Someone on one of my dog lists asked the list members for reassurance that she was doing the right thing for her dog by feeding it fresh, raw food.  She got a lot of good, thoughtful replies and, of course, I had to stick my oar in, too.  If you're interested, maybe this little excerpt from what I had to say, specifically about my GSD, Thunder, will give you something to think about.
Lew Olson has a PhD in Canine Nutrition and is the backbone of K9Nutrition at Yahoogroups.com.  She offers natural supplements and tons of great information about canine health and feeding on her website, including special dietary recommendations for dogs with cancer.  Lew breeds, works and shows champion Rottweilers, all raw-fed.
Jeni Boniface did her graduate research on the Maned Wolf, specifically in regard to the effect of diet on the preservation of this endangered species.
Under her screen name "Aunt Jeni", she makes and markets a frozen raw diet for those who have difficulty making their dogs a raw meal.  For those who can and will, Jeni has a pictorial of how to go about it on her website, complete with photos of her Dobermans.  Highly recommended.  Jeni is a fountain of knowledge and gives it generously to all comers.
Mary Straus has a really invaluable page here.  She hasn't forgotten what it is to be an interested but confused or doubtful dog owner when it comes to taking the plunge into a natural diet for dogs.  Since she knows that not everyone will be ready or able to jump in and go for it, her webpage covers the waterfront on dog feeding, from information on the best and worst kibbles, home-cooking and pre-made, fresh-frozen raw foods, to diets for specific health conditions and everything you'll ever need to help you learn how to feed raw.
Here's something a little different, a comparison of the digestive systems of carnivores like the dog with those of herbivores and omnivores.  It's written by a medical doctor and really fascinating reading for anyone who wants a detailed but not too technical reason why raw meat and bones are the biologically correct diet for dogs.
Insights on the feeding of dogs by a Bulldog breeder who has given a great deal of thought to providing his dogs with the diet best suited to optimal health.  An excellent article.  For that matter, an excellent site.
Sue Johnson's book, is a primer on raw feeding.  Inexpensive and clear, it is often recommended on the dog feeding lists for those just starting out who don't want to be overwhelmed with technicalities and just want to get on with it!


Raw Dog Food:  Make It Easy for You and Your Dogs
Carina MacDonald's new book is as much about why she feeds raw as it is about doing it.  It's a fresh and humorous look at the transition of someone who had always given her dogs scraps and fresh foods on the side to doing away with kibble.
"Having only fed raw going on five years, I can't hope to match the longevity record of those list members who have been doing it closer to twenty, but I can tell you what my experience has been in regard to those nasty bacteria that are just lying in wait for any dog with an owner foolish enough to feed it raw eggs, meat and bone.

"You see, I began feeding raw in the hope that it would help rebuild the immune system of my Thunder, a young GSD who had contracted tick disease.  He was one very sick pup and his disease eventually killed him, but he had contracted it long before I ever thought of giving him real food instead of the stuff that comes in a bag.  You'd think that a dog already ill, with an immune system that had all but shut down, would be a prime candidate for anything that could conceivably go wrong on a raw diet.  Funny thing, though, he loved it, salmonella and e-coli ignored him, he never had any trouble digesting real food and the diarrhea that is considered by most GSD owners something you just have to put up with, ("sensitive stomachs", you know) went away and never came back. 

"Maybe raw feeding helped him a little in the fight he lost and maybe it didn't. But it didn't hurt him. And it has certainly agreed with my other German Shepherd Dog, Traveler, who just turned ten.  I do not grind, by the way, so my dog...both of them before I lost Thunder...is fed all his bones  just as they come, raw."  

It should be clear from the foregoing that this does not mean feeding a dog bones that have been cooked;  cooked bones are hard, splintery and dangerous to dogs. 
A couple of other purveyors or raw meats, whole pieces or ground, are Oma's Pride and GreenTripe.com
You know, those of us who feed fresh, raw food to our dogs, the same quality that we put on our own tables, talk all the time about the positive changes we see in them as a result of the change from kibble.  But honestly, one of the best things you see when you feed this way is something that doesn't make it into the books - it's the look of anticipation with which your dog watches you fix his dinner, the brightness of his eyes as he wonders what it is this time.  Well, I suppose a scientist wouldn't consider that a reason to feed raw but it carries a lot of weight with me.  Good health is the goal and I see feeding him fresh, human-grade food as one way to make it happen, but over and above that, it means a lot to me to see that look in my dog's eyes.

Here are some links if you'd like to read more about raw feeding.
Fresh Food for Dogs
Feeding Raw