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New owner looking for advice

Monkeyskin

Member
Hi my name is Ricky. I have wanted a Great Dane as long as I can remember. This past Wednesday my wife surprised me with a 10 week old blue female. She had my children and their friends and my sister all present when she brought it to me. It was emotional. I also own a Staffordshire Terrier. She is almost 2 years old now and is also a beautiful blue. She is gentle and very smart. She is a part of the family just like the new pup will be.

I want to be sure I recognize and mitigate any potential issues I can right now while she is young. I have done some research into the breed and want to explain her diet and exercise routine so I can adjust it for her best interest.

Sometime between 6 and 8 a.m. after she has played for a bit we feed her 1 cup of eagle pack giant breed puppy food mixed with 6 oz of taste of the wild wet food. Also 1/2 teaspoon of NaturVet probiotic.

Afterward we get her to take a nap ( sometimes she is resistant wanting to play and we move the chew toys) for a half hour or so.

We repeat this same meal and nap at 11 am, 3 pm and 7pm.

After the naps she usually goes into the yard with Nikki (my other dog) for an hour or 2 or she opts for a toy session on the family room floor.

Any advice on her well being is welcomed and appreciated.
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of mastiffs. Congratulations on your new pup, please post pics we love to see them and watch them grow, i have ccs 3 of them and when they were that young i did the same i fed them and then usually tried for calm time, iv noticed with a multiple dog household that the pups will moderate the playtime themselves but if you feel shes been going a while try to calm the elder dog down the pup will follow.
As for the food your feeding im not much help im in the uk, but i dont feed puppy food, these mastifds sure grow quick, i use eden its for all life stages, i dont feed wet food and when a little older raw bone. But someone will be along soon that will know your food.
You want her to grow lean so her joints dont carry too much weight, mastiffs dont usually do well with any ood that is chicken based my 3 cant tolerate it. I always try and feed 1 hour before of after walking them.
Enjoy her socialìse her, train her well they are big poweful dogs, so putting the time in now makes for a pleasnt household when fully grown..
 

Sheila Braund

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of mastiffs. Congratulations on your new pup, please post pics we love to see them and watch them grow, i have ccs 3 of them and when they were that young i did the same i fed them and then usually tried for calm time, iv noticed with a multiple dog household that the pups will moderate the playtime themselves but if you feel shes been going a while try to calm the elder dog down the pup will follow.
As for the food your feeding im not much help im in the uk, but i dont feed puppy food, these mastifds sure grow quick, i use eden its for all life stages, i dont feed wet food and when a little older raw bone. But someone will be along soon that will know your food.
You want her to grow lean so her joints dont carry too much weight, mastiffs dont usually do well with any ood that is chicken based my 3 cant tolerate it. I always try and feed 1 hour before of after walking them.
Enjoy her socialìse her, train her well they are big poweful dogs, so putting the time in now makes for a pleasnt household when fully grown..


Glen, it's funny how yours don't do well on chicken based foods. My girls can't do pork.....they do thrived on raw chicken diet. I do also feed them beef organs 2 to 3xs per week .... My Bella was the runt of the litter. Now she caught up to her litter mates..... Mostly. The largest litter mate was born 4xs larger then the rest... No litter mate will catch up to him lol.
I feed my girl the raw diet for a couple reasons....
1, I'm self employed so I can and do take her with me to office.
2, I felt it would be the best start for her new little life
3, I seen the huge health benefits it was for my older tea poodle mix
4, I live out in the country and non of my neighbours have livestock for my EM to eat. I was taught not to feed dogs raw because they would kill your cow or chickens....lol
 

