What is the healthiest food to feed my Great Dane?

Answer 1

There are a number of high quality dog foods out there I'll give you some suggestions as well tell you how to spot them yourself. if he's a pup you want to avoid a puppy food. Puppy food will make him grow to fast. You want him to grow slowly to avoid all sorts of bone problems later in life.

Based on the research I've done over the last couple of years a raw diet is the best. But I also realize that raw diets just aren't for everyone. So here is some information to help you find a high quality food.

Here's some information in choosing a high quality dog food.

Anything by Science Diet is pretty low on the high quality foods list. In fact most of your better known brands are, this includes Eukanuba, Iams, Purina, etc.

Vets are great sources of medical information but they very POOR sources of nutritional information. Vets are required to take very little in the way of animal nutrition courses, in fact these are usually just an elective. The few classes they are offered are either taught by or sponsored by major dog food companies. No bias in that teaching huh? Vets also of course make money on the foods they sell, as well as recieve 'perks' from dog food companies for promoting a certain food.

So when looking for a high quality food, I'd stay away from your better known, highly advertised brands, and look for the following:

Here is some information on finding a high quality food for your dog.

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Answer 2

Here's the 2006 list from the Whole Dog Journal. These are highest quality foods. Most of these are not carried at large chain stores but you can usually find them at small pet stores, feed and grain stores, etc.

Artemis: www.artemispetfood.com
Azmira: www.azmira.com
Back to Basics: www.beowulfs.com
Bench & Field Holistic Natural Canine: www.benchandfield.com
Blue Buffalo: www.bluebuff.com
Burns: www.bpn4u.com
by Nature BrightLife: www.bynaturepetfoods.com
California Natural: www.naturapet.com
Canidae: www.canidae.com
Canine Caviar: www.caninecaviar.com
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul: www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com
Cloud Star Kibble: www.cloudstar.com
Drs. Foster & Smith: www.drsfostersmith.com
Eagle Pack Holistic Select: www.eaglepack.com
Evolve: www.evolvepet.com
Firstmate Dog Food: www.firstmate.com
Flint River Ranch: www.flintriver-pet-food.com
Foundations: www.petcurean.com
Fromm Four Star Nutritionals: www.frommfamilyfoods.com
Go! Natural: www.petcurean.com
Hund-N-Flocken: www.solidgoldhealth.com
Innova: www.naturapet.com
Innova Evo: www.naturapet.com
Karma Organic: www.karmaorganic.com
Lick Your Chops: www.healthypetfoodsinc.com
Lifespan: www.petguard.com
Limited Diets: www.royalcanin.us
Merrick Pet Foods: www.merrickpetcare.com
Mmillennia: www.solidgoldhealth.com
Natural Balance Ultra Premium: www.naturalbalanceinc.com
Natural Choice Ultra: www.nutroproducts.com
Newman's Own Organics: www.newmansownorganics.com
NutriSource: www.nutrisourcedogfood.com
Organix: www.castorpolluxpet.com
Performatrin Ultra: www.performatrinultra.com
PHD Viand: www.phdproducts.com
Pinnacle: www.breeders-choice.com
Prairie: www.naturesvariety.com
Premium Edge: www.premiumedgepetfood.com
Prime Life: www.ompetproducts.com
Royal Canin Natural Blend: www.royalcanin.us
Timberwolf Organics: timberwolforganics.com
VeRUS: www.veruspetfoods.com
Wellness: www.oldmotherhubbard.com
Wellness Simple Food Solutions: www.oldmotherhubbard.com
Wenawe: www.wenawe.com.uy
Wysong: www.wysong.net
Zinpro: www.lincolnbiotech.com

Answer 3

Feed a food of 24% or less protein if the Dane is under a year old..no puppy food of any kind not even large breed for a Dane puppy.
Stay away from foods that contain corn, wheat, soy or beet pulp.Corn & wheat are pretty much undigestible, have little nutritional value, are high allergens and a study that is currently being conducted suggests that corn and soy may be responsible for unexplained seizures in dogs. Soy causes excess gas something you want to avoid in any dog but particularly in a breed prone to bloat. Beet pulp has no nutritional value and only adds unnecassary sugar to the diet. Steer clear of foods such as Science Diet, Pedigree, IAMS/Eukanuba, Purina Dog Chow, Alpo and other "supermarket" brands for all the reasons mentioned above. Also you will need to feed up to 3 times more of a grain based food then you will of a good quality meat based food.
Dogs are designed to extract nutrition from meats not grains.

