Raw food for German Shepherds

German Shepherds were bred to work, and many still live like it: long walks, training, a job to do. Raw feeding one comes down to matching the amount to a big, busy dog, and the range is wide, because a female Shepherd can weigh 15 kg less than a male.

Daily amounts for a German Shepherd

Adult German Shepherds usually weigh somewhere around 22 to 40 kg. Females tend to sit lower in that range and males higher, so weigh your own dog rather than going by the breed.

Most pet Shepherds with a good daily walk fit the middle column. Dogs in security, herding or dog sports work often need the top end, and some need more on their busiest weeks. Watch their shape and adjust by about 10% at a time.

Two meals, and a rest afterwards

For a large, deep-chested breed like the Shepherd, many owners split the daily amount into two meals rather than one big one, and avoid hard exercise for an hour or so either side of a meal.

Foods that suit a Shepherd

Breeders Mix is a good everyday base for a big dog. It’s beef, horse, goat and offal, with no chicken, lamb or fish, and it’s made for volume feeding, which a Shepherd’s appetite certainly counts as.

For a dog with a lot of work on, Active Dog Mix brings beef, horse, offal and green tripe together. Rotating between the two is an easy way to add variety.

Both are beef-based, so the bones that match them are beef too. Beef Neck Bones and Beef Brisket Bones both match. Feed one a few times a week and supervise.

If your Shepherd needs to stay off beef, Wild Mix with Goat Bones (when we have them) keeps the whole bowl beef-free. Our guide to novel proteins explains the options.

Ordering for a big dog

A 35 kg Shepherd eating 875 g a day gets through about 790 g of mince or blend a day. That’s a 10 kg carton every 12 or 13 days, or two to three cartons a month, with a 10 kg carton of bones lasting close to four months. Ordering a few weeks at a time spreads the delivery fee. The calculator works out your own dog’s numbers and how many cartons to order, and our cost guide shows what raw costs per day by weight.

Starting a Shepherd on raw

Switch over one to two weeks, starting with a single protein, and keep an eye on stools as you go. For a Shepherd puppy, our puppy feeding guide has amounts by age, and our switching guide covers adult dogs step by step.