Feeding Your Puppy
PRINT THIS OUT AND PUT ON FRIDGE DOOR
You need to buy…..
Premium Working Dog Kibble ( 22% protein, 14% fat content)
NEVER feed kibble over 25% protein.
Beef mince with approximately 20% fat content.
Value Plus Iron and Mineral Supplement (order Tablets from the Pet Shop) or Zinc tablets ( from a Health Food Shop if you cannot get the Value Plus)
Acidopholous capsules…Inner Health Plus ( from a Chemist..they are kept in the fridge)
Yoghurt…(Live Yoghurt from a supermarket)
Vitamin C 250mg…( buffered from chemist)
Chicken necks….( freeze in packs of 3 or 4)
Chicken Carcuss/body 2 per adult dog raw
Growing your pup correctly can be gauged by the reaction of the front legs.
If your pup is growing correctly, the front paws will always point forward as the pup is walking toward you, the feet should be cat like with well arched toes…flat feet by the end of the day, means your pup has been doing too much and needs to sleep more.
ONLY buy IF the following occurs……Pedigree Advance Adult…..
IF your pup starts to……….. knuckle over on its front legs or if you notice the front legs shaking when the pup is in the sitting position.
If your pups front feet start to go east west when in the standing or walking position, then increase the meat content of their diet, the feet will return to normal within one week.
NEVER add calcium to your Great Dane’s diet, (even if your vet tells you to do so)!!..…they will draw enough calcium from the kibble….
The Zinc supplement is very important to the Great Dane’s diet….it will hold the bottom jaw back and keep it aligned and it will also help with keeping both testicles down on male pups…if your male pup has one testicle that goes up and down at random, when he is asleep, gently stretch both testicles, to help keep them down in the scrotum.
Also keep them warm in winter as the cold weather makes them suck up the testicles….once you let the pup run around and warm up, the testicles will desend.
Cold weather can also play havoc with the ligaments in the front legs…so if it is cold, keep a dog coat on at all times when outside.
FEEDING GUIDE for a 8 week old pup
Breakfast…..
1 cup of Premium Working Dog moistened with warm water until soft.
2 golf ball size raw chicken or beef mince
1 desert spoon acidopholous yogurt
3 to 4 raw chicken necks cut up after breakfast.
LUNCH
Chopped Chicken Carcass
DINNER
1 cup of Premium Working Dog kibble moistened with warm water until soft..
2 golf ball size raw chicken or beef mince
1 desert spoon yogurt
half Value Plus Tablet or Zinc Tablet
250 mg Vitamin C tablet
250mg Glucosamine tablet
If your pup doesn’t eat the whole meal or seems bored with the food, you can add one teaspoon of Pal Puppy Food or one sardine from a tin or a little bit of Parmasan cheese or some cooked lambs fry…or a golf ball size of raw chicken mince…..try something different each day for variety, only if you need to.
Food should be increased approximately every month by half a cup of kibble at a time, increasing the meat by one quarter as well, ( the meat should always be approximately one quarter of the meal ) and also the Value Plus tablet, it is one per 30 kilos per body weight, so give accordingly.
Soak the kibble all their life as it helps to prevent Bloat by them not swallowing extra air with dry kibble.
So by 12 weeks of age, a meal should be;
two and a half cups of kibble soaked
1 to 2 billiard ball size raw chicken mince.
2 desert spoons yogurt…plus all the pills at the night feed.
You can also start them on raw brisket bones or lamb flaps at this age, approximately 1or 2 small bones after the chicken necks at breakfast, also if they are not that interested in eating the kibble of a morning, then replace breakfast with 5 to 6 chicken necks plus a small brisket bone or lamb flap ( cut up the necks if they try to swallow them whole)….as they grow increase all the raw food on a fortnightly basis…all pups are individuals, some will need more food than others, you must use their body weight as a guide.
Weigh them weekly, do not let them grow any faster than 2 kilos per week, ( if your pup has grown 3 kilos, then cut back on the food slightly) if he has only grown 1 kilo, then that is just fine. When you first get your pup he will grow at approximately 1 kilo per week, increasing to two kilos per week by 12 weeks of age.
Your pup should look covered, not skinny, and not sunken in around the flank area…….you need to be able to feel the ribs just under the skin without seeing them, your pup will be a greedy guts when you first get him, so don’t be fooled into giving extra food!! Increase the Vitamin C (EstherC) to 500mg at 12 weeks to help with the teething which will last for months!!
NEVER leave food out for the pup, if he does not eat it put it in the fridge, he will soon learn that he has 10 minutes and then it’s gone. Always feed your pup at shoulder height, adjusting the height as he grows.
NEVER feed cooked bones of any kind always RAW…do not feed bones at night time as the hydrochloric acid in their stomach is not as strong as it is in the morning and the bones will not get absorbed properly……..by 4 months of age you can introduce veggies and pasta and leftovers, just cut back on the kibble….a good all round diet with a bit of everything!!
