Best food for Dane Puppy

[Jeanne]

Does anyone have any experience with Back to Basics "Beowulf" dog foods? Their website is http://www.beowulfs.com/ it looks good, and has lots of testimonials from Great Dane owners, but I am wondering if the fat content (19%) is too high for a Dane pup. Protein is good at 23%, and lots of natural ingredients plus enzymes are all pluses. Any help from anyone would be welcome. Jeanne

[witzn]

It looks overpriced and does not sound very much different than the rest of the "designer" kibbles currently available. Second or third ingredient in either formula is corn, whichI presonally try to avoid.

I'd also be leary of relying on a delivered dog food that isn't readily available from other local sources. I did not entirely buy their explanation that since a study showed dogs with cancer did well on high fat diets, and that sled dogs did well on high fat diets that non working healthy pets need high fat diets.

Also thought it a little off putting that they have a discount program for breeders _if_ they've bred at least 2 litters in the last 3 yrs and then 100% recommend & endorse the food to all past and future puppy buyers and provide contacts of other interested dog food purchasers.

It certainly sounds like a wholesome and 'cutting edge' idea, but I would think anyone concerned to that level would feed barf.

sandy

[Bev_K]

This is the food I feed my boy before switching to BARF. I really liked it (or should I say HE really liked it? <G>).

I didn't have any problems with the delivery....in fact I really liked the convenience of having it delivered to my door step. Shipping was cheap and FAST. They also have an auto ship program that you can set up, but we never got around to it.

Part of the reason I switched to Back to Basics is because of the higher fat.

I felt it was a quality food and I was happy with his condition while on it....although I will admit BARF has improved his condition (most noticeably the fact that his acne is gone). I still battle with him being on the thin side, though, even on BARF.

Bev

[Carol]

Buy whole chickens and give it to him once a week or so. I buy the smallest I can find short of being a rock cornish game hen. The whole chicken is thought to be better balanced bone/meat wise than chicken quarters. They put on weight with a whole chicken as a meal once or twice a week. They love it too.

[Bev_K]

Thanks, I'll have to do that.

This silly guy turns up his nose at practically anything. It's a challenge to get him to eat consistently. We do peanut butter in his bones during the day, Satin Balls (which I have to crumble up or he wants to bat them around the floor instead of eating them <G>), and all sorts of other fatty things we can think of.

Bev

[witzn]

You didn't mention how old your puppy was or if he would not keep enough weight on him. Lack of appetite or disinterest could also be a symptom of the dog having too much choice in what they eat (ie changing kibbles or adding things to it).

I'd definitely change from what you are using now if you have to feed him satin balls to get him fed. Additions/supplements can be dangerous with puppies.

sandy

[Bev_K]

My "puppy" will be two in October. We've only started using Satin Balls off and on this year to get him to a better show weight. I haven't really changed foods all that much on him. The breeder weaned him onto Eagle and that is what we feed him for the first while (probably until about 6-8 months old) of his life. We then switched to Back to Basics and then to the BARF diet this spring. We didn't originally supplement anything in his kibble.

When he was 3-4 months old, we were feeding him 12 cups of kibble a day and he was too thin. The co-breeder told me to feed him more, which I did, but then lost his appetite (yes, I increased amounts very slowly).

Towards the end of our kibble feeding days, I was mimicking the feeding program of the co-breeder....we feed some cooked hamburger in with the evening meal and chicken/chicken broth in the morning meal. After doing some research, I felt it was smarter to switch to a raw diet. I felt it was somewhat unbalancing for him to eat meat without bones. Plus, I thought the benefits of a raw diet sounded good. With all the work that went into making the chicken, I figured I could handle BARF! :)

Part of his problem is lack of competition in our house. He is an only dog. When we do have rescue foster dogs in he does usually eat better. Yes, I want another dog and it will happen someday...

One of the reasons I switched to BARF was to be able to give some healthy variety in his diet. I probably wouldn't feed the Satin balls except that he doesn't eat enough quantity of food to maintain a good show weight. He lost weight when I was feeding 2% of his desired body weight....I have to feed him more like 3-4% of his desired weight, which makes it tough to get that much food into him. To give you an idea, 3-4% of his desired body weight translates to about 5-7 lbs of food a day.

I've also started him going to doggie day-care in order for him to have some more physical exercise during the day and some mental stimulation. He LOVES other dogs so much that it is heaven for him to get to go play with the other dogs at the day care.

He also normally gets plenty of exercise, but not to the excess he is "running the weight off" or anything.

The co-breeder tells me I over-analyze and worry too much about his weight (which I probably do <G>) but since he is my first and (currently) only show dog, I guess it’s in my thoughts a lot.

Bev