Hello everyone,
I have a 3 yr old Male Brindle Great Dane, He stands 34" at the shoulders and right now weighs about 105 pounds. I am very concerned with his weight! Let me start with what I have done so far... I have a female Dane as well, and she is no where close to as tall as he is but weighs more than he does. She is also not overweight just a thicker dog all together. I know that some dogs do not look as thick as others so I am not trying to make him look like her. I have accepted the fact that he will be a lot thinner than she is. I have taken him to the vet and had him tested for everything under the sun from cancer,diabetes, worms, etc. and everything has come back normal. He eats fine I just fill two large bowls and leave them out for him all the time . He usually eats about 1.5 to to 2large bowls of Pedigree a day. He remains very active and will run around in the backyard and play fetch till he is exhausted, he always wants to go for walks or a ride and seems very healthy other than his weight. The Vet has said that he is under weight as well and you can see his spine through the skin starting just about behind his ribs, and his hips are easily visible as well. I do not know what else to do for him, he is the best dog I have ever had and if something happened to him I would be a mess, I do not care what it costs if it will help him I will do it. I honestly feel that he needs to put on at least another 10 pounds so that he does not look emaciated, don't get me wrong I have seen dogs that look a lot worse but for a dog that eats well and is energetic I don't understand why he remains thin to a point that it is disturbing to me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I forgot to mention that he is somewhat of a finicky eater where I have tried several types of food such as Science Diet which he refuses to eat so we always end up back at Pedigree, he seems to like this and eats it well.

Thanks for looking and I hope someone out there has and idea to help me.
Eian31
3856
3857

Have you tried mixing a little bit of Science diet with his pedigree food?
this might help him a little bit. Never randomly switch dog foods. This is normally the case with dogs who won't eat a specific brand. But others are just stubborn.
Try putting a little bit of science diet in with his regualr food, and add a little more each time.
Hopefully he'll eventually begin eating more of the science diet.
Hope that little bit was of any help.
Beautiful Dane by the way. Very gorgeous color!

Let well enough alone. Here is a thread where a second vet agreed the dog was fine, https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/best-food-dog-gain-weight-95574-2.html Scroll down to post #17 on the second page. I have seen quite a few Great Dane ribs including those of a breeder's breeding stock. Some dogs just aren't happy without a little rib hanging out. I frequently see well cared for German Shepherds and Great Danes with ribs showing. It sounds like Salukis are worse. I even had a Lab that was that way.

Check out the sticky on ''My dog won't eat.'' for more details at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/information-articles-our-dogs-expert-labman-53153.html#post254171

You likely will be given suggestions here of feeding him all sorts of things. Balance that advice against what DocWill had to say in the Saluki thread about the dangers of rich foods and unbalanced diets. It is too bad he couldn't cope with this site and stick around.

He looks fine-- but the bottom line is, is he otherwise healthy? If you really feel he needs to gain some witght, try adding some cottage cheese once or twice a day(NOT the low fat kind, just the regular), and alternate on other days with yogurt, to help give his intestines, where nutrient absorbption primarily occurs, some help. He is a beautiful animal. Also, Beef up his carbohydrate and fat intake a little bit, that might help. Have you sought someone on-line who specializes in weight problems with Danes? Maybe you can get some peace of mind there, too. Godd-luck.

I see a lot of Great Danes in my area compared to them , he really does not seem to be that skinny, If he seems happy and active I would not be so worried just yet.

Hey there, I know exactly how you feel. I have a fawn great dane and live in New Zealand. My dane more or less reads the same as you described your activities as your dane, active and loves walks, zoomies etc. The only thing that I have found after trialing numerous amounts of different dog foods is RAW chicken carcasses. My dane is 5 years old. I buy 10 kilo boxes of chich carcasses or backs from the local chicken factory and he goes crazy at meal times, knowing exactly what he is getting. The day I take him off chicken, you can almost quarantee that the next couple of days the weight just falls off him. Some people question feeding raw chicken, but it honestly is totally safe. Never feed your dane cooked chicken as that is when the bones are brittle. My danes breeder put me onto chicken carcases, chicken backs and raw necks and honestly they are wonderful. He gets a great quality kibble also during the day to keep the balance correct but his main meals are approximately 5 carcasses in the morning and the same at night. Its worth a go, my dane has had them in his diet for the last five years and I have never had a problem. Like all new foods introduce them slowly. I hope this helps.