# raw fed Danes and other giant breeds



## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

This post is mostly for DaneMama, PuppyPaws, RawFedDogs, DaneColor, etc who I know own danes....but anyone else with experience with danes or a giant breed please feel free to chime in 

Just wondering what percentage you feed your pups. I've heard many people say that giants need less than the estimated 2-3%, but just curious what you consider ideal for maintenance. (I know this is totally an individual thing, but just wondering if there are common ideas)

Thanks! :thumb: :becky:


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## danecolor (Nov 22, 2010)

my girl weights 115 lbs, so 2% of her weight would be 2.3 pounds. on average, we feed her almost exactly 2 lbs but occasionally she will get slightly more, depending on the individual cut we feed. i would say that, generally, we feed her about 1.7% of her body weight, which maintains her weight well. i had not heard that giant breeds generally eat a smaller percentage but it looks like we fit that hypothesis!


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## Eswmom (Jul 24, 2011)

A www Riley is beautiful, just had to say


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I don't have a giant breed but my dog weighs 115 pounds - he gets 1.5 pounds per day which is 1.3 percent. I guess he has a slow metabolism.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I honestly don't know how much mine get. I've never measured and worried about numbers that much. I feed them more when they're looking thinner and less when they're looking rounder. I think you should throw the general guideline out the window and not focus on that. Focus on what the right amount is without her getting sick. 

At this point in your transition, I would keep her portions small and frequent until she is able to handle more without issue. I know that I can give my Danes a gorge meal (5+ pounds) in one sitting without issue (and they don't eat the next day or two) but if you were to do that you'd end up with a sick dog.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

We feed our girls about 2% but we have never weighed a meal so can't give you an exact %. We eyeball each meal and feed based on their body condition. If they look thin they get a little more. If they look thick they get less :wink:


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

Thanks, guys. Not looking to overfeed -- I have had my FILL of Minnie diarrhea for a looong while! We are still going smooth and steady; was just curious.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

The Danes eat less than most would think...how's that? Lol...


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

minnieme said:


> This post is mostly for DaneMama, PuppyPaws, RawFedDogs, DaneColor, etc who I know own danes....but anyone else with experience with danes or a giant breed please feel free to chime in
> 
> Just wondering what percentage you feed your pups. I've heard many people say that giants need less than the estimated 2-3%, but just curious what you consider ideal for maintenance. (I know this is totally an individual thing, but just wondering if there are common ideas)
> 
> Thanks! :thumb: :becky:


I know this may sound like a little bit, but Alaskan Malamute's were built to go for a LONG time on VERY little food. In the warmer months, Aspen eats about a pound a day. In the winter, about 1.5 lbs. His weight is perfect at 117 lbs.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I'd love to be able to eyeball stuff - but when I tried it my small dog dropped from 10.5 pounds to 8 pounds, and my big dog went from 112 to 119 pounds - all in I think about 10 days. I didn't see or feel any difference physically in either of them.


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

malluver1005 said:


> I know this may sound like a little bit, but Alaskan Malamute's were built to go for a LONG time on VERY little food. In the warmer months, Aspen eats about a pound a day. In the winter, about 1.5 lbs. His weight is perfect at 117 lbs.


Wow! I never knew... So does being an easy keeper in the food department make up for the pounds of fur you get out of 'em when brushing? :biggrin:


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

minnieme said:


> Wow! I never knew... So does being an easy keeper in the food department make up for the pounds of fur you get out of 'em when brushing? :biggrin:


I'm so lucky my dog does not eat a lot. I mean he does, if you let him. But I don't. 

He's never really done much shedding actually...I was prepared when I got him though. He will shed a bit twice a year, but he won't actually "blow" his coat like most people say their dogs do.


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

malluver1005 said:


> I'm so lucky my dog does not eat a lot. I mine he does, if you let him. But I don't.
> 
> He's never really done much shedding actually...I was prepared when I got him though. He will shed a bit twice a year, but he won't actually "blow" his coat like most people say their dogs do.


Well great, you just convinced me to go out and get a malamute...the boyfriend will be ECSTATIC. ;-)

(just kidding - minnie keeps me honest!! :biggrin1


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

And tiny dogs might get more than 3%. Bishop is 20ish lb and he is right at 2.5% to maintain his weight. He's always been fed the same amount since I got him!

I started Tess out as well on 2-3% of her adult weight. She needs more like 5%, she eats a little bit more than what Bishop eats even though she is only expected to be around 12lb or so. 

Breed may come into play as well. Sighthounds have a high metabolism!


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## Lisa_j (Apr 7, 2011)

I don't weigh anything any longer either. I just eyeball my dogs and adjust to how they look and their poops.


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## maplewood (Apr 14, 2011)

We are still weighing here. To me it depends on the dog, My girls are extremely active for Mastiffs and eat the 2-3% someday's closer to 2 and some day's closer to the 3% Polly weighs 140lbs and eats 2-3 lbs a day, Hermione is about 170 and eats 3-4lbs a day and Lilly is about 130lb and eats 2-2.5lb. T on the other hand, his idea of activity is watching the girls run weighs 200+lb eats 3-3.5 lbs a day. Plus they all get treats which contribute some to their daily intake.


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## AdrianVall (Aug 26, 2010)

I have two English mastiffs. BIG is 14 months and 150 lbs., and Bonez is almost 7 months and weighs about 112 lbs.

BIG eats about 3 lbs. of meat a day.
Bonez eats about 4 - 4.5 lbs. of meat a day.

I don't measure anything out. Those are just guesstimates from when I used to weigh everything out.

Good luck!


