Great Dane's

[shvl73]

Re: Great Dane\'s

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( She'll be here tomorrow. Her ears are not docked. I guess they are doing that less and less these days, especially if they are not for show. I think she's to old to have that done now anyways (9 months).)</font>
I may be wrong but, I thought the anesthesia was very hard on the large breeds and some do not survive being under for what is essentially, cosmetic surgery.

 

[ShiningSky]

Re: Great Dane\'s

anesthesia is very hard on a large dog. Especially if the vet has not experience with the breed. Valium/Cadimine is very tough on the system. Propenol is a newer anesthestic which is much easier on them but not all vets use it.

I dont see any point to docking ears if the dog is never going to be showed.

Cheers

David

 

[Freds]

Re: Great Dane\'s

Anesthesia has been know to kill a bull breed, but it's usually in conjunction with the sedative they administer beforehand.
It's also hard on any dog without a lot of body fat.

 

[Moon]

Re: Great Dane\'s

Thanks for all the replies! We met her and brought her home last night. So BIG. She can set her chin on the counter, and did. Very sweet disposition. She is extremly thin. I plan to get her to the vet later today. I found out Traci (our neice) had first given Reilly (the Dane) to a boy friend of hers. Traci found out Reily's living conditions were not up to par. After Traci got Reily back she talked with a Pet store about how to get her to put on weight. They advised three feedings a day, and sold her some stuff to add to her dry dog food (Purina). I'll get some of the better dry food from the vet. Brand suggestions and where to get them would be appreciated.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I dont see any point to docking ears if the dog is never going to be showed. )</font>

I agree. But they sure do look different than expected without the docking. Other than size, it's hard to tell it's a Great Dane.

Reilly met our other pets last night. She did great. The youngest cat (6 months old) did the best. She just walked right up to Reilly, they sniffed noses. The older cat gave her a very wide berth.

Any suggestions as to the best way to teach them the basic commands ....come, sit, down, heel, etc.? We have the perfect place to let her run loose a bit, but we have to know she'll listen to us and come when we call her. Our neighbor has horses and a big Rotweiller about 100 yards away.

Thanks All!

Moon

 

[hwp]

Re: Great Dane\'s

I'm sure you will soon become highly attached to Reilly. She will return your affection many times over.

In terms of food, we use Walmart's Ol' Roy Lamb and Rice. We find L&R reduces the gas emissions. We let Huey eat whenever he wants - he usually eats twice a day - late morning and late evening. When he has had enough he walks away from his food, has a drink of water and goes outside to do his business.

Two of our previous dogs were underweight when we got them. Both had a fear that they would go hungry so wanted to eat everything we gave them immediately. It took up to six months for them to realize that they would not go hungry and could leave food in their dishes.

Huey isn't interested in most human food - ice cream and cheese being two notable exceptions. Occaisionally during the summer, my wife takes Huey to the corner store and buys him an ice cream cone, which he carries in his mouth until he gets home and then eats it.

He does like to survey the counter tops and stove to see what is being cooked but her never touches anything on a counter top.

As others have said Danes are very affectionate. They show this in many ways. One is that they are leaners - they will lean on you for attention and when they do you know it. Another is that they like to wag their tails. Given their height, this places their tail at human crotch level. A couple of swipes of the tail to the crotch and you become aware of where the tail is. It can be quite embarassing for a grown man to be keeled over after having been swiped by a dogs tail. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ShiningSky]

Re: Great Dane\'s

As for food for a large/giant breed dog. I agree with feeding a lamb and rice formula. Nothing worse than a gassy dog. Find something that is between 20-25% protein and 10-15% fat. Foods with higher or lower values are either to much or too liitle for a giant dog. Never feed her puppy food because it has too much protein and is hard on developing joints. Even though she is so big her bones and joints will be developing for sometime yet.

As for food quality you pay for what you get. Try and stay away from foods that have corn in them. It is a cheap source of protein and creates a tremendous amount of waste. Try to find a food that contain more whole products and less meals.
Meals are waste products from some other processing and then used in dog foods.

