Is my Great Dane puppy's food okay? HOD signs & prevention?

What a gorgeous pup! Great Dane puppies have a massive requirement for nutrients so I recommend investing in feeding a really good quality food for giant breed puppies. Royal canin does a really good puppy food which I trust for my own dogs. Don't listen to things like not feeding puppy food, there is no evidence for that. It is actually really important to feed puppy food because a puppy has different needs to an adult. Energy level has more to do with the carbohydrate in the feed rather than protein.

Hmm. I'm not quite sure why your vet might have recommended against feeding a large breed puppy food, as this is normally the best option for growing large or giant breed puppies. Adult food doesn't contain enough nutrients for growing pups, and it can be dangerous to add supplements because you can actually cause damage by feeding too much of certain things like calcium, etc. I always strongly recommend a good quality large-breed puppy food to all of my clients with large or giant breed puppies. If your vet doesn't agree, I would recommend talking further with him/her to clarify why they don't recommend this, and see what they would suggest instead.

I would recommend using a large breed puppy food. This type of diet will have the specific balance of minerals and vitamins needed for young, growing puppies. Since Danes are a giant breed, their nutrional needs are different than your typical puppy. Some of the brands I usually recommend include Hills, Purina, Royal Canin, Eukanuba, and Iams. Good luck with your pups!

Hello! I would recommend feeding her a large breed puppy food for the first 1.5 to 2 years of life. I like the brands Purina, Royal Canin, and Hill's. A diet specifically made for large breeds will be the best for her bone growth. You can try to make kibble more enticing by adding warm water or low sodium chicken broth. I do not recommend any grain free or raw diets as they are clinically associated with nutritional problems in dogs. I hope this is helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I'm not very familiar with Drools food, but Purina is probably a better food since it meets WSAVA guidelines (see link below for more information). For a Great Dane puppy choosing a food that is intended for large breed puppies would be best - these foods have an adjusted calcium and phosphorus content to help with bone and joint development. https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/Arpita-and-Emma-editorial/Selecting-the-Best-Food-for-your-Pet.pdf

I actually prefer commercial dog food as it includes the proper balance of nutrition that they need. A lot of raw food diets don’t have the proper studies to back it up and they don’t have the proper nutrients in them. Also, dogs who eat raw food diet are st higher risk for bacterial infections like salmonella. I think as long a syou are giving a high quality large breed or giant breed puppy food like science diet, Iams, or royal canin then he should grown normally. I hope this helps!

I would feed Zelda a puppy food. Because she is a puppy, she will need higher amounts of calcium, protein, and calories than an adult dog, and a puppy formulated food will provide that. You can give Zelda a large breed puppy formulated food, and feed her according to the instructions on the bag. Do not free feed her. I have attached a link to an article describing how to feed large breed puppies: http://ivcjournal.com/feeding-large-breed-puppies/