Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy Dry Dog FoodUp to 15 months · adult weight 26–44 kg

German Shepherds have famously unreliable digestion. The breed has a genuinely higher rate of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and a general tendency to loose stools, and it shows up in puppyhood — a Shepherd puppy with a soft stool most days is the norm rather than the exception.

Highly digestible L.I.P. proteins, psyllium, beet pulp and prebiotics are the answer, and it's the defining feature of this food rather than an afterthought. Alongside that, fat is held to 16% for controlled growth over a sloping frame prone to hip and elbow dysplasia, with calcium at 1.26% and phosphorus at 1% balanced for the skeleton and glucosamine and chondroitin for cartilage. She moves onto German Shepherd Adult at sixteen months.

• Healthy Growth
• Digestive Health
• Joint Support
• Immune Support

Ingredients

Dehydrated poultry protein, rice, vegetable protein isolate (L.I.P. — protein selected for its very high digestibility), wheat flour, maize flour, animal fats, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, vegetable fibres, fish oil, minerals, soya oil, fructo-oligo-saccharides (0.34%), psyllium husks and seeds, hydrolysed yeast (source of manno-oligo-saccharides 0.05%), hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), yeast extracts (source of betaglucans), marigold extract (source of lutein), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin). Additives (per kg) — Nutritional additives: Vitamin A 30,500 IU · Vitamin D3 800 IU · Vitamin E 620 mg · E1 (Iron) 38 mg · E2 (Iodine) 3.8 mg · E4 (Copper) 12 mg · E5 (Manganese) 49 mg · E6 (Zinc) 128 mg · E8 (Selenium) 0.08 mg. Technological additives: Clinoptilolite of sedimentary origin 10 g. Sensory additives: Yucca extract 125 mg. Preservatives. Antioxidants.

Looking after it

Store in a cool, dry place, sealed. Use within six weeks. Change her food slowly, over a full week — a Shepherd puppy switched abruptly will have a bad fortnight. Keep her lean and limit stairs, slippery floors and long runs until she's a year old; the hips are the breed's known weakness and growth is the part you can influence. Persistent loose stools with poor weight gain warrant a vet, not a different bag.