On two recent occasions a Canadian visitor to German Shepherd Place wrote to us through end-of-article Comment boxes. The first time Des – we don’t have his last name – wrote, his “comment” was some 700 words! Which was wonderful – given the enthusiasm and sincerity it indicated. Yet, as we went to moderate it, (the pre-publication screening process) it was soon clear that it deserved more conspicuous coverage than the Comment section would afford.
Hence the fact Des’ story is the subject of our article, our blog post, today. I’m combining and condensing what Des wrote, and doing some minor edits. These adjustments are in the interest of brevity and clarity. No facts or information provided by Des have in any way been altered. The headings are our additions, as are bracketed items.
Observations Before and After Feeding Raw Food to German Shepherd
I stumbled across your website whilst Googling ‘raw fed German Shepherds’ and have spent a delightful couple of hours reading through everything.
We currently live with five dogs, including our 5 year old male GSD, Toby.
Toby is a magnificent dog, with a beautifully balanced nature and all the nobility of his proud heritage. He’s taller than most German Shepherds, and weighs a solid 50kg (110 lbs). He had troublesome skin allergies as a youngster, constantly chewing his paws. He shed, had a fairly unpleasant odor and was antsy. As usual, the vets prescribed the old standby, Prednisone (see under notes, below).
I switched to buying ready-made cooked meals from a supposedly reputable, holistic source, but the stool volume increased so dramatically, with poor Toby the worst afflicted of the bunch. I knew something was seriously amiss, so began cooking their meals myself. But I kept looking for other answers and not long thereafter, discovered raw (BARF). I made the switch, preparing all their raw meals myself using suggested recipes I found on line. I then discovered prey model raw and that made so much sense.
Experiments with a Change of Diet
I adopted this food regimen, while still supplementing their meals with a mix of cooked and, occasionally, also kibble…as ‘just in case’ measures – not wanting to risk short-changing them!
The dogs were all doing well; except Toby continued to suffer occasional itching. I finally jumped ship entirely and ditched all kibble, biscuits, grain of any type in favor of a varied diet of raw meaty bones, offal, muscle meat, raw eggs, yoghurt and sour milk.
Success
All the dogs are thriving! I supplement the above with salmon oil, coconut oil, olive oil, Vit C, probiotics and occasionally digestive enzymes (which I administer in between meals). They also get tinned salmon, sardines and tuna twice a week as a small breakfast. We dry lambs and ox liver for them ourselves to use as treats. Absolutely no additives, just the liver. They go crazy for it! I will also sometimes cut tiny blocks of cheese to use as treats.
Toby occasionally gets some lightly steamed and puréed vegetables which he enjoys. He is the picture of health and seldom licks or bites his paws. He does have a problem with one of his elbow pads, which is quite calloused and occasionally bleeds when it is bothering him, and he scratches it. I rinse his elbows and feet daily, dry well and apply milking cream or Curatex to the elbow a couple of times a day and it gets better until the next time he is bugged by it.
I only wish I had known about raw feeding, and species-appropriate diets, so our three female GSDs could have benefited as well 
Hopefully, your website will help educate many more GSD owners, so their beloved dogs will have long, healthy and happy lives!
Des
My thanks to Des for sharing his story. I’m sure it will be an inspiration to many, and an encouragement to those embarking on a similar journey!
For more on feeding your German Shepherd, you may enjoy the following articles:
Raw Food Diets for Dogs: Facts & Tips: http://germanshepherdplace.com/?p=812
Food for Your GSD: http://germanshepherdplace.com/?p=143
Dog Food: The Ingredient Label: http://germanshepherdplace.com/?p=194
The Book: German Shepherd Essentials
Perhaps you’ve noticed the image of the German Shepherd Essentials book on the side column of the website. I’m excited to announce the publication of this very useful guide for German Shepherd owners coming soon.
If you have enjoyed the articles here on German ShepherdPlace.com I think you’re going to love the depth in which I’ve tried to cover things in the book.
Those of you who were anticipating an earlier publication, thank you for your patience, and we hope it will have been worth the wait.
Notes
1. We attempted to contact Des, the author behind the material used for the article above, but were not successful. Therefore we proceeded without the benefit of discussion with him. Given that he submitted his comments with the expectation that they’d be published, we felt we were in safe territory. If we took any liberties it was in the area of the aforementioned edits. However, given their intention to add clarity, and to put a reasonable limit on length, we felt that Des would be OK with them.
2. About Prednisone
The following is reproduced from an article by PetMD at http://www.petmd.com/pet-medication/prednisone-prednisolone:
General Description
Prednisone and Prednisolone are steroids that reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system. They can be beneficial in treating many diseases and disorders, but should be given at low doses for short period of time to reduce any adverse effects. They may also be used to assist in treatment of Addison’s disease, cancers, shock, and nervous system disorders.
How It Works
Prednisolone is a corticosteroid known as a glucocorticoid. Corticosteroids are meant to resemble a naturally occurring hormone produced in the adrenal cortex, cortisol. Corticosteroids act on the immune system by blocking the production of substances that trigger inflammatory and immune responses.
In your pet’s liver, prednisone is converted to prednisolone. Pets with severe liver problems are not able to make this conversion, and many believe that these pets should only be given prednisolone.