Great Dane
How do I get my great dane to loose weight?
My Great dane is a 3 yr old female. She is way overwieght. I only feed her the recomended amount of food for an adult great dane. She is eating high quality pet food. (Eagle pack) I walk her but its not working. I know to much exercise with her being this big could cause health problems but walking isn’t working. Does anyone that knows the breed have any sugestions? P.S. She does have a vet appointment next week.
mojos… Did you miss the part where this dog is a GREAT DANE!?!?!?!! Or do you think it’s OK for the dog to die and suffer horribly after it bloats???? Feedign a dog like that ONCE a day is prob the WORST advice I’ve heard all day!!!!!
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I volunteer with a great dane rescue, adn I’ve seen a few chubbers out there lol
First things first, next week talk to you vet about it and have them do all the blood work. Rule out any medical condition causing the excess weight. If she’s health cleared here are some tips:
She needs way more excercise! With her being so large you definately need to keep joint health in mind. I highly suggest swimming. It’s great and has almost no joint stress! If you don’t have a local pond or lake available, Talk to you vet about any animal physical therapy clincs in your area. I Hvae one about 45 minutes away from me, I often use it during winter months for my older arthritic dog. It has regular pools. and even underwater treadmills. Maybe ask you vet about other joint safe excercises you can do – she may be cleared for some light jogging.
As another poster already asked – Which eagle pack is she on? The original eagle pack isn’t that great IMHO but if you like their foods you may want to consider switching to their holistic line.
I’d feed her 3-4 times a day. (Ask you vet about her caloric requirments and divide this by amounts of feedings – she’ll be getting small meals) If you don’t already use one I suggest a raised food dish (decreases risk of bloat and is more comfy for the large dogs to use) If she needs more “bulk” to her diet, you can add some low sodium canned green beans to her food (Increase volume with very few calories)
You may also want to try feeding her out of “smart toys” like kongs or buster cubes. This will make her work for her food, make her meal times last longer (really slows her pace) plus the oral fixation of chewing keeps hunger pains away 
Of course watch her treat intake. Don’t feed any milkbone like cookies – they have a lot of calories and carbs. Stick with raw veggies (Baby carrots are usually a fav) and lean cuts of meal (Chicken breast)
Another tip is keep track of her progress!!! Weigh her weekly and jot it down. If there’s a petsmart near you that has a banfield clinc you can often go their to use their scale (if the petsmart is closer to you than your vet that is) It’s really important to keep track of how she’s doing so you can adjust your plan based on how her body is reacting.
Good luck!
Breed All About It – Great Dane
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This entry was posted on Sunday, January 9th, 2011 at 7:19 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.