As you may know, little Great Dane Napoleon came to live with us three month ago now, and in that short time, he has more than doubled in size. Look at the picture: my arm used to cover his length from nose to tail, now I don’t even reach from nose to forearm. Meaning he eats like half a horse and will eat like a horse once he reaches adult size.
So far, I mostly fed him Dog Chow and Pedigree, which at $45 for a 50lb bag is pretty expensive. And he doesn’t love it. When we have meat, or when BF has cookies with coffee, he often comes and beg, filling up with human food. So sometimes the bowl remains half full, and is invaded by ants in a second, under the tropical climate. I need to keep the 50lb bag in a locked plastic box for the ants and rats as well, and the food will spoil quickly because of the heat.
Dog food almost comes to $1 a pound, knowing that in Guatemala rice and beans are around $0.5 a pound and expand with cooking, and cheap meat is around $1.5 a pound, for $2, I could make him a 2+lb bowl of rice and meat. Same price, for getting full control over what your pet eats.
I don’t know much about dog food but I have read about product recalls, and like human prepared food, it can’t been as good as a home cooked meal.
By the way, there are foods they absolutely must avoid. I read a list a while back, then forgot, then had a flashback in shocking horror when I saw Napoleon eating a bunch of grapes, and spent the rest of the evening reading death stories of dogs intoxicated by grapes, and monitoring his every moves. Thankfully, being a huge dog, the dozen grapes he at had zero effect.
Dogs can’t eat (here is a more complete list)
– grapes, raisins, currants, they can actually die of kidney failure if they do.
– onions
– chocolate, alcohol, coffee
– raw eggs and fish
– cooked bones
I found out about the last one when browsing for a list of food Napoleon could actually eat, and the author talked about chicken carcasses, as long as the bones are not cooked. If you cook them, or give your dog chicken leftover dinner with bones, he can die as the bone can lacerate his stomach or obstruct his trachea.
Reading another author recommending food for Great Danes, I was surprised to learn that the Great Danes get less bloat and other diseases when raised in Germany than in America. Why? Because they are fed the local diet, which is closest to what the race originally ate: beef, whole oats, rye, and potato.
This was another concern when Wikipedia announced that Great Danes only live 6 to 8 years, while most dogs last about a decade. Because they grow so fast and have such bog bodies, they are at risk for a lot of illnesses. And giving your dog good food can save a lot of money in vet bills later.
Just like human diet, you can balance the meals over the course of a week or two, but it is important that you do so, in order to provide your dog with all the nutriments he needs.
At 6 months, he should be eating 6 to 8 cups a day, going slowly up to 7-10 cups by 12 months of age. It is crucial not to feed him too much either, to prevent growth related problems like bone pains. With Dog Chow he’ll walk away from the food because it’s not so interesting, but with human food he can eat until he pukes.
So the new diet will consist of
– raw bones
– eggs: they can eat up to an egg a day, cooked.
– cooked minced meat and liver
– vegetables: pretty much anything but onions
– broth or meat juice
– rice, potatoes
Actually, most of it will be a diet of raw meaty bones, which are what dogs are used to eating in a wild habitat. The bones help them clean their teeth while eating, and provide the best source of protein. That post I just linked to says it may be more expensive than industrial dog food, but in Guatemala with meat being so cheap and kibbles being imported, I think it might be about the same. Even in the UK or the US you can ask your butcher to keep the rests of bones with only a little meat that humans wouldn’t eat, they should sell it at a discount. Chicken neck, chicken feet… there are also other parts that humans don’t like to eat which are great for dogs. As long as it’s RAW!
Another thing I learned about giant breeds is that industrial food can have them grow too quickly, which is bad. With real food, they grow slowly but surely into healthier adults.
Last added bonus: Napoleon was chewing on anything lately, as he was losing his baby teeth. Shoes, plants, wooden chairs… he loved to destroy it all. Now he keeps chewing on the bone instead. Win win!
