I can’t even begin to calculate how much time I have spent researching dog food.
We are solely responsible for the dietary health of our dogs.
If it were up to our dogs they would empty the nearest trash can or clear off the kitchen counter. Dogs and especially big dogs don’t have as many trips around the sun as we do and what they eat can play an important role in increasing or decreasing the number of trips.
I’m not a vet or even a nutritionist, all I’ve learned is from searching the internet, talking with a vet and experience with our Danes. The first advice we got was from a fresh out of school vet that Danes should never have puppy food. Secondly, we were told by the rescue our first Dane, Selar, came from was that Danes should have lots of fiber so feeding them low quality food was actually good because it is all fillers. A pet store employee gave me a third word of advice, our Dane was too skinny and we should quickly fatten her up with high protein food such as puppy food, contradicting the first advice. The scientist in me doesn’t like to accept anything without further research.
This is what I’ve learned about food for Great Danes
- Never give a puppy Dane food designed to make them grow quickly.
Some brands make Giant breed puppy foods which may take this into account. Our Danes have all been older so we haven’t used puppy food. Growing too quickly will compromise their joints later in life.
- Avoid cheap food with lots of fillers.
The rescue which told us fillers are good later formulated their own higher quality dog food and required all their re-homed dogs eat only their food.
- Low fat, low protein is the consensus I have found for giant breed dogs.
Yes there is the whole argument that dogs are descended from wolves so they should eat protein like wolves do. But dogs are not wolves and have not been for possibly 40,000 years.
Raw vs. kibble
Not going there. I’ve looked at raw diets and they might be better, they might not. Either way they are prohibitively expensive when you have a dog that eats 6 cups of dry food/day unless you prepare it yourself. Commercially prepared raw diets cost at least twice what we spend on food for ourselves. Even preparing it yourself requires additional supplements which are costly. I love my dog but we do have a mortgage to pay to keep a roof over his head.
There is so much more to this topic. Detailed analysis of ingredients, percent protein vs. fat vs. fiber, the source of the ingredients and baked vs. extruded to name a few.
What is the take away from all this?
- Get the best quality food you can afford.
How do you know it is quality? I found this grading system:
I wish I could give credit where it is due but I can’t find where this originated.
- Watch for recalls.
Check the recall history and how the company responded. Get on the Dog Food Advisor list, they send emails whenever there is a recall.
- Listen to your dog.
Do they like it? Is their coat healthy looking? Are they processing it? (well processed food=smaller poops)
- Stay informed.
A new study by the FDA announced on July 12th, 2018 that there may be a connection between grain-free diets and heart disease.
Please share what dog food you feed your Dane (or any breed dog) and why?
I know this is an older post but I have been researching like crazy and asking different employees and 2 different vets what to feed my great dane puppy and its sooo confusing…what do you feed your danes? My vet said to get a high quality dog food….I asked her for a few brands she stated, natural balance, canidae, or wellness and it must be grain inclusive. It’s so hard to find a grain inclusive puppy food that’s high quality. Wellness does make a large breed grain inclusive puppy food but I’m still wanting to get more opinions from dane owners. Another vet recommended pro plan….and then the pet stores recommend numerous ones….whats your go to brands?
Hi Rachael,
Sorry for the slow reply, I was on a road trip this past weekend.
I feel your frustration, I’ve been there for sure. The first advice I got from a vet about puppy food was don’t give it to a Great Dane. The reason is that Danes need to grow slowly and puppy food is designed for rapidly growing bodies. However that advice was given a long time ago and I don’t know that giant breed (or large breed) puppy food was a thing then. The grain inclusive is because grain-free foods tend to have lots of pea-protein and other legumes which have been tied to heart disease in some breeds. Just so you know it isn’t the grain that is important it is the lack of legume products.
We used Holistic Select for years and I believe they have a giant breed puppy formula. We were recently trying Eagle Pack for Martok but after a few bags his poop was getting soft so I took him off it. Believe it or not what is working best for Martok, who is 4 years old, is Costco Lamb and Rice. It is what the Great Dane rescue we got him from feeds all their dogs. I haven’t used any of the brands you mentioned except that Canidae used to make California Natural which was the only food that agreed with our first Dane, Selar. She had a very sensitive stomach and needed a bland, simple formula.
The food grade system I have in the article will give you an idea of what ingredients are good and bad. You want a couple of specific meats to be the first 3 ingredients.
I don’t think you need to worry so much about it being specifically for puppies, I believe some of that is just marketing. There really are a lot of quality brands now. We have always gone with the advice that low fat and low protein are best, though I don’t know how much science is behind that. Stick with ones made for large or giant breeds.
What I have learned from all our Danes is that each one is different and a food that is liked and seems to agree with one doesn’t work for another. I know the doesn’t help much but I guess that is why there are so many types of food out there.