New Puppy Pictures!

[Electric]

interesting read on dog foods... http://en.allexperts.com/q/Labrador-Retrievers-2374/raising-labrador-retriever-puppy.htm

(I'm not sure what the original source is for that test but I've seen it copy/pasted on many sites/forums)

You have a very good looking pup there and I must say I strongly agree with the other posters about feeding a quality dog food. I really believe it plays a big role in whether or not the dog will live a long healthy life versus a not so long and not so healthy one that includes frequent trips to the vet.

All those 'big brands' dog foods (purina,pedigree,eukanuba,iams,etc.) are pretty much crap and are often very misleading. You're paying for the fancy looking bag that says stuff like 'scientifically tested', 'recommended by veterinarians', and that contains nice pictures of healthy looking meat and garden fresh vegetables. If anything, the only reason they say 'recommended by veterinarians' on them, is because they know dogs who eat this stuff will eventually develop illnesses and symptoms from all the nasty stuff in it, causing more visits to the vet's office, which in turn brings in more $$$ to the vets...while all along, the not so truthfully informed general public is asking themselves "what is wrong with my dog/cat? "

you can usually tell if a dog food is any good by simply reading the first few ingredients, when it contains meat by-products, and/or any kind of 'corn' ingredient (corn meal, ground yellow corn,etc.), then it's pretty safe to say it's not too great. Not to mention I wouldn't rely too much on what petsmart employees have to say when it comes to purchasing dog food.

another link i just thought of that contains good reviews/ratings of many dog foods is http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

 

[Zoey]

Thanks guys for the tips.



We are currently working on house training and crate training him. Apparently he was just kept in the garage and he thinks that its OK to pee and poo on everything, so we need to keep a keen eye on him.

He's not a big eater still, so he has food down all day for him, we home soon he will get his appitite back soon, I know he should be eating a lot more, but I think he's still trying to settle in.

He's got a vet appointment for Monday, which he should go too, if not he'll get one sometime this week when I take my cats back to the vet.

My brother went and got his sister the other day, and we showed them to each other, and it was cool, because Luk got all excited like he remembered her, it was adorable.

here are two new pictures:

 

[Zoey]

Also for those who wish to see: (Sorry for the big pictures!)

His MAMA:

His DADDY:

His SISTER (the one my brother got is the middle girl) (white on her nose):

 

[JimNPHX]

STOP POSTING PICTURES! I cannot fit a puppy in my life right now but if you keep on posting these pics . . .

We need a better word than cute because he is all that and more!

For what it is worth: You will go crazy trying to decide on what food to buy. Everyone has their opinion (Mine is Eukanuba large breed puppy. It is well balanced with protein and specially blended for large breed puppies. No, a lot of protein is not good . . . Anyway, you will also notice that his stools will be smaller and more condense which in turn you will end up feeding less because of less fillers and more quality!) <---Hey where did that come from??

The bottom line is decide on what you want for your own reasons and go with it. You will learn soon enough if it is the right food. (There is more than one out there.)

Now back to your pup. Thank the puppy gods for digital cameras huh? His parents look very nice. I love the dad's pink spots on his nose.
Yeaaaa to no ear cropping!

 

[Zoey]

I have to agree on that ear cropping comment! His mother last time we saw her was skin and bones, kinda sad, but I hope she'll fatten up now that all the babies are gone.

We're feeding him Pedigree Large Dog Food, we're probably going to switch the expensive brands when we get our own place and have more money, but until then, the dogs are on Pedigree

We could call him adorable?

I just saw the picture of his dad this week I was all "AWWWW"

Its kinda funny they didnt have any Fawn pups out of the litter, all black and mertle

 

[questnjurny]

Love the crate shot, he's adorable! How's the crate training going? It can be tough, esp if they ever get used to going in their crate. My youngest puppy who is now 6 months got into the habit of peeing in his crate when I drove in the driveway (excitment I think) and it took a few weeks of a LOT of laundry and patience before he grew out of it. He didn't care, just fell asleep on the wet towels.

