New Owner would love Info

[PhoebesMom]

Hi, I'm a new owner to a Deaf Harlequin or Merliquin, I'm not quite sure since I've been told both. Phoebe is almost 3yrs old and such a joy. We've had her for one month. I'm wondering what everyone feeds their Great Danes? Phoebe weighs 95lb. She's not huge like the American lines but is an average size so I've been told for a female. Phoebe does not play with toys, balls, stuffed animals or otherwise. She loves to chew bones though. I guess Phoebe has never played with toys, I'm not sure if this is part of being deaf or just what or if she was never given any. Has anyone ever expierenced this and if so did their Dane come around and start playing? We have purchased Phoebe a ton of toys and other things but she hasn't touched them. She's new to so much it would seem as we took her for her very first camping trip this past weekend. She seemed to enjoy it but was nervous which I could tell by the fact she stayed close to me and did a lot of leaning. I would love to hear advice or anything anyone can tell me about Great Danes that I might not know. We also have a Chihuahua so this is a huge difference for us.
Megan & Phoebe

[lshelley21]

I was told with Jaz to feed her only 5 cups max a day. The way i really do it is if she is looking skinney i give her more, if looking chubby cut back a little.  Jaz is self monitoring...w hich i don;t like but she does it on her own.  She is fed solid gold, prairie, wysong, and mix of all the above.  She getts nupro, seameal, vit. C, Vit E, flaxseed oil, fish oil, and triple flex which is glucosimine, MSM, and Chondrotin.  They are definitly a special breed esp deaf. Jaz i take off lead and she doesn't go anywhere. Luckly no wobblers or anything like that. I have heard that eaglepack has great food. If you go the www.eaglepack. com website it tells you about HOD, and how proper food can help. You can get free food too. I have free coupons if you would like a few of them. Being a trainer i get many offers on food, and i have a ton. I also have different food samples that companies sent me. But i am slow in the training department right now so i am willing to share with you if you would like to try it out... what ever you do don't feed pedigree, or purina, or yucky types.

Lauren Shelley
Four Pawsitive Paws
Teaching dogs and training their owners
Service dog training available
Nutrition consulting available

[PhoebesMom]

Hi Lauren and thank's for the reply. I was told to feed Phoebe 3-4 cups a day around our meal times, and with only 8-10% fat since she's a mature Dane. The vet we see used to breed Danes and did so for 25yrs so he said we need to keep Phoebe at around 95-100lbs. He seemed to know a fair amount which really helped.
Feeding Danes sounds almost like feeding parrots. I have 4 Eclectus parrots in addition to our cat and Chihuahua. Do you add the fish oil to the food yourself from a capsule? I give my parrots Salmon Oil, Flax Seed, Palm Oil, hemp seed and lots of other additional suppliments since they are on an all fresh diet minus pellets.
I've also heard that feeding Raw to danes is the only and best way to go however I run a day home and I could get hit with some major penalty's for feeding raw.
I'm not a Pedigree/Purina fan at all and had never fed it until the vet we met said that he used it when he bred for the time he did with excellent results. He said the majority of his Danes lived to be 11yrs old in excellent health and he had been showing with a few as top show champions in North and South America. I've seen pics and they look stunning. We have been slowly converting Phoebe to Purina Weight Maintence 8%fat and just started this in small amounts but that has left me somewhat uncomfortable knowing those places reps, and my own feelings on those brands as well. I want what is best for her and her over all health and well being so I was quick to get on this site after hearing about it.
Phoebe goes in to get spayed soon and also have her ankle fixed. She was dropped off to us un-spayed, and with a huge cut on her ankle which we were told would heal on it's own until the vet looked at it shortly after Phoebe's arrival. We had blood work all done and got her micro-chipped. Blood work came back fine, no worries there. She was in heat so we've had to wait but her ankle the vet thinks is a bone split or spur. He'll know more when he does the xray and surgery in the next week or so.
Thanks again for the advice. Do you have a webpage?
Megan

[Kermit]

Welcome Phoebe's mom! I am Rebekah and I am mom to two danes and many other mixed breed dogs.
I have Leeloo, a 5 year old female Dane who weighs about 90 pounds now. She had been up to 100 at one point but we realized she was chubby... heehee... so we fed a little less for a while. She gets about 4 cups a day (split into two meals), we feed Natural Balance Ultra Premium. We adjust according to how she looks, every now and then if we think she looks too skinny we give her some cottage cheese and she really goes for that.
Connor is almost a year old and probably about 110 pounds (maybe more?), he eats 8 cups a day of the kibble and that is working out great for him. He had digestive problems FOREVER and I fed him home cooked meals for months to rehabilitate his digestive system. I am so pleased I can finally feed him kibble again. He gets the same food as Leeloo.

Danes are such a joy! Your dog might not know how to play with toys so it might be really fun to teach her and encourage her! Many of our dogs have learned how to play with toys and they love them now. Everyone seems to have their preferences. Stuffed animals are a big hit around here but we have to keep a close eye to make sure no one tears them up and eats them! Otherwise a kong filled with peanut butter or frozen yogurt really keeps them busy for a while and doubles as a tasty treat.

After Phoebe has been with you a little longer she probably won't be as stressed out in camping situations and stuff like that. When we first adopted Leeloo, I think when we brought her different places she got super stressed because she thought we were going to leave her somewhere, like her previous owners had done with her. She has been with us now for about 9 months and I think she finally feels secure that we aren't going to abandon her! Poor gal! Rescues of course will have baggage sometimes, so it's good to keep that in mind and help them move on by giving them security and leadership.

