Dog Food

[Danielle]

Hello I'm currently feeding my Dane Maximus pedigree adlut small chucks dry dog food and he doesnt seem to like it. He will wait untill hes so hungry that it looks good and then he will eat it! Our Vet keeps tring to talk us into feeding him science diet large breed. Maximus is only 11 weeks old and the protein levels in science diet is 27%. What can i feed him that he will enjoy?
Any suggestions?

[Carol]

Try Nutro Natural which is 21% protein and see if he will eat that. You can flavor it with a little meat or broth or something to make it taste better if he doesn't like it.

[Chrissy and Oliver]

That's what I feed my dane and he loves it. I just put a little water on it to moisten it.

[Stacie]

I'm a big fan of Nutro Natural Chicken or Lamb &Rice and Eagle 23/12. Both are quality low protein foods.

[astridj]

Hello Danielle & Maximus - If I recall you're in Belgium and had a problem finding suitable dogfood before??? Did Maximus come from the US or did you buy him in Europe? Cannot his breeder suggest a more suitable food; maybe something you can buy on the local market? I do believe that Science Diet comes also in lower protein levels - do you have access to different types? My GD Seqia ate Pedigree, but she didn't improve on it (and she needed improvement when I got her). Switched her to something called Premium Choice - lists same ingredients as Nutro, same protein %, but a wee-bit cheaper. The other +/- 8 dogs get a mixture of the higher quality and Pedigree dogfood (30/60). They always did good on Pedigree so no real reason to change ... when you consider spending roughly $100 per week on the dogs. Anyway, don't mean to ramble .. have you checked the local pet stores at all? Grab a dictionary and check them out? Or are there any on-line stores?

[Kelly]

I also feed my dogs and New pup Nutro. They seem to like it.

[Danielle]

Yes we are the people in Belgium and we bought Maximus here. His breeder feeds there Danes a food called Hens. We have checked out the local pet stores and they have pretty much the same selcetion we have plus a food called royal canin. To buy food on the local economy I would be paying at least 50% more then if i bought it from the american stores or Vet here. We have to take Maximus to a Vet on the economy and he had A shot just one and it cost us around 32 dollars. If we could take him to the Vet on post (they dont have on at this timethere waitning for the new one to arrive!) it would have cost us around 12 bucks! Its crazy i tell ya. Which science diet is a low protein food. This local Vet is very strong on us feeding him the large breed kind cause he needs all the extra protein and so My husband is second guessing my choice to feed him a low protien diet.

[Carol]

That's just not true. Danes need a low protein dog food. They need to be grown out slowly in order to prevent bone problems. Go with as low a protein adult dog food that you can find.

[astridj]

Will check around re science & let you know. Sometimes commissaries can/will special-order if its nothing too unusual. Check out "Senior" or "Lean" brands - they should have lower protein levels. In December I'll be over there (well, next door in a town called Pruem close to the Belgian border) and I'll get with some vet friends there .. maybe I'll have a couple of choices for you after. Yes, economy prices are quite a bit higher than what you pay on a military installation. Then again, the $ is way high compared to the "Euro" and that should help paying some of the bills. And, a GD just is not a "cheap" dog, they will have higher upkeep than a dachshund..
But as Carol says - too rich of a food will cause to dog to grow too fast, become too heavy for his as yet not fully developed strength of bone, hence causing problems lateron. If you think about it, its really logical. Actually I think this is true for all large breeds and the "large breed puppy food" hype is just that: hype and a selling point for the dogfood manufacturers.
BTW, we had a vet on base here and I went see him a few times with a GSD we acquired when we got here... yes it was cheaper, but the man never had time, in / out / no time to answer questions. We figured we'd rather pay a higher price, but in turn feel comfortable about asking questions etc. And, mind you, we're not rich ... it's just dogs are my ONLY hobby and there's little $ left for anything else.

