Great Danes, known as the gentle giants of the dog world, require proper nutrition for optimal growth and development. With the increasing popularity of raw diets for dogs, many Great Dane owners are exploring this feeding option to provide their canine companions with the best possible nutrition. This article provides a comprehensive guide to raw food diets for Great Danes, covering the benefits, implementation, and important considerations.
Understanding Raw Food Diets
In a nutshell, a raw diet consists of feeding your dog a variety of raw meat, bone, and organ meat. The main concept is to feed a variety of raw meat, bones, and organ meat. It's a diet of whole foods served in their most natural state with no heat processing. It’s the most biologically aligned option for dogs.
Raw feeding is not a new fad. In fact, kibble could be called the new fad, as it’s certainly not been around as long as people have had pets. Raw feeding takes some upfront research, and one should have a good grasp on the concepts prior to starting. That said, raw feeding is not rocket science. When people first hear about raw feeding, inevitably, there is some surprise and sometimes aversion. It is different than what we have been taught to feed our dogs (no “people food”! no bones!). A raw, species-appropriate diet, also referred to as BARF diet for dogs (biologically appropriate raw food diet), includes muscle meat, organ meat, bone, raw fats, and a small amount of vegetables or berries.
Benefits of Raw Food Diets for Great Danes
Switching your Great Dane from processed food to a raw, biologically aligned diet is one of the most impactful health decisions you can make. At the risk of sounding like a fanatic, the benefits are nothing short of amazing.
Improved Digestion: A raw diet retains natural enzymes that aid in digestion, promoting gastrointestinal health. It is also easily digestible, reducing the time food stays in the stomach and minimizing gas buildup. Danes often have sensitive stomachs, and on kibble, they can have softer poop and easily experience stomach upset. With a fresh diet, dogs have stronger, healthier guts and well-formed poo. They also have far less waste on raw compared to kibble.
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Enhanced Vitality and Energy: When your dog eats better, they live better. A raw diet delivers nutrients in their most digestible and usable forms, with no need for synthetic additives, preservatives, or mystery fillers.
Healthier Coat: Most of these benefits are quickly seen, for instance, a healthier coat.
Weight Management: A lean, high-protein source supports muscle development without excessive fat, aiding in maintaining a healthy weight and reducing stress on the hips. Raw-fed Danes tend to stay a bit more fit and lean compared to kibble-raised Danes, which is important because it helps keep any unnecessary weight off of their joints.
Reduced Allergy Symptoms: Venison is considered a novel protein, less likely to cause allergic reactions compared to common proteins like chicken or beef. For anyone whose dog has suffered from allergies, try switching to a raw diet for 2-3 months.
Improved Dental Health: Raw feeding promotes healthier teeth.
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Better Hydration: Maintain your dog’s hydration.
More control over the dog’s diet: With raw diets, the owner has more control over the dog’s diet. Grains and fillers, that do not benefit the dog, are left out. Poor quality ingredients can be avoided.
Addressing Common Concerns
One of the first thing that worries people about raw diets is the consumption of bone.
Bones: Dogs can eat bones just fine. Just not cooked bones! Cooking bones dries them out, causing them to become brittle, sharp, and dangerous for dogs to digest. If in doubt about dogs being able to digest bone, visit a raw feeder’s house and look around in their backyard! In fact, waste from a raw-fed dog is unbelievably small and dissolves quicker than kibble-fed counterparts. Bones are a critical part of raw feeding. One should not feed a raw meat diet without feeding bone. Without bone, there is an upset of important mineral ratios. If you don’t feed consumable bones, offer “recreational” bones. Raw beef knuckle bones are a great choice, ask your butcher for them. Feed your Dane raw meaty bones. This means RAW uncooked, not smashed or splintered, whole bones. We often feed ground meat and bones, which is fine. We do not feed weigh bearing bones such as chicken drumsticks whole. The bones in the weight bearing area of an animal are “hollow” and will splinter, causing possible problems for the dog. These bones are best fed ground.
Bacteria: Dogs’ bodies are designed to eat raw foods and deal with the associated bacteria. Beyond concern for the dog’s ability to deal with the bacteria, there is often a concern about the handling of raw meat. The same cautions you would use when preparing meat for your human family applies. Hand washing and cleaning the area touched by raw meat.
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Implementing a Raw Food Diet for Great Danes
Feeding raw takes some upfront research and one should have a good grasp on the concepts prior to starting. That said, raw feeding is not rocket science.
Variety is Key
To maintain good health feed a variety of meats and fish. This includes everything from beef to buffalo, chicken to caribou. You are feeding raw to provide your Dane optimum health. This means you want to feed meat that is hormone and antibiotic free, free range if possible and from a known source. If purchasing meat in bulk buy from a facility that has a USDA inspector in the plant and meat that is human quality.
Essential Components of a Raw Diet
Raw Meaty Bones (RMBs): The lion’s share of the diet is made up of raw meaty bones. Most any consumable raw meaty bone will work. Most raw feeders use a lot of poultry, due to the soft, pliable bones, plus the cheaper cost.
Organ Meat: Organ meat needs to be a part of the diet. It can be the organs from most species. Liver is important and should be your main organ meat.
Muscle Meat: Include a variety of muscle meats in the diet.
Raw Fats: Raw fats are an important part of a balanced raw diet.