As for Price it varies. 15 to about 60 dollars. I feel something in the middle is an appropriate dog food price.

You should search the internet and see if there is a forum like this for GD's. I am sure there is. They would be able to answer many of your other questions. There are many dane groups in Yahoo and I found this one that might be a good start for you too. Great Danes Online

Good luck

Cheers

David

 

[Freds]

Re: Great Dane\'s

You'll find there is a fine line between being thin and being trim. If her ribs and spine are showing when she is standing there that's one thing, but it is good to keep a large breed dog a little on the thin side while they are growing. Your vet can evaluate her for you.

Weren't you in on a dog food topic before, Moon? I thought I sent you some links to evaluting dog food labels.
Ultimately as long as you are happy with the food and she is doing well, everything should be OK, but if you have to add supplements to a food to bring it up to snuff, that should be your first warning.

I had never heard lamb & rice cut down on gas. You learn something new every day /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. I had heard that Crufts did a 5 year study on dogs fed a strict lamb & rice diet and they found that these dogs were lacking taurine... something that has to do with keeping the heart strong.

Good luck with her! Its kind of neat having different dog breeds because of their different traits.

 

[Moon]

Re: Great Dane\'s

Thanks for the Dane link ShiningSky. That's a keeper for sure. Since she is young and growing I wondered if she needed a puppy chow type of dog food.

Her spine and ribs are showing. She looks undernourished. Vet could not see her today, but suggested worming her.

Freds, I was in on the thread that discussed different foods, but I didn't have a young Dane then. Thanks for the reminder. I'll dig up that thread again.

Moon

 

[ShiningSky]

Re: Great Dane\'s

Some lamb and rice foods are now adding taurine to their formulas. I know that California Natural and Innova brand do contain taurine.

As for the gas problems I only know about what goes with my swissys. Some L&R formulas are better than other. It is always a game of trial and error in selecting a new food.

Also I think you new girl should be getting at least 1000 mg of Vitamin C for her bone and joint growth and health. Best is a childrens chewable type. It breaks down easier. I straight asorbic acid that I get in bulk from a health food store.

Cheers

David

 

[Freds]

Re: Great Dane\'s

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Some lamb and rice foods are now adding taurine to their formulas. I know that California Natural and Innova brand do contain taurine. )</font>

Thanks again for the info. I feed and sell Canidae, so am not really as up on other foods as I should be.
Most people around here buy their dog food at Agway or Wally World, so obviously it's not Innova. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[ShiningSky]

Re: Great Dane\'s

I am currently feeding Canidae ALS to my girls. It seems that I am on a constant and never ending search to find the most reasonable and best dog food that I can feed to them.

I am currently researching dog foods that are low in phosphorus and calcium that are not corn based. One of my girls has a line history of renal failure so at age 6 I need to get her on a diet that takes some of the stress off of her kidneys.

That is the great thing about the internet. All of this information at your finger tips.

Cheers

David

 

[Moon]

Re: Great Dane\'s

Your so right about the internet making it so much easier to get info on all this stuff. I placed an order for Natural Balance (Ultra) last night. Found a what seemed like a good price at Animal World Network, 29.99 for 35lbs. Here's a link if anyone is interested: Animal World -Natural Balance

Thanks for the tip on Children's vitiman C. I'll pick up some later today.

Freds, if you sent me a link to your site where you sell Canidae I can't find it. If you like, send me a pm with your web site link and I'll ck it out. I'll probably try Canidae out after I do Natural Balance for a bit.

Reilly is doing great. I had her out on our trails today and she loved it. Such long legs, she can cover lots of ground quickly. Previous owners taught her to shake. With those long legs I'm not so sure that's a good thing.

