Caring For BIG Dog Breeds
... how nutrition impacts canine health
All dogs are NOT the same, and caring for big dog breeds has a whole range of unique challenges.
If you want to keep your large breed dog happy and healthy, the tips and advice below will help keep you on the right track!
When you're caring for big dog breeds, I think that two of the most important areas are canine nutrition and canine health issues, and these are VERY closely related.
Other significant topics I've looked at include problems such as bloat, dog joint health, canine vaccines and dog allergies.
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I owe a huge debt of thanks to Linda Arndt, a Canine Nutritional Consultant who is also known as 'The Great Dane Lady', as her huge store of knowledge and experience in caring for big dog breeds helped tremendously in the creation of this page. With her permission, I have included many excerpts from an online interview that I did with Linda in 2009, and you can read the entire interview here - An Interview With The Great Dane Lady. Thanks Linda for sharing your expert advice with me, and allowing me to 'pass it on'.
You can find out more about Linda, and get a wealth of incredibly useful information on the dietary needs and health issues faced by large and giant breed dogs, by visiting her excellent website www.greatdanelady.com. It's a resource no 'big-dog owner' should miss.
Caring For Big Dog Breeds - Choosing The Right Food
One of the most important parts of caring for big dog breeds is making sure that you give them the right kind of nutrition.
Large and giant dog breeds have very specific dietary requirements and giving them a food that isn't specifically designed to meet those needs can result in some serious health issues.
Getting it 'just right' is vitally important during the puppy and adolescent stages, as this is when the groundwork for your dogs future health and wellbeing is laid.
During this critical period, it's so important to get the correct ratio of protein, fat and calcium. It's also important to feed your pup the right amount of food, and make sure he gets enough exercise so that his food 'goes to work'!
These are some of the points that Linda lists on her website as her criteria for picking a good large breed puppy food...
- It must be a Holistic or Super Premium level dog food (read the bag for those words)
- Have USDA or Human Grade ingredients. This wording may not be on the dog food bag itself, so check the manufacturers website for this info.
- Food must contain Probiotics and trace minerals
- It should contain multiple sources of protein. At least 2 (eg. meats/eggs/fish)
When it comes to protein, fat, calcium and calories, there are pretty specific guidelines as to the best figures and ratio. Check out my Best Puppy Food page to find out more about this.
When caring for big dog breeds, in addition to feeding a high quality food that is appropriate for your pup/dogs' breed and age, there are four supplements that Linda highly recommends. This is what Linda calls 'THE BLACKWATCH CORE 4 PHILOSOPHY' and this is what she told me about them...
"You can minimize your chances of problems and optimize your dogs' chances of survival and living a longer, more comfortable, life if you provide them with nutrition that supports the whole system, not just parts of it. Based on my feed trials over the years and personal experience, I do NOT feel HOD, OCD or Pano is genetic.
Nutrition can play an enormous roll in what is often seen as genetic. The study of how nutrition affects genetics is called Nutrigenomics.
That is why I am adamant about using what I call the CORE 4 supplements in the Blackwatch Feed Programs, regardless if feeding raw, semi raw, homemade, or top of the line dry food.
The Core 4 includes a good probiotic/digestive enzyme product (4 in 1 Probiotics or
Nzymes Bac-Pak Plus
, dietary enzymes (
Nzymes Granules
or
Nzymes Antioxidant Treats
) to put the living component back in a processed diet and to take the load off the pancreas, and Ox-E-Drops to help keep the guts' pH where it should be to prevent leaky gut or systemic yeast over growth and other debilating diseases. The pH of a system is where the health and disease starts!!"
Caring For Big Dog Breeds - Canine Health Issues
There are several health problems that affect large and giant breed dogs far more often than their more moderately-sized 'relatives'.
Many of these are bone/joint problems, and being proactive with dog joint health is especially important in large dog breed care.
Other dog health issues that you may come across when caring for big dog breeds are bloat (also known as 'torsion' or gastric dilatation volvulus - GDV), canine allergies, and heart problems.
