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So far there are 3 sections of Advice.

 

FEEDING

Raw is better than cooked, except that in NZ the Law requires that offals and goat or sheep meats MUST be heat-or-freeze-treated.
Adjust daily amounts to suit the amount of energy the GSD used and its body-condition. On a StockHair GSD (adult coat is about 5cm long over the shoulders) you should see ribs outlined when the GSD is racing around, but no sign of ribs when the GSD is rested. If you have a LongStockHair (adult coat about 10cm long) you will need to learn to feel for how much muscle is over & between the ribs. A few GSDs cannot digest bones, but most enjoy chewing and can manage anything except the “needle-bones” of fish. Bones are not calorific food, apart from any marrow - but they DO contain the calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium that are the main minerals needed for strong bones.
Pet dogs should get their main meal well before your bedtime (food takes about 4 hours from mouth to anus), working dogs after they have finished their day’s tasks.
🐕‍🦺 DIET from 2-to-5 months old , 3 or 4 meals per day:
Breakfast:  Milk-mix plus raw meat (4oz/120gms rising to 6ozs/450gms)
Dinner:      Milk-mix plus biscuits or kibble
Supper:     Milk-mix plus raw meat and a raw gnaw-bone.
🦮 DIET from 6-to-10 months old – 2 or 3 meals per day:
Breakfast:  Milk-mix plus biscuits or kibble
Tea:         Raw meat (1 lb/450gms rising to 3 lbs/1.4kgs)  and a raw gnaw-bone.
🐕‍🦺 DIET from 11 to 120+ months old – vary, based on dog’s condition & energy. Dogs CAN by about 20 months old cope with only 1 meal a day but, with GDV-Bloat in mind, 2 meals are recommended.
Gradually reduce to 1-to-2 lbs/450-to-900gms of raw meat, plus some hard biscuits and a raw gnaw bone.
NOTE: If your household supplies treats/tidbits/table-scraps as rewards during the day or while training, the dog’s meals need to be reduced in proportion to the total amount of treat-etc supplied that day.
RECOMMENDED MILK MIX:
750gms/6 packets of Baby Rice, Farex, or equivalents for energy
250gms/½pkt Complan for vitamins & minerals
125gms/1pkt BoneGro or veterinary calcium for bone strength
                     Glucose D is optional, but vitamin D is NEEDED for bone growth.
Beat 1-to-3 tablespoons of mixed powders into 250-600ml of full-cream milk.
Many dogs like porridge, Weetbix, etc with their milk-mix.
 

VACCINATIONS
These are essential.
Pups whose dam died before they were 3 days old will need VERY early vaccinations, because they are unlikely to have been able to suckle the ‘beastings” aka “first milk” that contains copies of the antibodies in the dam’s bloodstream to produce “passive immunity” while the immature immune system matures enough to become active against the viruses everywhere in the environment. If all goes well, those antibodies from the dam last long enough to destroy any viruses encountered before the active immune system starts generating its own antibodies.
Vets differ in how often to vaccinate. The injections should be no closer together than 3 weeks, no further apart than 4 weeks. In NZ we don’t yet have many of the parasites and viruses that mutated overseas – so at present pups staying in NZ don’t need “shots” against heartworms, Lyme Disease, rabies. So our CORE vaccines contain attenuated versions of canine adenovirus (CAV), canine distemper virus (CDV), canine parvovirus (CPV). But for those close to, e.g., rat infestations, your vet might recommend others such as leptospirosis.
https://www.nzva.org.nz/page/policyvaccineuse/Vaccine-use-in-New-Zealand-cats-and-dogs.htm
lists the NZVA’s information and recommendations.

My recommendation is to have your vet CHECK Pup at 8, 12, and 16 weeks old then - if the signs are healthy, vaccinate with the current CORE vaccines.. Keep in mind that, unless you have your vet take blood titres (pups HATE them!) and finds the antibodies in the desired proportions, you cannot be sure that the ACTIVE immune system is working until 2 WEEKS after the “shot” given at 16 weeks. Which means that prior to 18 weeks old you need to find places to let Pup explore the environment on-leash that DON’T have dogs running free (to terrify wee pups) , DON’T have dogs piddle-poo-vomiting (to spread nasty viruses).

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👺For 🌎🌍🌏"Foreigners"🌎🌍🌏 = those outside AOTEAROA:

​If you foolishly chose to live in a nation where RABIES vaccinations are required by law, KEEP THE VACCINATION RECORD BOOK as proof of what was injected, and when. Without its proof of current vaccination status, your pet has an unpleasantly short life-expectancy if it bites someone.
Try to persuade your vet to wait until 2 weeks AFTER giving the last CORE vaccination at 16 weeks old. The rabies "shot" is the one most likely to overload your pup's system. So give the final CORE "shot" 2 weeks to get Pup's immune system up to requirements before giving the first of the rabies "shots" at 18 weeks or older. Be aware that in most rabies nations your pet will be required to get a rabies "booster" 12 months later, and every 3rd year after that - but check YOUR district's regulations to be sure.

If you are in HEARTWORM territory, discuss with your vet which version to use, how long each one is guaranteed to prevent any heartworm microfilaria from maturing into adult heartworms. And be SURE to re-dose just before that period expires.

If you are in an area where TICKS are a problem, discuss LYME DISEASE with your vet.

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CHOOSING a BREED and a PUP:
YOUR first considerations should be:
🔸1: What BREED and GENDER do you prefer? What "tasks" do you want that dog to DO for you when it is an adult. (WARNING: Puppy "cuteness" lasts only a few weeks - always think ahead to the ADULT that will be with you for 7-to-20 years, depending on its breed & genetics plus YOUR care.)
🔹2: Do you have a PROPERTY with a back door that opens straight into a well-fenced back yard? If it is rented: Do you have the landlord's PRINTED PERMISSION to keep the kind of dog you seek? Is that permission to have the dog INSIDE, or is it only for a dog that lives in the YARD?
🔸3: Do you have the TIME that a dog needs from you? You MUST be able to stay home 24/7 for at the least the first fortnight, concentrating 100% on the pooch the whole time it is awake, learning its timings (= How long after: 1: waking? 2: eating or drinking? 3: exercise or playing?) and its signal for "Wanna go TOILET!", plus helping it to TRUST and LIKE you. An 8-to-10 weeks pup needs constant water, and meals no further apart than every 6 hours. By a year old the meals can often be once a day, but 2 per day is better for reasons starting with GDV Bloat (if you've never heard of it, look up GDV BLOAT on-line). In between is the time needed for playing with you, being patted, brushed, trained, allowed to sleep, taken for age-appropriate exercise.
🔹4: What age will it be when you get it? For reasons based on how long a well-chosen pooch takes to settle in, plus the "need routine & security" phase that dogs go into on almost the day they become 3 months old, and lasts at least until they have become 4 months old, I recommend that pups be brought home while 7 through 10 weeks old (if 7 weeks is legal in your district) or not until they are 4½ months old and show no sign of anxiety or fearfulness.
🔸5: Where will the dog LIVE? - and SLEEP? (especially when no-one is home!)
🔹6: Do you have TRANSPORT to get Pup and yourself to & from (a) the vet, (b) interesting-to-dogs places to explore, and (c) weekly training classes where YOU get COACHED for about a year starting when Pup is 18 to 22 weeks old - or as soon as an older pooch starts to trust you to look after it (which can take 4± weeks for a young adult).