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| | From:  tessa111855 (Original Message) | Sent: 6/21/2008 11:14 PM |
Below you will find listed common nutrition issues for Great Danes. I you do not find the subject you are looking for please Click on reply and post your question. Someone will answer as soon as possible. |
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How to Read a Dog Food Label:
1. Ingredients are listed descending order by
weight. Do not buy any food that lists a grain as
the first ingredient. Dog's systems are designed
to digest and process the natural proteins found in
meat.
2. Meat meals such as chicken meal, fish meal,
lamb meal etc are to be preferred over meat
by-products. For example, poultry by-products
can (and do) contain heads,beaks, eyes, feet,
lungs,and intestines. These ingredients provide
bulk and weight to the food, but do not have much
high quality protein.
3. "Meat and meat by-products" is a very generic
term and can contain meat from any domestic
animal, including horse, donkey, goat, or
whatever else the slaughterhouse may be
processing that day. By-products are little more
than the sweepings of the slaughterhouse floor
after everything human grade has been removed.
4. Rice and oatmeal are good sources of
carbohydrates. Corn meal is acceptable, if your
dog is not sensitive to it. If you have a dog with
skin problems, try eliminating corn from his/her
diet (including corn gluten and corn oil) for at
least 6 weeks. Corn is one of the most common
allergens.
5. Avoid foods with artificial colors. Pet foods are
colored and shaped to appeal to human
consumers, not pets. They don't care if their
kibble is bone shaped or has green food coloring
in it.
Purina Beneful is a prime example of modern day
marketing. The first ingredient listed is corn
meal, followed by meat-by-products. It is a
mediocre food by any measure. But it is bright
and colorful, and the advertisements present it as
a healthy food, so uneducated consumers buy it,
thinking they are doing something good for their
dogs.
Definitions of Terms:
Meat: Meat is the clean
flesh of slaughtered
animals (chicken, cattle,
lamb, turkey, etc.). The
flesh can include striated
skeletal muscle, tongue,
diaphragm, heart,
esophagus, overlying fat
and the skin, sinew, nerves
and blood vessels normally
found with that flesh.
Meat By-products: Meat
by-products are clean
parts of slaughtered
animals, not including
meat. These include lungs,
spleen, kidneys, brain,
liver, blood, bone, and
stomach and intestines
freed of their contents. It
does not include hair,
horns, teeth, or hooves.
Poultry By-products:
Poultry by-products are
clean parts of slaughtered
poultry such as heads,
feet, and internal organs
(like heart, lungs, liver,
kidneys, abdomen, and
intestines). It does not
contain feathers.
Fish Meal: Fish meal is
the clean ground tissue of
undecomposed fish or fish
cuttings, with or without
the oil extracted.
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Feeding a Dane from 8 weeks to 2 years How to feed a Growing Dane (8 weeks to two years):
Great Danes need to eat a high quality dog food throughout their lives. During their growing
years (first 2 years), protein levels should be never be more than 22-24. %, and approximately
12% fat.. Great Danes grow very rapidly during their first year, often gaining 100 lbs or more
from birth to age one. If they eat food too high in protein or are overfed, they can develop
HOD (hypertrophic osteodystrophy) and other painful joint deforming problems. Remember,
Great Danes are a "Giant" breed, not a "Large" breed. Avoid most Large Breed puppy formulas,
as many of them have protein levels of 27- 29&%. Two notable exceptions are Eagle Pack and
Innova Large/Giant Breed Puppy. Either would be a good choice for a growing Dane pup.
The main thing to remember is to choose a food made with high quality ingredients and protein
levels of 21-23%, and do NOT overfeed your puppy. It is normal for them to eat a lot, but they
should never get chunky They should have a well defined waist, and be lean but not ribby.
Never give Calcium supplements to GROWING Danes. Dane pups grow at a phenomenal rate.
They will grow to 85-90% of their adult weight in their first year alone. Too much calcium could
have devastating results.
Feed probiotics on a regular basis. The simplest way to do this is to add some plain live-culture
yogurt to their food once or twice a week, or add powdered acidophilus from a natural food store.
Growing Danes should be fed three times a day and their food should always be moistened avoid
bloat. If you do use a dry food, always mix with warm water before serving.
At this point, I do not recommend feeding homemade diets to GROWING Great Danes. It is too
difficult to judge the critical protein and calcium levels. After the first year you can begin to add
in some homemade food, but the majority of their diet should still be a good quality commercial
food until they are two years old. |
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Articles on the basics of feeding a Dane Basically, the reason for the reduced protein levels during growth stage (about 2 years old) is to maintain a slower , controlled growth rate. Danes grow so rapidly that their bones can get distorted very quickly and easily if their body mass is not kept in check. This was initially thought that it was the over load of protein, but recent studies have shown that is only part of the problem. Since the problem is actually caused by the animal being overweight, overfeeding ANY food, or a high fat diet is just as bad . Almost all studies have shown excessive calium to be the most determining factor in skeletal disorders, with a level of around 1 % being the maximum optimal level. So from what I have researched, a dogs weight is what is important. High protien can cause this, but so can other factors, and given every dog is different - they all will maintain differing weight levels on the same food (just like us!). An overweight dog (and esp a puppy) will have too much stress on a fragile growing skeleton to keep their joints / bones in a proper state. Too Much Calcium is the associated factor in almost ALL skeletal diseases (and therefore excess Vitamin C as is increases calcium uptake) Heres a few research studies : |
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