Some great foods to consider for Danes:

Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Timberwolf, Solid Gold, California Natural, Percise, premium Edge, Eagle Pack...(if you consider Innova Evo make sure your Dane is over a year old...the protein is way too high for a puppy and will cause some very serious growth issues).

Make sure to feed even an adult Dane twice a day.Simply divide their daily amount in half and give one 1/2 morning the other 1/2 at night. Keep plenty of fresh water available 24/7. Dogs who have water available all the time aren't as likley to drink large amounts all at once, they will spread it out through the day.

Vets ARE required to take nutrition classes, however they are general classes which take in all species from cats to rats, dogs to hogs so unless (which very few have) they take a an additional species specific nutrition class they aren't the best source of food info. The classes they get also are NOT sponsored by ANY food companies (including Hill's) there are seminars that are conducted by food companies ,but these are optional and many students don't bother to waste time going to these. Also vets do NOT get perks/incentives from selling Hill's. They buy the food wholesale just like every other business that sells pet food and sell it at retail just like everyone else..that's it plain & simple.

I've owned & shown Danes for over 25 years..I've done extensive study on canine nutrition and feeding especially as it pertains to Great Danes.

Answer 4

First of all Congrats on the Great Dane. I had 2. They are the best.
I used to feed my boys Hills Science Diet, but dog food is very debated. I just recently was told about Sir John's Dog food. Not sure if it is carried in your area it's at most feed stores and is getting great reviews. No matter what you decide is best for your dog keep in mind it is about portion control and not over feeding. The dogs stool should be a "Log" in the yard, not soft, which tells you the dog has gotten all of the necessary nutrients from the food. BEST OF LUCK!

Answer 5

I like Jess's suggestion for raw food except to say that it's not as complicated as many people think. As long as you feed variety of sources (chicken, pork, beef, etc) and feed as close to whole prey as possible (10% bones, 10-15% organs, rest actual meat), there's not much to worry about for balance. I spent years afraid of raw diet because I thought it would be inconvenient (it's not), expensive (I pay slightly less than when I fed kibble) and messy (I just feed in crates and swipe them out with vinegar when I'm done, though many people just feed in the kitchen). Once I got past those things, I can't imagine *ever* feeding kibble again, not for a single day. The dogs are healthier, and frankly, they love it.

Ultimately, you do need to feed what's best for your individual dog and your own situation. Good for you for doing your research.

Answer 6

Many of the lengthier suggestions above were great. You also want to make sure to get a food made for large breed dogs. This is because larger breeds tend to get hip and joint problems when they get older ( 3+ years in some cases) which could lead to expensive surgeries. I've also heard of some people using the omega-3 gel capsules and emptying some of the contents into their dogs foods as it is the ingredient which helps the avoid those problems.

You may want to find a local group of Great Dane owners to give you a bit more guidance.

Answer 7

Innova Evo. It is the best food for any and all dogs (expect for dogs that cannot tolarate lots of meat because it does have Lots of meat)! It is all natural + it has lots of meat and is filler and by-product FREE! Also you don't have to feed nearly as much if you feed Innova.
If you can't afford that though then you can get Lassie Natural Way, it is also Very good food! It is what I feed my dogs, but Soon I will switch to Innova Evo.

Answer 8

Natural Balance
Canidae
Wellness
Innova

Avoid foods that contain corn and soy (fillers), wheat (common allergen) and meat by-products.

Answer 9

Go here to find out about what it takes to have a good food
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main

It should have no corn, by products, or food dye.
Should have a real meat/meat meal listed as the first ingridient.

Answer 10

Pedigree with nutrition, sell it at Wall Mart, Pet Co, Pets mart, etc.