Re: What to feed Great Dane puppy

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

Your breeder recommends Purina Puppy Chow......?!?!?!?!? That is a bad sign.

You are going to have to start to do some research, maybe find a breed specific forum.

Bloat is a huge concern -as pp mentioned, educate yourself.

Taste of the Wild

I and love and you

Evangers

Are all quality dog foods.

Dog Food Advisor is a great source.

HappyDaze · ‎06-13-2012

@Abrowneyegirl wrote:
Your breeder recommends Purina Puppy Chow......?!?!?!?!? That is a bad sign.
You are going to have to start to do some research, maybe find a breed specific forum.
Bloat is a huge concern -as pp mentioned, educate yourself.

Taste of the Wild
I and love and you
Evangers

Are all quality dog foods.
Dog Food Advisor is a great source.

My thoughts exactly @Abrowneyegirl. Very scary!

HappyDaze · ‎06-13-2012

@Lapdog wrote:
I have raised and shown Danes. As is stated by others here, you do not feed Dane puppies puppy food. However you will need to switch over a few days time.
The most important thing is to find a veterinarian that specializes in large/giant breeds. They are not the same and they need to be treated differently.
Ask the breeder how long his/her dogs live? how old their oldest dog is?. Might give you an insight with the bloodline. Ask if there is any bloat or hip displaysia in the line.
My experience with the breed is that they are giant destructive baby children until they turn 2 and then they are magically total angels. I would not trade one minute of the hard/sad times with these special beasts. I loved them very very very much.
And yes, they want a spin or 3 around the yard and the rest of their day is spent sitting on your lap.

Best Wishes!!!! you are in for a grand time with a grand breed.

lol oh my gosh so true! Although I do have one that was just nonstop play as a puppy up until probably about 4. He is a special boy that one.

Mz iMac · ‎07-26-2014

@Nadine A lot of great info about GD in your thread. Congrats & good luck on the newest member of your household.

@Lapdog You stated...

"you do not feed Dane puppies puppy food."

Yet, the OP stated...

"the breeder is feeding Purina puppy chow."

Hmmmm......

Great idea about pumping the breeder w/questions. However, since the OP is picking up her GD, $$$$ has already exchanged hands.

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

Nadine · ‎03-11-2010

Thanks for all the replies. I don't want to keep Logan on the puppy chow, imo it's trash food. I also know that I"ll need to gradually add the new food into with what he's been eating. I"ve read and read online about danes. I had two many years ago when my kids were small so I'm familair but it's been a long time.

The foods I've been leaning towards are Holistic Select large and giant breed puppy and Precise Holistic large breed puppy. I have been told on here and by others to not feed puppy food at all. We don't want the puppy to grow fast and the joint and bone issues are serious so thats why I'm being so careful.

I feed Orijon to my cats but the puppy version is 38% which I thinkk is way to high for a dane puppy..

There is a lot of info on line but lots of contradictions also. Some say feed three times a day until older, some say feed two times a day. Many feed raw. I don't want to do raw how. maybe later but now I just need to decide on kibble.

So now I need to compare some adult kibble with puppy. I swear the more I read the more confused I get.

Lapdog · ‎12-18-2012

@Mz iMac thanks for the questions! (I am not sure I am doing this correctly)

When my family began researching to get a Great Dane puppy, we met several breeders with lots of different ideas. We settled on an established/very respected kennel out of state and went from there. Then I had the privledge of working for a vet that had Irish Wolfhounds and specialized in giants. He in turn was friends with another breeder and again I was blessed with 3 more show danes. My experiences came from there.

Puppy food is for smaller dogs with different nutional needs. The OP will have to take it all in and sift through for themselves. Finding a good vet will secure a good foundation for their new experiences.

One more suggestion I have is to not get the puppy until it is 8-9 weeks old. They need the experience of their mother and littermates to be well rounded.

I would just pick up the puppy and not say anything to the breeder about changes if any they had read about. Folkses ideas are their own and usually the best ideas! LOL!!!!

Irish1210 · ‎06-30-2014

Please, please check with your vet ~

Enjoy your new bundle of love : )

HappyDaze · ‎06-13-2012

@Nadine wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. I don't want to keep Logan on the puppy chow, imo it's trash food. I also know that I"ll need to gradually add the new food into with what he's been eating. I"ve read and read online about danes. I had two many years ago when my kids were small so I'm familair but it's been a long time.
The foods I've been leaning towards are Holistic Select large and giant breed puppy and Precise Holistic large breed puppy. I have been told on here and by others to not feed puppy food at all. We don't want the puppy to grow fast and the joint and bone issues are serious so thats why I'm being so careful.
I feed Orijon to my cats but the puppy version is 38% which I thinkk is way to high for a dane puppy..
There is a lot of info on line but lots of contradictions also. Some say feed three times a day until older, some say feed two times a day. Many feed raw. I don't want to do raw how. maybe later but now I just need to decide on kibble.
So now I need to compare some adult kibble with puppy. I swear the more I read the more confused I get.

@Nadine We used to feed the giants the Holistic Select when they were a smaller family owned company and then they sold the company and it changed. A lady I knew worked closely with the family that developed Holisitic Select and was very disappointed the new owners went with the company and their manufacturing safety isn't as good as it once was. That is when we switched over to Precise Holistic. We've been feeding that for I believe 10 years now and it is great. Ours are older so they get the Senior now but we used the other formulas as well. I believe both have bonus programs where after so many bags you get one free so make sure you check into that.

Also, I am sure you already know this, keep them lean as it is much much easier on their joints and this helps prevent future issues. I mean, the last few ribs should be visible. Not poking out but just visible and you so you can feel them a bit. This is very important! Many people will think your Dane is too skinny and comment on that but trust me, it is very important and many people's dogs are overweight and think that a chubby dog means a happy dog but this is just not true and even further from the truth with large and giant breeds which tend to have alot of joint, hip and bone isses anyway.

Regarding how often you feed, two or three doesn't really matter, just depends on your schedule and dog issues. We used to only feed twice but switched to three times due to one of my dog's tummy issues. Smaller amounts more frequently is best for Danes and other giant breeds as it is less risk of bloat/torsion and just easier for them to digest.