My Harley is a 5 year old pure bred Harlequin Great Dane, weighing (as of yesterday) 114.8 pounds.
She joined our family in Feb 2019. Prior to that, she was with a family for approximately 6-7 months. And prior to that, she was with a breeder in Southern Mississippi.
We do not know much of her history after she left the breeder. We do know that her last litter of puppies was delivered via C-section in June 2018. I do not know what her diet was like at the breeders, but can probably find out.
The family that "adopted" her after she was retired from the breeder stated they fed her Taste of the Wild (I'm not sure which one, but they said it was one labeled for "all life stages".) I am reasonably certain that they did care for her as they should have, but have no concrete proof of that. Since she has joined our family, she has been fed Eukanuba Large Breed Adult (the chicken variety) but has never been a reliable eater with just that.
I have tried supplementing the kibble with cooked chicken and carrots, or squash, zucchini, peas, etc. along with cooked ground lean sirloin and brown rice. She eats better when these are added to kibble, but still not reliably. As of late, I've mostly eliminated the kibble and have been feeding the chicken/carrots/ground sirloin/rice, etc.
I know that she is not getting all the necessary nutrients from this diet, although her weight remains stable, and would like to either formulate a nutritionally sound home cooked diet for her, or switch to feeding raw - but would prefer raw.
I should note, she was unaltered and heartworm positive when she came to us, but has successfully completed treatment for the heartworms, and was spayed and had her (VERY) nasty teeth cleaned last month. The true test of success for the heartworm treatment will come in December, but as of now, she appears to be heartworm free.
I've reads TONS of articles online, blogs, posts, even purchased a couple books on feeding raw, but still get conflicting information. Some say go cold turkey and just immediately switch. Some say transition slowly, as you would of switching to a new kibble.
To me, the slow transition seems logical so last night she got some cooked chicken and rice with squash, and 2 raw chicken thighs (boneless, not planning to throw bones in the mix until later.) She gobbled it down and came back looking for more. This more she got cooked pork shoulder, with butternut squash and 3 raw chicken thighs. Again, she gobbled it down.
The COOKED proteins that she's had so far include chicken, beef, and pork. Since she's had all those cooked, do I need to focus on introducing just ONE raw protein for a period of time before adding a new raw protein? This morning she had a touch of diarrhea but from what I've read that's pretty normal and not a real concern unless it continues for several days.
Also, everything I've read says they will need various supplements - can y'all tell me where you get yours? I want to go with brands that other people have had success with, rather than just picking one at random.
So sorry this post is so long...as you can see I have a ton of questions, and just want to do right by my sweet girl. ❤️
She joined our family in Feb 2019. Prior to that, she was with a family for approximately 6-7 months. And prior to that, she was with a breeder in Southern Mississippi.
We do not know much of her history after she left the breeder. We do know that her last litter of puppies was delivered via C-section in June 2018. I do not know what her diet was like at the breeders, but can probably find out.
The family that "adopted" her after she was retired from the breeder stated they fed her Taste of the Wild (I'm not sure which one, but they said it was one labeled for "all life stages".) I am reasonably certain that they did care for her as they should have, but have no concrete proof of that. Since she has joined our family, she has been fed Eukanuba Large Breed Adult (the chicken variety) but has never been a reliable eater with just that.
I have tried supplementing the kibble with cooked chicken and carrots, or squash, zucchini, peas, etc. along with cooked ground lean sirloin and brown rice. She eats better when these are added to kibble, but still not reliably. As of late, I've mostly eliminated the kibble and have been feeding the chicken/carrots/ground sirloin/rice, etc.
I know that she is not getting all the necessary nutrients from this diet, although her weight remains stable, and would like to either formulate a nutritionally sound home cooked diet for her, or switch to feeding raw - but would prefer raw.
I should note, she was unaltered and heartworm positive when she came to us, but has successfully completed treatment for the heartworms, and was spayed and had her (VERY) nasty teeth cleaned last month. The true test of success for the heartworm treatment will come in December, but as of now, she appears to be heartworm free.
I've reads TONS of articles online, blogs, posts, even purchased a couple books on feeding raw, but still get conflicting information. Some say go cold turkey and just immediately switch. Some say transition slowly, as you would of switching to a new kibble.
To me, the slow transition seems logical so last night she got some cooked chicken and rice with squash, and 2 raw chicken thighs (boneless, not planning to throw bones in the mix until later.) She gobbled it down and came back looking for more. This more she got cooked pork shoulder, with butternut squash and 3 raw chicken thighs. Again, she gobbled it down.
The COOKED proteins that she's had so far include chicken, beef, and pork. Since she's had all those cooked, do I need to focus on introducing just ONE raw protein for a period of time before adding a new raw protein? This morning she had a touch of diarrhea but from what I've read that's pretty normal and not a real concern unless it continues for several days.
Also, everything I've read says they will need various supplements - can y'all tell me where you get yours? I want to go with brands that other people have had success with, rather than just picking one at random.
So sorry this post is so long...as you can see I have a ton of questions, and just want to do right by my sweet girl. ❤️
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