Feeding Puppies Great Danes| GREATDANELADY.COM

Name of Dog:__________________________________

Date of Birth:________________ Sex:______________

New: Owner: __________________________________

NUTRITION AND FEEDING PROGRAM

Congratulations on your new puppy. Now it is your responsibility to do the best you can for this puppy by using this Feed Program. Purchasing a puppy from me is an agreement by you the new owner to follow this regiment without fail, for the life of the dog or my guarantee is null and void.

This is the short version with just the Basics of the Blackwatch Feed Program. This program has 25+ years of success in helping to prevent and correct developmental orthopedic problems in dogs. It is especially important in large/giant breeds, but this program works for all breeds/sizes.

I have left out the description of the supplements and what they do in this condensed version, but I expect all of my puppy buyers to read the complete information at www.greatdanelady.com (see Puppy Feed Program for details).

THE PROGRAM CONSISTS OF SIX MAJOR PARTS

1. DOG FOOD - Natural/Holistic Super Premium kibble.

2. Probiotic/Digestive Enzymes- Powder Form

3. Dietary Enzymes in chewable pet treat or granular form.

4. Ox-E-Drops keeps the pH of the gut healthy.

5. Level 5000 Liquid Joint Support.

Optional for variety:

Use a Holistic canned meats, any flavor, but only use a small amount (couple of tablespoons) and some water for a gravy. For variety you may add fruits and vegetables in small amounts. Another option for variety is: HONEST KITCHEN -This is a human grade dehydrated raw food mostly meat and vegetables. Just use 1-2 teaspoons on food and by 6 months they can have 1/4-1/2 cups a day on their food. As adults you can feed 1/3 of their diet Honest Kitchen and 3/4 holistic kibble. To order at call 1-765-284-8288 or you can order on the web at http://www.FirstChoiceNaturals.com

SOME DO'S AND DON'TS

1. Start puppies on joint supplementation at 10 to 12 weeks of age.

2. You want your dog's food moist but not sloppy.

3. Do not microwave, soak or use hot or very warm water on your kibble. This will destroy the integrity of the friendly yogurt type cultures and the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids of the food.

4. Do not let your puppy get too heavy ever. They should be well covered, but lean especially under 10 months of age.

5. Do not feed free choice - (leaving food down all the time) use portion control and go by the AMOUNT TO FEED CHART on my website.

6. Watch the amount of treats you give your puppy, the calories add up. Better to use carrots, slice of apple or a couple of berries.

7. Do not allow extreme exercise for 1 hour after a meal, they can go out and potty, wander around the yard etc. Use common sense, you would not play tennis after dinner, same goes for your dog - go easy they are young and fragile..

8. Do not beg your dog to eat, put the food down, if it is not gone in 10 minutes remove it. This way you know when the dog is not feeling well, coming into season or he/she is not manipulating you.

Allow your puppy a safe, non stressful environment to eat. Give him 10 minutes to eat his food and if he does not remove the food and throw it away or put in refridgerator. He/she will not starve and will not be developing bad habits. If you only let your dog have his food for 10 minutes he will become a good eater and you can use this knowledge to let you know something is wrong.

AMOUNTS OF KIBBLE TO FEED - Giant Breed Puppies

AMOUNTS TO FEED LARGE / GIANT BREEDS

If you have a puppy that is under 6 months of age, you should make the feeding transition quickly so as not to disrupt their growth patterns. This should be done in 3 meals or less using the Precise or Precise Plus line of foods. I like the Precise Canine Adult Formula or Precise Super Premium Foundation formula, both support growth very well.

Puppies: Start with 50% old food and 50% new food and sprinkle your Probiotics on top of the food to smooth transition. The Probiotics are in Kit#1 or #3 for Puppies or you can use one of the CORE 4 Kits

Adults: start with 25% new and 75% old food and use probiotics but take 2-3 days to move over to new food totally.

