The pickiest Great Dane ever

Great Dane · 11-19-2008, 09:07 PM

So, our Dane is 5 3/4 months. Right now she's 29" tall and around 70 pounds give or take a few. She had been eating fine for the most part up until a week ago but now it's a chore to even make her eat anything more than 2 cups a day, if that. On Canidae ALS, and right now to be coaxed to eat she's gotten all the usual treats on her food; cheese, vanilla yogurt and even tripett which is good for her as well.

The point is, she just won't eat. I know from speaking to others that their Danes have gone through 'periods' where they simply just didn't have much of an appetite but I've never experienced it before. It's also come to the point where she won't even look at the kibble if something is not mixed in with it and even then she takes a few bites, looks around to see if I'm watching her and then takes a few more bites before sitting down.

She is perfectly healthy, absolutely no concerns but she's on the light side right now in my opinion, I'd like her weight to get up to around that 80 - 85 pound mark.

Any suggestions? Should add, she gets a small amount of boiled liver mixed in as well to try and make her eat.. you should see her pick it out like an expert.

xlb57 · 11-19-2008, 10:58 PM

This is an absolute rookie comment/thought but... Could it have something to do with the dog having gotten so used to having some sort of "add on" to the food that she won't eat it without? Perhaps try removing any added foods from her kibble and see how that goes. I would imagine she will eat when she's hungry. I just switched my pup (French Bulldog - Definitely not a Dane!) over to Wellness Core and he absolutely loves it.

Again, take what I've said with a grain (or two) of salt, as I am a new dog owner and am just taking a shot in the dark.

Best of luck!

RawFedDogs · 11-19-2008, 10:58 PM

2 thoughts ... She may be cutting teeth and her mouth may be a little sore right now. This will pass pretty quickly.

Picky eaters are made, not born. You are creating a doozy here. Stop trying to cater to her whims or you will be doing it for the rest of her life. She is holding out to see if you will add/offer something better.

This is how to handle the situation. Put her food down and walk away. If she isn't eating it in 10 minutes, pick it up and put it back in the bag until next meal time. Don't try to dress it up, don't try to cajole her into eating. Don't beg her to eat. If you take the food up, don't offer any treats or between meal snacks. Next meal time repeat the process all over again. If she still doesn't eat repeat it again and again until she eats.

Once she learns that she will not gain anything by holding out she will stop. Don't worry about starving her. You aren't. You are offering food at each meal. She is the one deciding whether to eat it or not. No healthy dog will starve itself in the presence of food.

This will put an end to her pickyness.

Keep her on the thin side. Thin is good. You shoud be able to see her back 2 or 3 ribs and a definate waste line behind her rib cage. You shouldn't be able to see her hip bone or spine. Get over the notion that "she should weigh this many pounds." She should have the proper build regardless of what the number of pounds is. The number is only a number. It's totally unimportant.

Great Dane · 11-20-2008, 04:40 AM

Thanks for the advice both.

I'm pretty sure it's not cutting teeth because unbeknown to me my friend gave her the frozen deer leg I had in the deep freeze while I was feeding my other animals in another part of the house today. I wasn't happy to say the least because she had just refused her food that I had put out for her but she sure was gnawing on that deer leg.

I've only been topping her food for about 3 or 4 days but I'll stop immediately and use the method outlined. I hope for her sake she starts eating, as a mantle girl my breeder has told me that the ribs seem to be a lot more visible on a black coat; right now I can see 6 or 7 ribs pretty clearly depending on her pose. I can't see the hip bone or the spine though which is good.

Great Dane · 11-20-2008, 10:08 PM

Nothing at all today.. wouldn't touch it.

Guess I'll try again tomorrow.

rosemaryninja · 11-20-2008, 10:19 PM

Don't give up. She'll pick up quickly. I know it might be tempting to give her a snack or something from the table. Just wait it out till the next feeding. It will be worth it when you don't have to coax her into eating every day.

RawFedDogs · 11-21-2008, 12:05 AM

Chewing on something frozen often feels good to sore gums when teething. If the pup was fed frozen bone, it would have felt good if teething is the problem. Don't discount teething even if the bone wasn't frozen.

Great Dane · 11-21-2008, 12:58 PM

RawFed, what do you think of combining a Raw diet along with the kibble? How are your Danes doing on just the Raw diet?

Actually scratch that, it would probably mess up her metabolism.

RawFedDogs · 11-21-2008, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Great Dane

RawFed, what do you think of combining a Raw diet along with the kibble?

Everything I've read says don't do that because of the different digestion rates of kibble and raw meats. Kibble digests a lot slower and will hold up the meats in the digestive system when it really needs to get out pretty quickly.

However, I have known some people who do alternate between the two and have no problem. I wouldn't mix them in a meal but you could feed one one day and one the other or feed one in the morning and the other in the evening.

My feeling is why would you want to "dumb down" a good raw diet by adding kibble to it.

Quote:

How are your Danes doing on just the Raw diet?

My Danes are doing great. They are both a little heavy right now but I have cut back on their food so they can get back in shape. Abby just went to the vet for the first time in her life for anything other than heartworm checks. She is 8 1/2yo and has developed a bad hip. 4yo Thor has never been to the vet except for heartworm checks. They were just out in the pasture playing and chasing each other around. They chased 3 deer yesterday.

Quote:

Actually scratch that, it would probably mess up her metabolism.

Hehe, I answered it anyway and it won't mess up their metabolism.

Great Dane · 11-21-2008, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RawFedDogs

Everything I've read says don't do that because of the different digestion rates of kibble and raw meats. Kibble digests a lot slower and will hold up the meats in the digestive system when it really needs to get out pretty quickly.

However, I have known some people who do alternate between the two and have no problem. I wouldn't mix them in a meal but you could feed one one day and one the other or feed one in the morning and the other in the evening.

My feeling is why would you want to "dumb down" a good raw diet by adding kibble to it.

My Danes are doing great. They are both a little heavy right now but I have cut back on their food so they can get back in shape. Abby just went to the vet for the first time in her life for anything other than heartworm checks. She is 8 1/2yo and has developed a bad hip. 4yo Thor has never been to the vet except for heartworm checks. They were just out in the pasture playing and chasing each other around. They chased 3 deer yesterday.

Hehe, I answered it anyway and it won't mess up their metabolism.

Sounds good, thanks for the help.

She ate the Venison, elk, gizzards, beef heart ect. that I gave to her in record time a few hours ago.

Just 10 minutes ago she finished off 3 cups of her Canidae that was pre-soaked in gizzard broth that I boiled on the stove. Didn't put the gizzards in there but she still ate it.

Hopefully she continues eating. I don't know if I'm going to completely switch over to an all raw diet in the future but it's definitely looking likely and in the cards. I would prefer her to finish off the Canidae first though.