So I am not moving to Germany just yet, but have decided to feed Napoleon home food as much as possible.
I’ve never made my own dog food, but I definitely would like to one day. There always seems to be problems with dog food lately and I know that the cheaper bags of dog food are not good at all for them.
Michelle recently posted..Saving Over $2,000 A Year With Republic Wireless – How Much Money Could You Save?
Yeah it’s like feeding yourself with the first price frozen meal, not the best ingredients. I am looking more into the raw diet which is just feeding the dog raw meat basically, so zero prep time.
Hi when lived in South Africa I had two German Shepherds the vet told me to feed them mealie pap , that is cooked maze meal, and raw meat, or dirty tripe, my dog died at fifteen so I must have done something right. The vet said dried food had to much salt. I would also add any left over gravy, they loved curry, and anything else like chicken skin etc.
Good luck
Thank you Moira, I am leaning towards raw meat as a base as well, less prep time and it seems much healthier.
Great Danes are pretty big, soon enough he’ll be eating more than you. I’m glad you figured out a healthy diet for Napoleon that also keeps you within budget.
Aldo@MillionDollarNinja recently posted..I Got Two Awards!!!
True, a small dish for me, a huge one for him!
I had always heard that chicken bones weren’t good for dogs since they easily splinter and can poke their organs. That’s why the bones we get our dogs to chew on are usually beef bones
That is true for cooked bones, however, they can eat raw chicken bones or carcass because the raw bones are much stronger and won’t break inside them and hurt them.
He is growing up so fast 🙂 It makes sense dogs are more healthy in Germany than in the U.S. There are similar parallels in humans. On average more Americans per capita have diabetes and other diet related issues than Europeans. You are what you eat.
Yes, and it reflects on how long you live too. I hope the dog stays around for a while so I’d rather buy better food than pay vet bills!
I love great danes, they are amazing dogs. In the UK we have a huge dog show called Crufts every year. Each year I visit I always go and see the great danes.
When I was a child we have a collie that use to eat all of our left overs.Shepherds Pie was a favourite of his (mash & beef mince).
Victoria @thefrugaltrial recently posted..September Debt Repayment
Makes sense, beef and potatoes are great for dogs. However I read they can’t eat onions, which I put pretty much anywhere so can’t give him many of our leftovers.
I can picture you cooking for yourself and a larger pot to feed your dog, haha! I agree that if you have the time and are sure to include all nutrients, then home cooked meals for your dog can be the way to go. It’s so much extra work though!
Jay
Jay @ ThinkingWealthy.com recently posted..Investing for Beginners: Understand Why You Invest
Haha yes that’s how it is going to end! Actually I have close to zero prep time as I feed him mainly raw meat at the moment. He loves it and I balance with organs, raw meaty bones, and different meats like duck, chicken, beef etc.
Is it easy for you to get bones where you are? Around here, our friends ask us to pick up dropped antlers, from deer and elk, because their dogs chew on them. At the pet store, they are $20 for a little four inch chunk!
There is a lot of cattle everywhere and it would be great to get it a big cow bone, but the butcher saws them and sells meaty bones for stew, so that is what I buy. He eats the meat then chews on the bones for days.
“6 to 8 cups a day” Holy cow (or I guess, holy great dane!). We have a 12 pound shih tzu so he only eats 1/2 cup to 3/4 of a cup of food a day. We feed “fresh pet” which is refrigerated. It’s more expensive them dry food, but made with natural ingredients and he loves it. When we fed standard dry food he’d eat a little but generally walk away if we didn’t mix it with wet food. Now he inhales every bit we give him.
KK @ Student Debt Survivor recently posted..Money & Relationships: Finding the Right, “Money Partner”
haha yes, he eats a LOT! Adult Great Danes weight around 120lb but I read they don’t eat that much on a weight to food eaten ratio compared to smaller dogs. I take him for a run in the morning and a walk in the afternoon so he eats more because of that.