He was also not a big eater, which is a royal pain in the but with four dogs. Its kinda eat your dinner or have it eaten for you around here. Try putting Luk's breakfast down for about 10 minutes, and regardless of how much he eats or doesn't eat, put it up until his next meal, probably lunch at this point. Do the same at the next meal. He will learn pretty quick to eat his food when it is presented to him. Free feeding (leaving it down all day) will actually create a pickier, poorer eating dog. Either that or they end up gorging themselves which you definitly don't want in a dane. It took Turner (the youngest) about a month to clue in that he had to eat his dinner when I put it down. He's now the third one to finish and joins the other boys in staring as his sister as she delicatly finishes her meal.

It will be so fun to have the two puppies able to grow up together! All my dogs are from out of province, so I have never had littermates around me. With the last one, there are three other boys from the litter that ended up within a hour from me. It is a blast to get the brothers together for play dates!

Good luck with him, keep us posted and he grows and grows and grows!

 

[Julirs]

I cannot stress the importance of good food now, while he was growing. These dogs run into alot, ALOT of problems if not fed to allow proper bone and muscle growth. Eukanuba is a garbage food also, and I just don't recommend anything you can buy at a Petstore. I really try not to get on my soap box but WHY do people get animals they cannot afford??? My Great Dane has been a very expensive venture so far, but he is under my care and will get the absolute best regardless of cost. And actually, feeding a premium food just doesn't cost that much more and will save you money down the road. There were no fawns out of that litter because you should NEVER breed a Merle period, and you never breed a Fawn to anything other than a Fawn or Brindle (or a Black) to get color pure dogs. In fact, that Dad there is so far out of the breed standard being a Merle and having those pink nose spots is isn't even funny. I am just really against breeding purebred dogs to get crappy purebred dogs. People here talk about keeping the chameleon locales pure-same with dogs. Look at all the designer-dogs people are breeding these days. Ugh. Here is the crate you will need for your puppy in a few months. Save your money...the bedding alone, that is not shown in this picture, is expensive since they need alot of support for good bone growth and to avoid pressure sores.

 

[Julirs]

One more quick rant-study up on bloat and gastric torsion-a HUGE killer of Great Danes. You should never free-feed a Dane. You little one should get fed appropriate portions 3-4X daily at this point, and never too much food. The fact that a puppy is not interested in food is scary to me. Also-they will chew up everything, dog beds, any toy you get no matter how "tough" the pakage says it is. Nylabones are great (expensive), and surgery to remove cheap toy parts from your Danes intestines is not.

 

[Zoey]

Love the crate shot, he's adorable! How's the crate training going? It can be tough, esp if they ever get used to going in their crate. My youngest puppy who is now 6 months got into the habit of peeing in his crate when I drove in the driveway (excitment I think) and it took a few weeks of a LOT of laundry and patience before he grew out of it. He didn't care, just fell asleep on the wet towels.

He was also not a big eater, which is a royal pain in the but with four dogs. Its kinda eat your dinner or have it eaten for you around here. Try putting Luk's breakfast down for about 10 minutes, and regardless of how much he eats or doesn't eat, put it up until his next meal, probably lunch at this point. Do the same at the next meal. He will learn pretty quick to eat his food when it is presented to him. Free feeding (leaving it down all day) will actually create a pickier, poorer eating dog. Either that or they end up gorging themselves which you definitly don't want in a dane. It took Turner (the youngest) about a month to clue in that he had to eat his dinner when I put it down. He's now the third one to finish and joins the other boys in staring as his sister as she delicatly finishes her meal.

It will be so fun to have the two puppies able to grow up together! All my dogs are from out of province, so I have never had littermates around me. With the last one, there are three other boys from the litter that ended up within a hour from me. It is a blast to get the brothers together for play dates!

Good luck with him, keep us posted and he grows and grows and grows!