Bloat In Dogs
Bloat is most common in large, deep-chested breeds such as Great Danes, but it can occur in any breed.
There are several different factors that can cause bloat, including swallowing too much air (can happen when a dog eats too fast), eating too much or exercising too strenuously within an hour of eating.
Linda believes that you can add other 'triggers' to this list. These include a poor stress-coping mechanism, certain antibiotics and medications, and an inadequate or inappropriate diet can cause an overgrowth of fungus or toxins in a dogs digestive system, which can lead to a build up of too much 'gas' which leads to bloat.
Linda tragically lost one of her beloved Great Danes to this condition, and her personal experience has led her to be very active in her research and committed to reducing the number of dogs that suffer (and often die) from bloat every year. Here is what she told me about it.....
"Bloat is more of a problem in large breeds because many large breeds (giants) do not handle stress well, they are not fed as well (eat more food than tiny dogs) and this can all add up to a breakdown in the dogs system, causing a change in the pH of the gut.
This then allows pathogenic bacteria and yeast to overgrow in the gut causing bloat/torsion.
This is why probiotics are critical to keeping the incidence of bloat down in these dogs. Stress is always the trigger, sometimes it's unseen stress - it can be hormonal as well, this is why unspayed and unneutered animals are more susceptible to this problem. Hormones flucutate during seasons and can change the bodys' pH balance in the gut, and there you go..... overgrowth of pathogens and bloat. This is why the grain-based diets of yesteryear were such a problem and why so many kennels lost dogs to bloat.
Every dog owner should know, and be able to recognize, the symptoms of bloat - but it's especially important if you're caring for big dog breeds.
It's important to have a vet who is knowledgeable this condition, can do the surgery, and has an emergency clinic because when this hits time is of the essence - literally you have to get them to a vet immediately!
You can find lots more information on the symptoms of bloat in dogs on my Canine Bloat page.
Dog Joint Health
Caring for big dog breeds properly, means that keeping their bones and joints healthy is your responsibility... and it starts in puppyhood.
Feeding your pup the right diet plays a huge role in this, and I've discussed that above and on my Best Puppy Food page.
It's also hugely important to know what symptoms could spell trouble, and what else you need to do to avoid growth problems, injuries etc.
There is a genetic component in dog bone/joint problems, and to make sure your pup has the best possible chance of growing up with strong, healthy bones make sure that you pick a pup from a reputable breeder who has had all the appropriate health screenings done on their breeding stock. That way your pup is less likely to inherit a problem such as hip dysplasia (but there's no such thing as a 100% guarantee on this!).
Using a puppy food that is formulated for large breed puppies will help to prevent the too-rapid growth that can result in Panosteitis or other conditions such as Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD), Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD), Hip and Elbow Dysplasia and more.
When caring for big dog breeds, avoid strenuous exercise, running (or even too-long walks) on hard surfaces such as concrete/asphalt until your pup has matured. Also, never allow your pup to jump up or down from any sort of height - for example into or out of a pick-up truck, on or off the sofa/bed, over walls etc.
Signs of bone problems such as the ones I've mentioned above can include:
- Limping or lameness in one, or several, legs
- Tenderness in/around 'knee or ankle' joints (Pano), or in the shoulder or elbow (OCD)
- Swelling of the joints
- Hips that make a 'clicking' sound as the dog walks, stiffness, limping, weakness in the rear legs, uneven 'clumsy' gait (Hip Dysplasia, or possibly Wobblers Syndrome in Great Danes, Dobermans and other susceptible breeds)
Canine Allergies and Yeast Infections In Dogs
If you are caring for big dog breeds, chances are you will come across what appears to be canine allergies at some point. Many large breeds do seem to be predisposed to allergic reactions or are particularly sensitive to certain allergy 'triggers'.
Rottweilers can suffer from canine skin allergies (caused by fleas, contact with an allergen, dog food allergies and so on) and seasonal allergies that cause eye/ear problems. Certain breeds are prone to having a severe allergic reaction to some puppy vaccinations.