Always have plenty of fresh water available.
DO NOT take your pup out until he has had his second vaccination.
After the second vaccination, its good to socialize your pup with a puppy pre-school, Dane pups always enjoy lots of interaction with people and other animals. If you cannot attend a puppy socialization class, then take your pup to the shops or even to a Primary School, when the children are due out.
Buy lots of toys from the local Salvation Army store, they are always cheap….have two boxes of toys and swap the box over every three or four days…… empty plastic milk bottles will keep your pup amused for hours, but make sure you cut off all the packaging and seals around the top.
DO NOT over exercise your pup, A five minute walk for socializing is all that is needed in the first 6 months. Once fully grown, your Dane will be able to handle any amount of exercise….remember slow and steady wins the race. Your pup will be asleep more then awake, this is due to the extreme growth rate, and they will reach 50 to 70 kilos in 12 months, so it is very strenuous on their body, so if you think they are over doing it then put them to bed!!
Just remember it took you 20 years to get to your body weight, and the Great Dane will do it in 12 months.
The most important thing I can tell you is NOT to let the puppy get any type of injury….it is hard enough on their system just growing, without trying to heal an injury at the same time….any type of trauma to their bones will result in arthritis in the long run, so no jumping off furniture, no getting bowled over by other dogs or children….no jumping in and out of the car….be very careful with steps…just be aware of all hazards. So when your Great Dane pup can walk onto it or step up onto it…then he is big enough to get onto it by himself.
On and off your puppy will get the hiccups, this is just from over excitement…offer a drink of water. Some pups will moan and groan in their sleep, this is also normal.
Try not to treat your pup like a human….any dog is a pack animal, and the pup will look for leadership from YOU being the leader of the pack. So treat them accordingly.
Worming.
Worm at 12 weeks with Drontal or Canex and then every 3 months after that.
Vaccination…Re-vaccinate at 14 weeks of age with Canvac C3 and again at 12 months of age after that every 4 years.….
DO NOT let your vet use Protec, only CSL CANVAC C3!!!…..DO NOT vaccinate with C4 or C5….your puppies immune system will not be strong enough to handle it….please only use CanvacC3…this is extremely important!!…if your vet doesn’t stock it, ring another vet…DO NOT get talked into anything else.
Start Heartguard Treatment to prevent Heartworm if you are in a Mosquito area..
Great Dane pups need very soft bedding to prevent callouses forming on the elbows…and they feel the cold, so always keep a rug on them at night through winter.
Please keep your Great Dane pup away from caged birds or chickens….puppies can get diarrhea and other diseases from birds….never let your pup have diarrhea for longer then 2 days before taking them to the vet….a course of an antibiotic called Trizine will fix them up. This is another reason why not to leave food out as it will attract birds.
Please ring me with any queries regarding anything at all,
Paul(00357 99560609)
I will have the answers to all your questions, please always ring me before ringing a vet, vets in general do not breed Great Danes!!!
If for any reason at all you cannot keep the pup or adult Great Dane …please return them to me…I will always take them back.
From 12 weeks on please take pictures of your pups front on and e-mail them to me so that I can check on their growth.
25 weeks to 12 months-of-age we give the following supplements with each meal:
Males -
Esther C, 500mg
Glucosamine 1000mg
Cod Liver Oil 1000mg
1 teaspoon Safflower vegetable oil
Females
Esther C 250mg
Glucosamine 500mg
Cod Liver Oil 500mg
1 teaspoon Safflower vegetable oil
REMINDER: Whenever changing any food source, do it gradually over a week or two. If your dog develops a stool problem, substitute soft white rice for kibble for a few days. After the problem is resolved, transition back to the normal diet. We have found that continuing with the basic diet promotes a good coat, stable growth pattern and an overall healthy pet or show dog.
If you have a problem with your dog “blowing” its coat, and your veterinarian or dermatologist cannot determine the cause, you may want to try the following diet change:
Eukanuba fish and potato kibble or Solid Gold holistic kibble, and change from meat to human-grade fish (salmon, mackerel, trout, or flake tuna). Allow three to eight weeks for any noticeable improvement.
Remember, “Variety is the spice of life!”
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Diane said,
September 19, 2008 @ 11:35 am
Hi we have two danes, Sherman a very handsome 16 month old merle and Ralph a 5 month silver harlequin, they are both fed on royal canin giant breed, Sherman being on the adult food and Ralph has the puppy food. With your experience do you think royal canin is a good food for danes, they also have raw tripe on occasions too. Their appetite is fantastic we luckerly have no problems with either of them being fussy or poor eaters and their motions are always very firm. Do you recommend that Ralph being 5 months should idealy have a lower protein as the puppy royal canin is 31%. Sherman changed onto royal canin adult about 7 months ago and the difference in his weight and apperance is very noticeable. look forward to your reply, regards diane