Its doing OK, I mean he still has accidents in there sometimes, and he doesn't whine most of the time to go out, but I think he's learning. He howls and whines when we first put him in there, and then when he shuts up, we take him out to pee and then he gets to play around the room for a few hours. lol.

Yeah I've been trying to give him food at set times, I have someone feed him in the morning for me, I don't know how much he eats then, probably a cup a food (I doubt they add anything to the bowl) and then I try and feed him later in the day. Recently I've been trying not to keep the food down for more then an hour. he usually eats 1/2 a cup if we do that.

I was excited for my brother to get the puppy! I mean she was cute. He doesn't see her all that much, but I take him out to play with her every few days. My main concern are my other dogs. We've been trying to teach them that the baby is here to stay. My Border Collie attacked the crap out of him for jumping onto the bed with her. . . scared me. But she was taken out of the room after that and put back in her kennel. And out Bassett mix just does this low growl. One day they will get it lol.

 

[Zoey]

I cannot stress the importance of good food now, while he was growing. These dogs run into alot, ALOT of problems if not fed to allow proper bone and muscle growth. Eukanuba is a garbage food also, and I just don't recommend anything you can buy at a Petstore.

I really try not to get on my soap box but WHY do people get animals they cannot afford??? My Great Dane has been a very expensive venture so far, but he is under my care and will get the absolute best regardless of cost. And actually, feeding a premium food just doesn't cost that much more and will save you money down the road.

There were no fawns out of that litter because you should NEVER breed a Merle period, and you never breed a Fawn to anything other than a Fawn or Brindle (or a Black) to get color pure dogs. In fact, that Dad there is so far out of the breed standard being a Merle and having those pink nose spots is isn't even funny. I am just really against breeding purebred dogs to get crappy purebred dogs. People here talk about keeping the chameleon locales pure-same with dogs. Look at all the designer-dogs people are breeding these days. Ugh.

Here is the crate you will need for your puppy in a few months. Save your money...the bedding alone, that is not shown in this picture, is expensive since they need a lot of support for good bone growth and to avoid pressure sores.

I know people say what I am feeding is not good, but I think it is, I am sorry if you don't agree. My uncle told me it wouldn't hurt the puppy. And I believe him.

As for the affording, we would never get a pet that we cannot afford.

The litter was an accident, they took the male in to get fixed too late.

Thanks, we have a crate picked out its gunna cost up about $180. I hate those wire kennels, my Bassett mix got his teeth caught in the wire and it hurt him pretty bad. we get the plastic ones.

 

[Zoey]

One more quick rant-study up on bloat and gastric torsion-a HUGE killer of Great Danes. You should never free-feed a Dane. You little one should get fed appropriate portions 3-4X daily at this point, and never too much food. The fact that a puppy is not interested in food is scary to me. Also-they will chew up everything, dog beds, any toy you get no matter how "tough" the pakage says it is. Nylabones are great (expensive), and surgery to remove cheap toy parts from your Danes intestines is not.

We've been looking into that stuff, I've been talking to my Uncle about it.

His hunger will grow the longer he is here.

Yeah he does chew evverything, except his dog bedding He's only managed to rip one toy so far, and that toy is easy fixable.

 

[Julirs]

I am not trying to be mean. There are tons of long term studies on the effects of crap dog foods. You said that you would upgrade when you had more money-thus my comment. Mine was an accident also, but from 2 highly pedigreed and color pure dogs. He is not at all show quality, and I never intended to show him. Accidents happen, but the resulting puppy should still get the highest care. Nothing is more sad than reading the posts from people that did fixable things in the beginning and later have had to put their dogs down due to either non-repairable or non-affordable surgeries. That is my only concern. If you have found one of those plastic kennels large enough for a Great Dane-please point me in the direction. Enjoy your puppy-he sure is a cutie! One more thing-add water to the food, not enough to make it soggy, but enough to moisten it, this makes it taste better sometimes and helps avoid the bloat thing.

