Shepherd - a faithful friend and reliable protector. But you need to raise this serious dog from childhood. How to take care of a four month old German shepherd puppy? What do babies look like and what do they eat?
Features of the appearance of a German Shepherd puppy at 4 months
At this age, the puppy in the future of a serious and severe shepherd dog looks still quite awkward. It develops unevenly, and because of this, the paws seem to be very elongated relative to the body. The color of the teenager becomes brighter and more typical for this breed.
4 months for a shepherd puppy - this is the age when the ears stand upright. The fact is that the cartilage tissue begins to get stronger just a few months after birth, and the teeth from milk change to permanent.
If the ears at this age have not yet become vertical, the owner of the baby should not worry.
In some individuals, the characteristics of the body are such that this phenomenon occurs a little later.
Dog height and weight
In the period of active growth, that is, up to about a year, puppies develop very quickly. You do not have time to blink an eye, and they have already waved your waist.
Therefore, it is important to monitor how well they grow and whether they eat too much.
A typical German Shepherd puppy at four months old should weigh between 15 and 20 kilograms. Boys, as a rule, are much larger than girls. The height at the withers reaches 55 cm. So the baby at 4 months from birth is already quite ableGerman Shepherd puppies at 4 months: how do they look and how to care for them?h, but still clumsy.
Deviations from the norm in height and weight should not exceed 15 percent. If the puppy is underweight or, conversely, too large, you should show it to the veterinarian.
German shepherd puppy character at this age
The age of 4 months for the dog is quite complicated. The world opens up for her in all colors, and what is happening around is still not too well fit into the head.
In addition to training various teams, accustoming to the regime of the day and walking, it is worth showing the puppy who is the boss in the house. The omission of this point will not affect the behavior of the dog in the future too well.
The shepherd can become arrogant and aggressive, which is unacceptable for such a large beast. The puppy should not be allowed to bite even as a joke or bark at any member of the family. The dog needs to be shown who to obey and who to protect.
At this age, the puppy must already respond to his nickname and know at least a couple of commands. Engaged in this direction should be daily.
The street and the courtyard are excellent places for training, however, in cold and hot weather you can’t teach your puppy more than half an hour so that he doesn’t get sick.
The voice intonation for training should be confident, but not formidableso that the dog is not afraid, but respects his master.
Optimal diet
You need to feed the puppy at 4 months old correctly. It is at this young age that muscle mass is laid in the dog, and a deficiency of protein and trace elements can provoke dystrophy. The preferred diet should consist of natural products, but premium dry food can also become the basis of puppy nutrition.
Feeding is done three times a day, portions are gradually increased so as not to make a sharp transition from four meals a day.
It is better to choose a specific feeding regime by the hour so that the dog gets used to the time of eating. This contributes to better absorption and future good habits. If you do not follow the regime, the dog may be malnourished or, conversely, overeat.
The feeding place should be constant so that the puppy knows where the food is located and does not carry pieces of food throughout the house. The volume of all servings should be no more than 1,5 liters. One serving is 300-400 grams.
The temperature of the food should be warm (about 40 degrees). It is unacceptable to give food from the refrigerator or just cooked.
Baby ration
The diet of a four-month-old German Shepherd puppy should include meat, vegetables, cereals and dairy products. It is this kind of nutrition that helps the dog grow healthy and strong.
A dog needs about 400 grams of lean meat per day, preferably turkey or beef. Cereals are boiled in water without adding salt and given together with meat or vegetables.
Flavor the daily portion of porridge with two tablespoons of vegetable oil. The amount of dry cereal per day is 100-200 grams. Vegetables are necessary for the stable operation of the digestive tract of a puppy and contain many vitamins and minerals. They must be given in boiled or baked form. Zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, greens are perfect. Of the fruits, you can let the young dog eat a slice of apple or dried apricots.
A day you can give one chicken egg and a glass of yogurt or a pack of cottage cheese. Such foods make up for the lack of calcium and beneficial bacteria. In addition, they go as an additional source of protein. Sometimes, about once a week, it is worth including a portion of the liver and fish in the dog’s diet.
This food is rich in B vitamins, and this is very important for the formation of a healthy nervous system.
Banned are flour products, sweets, potatoes and corn (their starch is poorly digested), salted vegetables, fried foods. All this can cause a malfunction in the puppy's gastrointestinal tract and serve as the beginning of the development of diseases.
Dry food as an alternative to natural nutrition
A four-month-old puppy can already be given dry food. They can replace one of the meals or gradually completely replace them with ordinary food, which is undesirable to do up to a year.
If there is an urgent need to transfer to dry food, then you need to choose only the premium class. It is expensive, but it contains the optimal amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates, which is so necessary for a small pet.
Dry food should also be fed not on demand, but in accordance with the regime.
Serving size by age is always indicated on the back of the pack, and adhere to such a policy, at least at first. Dry food causes thirst, so a puppy should always have access to a bowl of clean drinking water.
Vitamin Supplements
The growing body of a German Shepherd puppy requires a high content of vitamins and minerals in the diet. To be sure one hundred percent that these substances are enough, you can use additives.
A four-month-old puppy can also be given calcium, glucosamine and phosphorus supplements.
Vitamin A It is also a necessary element for the formation of strong immunity.
First of all, it is necessary to diversify the pet's diet as much as possible and only then find out from the veterinarian which vitamin complexes can be purchased for the puppy.
Care
Particular attention at this age should be given to the puppy's teeth. At four months, he begins to change milk teeth to permanent, and this is fraught with the development of inflammation and other problems. To prevent these negative phenomena, you can buy special phosphorus bones or brush his teeth at least a couple of times a month with special toothpaste purchased in a veterinary pharmacy.
Ears at this age for many become erect, but some remain in a supine position. So that dirt does not accumulate there and the infection does not develop, you can rinse them with a chlorhexidine solution once a month. Periodic examination of the auricles is necessary to prevent redness and suppuration.
Frequent bathing for the puppy is completely unnecessary. The procedure removes the protective fat layer from the surface of the coat, which is very bad for the dog’s body.
You can’t bathe a German shepherd more than 4 times a year, which means that at the age of four months a puppy can be bathed a maximum of two times.
Following these recommendations, you will grow from a four-month-old German Shepherd puppy a healthy, cheerful dog that will become your reliable friend and helper.
You can learn about the features of the breed from the video below.
