Great Dane Puppy Food

How Do I Get My Dogs to Stop Eating Puppy Food?

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

I have 3 adult dogs, one Great Dane, one German Shepherd, and one Rottweiler. After we tried to change them to adult food, they wouldn't eat it. They only ate their old puppy food. We've tried a lot of different brands too, and they won't eat it.

Put it down and do not give them anything else. They will not starve themselves, they will eat it when they get hungry enough. It's time to practice a little tough love.

Make sure you're feeding a high quality brand of dog food.

Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren't safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.

Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.

Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.

Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n' Bits, Beneful, Ol'Roy.

Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature's Variety Prairie, Nature's Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timberwolf Organics.

Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you're getting what you're paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients… this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!

Seriously on a budget? Two of the most affordable of the high quality foods would be Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul and Canidae All Life Stages.

Before following your vet's food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)

A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature's Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now!, Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Ziwipeak, and Taste of the Wild.

Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic Select, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can't find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.

Another option, if you can't find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here's an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/

Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about week or so), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.

Another option for feeding dogs is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:
http://www.rawfed.com/ (Excellent raw feeding information)
http://www.rawlearning.com/ (More excellent raw feeding information)
http://rawfeddogs.net/ (Even more!)
http://rawfed.com/myths/preymodel.html (Raw Prey Model Diet Vs. BARF Diet)
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html (Myths about raw feeding)

Also remember that freefeeding (leaving food down) is the fast lane to canine obesity. Make sure to have scheduled feeding times based on the feeding instructions on your dog's food.

More on dog food:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main (Learn how to determine the quality of your dog's food.)
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)

Darksong~

How Do I Get My Dogs to Stop Eating Puppy Food?

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

I have 3 adult dogs, one Great Dane, one German Shepherd, and one Rottweiler. After we tried to change them to adult food, they wouldn't eat it. They only ate their old puppy food. We've tried a lot of different brands too, and they won't eat it.

Put it down and do not give them anything else. They will not starve themselves, they will eat it when they get hungry enough. It's time to practice a little tough love.

Make sure you're feeding a high quality brand of dog food.

Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren't safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.

Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.

Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.

Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n' Bits, Beneful, Ol'Roy.

Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature's Variety Prairie, Nature's Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timberwolf Organics.

Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you're getting what you're paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients… this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!

Seriously on a budget? Two of the most affordable of the high quality foods would be Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul and Canidae All Life Stages.

Before following your vet's food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)

A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature's Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now!, Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Ziwipeak, and Taste of the Wild.

Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic Select, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can't find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.

Another option, if you can't find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here's an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/

Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about week or so), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.

Another option for feeding dogs is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:
http://www.rawfed.com/ (Excellent raw feeding information)
http://www.rawlearning.com/ (More excellent raw feeding information)
http://rawfeddogs.net/ (Even more!)
http://rawfed.com/myths/preymodel.html (Raw Prey Model Diet Vs. BARF Diet)
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html (Myths about raw feeding)

Also remember that freefeeding (leaving food down) is the fast lane to canine obesity. Make sure to have scheduled feeding times based on the feeding instructions on your dog's food.

More on dog food:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main (Learn how to determine the quality of your dog's food.)
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)

Darksong~

Zena Fall 08

Monday, December 15th, 2008

A few clips of our 9 month old Great dane – Zena. Born March 6, 2008. Her littermate/sister is the black puppy in the original slideshow that this is a response to. She eats right now between 6 1/2 – 7 1/2 cups of eagle pack puppy food (designed for danes) per day. She’ll be getting spayed in a few weeks, and we’ll get her weighed officially then, but she’s around 85 lbs right now.

Duration : 0:3:59

(more…)

Zena Fall 08

Monday, December 15th, 2008

A few clips of our 9 month old Great dane – Zena. Born March 6, 2008. Her littermate/sister is the black puppy in the original slideshow that this is a response to. She eats right now between 6 1/2 – 7 1/2 cups of eagle pack puppy food (designed for danes) per day. She’ll be getting spayed in a few weeks, and we’ll get her weighed officially then, but she’s around 85 lbs right now.

Duration : 0:3:59

(more…)

CMN Video: Great Beer and Food Pairings

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Jennifer speaks with Chef Brent Wertz of the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia about his innovative pairings of beer with food. Chef Brent explains the best way to pour a beer, and shows that beer can even go well with dessert!

A production of the Culinary Media Network. www.culinarymedianetwork.com

Duration : 7 min 45 sec

(more…)

Puppy Has Diarrhea and Foaming Mouth. Why?

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

We have a Great Dane puppy that is 5 months old, he is vert sweet UTD on all shots and everything, but for some reason lately he has been having horrible diarea and foam comes out of his mouth somtimes, Is it just becuase great danes drool somtimes, or is it a symtome of some health issue? and when it does a LOT of it comes out. Why could this be happeneing? (Don't worry we will take him to the vet) Could it be the food he is eating? We feet him natural Choice, Not puppy food becuase we know about the protein issues with Giant breed puppies. If anyone knows what we should do or what might becuasing this please let me know. Thank you so much. It's greatly appreciated.
We live up north in Wisconsin, those poisonious toads don't live here. and yes people WE ARE TAKING HIM TO THE VET.

You should contact your vet & the breeder you got him from and find out if these symptoms have to do with a breed specific health issue.