 

[JimNPHX]

Hang in there Zoey!

Too bad you are getting hammered with misleading and one-sided information. There is more than one way to address many of these issues. You will realize some things in time and with have an opportunity to make changes if needed. Until then enjoy your puppy . . .

** The merle coloring in danes is not acknowledged by any organization, which is why it is not considered "breeding standard". The color itself is not a health defect, just a morph coloring that is not yet accepted. If there were health issues involved they would not still be selling for $1500-$2000 with some breeders. (Any health issue used as an example with a merle can be found in all colors of danes.) As long as there was no inbreeding to get your pup (within the last few generations, not hundreds of years ago) then your pup is fine. Not everyone wants to accept the merle color but in my opinion it is their loss . . .

The main cause of digestion problems with danes (and all large breed dogs) is eating from a bowl that is at floor height. Their bowls need to be raised to at least the bottom of their chest (height) once they start to get big. It causes a lot of stress due to not chewing the food properly and taking in air while swallowing. They actually have to stretch in order to eat off the flow which also adds stress during the whole digestion process. *Moistening the food lightly is not a bad thing though. Just not too much or you will find that the food tends to go through their system faster with less digestion and nutrient absorption.

Julirs: I'd debate you all day about Eukanuba being a GOOD food to use, but lets let Zoey have her thread to show off her new puppy . . .OK?

 

[questnjurny]

Hang in there Zoey!

Too bad you are getting hammered with misleading and one-sided information.

Actually the information that has been provided is very good, and I think ppl have been trying to help in nice way, but it does get frusterating when it falls on deaf ears and you *know* there will be a post later about something having happened when it could have been prevented. Think someone using no UVB for their cham and insists that its doing fine...it might do fine that day, but not in the long term.

** The merle coloring in danes is not acknowledged by any organization, which is why it is not considered "breeding standard". The color itself is not a health defect, just a morph coloring that is not yet accepted. If there were health issues involved they would not still be selling for $1500-$2000 with some breeders. (Any health issue used as an example with a merle can be found in all colors of danes.) As long as there was no inbreeding to get your pup (within the last few generations, not hundreds of years ago) then your pup is fine. Not everyone wants to accept the merle color but in my opinion it is their loss . . .

The Dane community has chosen not to accept merle as a colour. There is a very good reason for this. Two merles bred together (of any breed) will produce a "double merle" or homozygous merle. Homozygous merles are often deaf, blind with a myriad of other problems. Best way to deal with that, keep merle out of your breed. In my breed merle is our most common colour, so steps are taken to not produce homozygous merles, but if they do happen the puppies are generally culled, at least the good breeders. The bad ones don't, then the puppies end up at teh shelter, rescue etc. Ever tried placing a deaf blind full of health problems aussie? Its not easy. Now imagine that in a great dane...next to impossible.

"breeders" and I hesitate to use that term get $1500-$2000 for mismarked or "rare" colours because they are only in it for the money are market the incorrect colours as special, certainly *not* because the colours are fine. Take white dobermans, white boxers, white aussies, merle cockers, the list goes on and on and on. Not one of those breeders should be breeding their dogs, they are destroying the breeds they choose to own.

The main cause of digestion problems with danes (and all large breed dogs) is eating from a bowl that is at floor height. Their bowls need to be raised to at least the bottom of their chest (height) once they start to get big. It causes a lot of stress due to not chewing the food properly and taking in air while swallowing. They actually have to stretch in order to eat off the flow which also adds stress during the whole digestion process. *Moistening the food lightly is not a bad thing though. Just not too much or you will find that the food tends to go through their system faster with less digestion and nutrient absorption.