Fruits and Vegetables: Fruit and vegetables can be fed also, although the Dane doesn’t need them. An easy way to prepare them is put leftovers or fruits just starting to go bad into a plastic bag with some water and place in the freezer. Add to it until you are ready to feed it. Simply remove it from the freezer, let it thaw, mush it up inside the bag and serve. Danes cannot break down the cellulose in plants; by freezing and mushing you are doing this for them. Or you can run the food through a food processor.
Fish: Fish are wonderful for your Dog. However, do not feed Pacific Salmon, Sea Trout etc. as they carry a parasite deadly to your Dane. If you must feed these be sure the meat has been frozen for several days and then cooked.
Transitioning to a Raw Diet
Cold Turkey vs. Gradual Transition: It is typically recommended to switch cold turkey, not using any sort of transition period. Raw foods and kibble do not digest at the same rate (raw digests much quicker), so some have theorized this could potentially cause issues by forcing the raw foods to stay in the digestive track longer. Some dogs are slow to warm up to the idea of these newly presented raw foods, so not offering their normal kibble can help. You might even fast the dog for a meal or two prior to offering the first raw foods.
Initial Resistance: Do not be discouraged if your dog refuses the raw food at first. Give them 15 minutes for meal time and if they do not eat, just pick up and put in the frig until the next meal. Do not offer any other food until the next meal, then offer the same piece of meat again. For some more stubborn dogs, this process could easily take several meals.
Start with One Protein Source: Start with one protein source at a time, initially avoiding fatty meats, like pork. It’s common to start with chicken backs due to the soft bones.
Monitor Stool Consistency: Anticipate loose stools at first. It’s normal. The stools will likely be smelly and might contain some small bone fragments. Normal. Often times the stools have a mucus-like quality. Normal. Stools that are too soft means the dog needs more bone.
Regurgitation: The dog may vomit or regurgitate. If the dog regurgitates shortly after consuming the food, you can allow the dog to re-eat. Gross, yes, however that is just the dog learning to chew this new food. They will not do this long term on the raw diet.
Introduce New Proteins Gradually: Allow the dog to get used to that protein source before adding a new kind of meat. Don’t add more than one protein source a week for the first several weeks. Switching to such a vastly different food is why diarrhea and vomiting can occur. Not all dogs experience this, but it is common enough to warrant the upfront reassurance. Once you get past that first week or two, things get better.
Feeding Schedule and Portion Sizes
Daily Feeding Regimen: A daily feeding regimen can be easy, especially once a routine is developed. As a guide, each dog eats about 2-3% of their ideal body weight daily. For instance, a 100 lb dog would eat 2-3 lbs of food.
Adjusting Portions: This is just a starting point - if your dog is too thin, feed more; too heavy, cut back. The amount fed isn’t an exact science.
Puppy Feeding: For puppies, begin feeding by 10% of current weight each day. Once 10% of their weight exceeds 2-3% of the ideal adult weight, switch to the 2-3% guideline. Puppies eat a lot.
Individual Preferences: Dogs are individuals, with preferences and dislikes (including the temperature - from semi-frozen to room temp). Occasionally my dogs are fed meat/cottage cheese that is a little past what I would eat. A good indication to if you’re on the right track is to see how it’s coming out the other end.
Feeding Environment
Most dogs will not munch on raw bones directly out of a food bowl (they promptly drag it out to the floor). If I feed RMB meals, I just do so on my kitchen floor and just clean up afterwards. I’ve also fed out of an x-pen in the basement or outside in the grass.
Sourcing Raw Food
While you can run to the grocery store and pick up food, most raw feeders buy food in bulk, finding local suppliers by networking with other local raw feeders. Yahoo groups) and/or contact various dog clubs to ask for names of other local raw feeders. Thaw the bulk order enough to enable repackaging in smaller quantities. Repackaging methods vary. I use Ziplocs and repackage in meal size quantities. Woody’s Pet Deli, Rah Raw, and Raws for Paws are all great resources within the twin cities that can help you make the transition from kibble to raw!
Cost Considerations
I do not keep track of my monthly food bill for my dogs (call it denial!), but feel it is cheaper than how I was feeding kibble. When feeding kibble, I was choosing a premium kibble and often adding “extras” to the meal, along with vitamins and supplements. If a raw feeder is willing to do some bargain hunting, they could spend less money on raw than on a quality kibble.
Raw Diet and Specific Health Concerns in Great Danes
Bloat: A raw diet retains natural enzymes that aid in digestion, promoting gastrointestinal health. It is also easily digestible, reducing the time food stays in the stomach and minimizing gas buildup. With raw food, dogs have far less gas build up.
Cardiomyopathy: Being naturally low in sodium, Venison helps maintain optimal blood pressure, reducing cardiac strain. Raw Venison is also rich in taurine, an amino acid essential for heart health.
Hip Dysplasia: A lean, high-protein source, such as Huntaway Freeze-Dried or Frozen Raw Venison, is supports muscle development without excessive fat, aiding in maintaining a healthy weight and reducing stress on the hips. Green-lipped mussels are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, glucosamine, and chondroitin, which are known to reduce inflammation and support joint health.
Wobbler Syndrome: Venison is considered a novel protein, less likely to cause allergic reactions compared to common proteins like chicken or beef.
Supplements
Many people suggest that if a dog is getting proper nutrition then supplements are not needed. Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitin, Lipped Green Mussel, help older dogs with arthritis.