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What is required in a Doberman diet?

Lii

Jr Member
Hi all. I'm still researching about Dobermans and went down a rabbit hole of super confusing diet information. I'm still reading about DCM and grain free so I was thinking a mix of raw, grain free, and normal. From what I've read Taurine is important and omega fatty acids are also important. If anyone can help me or direct me to more articles that'll be great. I went on some websites from here that were about the best kibble and it wasn't exactly helpful for me. I just want to know what's important in a dobermans kibble/raw and if possibly why. Also, if they can have too much of something? Thank you.

I currently have a Sheltie and when I was younger, fed him whatever from the grocery store. I did some research and fed him Earthborn Holistic. Then when I got my first parrot, nutrition is so important, that I upended both my cats' and dog's food for the better. The cats and Sheltie are both on Beyond grain-free chicken and egg for cats and dogs. (The cats actually eat the dog's kibble too). I thought that Beyond was good but it doesn't have omega fatty acids or taurine so I'm at a loss again.
 
It can be pretty confusing with all the (sometimes conflicting) info out there. The grain-free diets replace grains with peas, lentils and such, which were suspect of being the cause of some heart problems in dogs that are not amongst DCM prone dogs. So it's not that grains (corn etc.) is needed in the diet, it's that peas & lentils seem to be more detrimental. I also think the grain-free issue of feeding has little bearing on hereditary DCM. If they come from a line of dogs dying of DCM, no diet will prevent it. All that said, as a puppy one of the most important things you can do is feed an "All Life Stages" food, which keeps them from growing too fast. Puppy diets, especially Large Breed Puppy foods tend to cause unbalanced growth in this breed (which is classified as a medium breed, not large). Balanced diet, especially while growing is most important. Yes, too much calcium can be detrimental - again, especially as a puppy! Too much of anything is just as bad as not enough. Why homemade diets have to be done precisely or not at all. I fed my growing puppy commercial food with some raw as "toppers". I feed more raw now, but not as a main diet, mostly because I can't afford it, not because I don't think it's good for them. I do feed about 2 ounces of raw beef heart daily as it is very high in Taurine, and I feed a can of Sardines (in water) once a week, and 2 - 4 eggs per week (my chickens). I soak the kibble I feed. Some of the most gorgeous, fit, working dogs I've ever seen live on kibble, so I can't say there's anything wrong with that either. Just read labels and know you aren't feeding trash.
 
I would use dogfoodadvisor.com to start your ALS kibble search. Buy the highest quality you can afford. Once you have your puppy, you can explore a change of diet if needed. Some Dobermans have sensitive stomachs, so it's important to provide a probiotic too.

(The cats actually eat the dog's kibble too). I thought that Beyond was good but it doesn't have omega fatty acids or taurine so I'm at a loss again.
Just a note that cats really need taurine in their diet, and, as you've already mentioned, some dog kibble doesn't include it:
 
It can be pretty confusing with all the (sometimes conflicting) info out there. The grain-free diets replace grains with peas, lentils and such, which were suspect of being the cause of some heart problems in dogs that are not amongst DCM prone dogs. So it's not that grains (corn etc.) is needed in the diet, it's that peas & lentils seem to be more detrimental. I also think the grain-free issue of feeding has little bearing on hereditary DCM. If they come from a line of dogs dying of DCM, no diet will prevent it. All that said, as a puppy one of the most important things you can do is feed an "All Life Stages" food, which keeps them from growing too fast. Puppy diets, especially Large Breed Puppy foods tend to cause unbalanced growth in this breed (which is classified as a medium breed, not large). Balanced diet, especially while growing is most important. Yes, too much calcium can be detrimental - again, especially as a puppy! Too much of anything is just as bad as not enough. Why homemade diets have to be done precisely or not at all. I fed my growing puppy commercial food with some raw as "toppers". I feed more raw now, but not as a main diet, mostly because I can't afford it, not because I don't think it's good for them. I do feed about 2 ounces of raw beef heart daily as it is very high in Taurine, and I feed a can of Sardines (in water) once a week, and 2 - 4 eggs per week (my chickens). I soak the kibble I feed. Some of the most gorgeous, fit, working dogs I've ever seen live on kibble, so I can't say there's anything wrong with that either. Just read labels and know you aren't feeding trash.
Thank you so much for that information! I didn't know that about puppy diets and doberman growth. I obviously still have a lot to learn.
 
I would use dogfoodadvisor.com to start your ALS kibble search. Buy the highest quality you can afford. Once you have your puppy, you can explore a change of diet if needed. Some Dobermans have sensitive stomachs, so it's important to provide a probiotic too.


Just a note that cats really need taurine in their diet, and, as you've already mentioned, some dog kibble doesn't include it:
Thank you! I already have an allergy test on my list of things to buy. I've read about the cats and taurine. The cats' dry food has taurine in it.
 
It can be pretty confusing with all the (sometimes conflicting) info out there. The grain-free diets replace grains with peas, lentils and such, which were suspect of being the cause of some heart problems in dogs that are not amongst DCM prone dogs. So it's not that grains (corn etc.) is needed in the diet, it's that peas & lentils seem to be more detrimental. I also think the grain-free issue of feeding has little bearing on hereditary DCM. If they come from a line of dogs dying of DCM, no diet will prevent it. All that said, as a puppy one of the most important things you can do is feed an "All Life Stages" food, which keeps them from growing too fast. Puppy diets, especially Large Breed Puppy foods tend to cause unbalanced growth in this breed (which is classified as a medium breed, not large). Balanced diet, especially while growing is most important. Yes, too much calcium can be detrimental - again, especially as a puppy! Too much of anything is just as bad as not enough. Why homemade diets have to be done precisely or not at all. I fed my growing puppy commercial food with some raw as "toppers". I feed more raw now, but not as a main diet, mostly because I can't afford it, not because I don't think it's good for them. I do feed about 2 ounces of raw beef heart daily as it is very high in Taurine, and I feed a can of Sardines (in water) once a week, and 2 - 4 eggs per week (my chickens). I soak the kibble I feed. Some of the most gorgeous, fit, working dogs I've ever seen live on kibble, so I can't say there's anything wrong with that either. Just read labels and know you aren't feeding trash.
I also read that grain free kibble puts potato in their products as well. I believe potato has no nutritional value.
 
I also read that grain free kibble puts potato in their products as well.
Some of the lower quality foods do add potato as a filler and I won't buy those since the dogs don't thrive on it. We personally still feed grain free but as stated it can be confusing and controversial.
Our dogs have always done well on grain free and when they hype about the grain free debate started I did not jump on the band wagon since there really wasn't any conclusive evidence. Our food also contains taurine.
 
Some of the lower quality foods do add potato as a filler and I won't buy those since the dogs don't thrive on it. We personally still feed grain free but as stated it can be confusing and controversial.
Our dogs have always done well on grain free and when they hype about the grain free debate started I did not jump on the band wagon since there really wasn't any conclusive evidence. Our food also contains taurine.
Can I ask what food you use?
I just doubled checked my dog's food and it does have taurine and it doesn't have potato. I mixed up my dog's food with a food a doberman guy recommends that doesn't have taurine.
 

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