Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, about 8 months ago we adopted a large (110 lb) 5 year old German Shepherd from a family that wanted him to live in the country. Hes bigger then any other German i have seen. We love him and hes an awesome aditon to our family. Jesse is our first German and i have a couple of questions that maybe some of you seasond German owners could awncer for me.
First off Jesse is large and after we first got him and i took him for a long ( three mile ) walk he would limp. So i started feeding him Pedagree large breed dog food for healthy joints and his limp for the most part has dissipeard. I feel that in the next three years we will have some major hip problums with him. Is there any suppliments i should be giving him now that can help his hips in the future? Also what dog food is best for these big guys? This dog food seems to be doing him good. And i hate changing him because he has an EXTREMELY sinsitive digestive tract.
Another thing is his nails are getting long. All the dogs i have had in the past just wore there own nails down because we have lots of land. But jesse dosent leave my side so his are getting to long. Whats best to trim them at home?
And one last question... hes outside most of the day and in at night. He dosent smell bad but he does smell. Anything that makes that "dog" smell go away? (long shot but it dosent hurt to ask). Hey sorry this is so long and thanks for any help.

This is jesse

gorgeous boy!

Limping doesn't necessarily indicate a hip problem. GSD's can have much more than hip problems such as elbow, spine, knee just to name a couple of other structural things.

early arthritis is not uncommon either. It's never to early to put him on a good joint supplement. There are MANY to choose from.

If you want to go 'over the counter' as in walmart, msm/glucosamine/chondroitan is a good start. I like Glycoflex which can be purchased thru catalogs as well.

As for his nails, my gsd's nails seem to grow faster than I don't know what..You can clip them yourself if you know how to do it, ask your vet, or go to a groomer who normally will clip just nails as well.

As for the "smell"..mine are out all the time as well, and really don't smell. I do have a metro air force blower, that I use on them regularly, that blows all the dirt/dander and loose hair off..It has been a lifesaver and I never need to bath when I use the blower.

Pedigree is not a great food. However, I'm all for whatever a dog does good on..Better foods are definately out there. I feed Chicken Soup by Diamond and one of my aussies is on Pro Plan Sensitive Skin/Stomache (tho I am not a pro plan fan either, this works great for his skin issues)

Good luck with your new boy, he's very handsome
diane

I am not a vet, but a vet check might give you an idea if a hip problem is in the future. Also vet could tell you what food and supplements might be a good idea.

Brushing and bathing is the only way I know how to get rid of that doggy odor.

Beautiful Dog!
Cheryl

One major way to cut way down on the "doggy smell" is to feed a higher quality food. Pedigree is not a high quality food. It uses mostly corn and by products as protein sources. Try to find a food that has a meat in at least 2 of the top 3 ingredients. Also keep in mind you will have to feed MUCH less of a high quality food than you will of the Pedigree. Some great foods out there are Taste of the wild, chicken soup, solid gold, california natural, canidae...etc. there are tons of them. You will not find a good quality food in any grocery store or walmart. You will have to go to a pet store or a feed store. As a preventative for hip/joint issues especially in that large of a german shepherd I would start possibly adding some glucosamine/chondroitin supplements to his daily diet. He is a beautiful boy by the way!
-----
Heather,Dodger,Libby, and Clover