of view. Yes he is from a good breeder and they are feeding the same as the dalmation owner(sorry 4got name)Its pedigree he is on at moment, breeder also suggested Eukanuba is good. I just seem to be reading about the raw diets and how dogs living longer and without teeth and other problems associated with commercial diets. Also com. food industry only around 50yrs max so how were dogs healthy before this? hmm

Always go with a good commercial dog food specially made for puppies, in your case.

I would say ask your Vet, you dont want the puppy to get sick over some silly diet

DOnt give him raw meat or anything that makes the dog mean,espesially a doberman because i read that if you train it wrong iits very hard to wetrain them,im getting on in a month,which breeder did you get one?Feed him Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy,you buy it in Petco its the best food.email me if you want at [email protected]

We feed dry kibble. If you decide to change, do it gradually. I've never used the BARF diet, but have seen dobes do good on it.GET RID OF THE CANNED FOOD! Not good for their teeth.

If you want to feed your dog the raw diet, wait until it is at least 6 to 9 months. Puppies need all the nutrients from the dry food. Don't feed kibbles or anything cheap from the grocery steore or from Wal-mart. Try some Eagle Pack Hollistic for puppies which you can buy from a pet store that sells premium foods. Feed the puppy food until 6 months, then switch to adult food.

Go with large breed puppy food! It's designed for big dogs. Raw diet doent benefit there bone and joints. Provides to much protien.

Its very important to have your doberman be on a large breed puppy food or switch to adult food soon(by four months) because regular puppy food will make the bones grow too fast in large breeds and they can end up with severe joint problems. It is imperative that you control this bone growth now. He/she will still reach the size he's meant to be but a slower rate is safer.

I am a HUGE advocate of BARF, it is a very healthy way to feed your dogs but it does take more work. They do NOT get more aggressive when they are on Barf. They have more energy, are healthier and happier. My dog used to sniff her food and nibble on it, but I could never get her to really eat it, unless she was starving. Now, when it is time to eat she runs in circles and then dances while I get her food ready. She is not so lethargic and seems a lot healthier. If you are going to use BARF make sure that you research it because there are things that you will need to take into consideration. But even if it's just chicken backs or wings, it's healthier than even the best kibble.

The barf diet is a good decision to make. The commercial dog foods are filled with nothing but fillers and junk that are not good for your dog, but you do need to do the research on it first. I would start doing it now if you are going to do it. Here are some sites on the barf diethttp://www.barfworld.com/http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/barfdiet.shtmlhttp://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htmhttp://www.canismajor.com/dog/barf.htmlhttp://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htmlhttp://www.esmondrott.com/BARF_diet.htmhttp://www.geocities.com/~ebones/barf.htmlhttp://home.att.net/~hattrick-dals/Diet.htmlhttp://www.barfproducts.com/RAW is best and i have fed raw for the past 10 years. My dogs are extremely healthy and live long ripe old ages. 19-20 years old is a long live for a min pin and sheltie.If u do not feed the raw, there is all natural dog foods and puppy foods that are good for your pup, canidae, innova, solid gold, wellness, and california natural are a few.

the best food to give him is royal canin , do not change his food until he is at least a year old, there isnt enough protiens and minerals in the adult or juniour he should be on puppy. raw meat can give them parasites and cause worms . just feed the royal canin with a drop of warm water on it to release the flavour. for treats pigs ears are very good or rawhide or a bit of cheese, eggs, chicken. never anything spicey left over from your dinner. and when you change his food make sure you mix two thirds of the old food in with a third of the new food, if you change it straight away without gradually weaning of the last food it will give him the runs

i have a 12 week old Doberman puppy and she's fed half a tin of pedigree with a handful of puppy pedigree mixer for times a day then has 2 scrambled eggs with very little milk for her tea as with big dogs it's good to encourage strong bone growth and binds them up a little.all good breeders will recommend this.it's the same diet we fed our dalmatian puppy on 2 years ago and he's grown into such an outstanding healthy dog we plan to feed our doberman puppy the same way.it's up to you and whats best for your baby as long as you introduce a change of food slowly and gradually.if you have any worries it's best to consult your vet for the absolute best advice.hope this helpsxxx

Ask a question about feeding & you'll get as many different answers as you get answers! If your puppy came from a reputable, experienced Dobermann breeder, then go with what they told you, certainly to begin with. If you decide to change his diet, do it gradually. Personally, I'd go for raw every time, my argument being that you wouldn't feed a young child on 100% processed food however "complete" it was!Good luck with your puppy anyway.

I have a doberman that is now 7. His breeder fed all of their dogs a raw diet. He has a lot of the top dobies in his pedigree so AI believe they know what they are doing. Many of the top breeders are switching to that. I found the papers that came with my dog and the breeder said "Over the years we have tried to stay abreast of what is going on in the world of dogs. We have always fed top quality dog food, but have come to realize that that is not enough. We are convinced that most, if not all, of the health problems we and our dogs are facing are because of the food and the excess vaccinations that they are receiving." I don't feed the raw diet. Mainly because of time it takes. I feed Nutro Natural Choice and have had good results with that. The best that I can tell you is to do your research, ask the breeder, ask the vet. Word of advice not all vets are fully informed about the raw diets and some may not even no about it. In the end it is your decision but if you do all of that at least you will then be informed to make the best decision. If you do decide to switch don't switch him overnight. Do a gradual change and slowly introduce him to the new food. Oh yeah, and feeding a raw diet to any breed will not make them aggressive. a quote from one of the websites that I am listing - "Many people I have talked with have reported even more striking improvements such as settled temperaments, cleared-up yeasty ears, no more itching or hot spots, old dogs that began acting years younger, more concentration and stamina (agility dogs really benefit here), and numerous other wonderful results."

If you buy the magazine dogs today they have articles all about raw food diets the pros and cons.Many dry dog food diets are of good quality,eukanuba is good theres also royal canin that is highly recommened,its always best to keep your pup on puppy food untill he is at least 10months old,puppy food has the nutrients that a pup needs to grow and develop muscle and strong bones.My own dogs who are fed royal canin have perfect teeth one of my dogs is now 4 and her teeth are still like a young pups.You can stop using the tinned meat and just feed your pup dried food if you wish as tinned meat isn't that good for dogs.For more advice on raw food diets either search the internet or buy dogs today mag.Good luck

BARF diet is by far the best food for any dog- it's the most natural diet for a dog.( from puppy onwards)Although there is very good complete foods on the market, made for convenience and hassle free, but they are full of colours and additives.I would seek advice from a vet so that you can gain the correct knowledge of what vitamins and minerals your dog requires in it's diet.Best of luck.