6 Week Old Great Dane With Diarrhea and Not Really Eating?

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

I just got a 6 week old great dane puppy last saturday, so he's been with me for almost a week now. I understand now that he's pretty young to be taken away from his mother and littermates. I was misinformed by about 10 different people saying that it was ok and they had they're great dane puppies at around 5-6 weeks. Anyways all that being said, we've had crate training blunders over the past week which are slowly but surely starting to subside. I also have a 5 year old Golden Retriever who is finally starting to get used to him. Now the problem lies in the fact that he has diarrhea (which I attribute to his new food.) I had no way to get the food that his breeders were feeding him(Sam's club Complete Nutrition). Also he doesn't really eat very much. I feed him 3/4 cup of Eagle pack 3 times a day. He only eats about 1/4 cup of what I give him give or take. I don't force him of course but it seems like he's not really eating enough and he's only 9 pounds right now. Is he ok?

Yes, you need to get to the vet ASAP. Make sure it's not a more serious problem than upset tummy from going to a different food. If it is Parvo, it's very contagious. Hopefully your golden is up to date on shots.

Eagle Pack is an excellent food for him. Try putting a little bit of their transitional powder on top for a few days, it should help get him adjusted to it. Don't leave food out all the time, put his meal down, then pick up anything left over after 5-10 mins. Keep feeding him 3 x's per day to help prevent bloat.

My dane pup was 23 lbs at 7.5 weeks. Your being 9 lbs at 6 weeks is very worrisome. Get to the vet ASAP. Sounds like your breeder isn't very reputable, and so it wouldn't be surprising if the pup is sick.
Good luck!

PS- 6 weeks is way too young for any vaccinations. No dog should ever be vaccinated unless they're 100% healthy. Dane pups can have bad vaccine reactions. NEVER get a shot before 8 weeks, and ask the vet if you can get non-combo shots. Lepto shouldn't be given before 5 months, and rabies should be given at 6 months at the very earliest, later is better.

Check out www.greatdanelady.com, and Dr Jean Dodd's vaccine schedule for more info.

Feeding a Great Dane Pup?

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

Hi,
I plan on getting a Great Dane puppy in the next few months. I've been doing my research on the breed because I've never had one, and most importantly want to provide him with the best nutrition I can find.
I'm interested in feeding him homemade meals with beef or chicken, but I don't really know what kind of veges or fruits I can provide for him also. I want to mix this homemade diet in with a dry dog food. I have heard to stay away from grains, and that Solid Gold Wolfcub is the best dog food to get for him. Can anyone give me some adivce on the best diet for him?

Thanks!

If you are interesting in making your Dane's food you should research feeding raw. In all honesty, it is the best diet out there. However, a raw diet is not always feasible for one reason or another.

High quality kibbles would include: Canidae, Innova, Merrick, Wellness, Orijen, Taste of the Wild, Timberwolf Organics, Eagle Pack, etc.

Here are some important things to remember about feeding a Giant breed:

* NEVER feed him puppy food, ever. He should be eating adult food as a puppy.

* Never allow the protein levels to be over 24%

* Never feed any kibbles formulated for large breeds. Great Danes are NOT a large breed, they are a Giant breed.

Front Legs of Great Dane Not Working Good and Also Shivering After Some Walk?

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

i take him to the vet. he says it is not a big problem. he gives me some calcium sumplements and royal canin puppy food.please tell me that the vet. is right or not.
please give me some good advises. help me to remove this problem. he walk only for two three minutes and then he fell down. his back legs are good .

The vet is specially trained, so the vet would be right. That sounds right to me! Minimize activity, and make sure he rests a lot!

Is It Bad to Take a Great Dane Pup Away From Their Mom at 6 Weeks?

Monday, October 27th, 2008

I am getting this great dane puppy tomorrow and he is only six weeks old she said he is weened and he eat hard dog food, and i just wanted to make sure it is a good desion she said we could wait until he is 8 weeks but i am eager to get him…
also i already have a year and half pomerian …

SIX weeks is very inappropriate –
the fact that U 'want' the pup has nothing to do with the fact that it is bad for the puppy.

in most states, the very-earliest that ANY pup can leave their
dam/mom and siblings is 49-days – which is SEVEN weeks.
however, the laws do vary, and in quite a few states, min-age is
56-days or EIGHT weeks before any pup or kitten can be taken from
their litter or the ltter separated from the mother.

if the pup is in one state, and U are in another, this is covered by USDA
regulations – which are Federal – and 56-days/8 weeks is the very
Earliest date/age that any pup or kitten can travel without Mom + all the
kids together, as a package deal.

the reason that pups need to stay with their sibs + mom for a few weeks
longer, EVEN IF they are weaned, has to do with what they are learning –
Mom is not just a milk-bottle, ya know!
pups have to learn apropos social-skills like body-language signals,
play-gestures, when to defer, and an inhibited-bite or gentle mouth.
ppl cannot teach these species-specific behaviors – only other dogs can.
that's why pups who are born solo always need special-care, or some
surrogate-siblings, in order to grow up normally.

BESIDES… if U get the pup at only 6-wks/42 days, U have to WAIT
until TWELVE-weeks to begin housetraining, anyway!

pups have no working sphincter-muscles on bladder or bowel before
3-mos/12-wks… so that means that Every Two Hours, they go out to
potty – WITH a human-being, On a Leash.
No exceptions, no shoving the pup out the door to cower + cry and then
come back in traumatized + whizz on the carpet so that U can slap'em…
bad human! (smacks rolled newspaper)

so please – do us all a favor, especially the pup –
WAIT. do it legally, do it kindly, let the puppy grow-up a bit.
let Pup be READY to leave mom + brothers + sisters.
let Pup have some time between 5-wks, when they are able to toddle,
and 8-wks, when they can engage in active-play for 10 mins or more
at a time, to enjoy their siblings, and learn from Mom.
before 5-wks, pups are still 'swimming' on their bellies.

those 21 days help shape the DOG that U will live with for a decade -
longer if U are lucky! (smile)