Great Dane's

shvl73 · Apr 14, 2005

Re: Great Dane\'s

( 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).)
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 · Apr 14, 2005

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 · Apr 15, 2005

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 · Apr 15, 2005

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.

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

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 · Apr 15, 2005

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 · Apr 15, 2005

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 · Apr 15, 2005

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 · Apr 15, 2005

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 · Apr 15, 2005

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 · Apr 15, 2005

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. )

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