When it comes to feeding one of my Dane babies I get very picky & some people think I go overboard with my demands/suggestions. Just remember that I am trying to educate you on what it takes to properly feed your puppy. These are my beliefs and how my breeding program works best for me.
FYI...TOTW means 'Taste of The Wild' dry kibble.
When it comes to feeding a Great Dane there are several things you need to know.
*All dry kibble is not created equal! Just because you pay $65.00 for a bag of food does not mean it is good quality!
*NO corn....come on...this is kinda common since. When you eat corn doesn't it come back out looking just like it did when it went in? So what did your body get out of it besides making you feel full? And it makes for huge piles of mushy poo.
*NO By-Products...This can be anything from chicken beaks to euthanized dogs & cats.
*NO soy...A lot of dogs do not digest soy very well & may have allergies.
* I prefer a GRAIN FREE dry kibble for all of my puppies. If the food is a grain free food it will be stated on the front of the bag. Just remember....DO NOT overfeed a Dane of any age. When feeding a truly high quality food like what I feed (TOTW), the amount of food they need each day is so so much less then a food with fillers such as corn, wheat, & rice. Here is a good example....I was holding a puppy for the new owners til they returned from vacation. While this puppy was still here I 'puppy sat' (for 1 week) for owners of a litter mate of said puppy. At 10 weeks old both boys were here. First puppy was eating Diamond Large Breed Adult because TOTW was not available in their area so I went ahead & switched his food so he would be use to it & not get the runs when he got to his new home. At 10 weeks old, he was eating 1 1/4 cups 3 times a day for a total of 3 3/4 cups a day. I can tell so much about a puppy from his poo (yeah I know... gross), this puppy would sometimes have nice firm poo & sometimes not. Then there were times when it would be both. And the piles were really big. The other puppy was on TOTW & eating 1 cup 3 times a day for a total of 3 cups a day. His poo was always firm & consistent in size. As for their sizes, TOTW puppy was still 3 lbs bigger (like he was at 8 weeks old) then the other puppy.
You may have read many times & hear people say (myself included) that Danes need a low protein diet to prevent growth issues. Then you may have read & been told that this is an old wives tale. Well both are kinda true....I know you are thinking what the crap....how can that be. I know for myself it is much easier to tell new owners to feed a low protein diet (most will also be low in Calcium & phosphorus which are the true factors that cause growth problems along with intake vs output, stress from vaccinations & ear croppings) and give them examples of quality dry food then it is to go into detail about the calcium/phosphorus ratio & what levels to stay in between and when it is all said N done making sure they understand everything I just told them....9 times out of 10 they will not understand.
When it comes to the calcium/phosphorus ratios I like to keep them within 1% & 1.9%. Of course the ingredients & chelated minerals play a big role in how the body utilizes the cal/phos & this is why it is very important to feed a high quality food...the ingredients & chelated minerals will be of the best quality. Low levels of .8% calcium and .67% phosphorus have been shown not to cause any growth issues in danes, but the pups in the control group of the study never reached their full potential in growth for the breed.
Also most people (myself included) will generalize every Dane. For the most part you can to some degree but then there will always be an exception. For example, a 1 year old very tall slim male that is mainly an outside Dane (more active) can not be fed the same as a 1 year old male that is short & stocky that always stays inside (couch potato). This is where the input vs output comes into play. The more active outside Dane will need more food then the couch potato. Another example, 10 week old male puppy that is crated 6 to 8 hours a day (owners at work) & all night can not eat as much as a 10 week old male puppy that only has to spend short amounts of time in his crate during the day but then does stay in all night. The first puppy mentioned will have way more input (food) vs his output (exercise) which can lead to an overweight puppy which in turn can lead to growth problems.
Here is a run down on things you need to do/not do if you are thinking about homing or own one of my Dane babies.
**NO VEGAN OR VEGETARIAN DIETS! If I find out one of my babies are being fed this kind of diet I will hunt you down and..... **NO PUPPY FOOD! Danes can not be fed puppy food as they are too high in cal/phos...period...end of subject. **DO NOT overfeed your puppy. Less really is more when it comes to feeding a Dane. **Exercise easily. For the first 14 months keep exercise low (compared to other breeds you may be use to). Danes are not a breed that can join you on your daily jogs.
Samson's Story
Samson is a blue male from Brandy & Beno's litter born Jan. 22 2009. Samson went (shipped) to his new owner, Chris, March 20 2009 at 8 weeks old. One week later (March 27) Chris emailed me some pictures & had concern with Samson's front legs. As soon as I looked at the picture I knew what was going on....he was knuckling over. I called Chris to talk to him about this & let him know what to do. Thankfully Chris was honest about what was being fed. There seemed to be a mix up in which food I was feeding (chicken soup for the DOG lovers soul) the puppies & the food he thought (chicken soup for the PUPPY lovers soul) I was feeding them. He was also honest enough to tell me (when I asked) the truth about Samson sometimes getting into their labs food (which is a different food). So with Samson eating puppy food & helping himself to his brothers food was way too much for his growing body & he started knuckling. I told Chris to get rid of the puppy food & MAKE SURE he can no longer get to the labs food. I advised him to lower his food intake from what he has been feeding him a day. I told him to either get the supplements recommended by the Dane lady or put him on MSM & vitamin C. Thankfully Chris done what I recommended him to do & within 10 days Samson was back to normal!!!!!!!!
The first picture is of Samson when he was knuckling over at 9 weeks old. The second picture is of Samson 10 days after the switch of food & supplements.
Here is a list of dry kibble that I think Danes do good on & is appropriate for proper growth. You can click on the links to go to their site. More will be posted soon.
