Raw diet for German Shepherds with DM risk

A seven-year-old German Shepherd with DM in the bloodline — that's a situation where diet genuinely matters, and you're right to be thinking carefully about it. Raw feeding done well can be excellent, but done badly it creates nutritional gaps that cause real harm over time, and the difference is balance and sourcing. Before I point you anywhere specific, can you tell me: has your dog been diagnosed or is this purely precautionary based on bloodline history? And are you looking for a complete ready-made raw option, or are you planning to prepare meals yourself?

Good — precautionary is exactly the right time to act. For a dog at DM risk, the two things you want from a raw diet are consistent, verified nutritional completeness and ingredients that support neurological and muscular health. Omega-3s matter a lot here, particularly EPA and DHA from oily fish, because they have well-documented anti-inflammatory effects on nervous tissue. You also want adequate B vitamins and antioxidants. The problem with many DIY raw mixes is that these are the first things to go wrong. What does his current diet look like, and is he on any supplements at the moment?

Completely understandable — the transition feels like a big commitment. Here's what I'd recommend for your situation specifically: Natures Menu Country Hunter 80:10:10 Raw Nuggets in the Salmon and Trout recipe. It's a complete, FEDIAF-compliant raw food, frozen in small nuggets which makes portion control straightforward for a 38kg dog. The salmon and trout base gives you exactly the EPA and DHA profile that matters for neurological health, and the 80:10:10 ratio — 80% meat and fish, 10% bone, 10% offal — is the gold standard for raw completeness. It's genuinely one of the most rigorously formulated ready-made raws available in the UK. For a dog his size you're looking at roughly 400-500g per day depending on his activity level, and you can transition over two weeks by mixing increasing amounts with his current kibble to avoid digestive upset.

It's complete as it is for a healthy adult dog, and you shouldn't add things arbitrarily — over-supplementing fat-soluble vitamins like A and D on top of a raw diet that already contains liver can cause toxicity. That said, given the DM risk specifically, I'd have a conversation with your vet about adding a separate omega-3 supplement — something like Yumega Plus or a pure fish oil — on top of the salmon base. The evidence for omega-3s in slowing neurological decline is strong enough that many vets managing DM dogs recommend therapeutic doses above what a balanced complete food provides. But get that conversation before adding it, so the dose is appropriate for his weight and health status.

Yes, I'd genuinely encourage that. The SOD1 gene test for DM is available through the Animal Health Trust and a handful of other labs, and it costs around £50-60. Knowing whether he's homozygous affected, a carrier, or clear gives you and your vet a much clearer picture of actual risk, and it informs whether that therapeutic omega-3 addition is a nice-to-have or something to prioritise urgently. Either way, switching to the Natures Menu Country Hunter salmon and trout is a sound move regardless of the result — it's a better nutritional foundation than any kibble for a large active GSD at this life stage. The diet change doesn't need to wait for the test.