There really isn't any known particular cause of gastric torsion, which is not a digestion problem. It is a life threatening event when the stomach bloats adn then twists cutting off blood flow from teh digestive track and killing the dog within hours. EVERY Dane owner and large deep chested breed owner should have detailed knowledge of torsion and have a torsion kit available should their dog ever begin to bloat to buy some time to get them to the get to see if the dog can be saved. Raising the food, wetting wtih water (ALL dry food should have water added, esp esp esp the high protien ones...good way to destroy their kidneys if not), confining before and after a meal are all things that have been shown to help protect against torsion. But nothing is fail safe. Incidence of torsion is genetic, and a responsible breeder will take that into account when pairing dogs.

Julirs: I'd debate you all day about Eukanuba being a GOOD food to use,

I'm with Julirs. Iams/Euk *used* to be a decent brand/company. They have drastically lowered their quality, and not progressed in their nutrition. It would be a step up from Pedigree, however not a big step. There are so many other far far better foods for the same price as Euk, why not go to something better. The food review that was posted a couple pages back is an excellent place to start, however, it does not review all brands so keep that in mind.

Zoey, no one is trying to rain on your parade, we're trying to help you grow taht puppy up into the best healthies longest lived great danes possible. They only live for 7-9 years, try to make him as long lived as possible.

 

[Julirs]

I was never in it for a debate. Just sharing information, knowledge, and experience with a new Dane owner. The Merle issues are genetic, and not aesthetic issues. I love the way a Merle looks, they are breathtaking. Food is very, very important in any dog breed. Zoey-do enjoy your new puppy.


JimNPHX-Where did you Merle quote come from? A Merle dog itself can be healthy, but breeding them can cause blind, deaf, or dead pups.

 

[JimNPHX]

Actually the information that has been provided is very good, and I think ppl have been trying to help in nice way, but it does get frusterating when it falls on deaf ears and you *know* there will be a post later about something having happened when it could have been prevented.

Just exactly what information are you referring to?
Zoey has plans for a new/larger cage (The puppy does not need one today.)
She understands about the food and will realize quickly whether the brand she is using is a proper one. Jumping all over her about it is not helping in a nice way!

The Dane community has chosen not to accept merle as a colour. There is a very good reason for this. Two merles bred together (of any breed) will produce a "double merle" or homozygous merle. Homozygous merles are often deaf, blind with a myriad of other problems.

We are not discussing a puppy from 2 merle parents. Stop trying to make it sound like Zoey's puppy is a genetic defect. Now if the (fawn) mother carries the merle allele then there was a chance for this to happen. At the same time it cannot be a dominant gene or else all the puppies would have been merle due to the father. Unless there are more than one gene affecting this coloring,then that is another story . . .
My point is that it has been made clear that it was an accidental breeding, Zoey understands and she should not be treated like she will be in the merle color breeding business!

"breeders" and I hesitate to use that term get $1500-$2000 for mismarked or "rare" colours because they are only in it for the money are market the incorrect colours as special, certainly *not* because the colours are fine.

I do not disagree that there are bad and irresponsible breeders out there. At the same time, they surface very fast and the public learns about them quickly. I was not referring to the "bad" breeders when I stated the price.

Take white dobermans, white boxers, white aussies, merle cockers, the list goes on and on and on. Not one of those breeders should be breeding their dogs, they are destroying the breeds they choose to own.

Again, you are insinuating that this discussion is about breeding merles together or breeding to get the color. I am stating that there is nothing wrong with a merle dane. I can go on about breeding pure breed breeds and still getting defects because of poor choices but this was not the point.

There really isn't any known particular cause of gastric torsion, which is not a digestion problem.

Please reread my post. I did not combine nor confuse gastric torsion and digestion problems. I simply made a point about a very important issue with large breed dogs.

It is a life threatening event when the stomach bloats adn then twists cutting off blood flow from teh digestive track and killing the dog within hours. EVERY Dane owner and large deep chested breed owner should have detailed knowledge of torsion and have a torsion kit available should their dog ever begin to bloat to buy some time to get them to the get to see if the dog can be saved.

Not as common as you imply, at the same time is life threatening and proper knowledge is important.

