He is in a size of grown up golden retriever and I want him to grow stronger & larger in a natural way that wont harm him by any means
You dog will grow to its own accord. You can not make it bigger or smaller to the size that you want and dont feed him more thinking that will help it will only make him overweight and unhealthy:)
I can't stand when people are dissatisfied with their dogs if their dogs don't meet their " ; standards. "A dedicated dog owner would love their dog no matter what.
There's no way that you can get your dog to "be larger." Like Megan said, his size depends on his genetics. Also, if your German Shepherd has American bloodlines, he's not going to be as large as a German Shepherd who has German bloodlines.
[Owned By ...]: Get real! NAmerican pooches are NOTORIOUS for being way taller than are actual GSDs. The Germans love Yanks, as they pay silly money for pooches that are unshowable in Germany because of over-size and/or weak character. But most German-bred GSDs _are_ more substantial=broader-built than most NAmerican Ski-Slope Dog deviations from the GSD.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com [Sylvan Wizard]: "My Female German Shepherd is only 83 lbs. But, she is of normal size and stature ... and my Male German Shepherd Dog (whom is 130 lbs)" proves that you do NOT have GSDs. Your bit.ch is at least 12 lbs too heavy for a GSD's work; your male (probably a Prick-Eared Basset) is more than 50% too heavy for a GSD's work. No wonder you can't see his ribs! - probably can't FEEL them, either! When running around, a correctly-coated GSD in correct condition should reveal every rib outlined by the muscles working over them; when rested, no more than one edge of the very last rib should be visible. Go look at some BSD Malinois - same height as GSDs, but much lighter. Your lad weighs double what they do. A GSD should be in the same hard, lean, wiry condition as a champion marathon runner, not the bulked-up-on- steroids condition of a weightlifter, not even a sprinter. If you want to have GSDs, they must fit within the LIMITS and avoid any of the DISQUALIFICATIONS in the real Standard of the GSD:
http://www.fci.be/uploaded_files/166A199 ... (but the vague rebel document invented by the GSDCAm/AKC does NOT define a GSD , it sets no limits and omits almost all the DQs). People who breed genuine GSDs use only parents that have passed everything in:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_G ... Can you imagine your obese lad patrolling a boundary for 14 hours, keeping sheep out of the crops? Can you imagine him being nimble/agile enough to out-dodge a stubborn ram that's trying to get paste him for a few quick mouthfuls? Can you imagine him beating ALL the Border Collies & Shelties around an Agility course? Not many GSDs manage that feat, but we in NZ have some that are Ag.Chs, which meant beating EVERYTHING at least 3 times.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com [Curtis]:
I insulted no "lines", just buyers.
No NZ exports?
Try some reality.
Exports I know of (there are many I don't know of):
Most of the foundation Australian & Fijian police dogs came from NZ.
My first bit.ch came from Volkerson: 14 + exports. My breeding stock came from High Clear: 5 +. My mentors, Albek & Racher: 23 +. Goldsteins, whose best 2 studs I used: 18 +. 8 of mine went overseas (3 for security in Singapore; a yellow-eyed pet to the USofA), and 2 kennels using my bitches exported at least 3 (1 for security - no "looker", but he had the right mind).
Ugly?
Most of what the AKC & CKC register as GSDs aren't ugly - they're no longer GSDs!
You want "pretty"? 32% of the 139 NZ exports I can name went Ch. And/or Ex.
[Fel Fel]:
This would have been a suitable question for you to ask during the 4? Months you sat silently in my main e-group.
Genetics determine the intended bone lengths.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Very poor diet can stunt those lengths, as seen in, eg, the Japanese, who used to almost all be tiny but, as they have improved their diets, have become considerably taller.
Excessive food intake can add fat, but not bone length, not muscle size.
So people need to take CARE to know the attributes of the litter's ancestry before accepting a pooch, and to then take care about feeding & exercise.
At a year old his growth plates have switched off, and he is actually about 1cm taller than he will be when mature (because the ligaments gradually allow his shoulder & upper-arm to increase their angulations, just like bending your knees reduces how high your head is above the ground).
And people who want a GSD need to KNOW what a GSD actually IS.
For starters, GSDs are NOT large dogs, they have to be in the "above-medium" range in order to be strong enough but agile enough & economical enough on food & water (a dog being a boundary patroller between hungry sheep and precious unfenced crops rarely has access to water while on-duty). So it is NOT a NAmerican Ski-Slope Dog or a Prick-Eared Basset or a Titanic Tail-Tucker
