What kind of food for my Great Dane Puppy?

Question

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on what brand of dog food I should feed my Great Dane Pup Elway? He is 11 weeks old. Some sites have said that you should not feed a great dane puppy Puppy chow. Right now I feed him Purina Puppy Chow. ANy suggestions? Also how much should I feed him? I feed him three small meals a day which I soak in water first but how much dry food should I give him at each feeding? Help needed from an experienced Great Dane owner! thanks

Answer 1

1st of all, avoid foods with ingredients like wheat, corn, or soy. these cause major problems in dogs (food allergies, hot spots, some even say cancer...)

2nd, look for either a 'large breed' diet, or anything that says it has GLUCOSAMINE AND CHONDROITIN SULFATE in it. These supplements help promote strong bones and joints, which is very important for a large breed dog. they usually have joint problems (arthritis, etc.) when they get older, if you're not careful.

I would recommend Chicken Soup For the Dog Lover's Soul. They have a very good large breed diet, and are reasonably priced as well. Like chetco mentioned (above), Canidae is also a great choice, and what I recommend most of the time. Chicken Soup seems best for your case, because it has a large breed specific diet, and they have more glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate in their diet than Canidae.

If you're daring, try a Raw Diet. It's high-maintenance, and it's not cheap, but it's the best thing you can feed your dog by far.


p.s. - stay away from nutro (see above answer). they just started putting soy in their diet, which caused allergic reactions to a lot of dogs, and made many people very angry. SOY = BAD!

Answer 2

As a young put you should give him what he will eat is a sitting. I fed my pups three times a day for the first year. Great danes grow fast and need plenty of food. After a year to a year and a half you can back off feeding to twice a day. When he is full grown most good dog foods will have a label that will tell you how much to feed based on the weight of the dog. There are several good large breed puppy foods. Be careful. In my experiance great danes have very sensitive stomachs. Make sure to get a good, high quality food and not some cheap off brand stuff. The more expensive stuff is well worth the money.

Answer 3

Do NOT feed wet food. It is the worst thing you can do for your animal whether he's a puppy or not. I would go for a large breed puppy brand that is more natural. Innova is great, Nature's recipe isn't bad either. Check the ingredients and anything with by-products is not very healthy. Also, the crude protein should be at least mid to high 20's. Read the labels, they'll tell you. If you would like to stick with Purina, make sure it is the Large Breed Puppy Formula, NOT PUPPY CHOW. If he is a picky eater or won't switch right over, simply mix the two together and slowly ween off the old onto the new. If he gets sick or you want to give him a little treat, you can always feed him white rice which is pretty healthy for him. Usually, for large breeds, it differs depending on weight but is generally 1 cup per 10-20 lbs, split over 3-4 meals. He should be taken outside after each meal b/c they process pretty quickly. As he grows, he will need more. Increase accordingly-1 cup per 10-20 lbs. If he's still hungry, you can increase more often, just make sure he's not gaining too much weight. You don't want an overweight dog b/c it leads to severe health problems. He should be on a large breed puppy formula for the next 2 years for maximum growth and bone development.

Answer 4

Gah puppy chow is crap!!!

Anyways look for a holistic food. Because its a dane it will need a large breed formula for sure. IT MUST SAY LARGE BREED PUPPY! this is important since they need more.

Also some holistic brands do not carry a puppy food. The one I use is called Life's Abundance. Not sold in stores here but buy the XL formula. There is no puppy food because most puppy foods just contain more of a filler and encourage more of an unnatural growth. Some senior food contains more fillers. Stay with a holistic food that has the first 5 ingrediants as meats.

Also you should try natural. Look up raw food diets.

Answer 5

Puppy food, and large breed puppy food, at that. I look for food with no meat by-products. You don't want lots of salt or sugar, which, unfortunately, I've been told by an amazing number of breeders and dog show people, is in Purina. I got my pups at 8 wks old and they never needed their food soaked, but it's a dog preference. We also did great with 2 meals, and still do. I chose NutroNatural puppy. I found that feeding what the packages' labels say is too much food, however the lowest amount in the weight range worked great for my growing puppy. When she grew up, much less was best. Also, teaching him to like vegetables is a good practice. Mine learned to love baby carrots. Now, eating green beans, carrots, pumpkin and more with less dog food, helps her manage adult weight.

Answer 6

Your puppy is so lucky that you want to feed him the very best.

I have been breeding purebred dogs, for working , showing and companion, for the past 38 years. Two 1/2 years ago, I began feeding Canidae. I have tried all the major premium brands of kibble, but since feeding Canidae, I would never want to feed anything else. My old dogs became younger, my pups grew better than ever, and the in between are robust with good health. My dog's teeth don't need cleaned, and they have Sweet breath. My dogs are of a large breed, too..
Take a look at the ALL HUMAN GRADE ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, And more good stuff.

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein (min.) 24.00%
Crude Fat (min.) 14.50%

You won't find those quality ingredients on any of the kibbles found in the grocery store or WalMart.
Canidae may cost more per bag, but is a savings per monthly cost, as my large dogs eat less and waste(poop) less.
It is available in most good pet supply shops.
This is a comsumer report rating many of the popular and premium dog foods,
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
If your local shop doesn't carry Caniidae..then Wellness, Innova, Solid Gold and Wysong are all great kibbles.

Since your pup is a large breed, choose the All Stages formula, . You may moisten with a little warm water.

Answer 7

Here is a web site which has some great info on Danes, www.daneangelnetwork.org. As for feeding click on the library link. Here you find a link to feeding your dane and why one shouldn't feed puppy food to a dane.

Answer 8

The kennel that I got my pup from said to feed
Diamond High Energy. She is so positive about it, that it is part of the contract that I signed when I got him. The contract states that she will guarantee his hips for two yrs., if I then have his hips x-rayed, the guarantee extends to 5 yrs.
This is a well known kennel with an excellent reputation.
It is an adult food, which if you read labels, is the same as large breed puppy chow. Do not feed puppy chow! Either feed Large Breed Puppy Chow or an adult food with protein levels not over 23%.

Answer 9

There is a food called Nutro Natural Choice for Large Puppy Breeds. It is supposed to be formulated to prevent too-quick growth which can be an issue in large puppy breeds.

It also contains good ingredients like lamb and rice instead of corn filler and crap. I am pretty sure Purina is full of junk - take a look at the ingredients list. These are things you DON'T want to see: chicken/lamb BYPRODUCT, corn. Meat should be #1 ingredient for sure.

Answer 10

I have an Old English Mastiff so I would strongly recommend Wellness. Its all natural and actually FDA approved for human consumption. In NJ it costs around $48.00 per 30lb bag. My dog has been on that brand now for 5 years. Its EXCELLENT for our large breeds. They have large breed puppy food (dry), then you can gradually go into adult (I waited a year). I have NEVER given my dog wet food. Too many problems with their stomachs and digestion. As far as how much to feed him, go by the back of the bag or ask your vet. I gave mine around 2-3 cups per day if I remember correctly. It also depends on the dog. Just dont over-feed them. I would recommend not giving it Purina Puppy Chow.