Raising the food, wetting wtih water (ALL dry food should have water added, esp esp esp the high protien ones...good way to destroy their kidneys if not),

I agree on too much protein

Incidence of torsion is genetic, and a responsible breeder will take that into account when pairing dogs.

Again, not that common but agree about breeder responsibility.

I'm with Julirs. Iams/Euk *used* to be a decent brand/company. They have drastically lowered their quality, and not progressed in their nutrition. It would be a step up from Pedigree, however not a big step. There are so many other far far better foods for the same price as Euk, why not go to something better. The food review that was posted a couple pages back is an excellent place to start, however, it does not review all brands so keep that in mind.

Euk still is a good brand, I have my danes and many other dog owners to prove it. (BTW: IAMS is a sub brand of Eukanuba. Don't use both to compare.) But my point (other than defending my stance on the brand) is that there are more than one choice for good food. I noticed a trend with that food poll. I wonder who is the sponsor . . . hmmm

This is getting old . . .

Zoey, as you can see there are important concerns when raising a puppy, especially one of large breed. There is a lot of information out there, and as often the case with many things, very debatable. There is enough information and studies out there for everyone. We as humans tend to focus on the information that supports our belief. For every good example for one way of doing things, there is also a perfectly good example to do it another way. (And I am also sure we can find bad examples of both.) People are very passionate about their beliefs. I apologize that your post about a very cute puppy turned into a debate.

You know the importance of good nutrition, especially with puppies, and doubly so for large breeds. As stated in many posts on this thread, now is the time to do it. What you feel is good nutrition ultimately is up to you. At the very least, understand the meaning of fillers, processing, supplements and the balance of (good) protein and carbs. Remember that Great Danes grow for up to 2 years! You do not want him to grow too fast, at the same time he needs to have the proper resources to grow healthy and proper.

Again,best of luck with the little one!

 

[JimNPHX]

The Merle issues are genetic, and not aesthetic issues.

All coloring is genetic Julirs. If I implied that coloring was not, it was unintentional and I apologize. My point was on an individual merle, not breeding the color from 2 merles. So, technically my wording was incorrect about health concerns with the color (if referring to breeding).

Jim

 

[questnjurny]

Wow, talk about taking pretty much everything I had typed the wrong way. Let's see, most were general comments, I did not ever "jump all over her", and have never referred to her dog as a genetic defect. I think her dog is adorable and she is happy with it, isn't that what matters?

Just exactly what information are you referring to?
Zoey has plans for a new/larger cage (The puppy does not need one today.)
She understands about the food and will realize quickly whether the brand she is using is a proper one. Jumping all over her about it is not helping in a nice way!

Did I make a comment about teh crate? Nope, not once. I think it's awesome that she's crate training. I have no idea if she has a larger one or not, I *NEVER* said a thing about it.

We are not discussing a puppy from 2 merle parents. Stop trying to make it sound like Zoey's puppy is a genetic defect. Now if the (fawn) mother carries the merle allele then there was a chance for this to happen. At the same time it cannot be a dominant gene or else all the puppies would have been merle due to the father. Unless there are more than one gene affecting this coloring,then that is another story . . .

Um...NEVER SAID I WAS TALKIGN ABOUT THIS PUPPY...I was trying to explain why some breeds have chosen not to allow merle in their breed. Talk about trying to make me out to be the bad guy. Merle is recessive, therein is the problem with merle to merle breedings, get a double recessive and you end up with problems (and just to make sure you don't take me the wrong way, not talking about Zoey's puppy!)

Again, you are insinuating that this discussion is about breeding merles together or breeding to get the color. I am stating that there is nothing wrong with a merle dane. I can go on about breeding pure breed breeds and still getting defects because of poor choices but this was not the point. [/quore]

No, you are thinking I'm insinuating that. Again, just trying to explain why breeding for certain colours etc is not a good thing, even though some "breeders" like to market that. Simply trying to provide some education for those who like to expand their knowledge...you apparently can't see that.