[Danielle]

Well this morning we put some chicken broth on his food and he ate it right up! The vet we go to is a nice guy but as i told my husband he doesnt know what hes talking about when it comes to the food. I refuse to feed him the large breed food it is 27% protien! I thank you all for all your help i noticed a new store this afternoon that looks like a pet store and im gonna check it out this weekend! I understand that danes are not a cheap dog i was just showing the difference in prices from here to home.

[jpy]

ROYAL CANIN (for giant puppies--has dane on the bag) is what I fed my Danes in Europe & is very good food (& NOT the recipe of Royal Canin here in the states). In general it is best to follow an able breeder's advice for their line (& some contracts are only valid if properly followed). I think we went thru this before? As far as PX foods, they have Purina Dog Chow (adult) & Pedigree (adult-small bites) than many,many danes have grown up on successfully (see the current issue of Dane World with the interview with the famous Laura Kialenaus of BMW Danes who fed all her dogs--thru out their life--Purina Dog Chow (adult)). Lots of giant breeders I knew in Europe fed the Pedigree or the Purina & their pups did just fine.

What you think your puppy "likes" has really little to do with what he should eat--esp. if this "like" is based on your perception of how readily he eats. This lack of enthusiasm for his current food is more likely a combo of typical fade-n-return canine (esp. puppy!) appetite, coupled with typical canine (esp. puppy!) manipulation & "testing the waters" (to see what you will allow & what you will fuss and worry over). You cannot let a puppy's attitude toward the bowl of food send you off to the refrigerator or the store for a new bad--don't trust the pup to decide--he'd eat catpoop & snails if you let him (& taste anything novel, including poisons). THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO (IMO at least) is to keep fussing & fiddling with food. This is very disruptive to a dog's digestion and his temperament & appetite. Just pick any of the many, many decent ways to feed a giant puppy (from proper homemade diets, to simply feeding a 23/12 sort of adult premium diet, to a puppy reduced fat sort like Hills or Royal Canin) & stick to it. Relax. Many a Champion reared on all the above choices who came to adulthood hale & hearty. regards.jpy

[Linda]

We've had our dogs on Purina Dog Chow for years and they're healthy and happy. I've raised all the dogs I've had over many years on this, so that's what I'm keeping our current 7 on. :)

[LizK]

Linda
Dont you find you have a large amount of cleanup with Purina Dog Chow? I have used it and found that I seemed to be cleaning up more than I fed. And lots of loose stools too. However I have used Purina ONE for years and found very moderate stool cleanup. Too high a protein content for puppies however. I also recently found an interesting new food which has ingredients which suit and my guys like - called Pinnacle. It "is" quite expensive however.
Liz

[morgan the merle]

Our veterenarian has been breeding Great Danes for 30 years and we approached him with the same question.He had mentioned to us that her joints seemed to be growing too fast and recomended a dog food that contained between 17 and 20 percent protein. We tried a few and the best brand that we found that she not only loves but is perfect in its protein content(19.5%) , it is Alpo adult dog food. we found it at Wal-mart and it was very inexpensive and also has an ingedient that helps with her digestion. We knew that she loved this food because she was eating it as we poured it into her storage container.

P.S. Morgan is now 6 mths old and weighs 79 lbs and is in great health!

Mike and Rachel

[Edd]

You need to feed the low protein. If you do not you have to worry about HOD. When we have a little we use a food for the first 9 months that I would not give to an adult **Fromm* After nine months we switch to Eagle. By then you do not have to worry about HOD.

[Loki]

Just thought I would tell you I have just been speaking to my vet on the phone ( who also is a Great Dane owner) she also had her Dane on Eukanumba Large Breed Puppy food and said she just attended a seminar given by orthopedic surgeons (not dog food manufactures) , they have done studies on different groups of dogs and the ones that came out tops were the ones feed on Large breed puppy food from day one. Not only did they have less hip displacier but also suffered less from arthritis when older. She said it is a very old fashioned idea about feeding danes on adult food , and don't believe everything you read on the net!!!. She recommends keeping them on puppy food untill 9-12 months then changing to Eukanumba Adult.