Thanks,
Moon

 

[Freds]

Re: Great Dane\'s

I think I sent you a link on how to compare ingredients, I don't remember either /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I followed your link for Natural Blance. I couldn't find the indredients listed anywhere other than a few words on what is and isn't in it. Did I miss them? That foos isn't on any of my lists either, but that doesn't mean anything, they are coming out with new dog foods all the time.

 

[jwnge]

Re: Great Dane\'s

We got a dane pup when my youngest son was around 2 yrs old. The ears had been cropped and cones with tape. The dog was so funny, Marmaduke was his name, wonder why, my son was just big enough to walk up to the dog, eye to eye, and grab the ears. The dog would do this every time, he would just bump my little toddler and knock him to his butt ever so gently and then walk over him , stepping all 4 feet, one at a time on his little body and then sit square down on him, pinning him to the ground. So funny, this little guy kicking and yelling, Margaduke, dit up, dit up.. The dog would finally get up and I swear you could see the grin on his face.. They loved each other very much, My little guy would walk up beside him and hug his neck and tell him, I love you, Margaduke. We were told to buy and boil tripe to feed him, It was to help him from getting rickets from growing so fast... another thing is the Dick Van Patton dog food is pricey, but from what I have read, they use all fresh products in there food, I saw some pictures from other food processors and it was pretty gross, piles of un cooked meat in pits outside in the sun of all kinds cows, chickens, who knows what else, rotting with maggots and flies waiting to be put in cookers to be processed for dog food. I switched and feel better feeding my dogs their products, but who knows, it might just be salesmanship also... JohnJ

 

[texbaylea]

Re: Great Dane\'s

We have been breeding, showing and loving Boxers for over 30 years. Our experience has been that the more we pay for their food the less we have in the way of vet bills. We have fed IAMs Eukanuba for the last 20 years and feel that it is the best available. For the last 10 years I have handled the arrangements for vendors at the World Series of Dog Shows in Houston and have looked at almost all of the dog food brands available. While I don't like IAMs as a company I do recommend their food. The IAMS brand that is available in the groceries stores I have not used so cannot recommend. Eukanuba is available from Petco and Petsmart and some pet shops.

I do not recommend the "natural" foods that are a current craze since almost all I have looked at have some difficiences.

Of the grocery store brands Purina ONE is the only one that I will use. Living out in the country it is some times difficult to get Eukanuba.

Good luck and loving with your Great Dane. They are a super breed.

Vernon

 

[Bird]

Re: Great Dane\'s

Vernon, our last dog was a rat terrier, and while we did give him occasional table scraps, and he liked to share my peanuts and popcorn, the only dog food we bought was Purina One, beef and rice. We kept his bowl full all the time, so he had food and water anytime he wanted it. Of course, he loved to run and play, so he stayed quite fit and trim on that diet.

 

[Moon]

Re: Great Dane\'s

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm sure you will soon become highly attached to Reilly. She will return your affection many times over. )</font>

Boy bwp, you sure hit the nail on the head with that comment. I never understood how a breed can be noble, but I do now. Very noble and a sweet disposition.

Here's a pic that shows how LONG those front legs are.

Thanks again for all the replies!

Moon

 

[Moon]

Re: Great Dane\'s

I resized the pic again. Hopefully it will show a little better. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jfh230]

Re: Great Dane\'s

Great dog! Word of caution on the running. We have irish wolfhounds and the giant breeds grow so fast that their joints need a while to catch up. You need to be very careful with them for the first 18 months at least. Limit the romping, jumping, fast changes of direction, easy up and down stairs that sort of thing. Straight line running is okay and walks but try not to overdue it. And I know those are exactly the things puppies like to do so its not easy. But it does make a huge difference to the quality of life they have as an adult. Consider hooking up with a local dane group who will be able to provide a wealth of info to you.

Have fun
Jack

 

[Moon]

Re: Great Dane\'s

Thanks Jack. Good points. Your so right, that it is hard to prevent some puppy romping. Don't know if we have a local Dane group. Going to be at the vet's tomorrow ...he might know of one. I think that would be good for us and Reilly.

Moon of Ohio