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I don't weigh anything either, did at first just to see what I was feeding them, when they have a very active schedule they eat more. I think my labs eat about 1.5lbs a day, one of them weighs 62 lbs and the male only weighs 56. My youngest weighs about 52lbs my little girl, but she is still a pup and eats about 2lbs a day and doesn't gain on that but she is extremely active. I think my Aussie is only eating about 1lb a day and is about 50lbs. Only my Aussie is fixed the others are all intact, don't know is that makes a difference?:mullet:


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## Onyxmom2 (Jan 10, 2011)

We were shooting for 3lbs, but they rarely come close in a day. Granted, some days they are just hungrier than other days! Kinda like me lol


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

Chocx2 said:


> I don't weigh anything either, did at first just to see what I was feeding them, when they have a very active schedule they eat more. I think my labs eat about 1.5lbs a day, one of them weighs 62 lbs and the male only weighs 56. My youngest weighs about 52lbs my little girl, but she is still a pup and eats about 2lbs a day and doesn't gain on that but she is extremely active. I think my Aussie is only eating about 1lb a day and is about 50lbs. Only my Aussie is fixed the others are all intact, don't know is that makes a difference?:mullet:


I'm convinced intact dogs have a higher metabolism. My Indi is spayed, weighs 50 lbs, and gains weight easily; she gets roughly a lb a day. Her sister Pooper is intact, 41 lbs, eats 2 lbs a day, and stays extremely lean. They could have different fathers but are So similar I would say it is not likely. I'm upping Poopers allotment per day because she is just muscle and bone which doesn't look great...she needs some extra fat on her but just burns it off so quickly.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I don't know- Bishop was neutered at seven months and has always gained weight pretty easily. Even before his neutering. Tess is intact still but she's only four months, is a smaller dog than Bishop and has always ate more than him. There are people with insane metabolisms too, and some with slow!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I think it's all based on the individual, just like with people. Sure, things like being intact play a role to the individual, but it isn't a guideline. Two of our Dane girls are still intact, Freya is a string bean and Zuri is very well proportioned.


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

A little OT, but I have to partially disagree with intact dogs having a higher metabolism. My Sparky is intact, and needs only a tiny bit more food than my Popi (he weighs 12lbs, she weighs 8lbs). My Patchie on the other hand (10lbs), regularly eats almost twice as much as either one, yet both of the girls are spayed. They all get at least 3%+ of body weight however. Patchie gets 1/2lb (bone-in) sometimes.

Does look like large dogs need less percentage-wise than small dogs. Looks like there's mostly 1-2% on here.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

3Musketeers said:


> A little OT, but I have to partially disagree with intact dogs having a higher metabolism. My Sparky is intact, and needs only a tiny bit more food than my Popi (he weighs 12lbs, she weighs 8lbs). My Patchie on the other hand (10lbs), regularly eats almost twice as much as either one, yet both of the girls are spayed. They all get at least 3%+ of body weight however. Patchie gets 1/2lb (bone-in) sometimes.


Yeah, I'm not sure how much it matters. We have three Cockers who all weigh the same and are all spayed. One is 6, one is 7, and one is 12. The 6 year old only eats about 1.5-2% of her body weight, the 7 year old eats at least 3%, and the 12 year old eats 2%.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

3Musketeers said:


> A little OT, but I have to partially disagree with intact dogs having a higher metabolism. My Sparky is intact, and needs only a tiny bit more food than my Popi (he weighs 12lbs, she weighs 8lbs). My Patchie on the other hand (10lbs), regularly eats almost twice as much as either one, yet both of the girls are spayed. They all get at least 3%+ of body weight however. Patchie gets 1/2lb (bone-in) sometimes.
> 
> Does look like large dogs need less percentage-wise than small dogs. Looks like there's mostly 1-2% on here.


IMO/E it depends on if they are BREEDING STOCK or not. During breeding season I know that my friend's 2 stallions(along with the mares of course) eat nearly 2x as much as they do in the "off season"!:wink: (Even if they havent/arent getting bred, just the smell and everything causes them to need more food!)


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## maplewood (Apr 14, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> IMO/E it depends on if they are BREEDING STOCK or not. During breeding season I know that my friend's 2 stallions(along with the mares of course) eat nearly 2x as much as they do in the "off season"!:wink: (Even if they havent/arent getting bred, just the smell and everything causes them to need more food!)


Horses are not dogs.

Most breeders can tell you when a bitch (intact female dog) goes into season (heat) the stud dogs go OFF their feed and will refuse to eat. Yes they quite often get themselves worked up and will lose considerable weight but they refuse to eat. I've also heard of several Mastiff stud dogs bloating and dieing due to the stress of having a bitch in heat sharing the same house.



> maplewood
> We are still weighing here. To me it depends on the dog, My girls are extremely active for Mastiffs and eat the 2-3% someday's closer to 2 and some day's closer to the 3% Polly 4 yr oldspayed female weighs 140lbs and eats 2-3 lbs a day, Hermione2 yr old intact female is about 170 and eats 3-4lbs a day and Lilly18 month old intact female is about 130lb and eats 2-2.5lb. T 2 1/2 yr old intact maleon the other hand, his idea of activity is watching the girls run weighs 200+lb eats 3-3.5 lbs a day. Plus they all get treats which contribute some to their daily intake. .


All dogs have different metabolisims and being intact or not in my humble opinion plays little role in how much the dog need to eat. Activity, age and breed do!


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

maplewood said:


> I've also heard of several Mastiff stud dogs bloating and dieing due to the stress of having a bitch in heat sharing the same house.


I have heard that in connection with quite a few danes... not to the point of death, but definitely bloating when a bitch is in heat. Scary.


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