Using The Chart

GIANT BREEDS - Dogs maturing over 100 lbs or more.

This chart is base the assumption that a dog may be crated or less active during the day while the owner is at work. Use this guideline to help prevent growth diseases in puppies. The most sensitive time for growth problems is from 2.5 months - 6 months of age. Giants (Danes, Newfies, Pyers, Irish Wolfhounds etc.), start with the low end amounts (females) and mid-range amounts (males). They should not be at the high amount until they are in the at least 1/2 way through to being another month older.

GIANT PUPPIES

GIANTS - start with the low end amounts (females) and mid-range amounts (males). They should not be at the high amount until they are in the at least 1/2 way through to being another month older.

Example: a 17 week old female Dane should be eating approximately 4 cups a day divided into two meals - maximum 5 cups a day divided. A Dane male at 17 weeks should be eating 5 cups a day divided, maximum 6 cups a day divided.

2 months 2-4 cups per day - (divided into 3 meals daily)
3 months 3-5 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)
4 months 4-6 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)
5 months 5-7 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily
6 months 6-8 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)
7 months..... 6-9 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)
8 months..... 6-9 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)
9 months..... 7-10 cups per day- (divided into 2 meals daily)
10 - 12 months....7-10 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)

12 -18 months (males).... 8-14 cups a day (divided into 2 meals daily)
12 -18 month (females)... 6-9 cups a day (divided into w meals daily

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LARGE BREEDS - Dogs that mature between 45 - 99 lbs.

Greyhounds,Labs, Boxers, Collies, Goldens, Shepherds, Dobes, Rotties etc., should be fed the low end amounts on chart up to 5 months, then at 5 months and up they tend to hold around 5-7 cups of food, unlike the giant breeds - so hold in this range of 5-7 cups -increase or decrease according to activity levels. You want them well covered, but with the last rib showing slightly.

2 months 2-4 cups per day - (divided into 3 meals daily)
3 months 3-5 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)
4 months 4-6 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)
5 months 5-7 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)

6 months and up 5-8 cups per day - (divided into 2 meals daily)

This is a general guideline so they do not consume too many calories before 6 months of age, disrupting their growth patterns causing accelerated growth and potential bone problems.

Keep the puppy lean, but not skinny. A dog with a smooth coat, I want to just barely see the last rib if the dog is standing. That is the perfect weight for growth. If he is too lean, feed 1/2- 1 cup more per day. You have plenty of time to get muscle on them as the mature - show people are the worst at wanting them heavy to get them in the show ring. Just relax, you can't force an acorn to become and Oak tree over night.

NOTE: If your puppies seems absolutely starved on these amounts you can add a little more food as long as their legs don't start to turn left/right or bow out..or you can a homemade veggie soup component to the diet and it will not add too many calories.

Linda's Very Veggie Soup

2 large cans of chicken or beef broth - (low sodium or homemade) - NO MEAT . Add LOTS of veggies - carrots, green beans, wax beans, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and couple cloves of garlic. The idea is to use this as the filler so you want it to be hearty and filling.

Why do they go off feed?

For a couple of reasons - Hormones play a big role in your dog backing off their food - coming into season, the false pregnancy, teething around 5-7 months of age, and inactivity all have a hand in them backing off eating. Food consumption can be directly related to the amount of free exercise your dog gets on a daily basis. I have 2 Great Danes at home right now, 3 and 4 yrs of age - intact male and spayed female. Normally, the female at 125# eats 5 cups total a day divided AM and PM. The male is 165# and in good weight on 6 - 7 cups a day.

A pet owner writes:

"If we try to offer more food, it just gets left behind and they don't eat all of it."