Not as common as you imply, at the same time is life threatening and proper knowledge is important.

I never implied it was common, I never said a thing about the incidence of torsion. Just that because it was a serious life threatening condition that you have to be prepared.

Euk still is a good brand, I have my danes and many other dog owners to prove it. (BTW: IAMS is a sub brand of Eukanuba. Don't use both to compare.) But my point (other than defending my stance on the brand) is that there are more than one choice for good food. I noticed a trend with that food poll. I wonder who is the sponsor . . . hmmm

Lots of ppl feed kibbles and bits and their dogs look great too, so could say that they could "prove" that its a good food. Its not. I'm not saying that Euk is terrible (and by lumping Euk and Iams together I simply meant that both were better quality and the quality of *both* foods has lessened, not that the foods are equal...I realize now that I need to be more clear), just that there are equal or better foods out there for the same price.
This is getting old . . .

Zoey, as you can see there are important concerns when raising a puppy, especially one of large breed. There is a lot of information out there, and as often the case with many things, very debatable. There is enough information and studies out there for everyone. We as humans tend to focus on the information that supports our belief. For every good example for one way of doing things, there is also a perfectly good example to do it another way. (And I am also sure we can find bad examples of both.) People are very passionate about their beliefs. I apologize that your post about a very cute puppy turned into a debate.

I wouldn't have continued on with this, but you assumed a lot of my meanings and put words in my mouth...I just wanted to clear them up...not to mention the rude attitude that I got from you...holy cow.

 

[Zoey]

I am not trying to be mean. There are tons of long term studies on the effects of crap dog foods. You said that you would upgrade when you had more money-thus my comment. Mine was an accident also, but from 2 highly pedigreed and color pure dogs. He is not at all show quality, and I never intended to show him. Accidents happen, but the resulting puppy should still get the highest care. Nothing is more sad than reading the posts from people that did fixable things in the beginning and later have had to put their dogs down due to either non-repairable or non-affordable surgeries. That is my only concern. If you have found one of those plastic kennels large enough for a Great Dane-please point me in the direction. Enjoy your puppy-he sure is a cutie! One more thing-add water to the food, not enough to make it soggy, but enough to moisten it, this makes it taste better sometimes and helps avoid the bloat thing.

They sell them at Petsmart for like $180-$200 (crates) I looked in their site and its not on there.

will strat adding water to his food

 

[Zoey]

Hang in there Zoey!

Too bad you are getting hammered with misleading and one-sided information. There is more than one way to address many of these issues. You will realize some things in time and with have an opportunity to make changes if needed. Until then enjoy your puppy . . .

** The merle coloring in danes is not acknowledged by any organization, which is why it is not considered "breeding standard". The color itself is not a health defect, just a morph coloring that is not yet accepted. If there were health issues involved they would not still be selling for $1500-$2000 with some breeders. (Any health issue used as an example with a merle can be found in all colors of danes.) As long as there was no inbreeding to get your pup (within the last few generations, not hundreds of years ago) then your pup is fine. Not everyone wants to accept the merle color but in my opinion it is their loss . . .

The main cause of digestion problems with danes (and all large breed dogs) is eating from a bowl that is at floor height. Their bowls need to be raised to at least the bottom of their chest (height) once they start to get big. It causes a lot of stress due to not chewing the food properly and taking in air while swallowing. They actually have to stretch in order to eat off the flow which also adds stress during the whole digestion process. *Moistening the food lightly is not a bad thing though. Just not too much or you will find that the food tends to go through their system faster with less digestion and nutrient absorption.

Julirs: I'd debate you all day about Eukanuba being a GOOD food to use, but lets let Zoey have her thread to show off her new puppy . . .OK?

Thank you! I've read about having to have the bowl off the floor and I forgot about that until I read this post!!!! He eats with it up now

As far as I know, they got the male to be a friend to their female and they were taking him in to get neutered and a while after that the female began getting fat. so no inbreeding as from what i was told.