These specifically include (but are not limited to) Miniature Dachshunds, West Highland White Terriers, Old English Sheepdogs, Akitas, Portuguese Water Dogs, Weimaraners, and Harlequin Great Danes. The vaccines that are most likely to produce a reaction include (but are not limited to) Rabies, Parvo and Leptospirosis.
Identifying the 'trigger/s' and then eliminating them, while treating the dog to relieve the initial itching and discomfort associated with allergies is usually effective in eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, the problems.
Again, feeding a premium dog food that has the correct nutritional balance goes a long way towards preventing canine allergies. Certain supplements also play an important role in detoxifying your dogs' system, and can help prevent allergic-type responses to vaccinations and so forth.
Linda Arndt has a huge amount of experience in caring for big dog breeds, and here's what she has to say about this...
"When I started using the Nzymes (dietary enzyme) product 25 years ago I was astonished at its' ability to detoxify the body from toxins, so the Vitamin C and Nzymes treats or granular became a staple in the Blackwatch Feed Programs. It is a natural way to help prevent any vaccine reactions in our dogs.
Now in 2009, we know it is the bovine carrier in vaccines that is the problem for dogs and spacing them apart is important plus backing up the system with Vit C and Nzymes. Thankfully with this protocol we have never had a vaccine reaction, be it seizure or auto-immune disease."
Many times, what looks like an allergy problem is in fact a yeast problem. Yeast infections can affect just the skin, or they can affect a dogs' entire system, including the digestive system, genito-urinary tract, kidneys, liver, brain, heart etc. The symptoms of a yeast infection can easily be mistaken for canine allergies due to the inflammation and irritation they cause.
Here are some of the ways that Linda suggests can protect your large breed puppy or dog from a yeast infection...
- Feed a premium, multiple protein based dog food with human grade or organic ingredients.
- Avoid the 'generic' dog food brands which contain poor quality grains and totally grain-free foods
- Make sure
Probiotics
 are included in your dogs' diet
- Minimize the use of antibiotics as much as possible as they kill of the 'good' bacteria along with the 'bad'
- Include
Nzymes
 in your dogs' diet to protect against toxins and keep their immune system healthy
The most common symptoms of a yeast infection are rashes, hot spots, red or irritated skin, constant and extreme itching resulting in excessive scratching/licking or biting at body parts, body (or ear) odor, chronic ear infections, head shaking, patchy hair loss/bald spots.
Visit The Great Dane Ladys' Systemic Yeast Mini Course page to learn more about yeast infections and how to overcome them. If you're caring for big dog breeds (or any breed for that matter), it's an article you shouldn't miss!
Learn more about the very successful
Nzymes Candida Yeast Kits too, they can make all the difference.
Heart Failure In Dogs
Another canine health issue that you may come across when caring for large breed dogs are heart problems, particularly canine congestive heart failure.
Statistics show that roughly one in every ten dogs will suffer from heart failure, and Rottweilers are that suffer from a congenital (inheritable) canine heart condition called Sub Aortic Stenosis - but it's by no means limited to Rotties I'm afraid. Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is another heart condition that affects many large/giant breeds have
You can read more about canine heart disease on my Canine Congestive Heart Failure page. It's more MUST-READ stuff for all dog owners.
There are all sorts of things that can cause canine heart disease, from a genetic weakness, to illness or poor nutrition, obesity and more.
Supplements such as
Omega-3 Fish Oils , the amino acids
Taurine and
L-Carnitineand certain , and
Vitamin/Mineral Supplements can be very beneficial, and may help prevent your dog from experiencing cardiac problems during his lifetime.
As you can see, caring for big dog breeds definitely has some challenges, but now that you know what they are you're in the best possible position to keep your BIG boy (or girl!) happy and healthy. Good Luck.
If you have a question about your dogs' health (and it's NOT an emergency situation), why not ask an online veterinarian? It's quick and easy to get the answer you need......
Canine Health Issues
Canine Bloat
Canine Congestive Heart Failure
Best Puppy Food
Puppy Vaccinations
Ask A Vet A Question
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