Monkeyskin

Member
Wow, thanks for the replies. I have some pics I'll post in a few minutes. I have a concern already. She would not eat her late meal yesterday. She has not eaten today either. She doesn't act sick and she is playing normal. We tried dry only, wet only, dry with luke-warm water to moisten, and multiple flavors of the wet. She will not have eaten for 24 hours at 7p.m. est which is 2.5 from now. Any thoughts?
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Wow, thanks for the replies. I have some pics I'll post in a few minutes. I have a concern already. She would not eat her late meal yesterday. She has not eaten today either. She doesn't act sick and she is playing normal. We tried dry only, wet only, dry with luke-warm water to moisten, and multiple flavors of the wet. She will not have eaten for 24 hours at 7p.m. est which is 2.5 from now. Any thoughts?
Is she drinking. Youve said shes playing normal, is she toileting normal.
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Glen, it's funny how yours don't do well on chicken based foods. My girls can't do pork.....they do thrived on raw chicken diet. I do also feed them beef organs 2 to 3xs per week .... My Bella was the runt of the litter. Now she caught up to her litter mates..... Mostly. The largest litter mate was born 4xs larger then the rest... No litter mate will catch up to him lol.
I feed my girl the raw diet for a couple reasons....
1, I'm self employed so I can and do take her with me to office.
2, I felt it would be the best start for her new little life
3, I seen the huge health benefits it was for my older tea poodle mix
4, I live out in the country and non of my neighbours have livestock for my EM to eat. I was taught not to feed dogs raw because they would kill your cow or chickens....lol
They can eat raw chicken just not any kibble that has any chicken included, these have raw also.
 

glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
She is beautiful, if she is acting normal, drinking ect id just see how she is tomorrow, i wouldnt give her any different food that may upset her stomache then you will have a pup with an upset stomache, stivk with her food, i personally dont mess around with the feeding it makes the start of a fussy eater.
How long as she been on the food your feeding
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
I'd keep offering the same food - or she'll quickly learn to wait until you put down the REALLY high value stuff (like people food).

Also - was there any potential she ate something she shouldn't have when you were looking the other way? Some of her sibling's food? Something from the yard, or the laundry hamper? Just be on the lookout. If she starts acting lethargic or strains to poop... I'd get concerned... but if she's romping around, drinking, pee'ing and poop'ing, she's probably just self-regulating the amount of food and will start eating again when she's hungry.

She sure is a cutie in the napping photo!!
 

Monkeyskin

Member
2 Weeks in now we have learned a few things. We were over feeding her. We cut back to a cup and she is back to normal. Her stool has not been solid since we got her. The breeder said that they were not agreeing with their typical food, Diamond naturals. They swapped to Eagle pack before we got her. We are going to try Taste of the wild, the highly recommended lamb flavor. She is growing so fast. 10 lbs and 4" in the past 2 weeks. I can still see her ribs and she appears malnourished so we are going to add some "Dyne" to her diet. Any thoughts on this? Thanks guys.
 

Monkeyskin

Member
Well, after she refused food and began vomiting we rushed her to our breeder's vet. A weekend in the hospital revealed a nasty stomach virus. I.V. fluids and some medical attention brought my puppy home and she is doing phenomenal. Our breeder was in contact with us multiple times daily. She was very involved and a credit to breeders everywhere. On a lighter note once my little angel felt better she grew horns and a forked tail. Its amazing how many items in your home can be mistaken as a chew toy. Shoes now have to be hidden, elevated or stored behind a door. Toilet paper is stored overhead. All things considered I couldn't be happier.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Well, after she refused food and began vomiting we rushed her to our breeder's vet. A weekend in the hospital revealed a nasty stomach virus. I.V. fluids and some medical attention brought my puppy home and she is doing phenomenal. Our breeder was in contact with us multiple times daily. She was very involved and a credit to breeders everywhere. On a lighter note once my little angel felt better she grew horns and a forked tail. Its amazing how many items in your home can be mistaken as a chew toy. Shoes now have to be hidden, elevated or stored behind a door. Toilet paper is stored overhead. All things considered I couldn't be happier.

I hope you realize that this post is pointless without pictures. ;)

I'm glad she's feeling well enough to be a normal pain in the butt puppy. I'm also very glad you have a good breeder. They're worth their weight in gold.