I'd love to see some pictures of Phoebe! 

[lshelley21]

The amount of abuse some of these dogs go through and they still loove humans...poor baby. I use what ever comes to me. Since trainer, i get free samples in the mail. I use olive oil too. I used to use the liquid flaxseed oil, she really likes it...but it is so much more expencive then the caplets, and the caplet last longer. So for now i use the caplets and use 1 tablespoon of olive oil.. she likes it. even though they are deaf they can still know what you want from them. Jaz knows no, sit, down, roll over, walk, poo/pee, come, heel, paw, sit pretty, crawl, up <-- on my shoulders, up <-- on bed, sit on couch, stay. There is so much they can do!

[lshelley21]

oh yeah jaz is 10 months old, 115, and 32 inches  She is skinny now, still growing. Her sisters were 34 inches at 6 months old, so i know she is going to grow more.

[PhoebesMom]

Thank you for the reply. I was contimplating Clicker Training with her to interest her in toys. I used this method with my parrots for training with great success however with Phoebe being deaf I think it's another story. I will try a kong stuffed with some yummies with her. I do that for my parrots hehe. I tried throwing a ball and she watched our Chihuahua Thunder chase it and having a blast and she ran with him and went into this cute puppy mode but did not pick up the ball or show any interest herself. She loves bones and that's a big goodie for her. She won't touch stuffed toys but will lay with them and cuddle with them. I'm going to have to get pictures up soon. She is so pretty. Phoebe has one blue eye and one half brown/half blue eye with very pretty markings.
Megan

[lshelley21]

Jaz has very bad vision, so clicker training worked ok with her. Although a vibration collar made my life as well as her's a lot easier! There is a book called Liveing with a deaf dog (find on dogwise) or look online for crickets website... deaf dalmation..lot s of hand signals you can print out an use.  Jaz is blind at night, limited day vision, deaf, and brain damaged. If she can be taught anyone can!!!!

[PhoebesMom]

Is there a list of Dog Foods/Brands on Big Paws listing ingredients? I know on one list I'm on for my parrots we have a list of Pellets and what ingredients are in each which also list all the bad ingredients, it was an excellent source of info and new brands are added all the time with ingredients.

[lshelley21]

There is ... but only the food list, not the ingredients. Look at solidgoldhealt h.com and eaglepack.com  Both of those show everything. Flintriverranc h.com is great too.....

[Bella's mom]

Welcome!  I'm Tessie, mom to Belladonna, a Great Dane.  She is my first and has taught me plenty.
First of all, everyone here can give you great advice about what to feed.  Pheobe will let you know what will work for her.  For example, Solid Gold Wolf King is a great food, but doesn't agree with Bella.  (Soft stools for 3 months!)  I now feed here Nature's Recipe Venison (I think that's what it's called).  She's done great on it.  Every day or two, I pop open a fish oil capsule and put it on her food(great for skin and hair).  She pretty much eats as she wants, but I put out 3 cups twice daily.  She is 13 months and about 105lb or so.
As for toys, Bella loves them, but she started out with plenty of them.  I would think the best thing to try would be a kong filled with treats and peanut butter.  This should spark Phoebe's interest.
Good luck with her, and please post some pictures!!!!

[PhoebesMom]

Hi Tina, Thank you sooo much. I'm still so new to this site but I found it. What a great post. I'm now looking at which brands are available in Canada and which might suit Phoebe best.

[ptkennel]

Hi Phoebes mom, I have an almost 6 month female newf named Joy and a 19 month male rotti named Tiny.  I feed my dogs ACANA dog food.  I get it in Canada?  I am from Canada.  Where are you from, they have a nice website, that lists ingredients, feeding instructions, everything.  It is very informative.  They also have a link to find out where the closest retailer is to you.  The website is www.championpe tfoods.com   
Its made in Alberta, I found it through my breeder and I cna't believe the difference between the food I was giving my dogs before as to now.  I have also sold to numerous customers who have been feeding their dogs food from grocery stores, and they can't believe that their dogs like ACANA more.  It is all natural.  Home grown chicken and vegetables.  Or Lamb and Rice or whatever your dogs likes.

[ZooCrew]

Hello and welcome to BPO!  Glad to see you are finding your way around.

My name is Chris, and I am owned by Keiko, a husky/shep mix, Gunther, a great dane, and Nigel and Posey, two rat terriers.

My guys were all on different brands of food and I had wanted to get everyone on the same brand, even though they would all need different types.  They're on Nutro Natural Choice right now (large breed, senior, and high energy), and if there is a place that sells it when we move I may switch everyone over to Canidae.

Gunther's favorite toys are stuffed ones, and he is almost always carrying one around in his mouth.  His next favorite kind of toy are ropes, then bones (stuffed or plain).  He also enjoys the occasional tennis ball.  Keiko doesn't really play with toys, as everyone will steal them from her, and the little guys will play with anything, including things they're not supposed to......lol.  It may just take her awhile to get used to the "play" concept, especially if she's never had toys to play with before.  Give her a few months and see what her preferences are.  Who knows?  Some dogs never really play with toys.

Good luck with your new family member, she seems like a real sweetheart.  Can't wait to see her pix.

[Saint and Mal mom]

Just wanted to welcome you to big paws! I'm Marissa, mom to Zoey an Alaskan Malamute and Dolly a Saint Bernard. You'll find a ton of info here. Glad you're here!