As long as your dog is not running a fever, lethargic, vomiting, distressed or has diarrhea and you KNOW they are not sick, then it is normal for them to back off on their feed regardless of weather. This is natures way of telling you they do not need it - regardless of their weight, they are eating a nutrient dense diet and they need to take a break from it. Remember, in the wild, dogs would never eat on a daily basis, so they are telling you.."Mom, I don't need it - take it away!". They are not usually food driven like people who eat for a variety of other reasons; celebrations, misery, nervousness, pleasure etc. ...well, that is most dogs aren't. My Pug on the other hand, well that is another story!

How I Handle This:

Every week on one day I cut back on the amount by 1/2 cup each meal or 1 cup per day total - IF THIS IS A DOG THAT SELF REGULATES INTAKE and starts walking away from their food you may have to do this more frequently. My male is like clockwork...once a week he turns his up his nose and I would have to throw out half his food, if I didn't cut back once a week...then the next day he is ready to eat again.

Weather is a Factor:

Right now is July and we are in the heat of the summer (Indiana) which means humidity and horseflies, so my dogs are only out long enough to do their "business" a few times a day, then they come right back in the house until the sun sets.

Although they live in an in air-conditioned environment my male will drop down from 7 cups a day total to eating only 5 cups a day total --- and female will normally eat 6 cups a day total, will drop down to only 4 cups a day total consumption. This is because they do not get the free exercise they would normally get in good weather, so their intake is directly related to the enegy they expend. Less exercise means they need less food intake.

The only real exercise they get in the dead of summer is at night when the sun goes down, out the go to play. Their actual expenditure of calories is not as great in the heat or the dead of winter for that matter because of the decrease in exercise - so if you just remember that their intake is directly related to how much exercise they get you will realize you need to cut back at certain times.

If you don't remember they will let you know..they will walk away from their food. During this kind of weather it is not at all unusual for my males to eat half rations, by his own choice, for about 3 days, then back on full rations. This tells me he did not need the calories due to the fact that he is not expending much energy in extreme weather.

HOW I MIX MY FOOD IN THE MORNING:

I put a little tepid temperature water (1/8 cup for little puppies) in their bowls.
add a couple of spoons of Precise, Eagle or any Holistic canned meat
add Ox-E-Drops, according to dosage on bottle.
add my Probitoic and Nzymes
Stir into a gravy, then add my Kibble and stir - serve

HOW I MIX MY FOOD IN THE EVENING:

Same as above and add Liquid Health Level 5000 and/or MSM - stir into a gravy.
add kibble - stir and serve.

If I use fruits and veggies, I add them on top...fozen berries make great treats..but no grapes, due to potential kidney problems in dogs.

Optional: When or if I use Honest Kitchen, I use it a little divided AM and PM but make sure you mix it wet first and do not add it dry to the dog food as it is dehydrated and they can choak!!!

PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL NOT STAND BEHIND ANY PUPPY THAT IS NOT KEPT ON THIS REGIMENT. NUTRITION IS JUST AS IMPORTANT TO HAVING A HEALTHY HAPPY PUPPY, AS IS GENETICS AND PROPER ENVIRONMENT.

I DO MY PART AS A BREEDER TO PRODUCE QUALITY PUPPIES - SO, I AM NOT ASKING YOU TO DO ANYTHING THAT I AM NOT WILLING TO DO FOR MY OWN. IF YOU THINK THE COST OF THE DOG AND CARING AND FEEDING FOR IT IS HIGH, YOU ARE RIGHT! THIS IS NOT AN INEXPENSIVE BREED TO OWN AND NOT EVERYONE CAN CARE FOR THIS BREED PROPERLY. IT IS OUR PHILOSOPHY, IF YOU CAN'T DO IT RIGHT YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS DOING IT AT ALL.

SO REMEMBER THIS IS A WHOLE WELLNESS PROGRAM. NO GUARANTEE OF PROBLEMS, BUT IT IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR PREVENTION, WELLNESS AND LONGEVITY.

Breeder: ___________________________________________Date:___________

Owner: ____________________________________________ Date:___________

For more information on how to raise your puppy go to Puppy Guidelines and the Puppy Care Index at this website.