Please Help!!!

[hugo~monster]

I have heard not so great things about Science Diet.  Actually, some pretty awful things. 
Also, I've always heard that you should feed an adult dog at least twice a day, especially when they are such large dogs. 

if you look at the science diet ingredients list, there are tons of fillers such as corn and peanut hulls.  science diet isnt much of a step up from "grocery store" brand dog food.  i would research the raw diet, which is what hugo eats, but there are many quality holistic and organic kibble out there.  i am trying merrick with my poodles, you might check into that.  also innova and canidae are a couple of others.  always look for corn, wheat and soy-free.  meat (not meat meal or animal by products) should always be the #1 ingredient.  i prefer kibble with the 1st 3 or 4 ingredients of meat, followed by quality grains such as brown rice, oats, barley, and of course fruits and veggies. 

as far as twice a day, several smaller meals is better than one large meal a day.  this cuts down risks for bloat.   

[marinafb]

i agree science diet iams and there are plenty more are garbage. try wellness,back to basics etc. there are some really great brands research it! you will be very surprised at what your dog is eating!

[Halo05]

Hi,
Hope he's feeling better. Just wanted to put in my 2 cents. I had a 100 lb. American Bulldog that had sudden weight loss. He lost about 10-15 lbs in a week. All the blood work was good, not lethargic, eating, drinking, normal bowel movements and playing. Finally, I found a baseball with the cover missing in the yard that the kid next door gave him. The leather cover was in his stomach on the X Rays!! It was removed and he never had a problem like that after. It may be worth asking about if its possible he ingested something. Just trying to help.

[Nicole]

So, I don't know much about Danes. But, I do know quite a bit about food. I noticed on the picture of Dan that his nose looks dry and flaky. Maybe its dirty..but anyway...when Cabeza started having problems with food (gassy, tummy problems, loose pooh) he also had itchy skin and that dry flaky nose. We experimented with food and I eventually started feeding him raw. All the problems, including the dry flaky nose and itchy skin went away.

We don't feed raw anymore (we jus supplement with it) but I've got him on Wysong, and he still doesn't have any of those problems. You've already gotten great advice about food, but I just wanted to throw that in cuz I noticed Dane's nose and it looked just like Cabeza's did.

Get him off Science Diet, even if there is another explanation for the problem. Its junky. Like feeding your kids nothing but Corn flakes and bacon bits.

[cricket36580]

I haven't read the whole thread but I wanted to give my recommendation on food.  If cost is a concern and you want to go higher-middle then Diamond is wonderful.  I pay about $19 per 50# (it just went up from $15 ) and while it has some filler it's primarily meat ingredients. 

I'd vote for IBD too.