Woof scared while at pet store.

[Leethaluvsdanes]

Tonight had to get some food for my boy. So thought it would be nice to load him up in the truck and take him for a ride and let him browse in the store.
He was really skiddish (spelling?) while in the store. One of the employees even offered him 2 differant doggy treats and he would have neither.

Im sure his previous owner never got him out in public like I do. I enjoy taking him places and he hates to climb up in the back seat of the truck. I wanta get him used to riding. Surprisingly enough though after a few minutes of coaxing and offering him a treat he got in the truck all on his own. Not for the treat though! He still would have no part of that. He kept backing away so then I would pet him and comfort him, then all the sudden he just ran right up in the backseat of the truck no problems at all! I was really proud of him.

Is he gonna get over his fear eventually of public places and riding as long as I keep subjecting him to these surroundings? Or is he gonna start to rezent this? I hope he learns to love it, cause once in the truck hes fine and dandy. I just want him to be sociable and not affraid.

As for the food (since thats why we went to the store) I was unsure what to get so as not to waste alot of money. I bought some pretty cheap 50lb bag stuff that was 21% protein and like 6 or 8 % fat I think. Noticed it had wheat and corn in it, and I couldnt remember if I read that was ok, or a no no. So if i bought the wrong stuff, someone help me out if possible. And if so will it hurt to let him finish off this bag, or should I cut it with the better stuff till its gone?

[daneslave]

hi no wheat no corn no soy.bad bad food.











cheryl

[GreatDaneMom]

Sounds like he's just a great big puppy. He most likely didn't have alot of human interaction at his previous home, and he probably didn't get too many rides in the truck. You just need to give him a little time to realize that these are all FUN things and he should lose his nervousness about them. If he isn't real interested in the treats, try giving him some REALLY good treats......I use small bits of cut-up hotdog to coax my guy to do things. He really goes for that! As far as kibble, check on the "Diet-Kibble Only" threads and you should be able to find out a very good food for him.

[empm]

I think that the more exposure your dog gets to different situations the more relaxed he will be. Our Frankie is NOT food motivated so I understand that part. As far as food goes, our dogs have always been fed Purina. Millie gets Evo red meat small bites because she has a problem. (I know, I can feel the shoes being thrown my way.) However, we have never had a problem with any of our dogs on it. Clyde lived to 8 yrs. 4 mo., Bonnie to 9 yrs. 3 mo., Ursie will be 10 yrs. in May and Sadie (Greyhound/Lab) will be 15 yrs. in March. No maintenance dogs as far as Vet visits for food related issues.

[Leethaluvsdanes]

I think that the more exposure your dog gets to different situations the more relaxed he will be. Our Frankie is NOT food motivated so I understand that part. As far as food goes, our dogs have always been fed Purina. Millie gets Evo red meat small bites because she has a problem. (I know, I can feel the shoes being thrown my way.) However, we have never had a problem with any of our dogs on it. Clyde lived to 8 yrs. 4 mo., Bonnie to 9 yrs. 3 mo., Ursie will be 10 yrs. in May and Sadie (Greyhound/Lab) will be 15 yrs. in March. No maintenance dogs as far as Vet visits for food related issues.

Now thats what I want. Him to live a long healthy life. When I told my wife I spent $18 she was like geez and I said no hun, thats the cheap stuff, I am gonna buy good stuff next time cause that stuff I got is like feeding our kids McDonalds all their lives.

So what do you feed your danes? Purina?

[empm]

Yeah, Purina Dog Chow in the green bag. Sadie and Annie each get 1/2 can of Pedigree mixed in and Frankie and Ursie get get hamburger mixed in twice a day. We've never had any problems. Millie gets 4 cups of the Evo and 1 can of Innova throughout the day because she DOES have a problem. We figure we've always had success with the Purina and 'if it ain't broke, we're not going to fix it 'til it is'.

[lene1949]

The Purina we have here in Australia is not worth feeding... I currently feed Advance Giant Adult.. It's about AUD100 for a 15kg bag...

[wouldluv2haveadane]

So what do you feed your danes? Purina?

I feed mine a raw diet; one that is supposed to closely emulate what a carnivore's true needs are. I don't know about others' experience, but personally I've found people in general are unfamiliar with this way of feeding. It's when I started reading forums years ago I discovered there are thousands of people who have been feeding this way for years with success. You can check out the 'raw' section on this forum for more info. Also, here's my favorite link which is like a 'newbies guide to raw', if you're interested:

http://www.skylarzack.com/rawfeeding.htm

I've been feeding this way since March, and I have to say it does require a little more effort and thought into what goes into a dog, but it's been worth it. I know I definitely appreciate the benefits, some of which are my dog's clean white teeth (all the way to the far back molars), no breath odor, and smaller poops (in a giant dog that's a big plus LOL).

Cindy

Oh yeah...Patty, I'm not gonna throw the proverbial 'shoe' at you, but how about an eyebrow raise LOL! Hey, while I don't think Purina's the best choice for any dog, if you are finding success with it I guess I would be hesitant to change as well. I would be concerned a bit with the relatively low fat % (7 or 8% was it?) as that will show in things like coat condition and such. Just a thought

Cindy

[DaphneandRoscoe]

I'd really take it slow and easy with this boy. Sometimes when you try to do too much too fast you set your dog up for failure. I would SLOWING introduce him to new things/people/places. A little at a time and very slowly. A big mistake people make when adopting dogs in rescue is getting the dog, bringing everybody and their brother over to meet the dog, running them to dog parks, pet stores, etc. It is extremely overwhelming to some dogs. They can't handle it. Some will even bite out of fear.

I know you haven't had him long. Take is easy. Bring treats and have people treat him. Make every experience a positive one and don't baby him. You will make the behavior worse. Try to act as nonchalant as possible in new situations.

[empm]

I fix Ed & I a steak every couple of weeks and it's fried in butter. I save the drippings in the freezer and just put 'em in the pot when I boil the hamburger. I put it in quart baggies in the freezer and we go through about a quart a week. Their coats are nice so I guess that must supplement the fat enough. I never even thought about it. I just looked at the bag and it's 10%.