Great Dane won't eat!

kpwlee

 Just a couple of ideas - yes the Blue is the best of what you tried but only if she'll eat it! It sounds to me as though she has a very sensitive stomach and some of the foods may be bothering her - thus the grass eating and vomiting.

I might avoid chicken based food for a bit and see if that helps - I know of various dogs that have an intolerance to chicken - it causes stomach upset and very soft frequent poops. Just an idea.

Some people rave about Bil-jac as a way to add weight

 

  I agree with Karen that it sounds like her stomach is very sensitive. Another member of this forum has a Dane which had similar issues when he was young; eating grass, vomiting, and she had trouble keeping weigh on him. She tried so many different diets and even home-cooking but nothing seemed to work. Then she tried Bil-Jac frozen and he did much better. For years, our dog would often skip her breakfast and sometimes her dinner; we thought she was being finicky. About 20 months ago she had an attack of pancreatitis, and since then we've kept her on a lower fat diet; about 10% fat. It's very rare for her to skip a meal now even though she has chronic pancreatitis. Your girl may simply have a sensitive stomach and need a diet suited for her, or maybe you could try the Bil-Jac frozen first and see how she responds to it. Please don't dismiss this as her simply being stubborn; a large breed puppy should be hungry and wanting to eat. Good luck.

I could also recommend Bil-Jac dry dog food.  It is super tasty to dogs and for my occasional picky eaters, it worked wonders.

Also, the more you worry about food- the more worry the dogs will have over eating- they think "geez, if mom is so worried about this food, then I should be too. Maybe I better not eat it."

Agreed with tough love also.  What a pretty girl you have!

BilJac is a pretty awful food.

 Wow, thank you all so much for the replies!

 I'm thinking maybe I'll try putting some broth on her food & see if she'll eat it that way.  The strangest thing about it all, is when I switched to the Blue Buffalo she actually seemed to like it...at first!

 I'm very much into the tough love thing...I mean since when should you have to coax a dog to freakin eat??  But she's getting skinnier & skinnier...I'm getting embarrassed taking her out in public as she almost looks like an abuse case.

 Oranges - I did switch them all over to the Blue, the other two seem to love it.

 Cita - that's a food I forgot about, Orijen.  I tried that as well, she wouldn't eat it - at all.  Nothing, not out of my hand, not if I tried to play catch the treat, nothing lol   Bag is still sitting here untouched lol

 Kpwlee - I didn't know that about chicken, but I have thought that maybe it's an allergy to something in the food.  Maybe I'll get the store to special order some of that Blue Wilderness food with no chicken in it for her.  I'd love to give her a can of food once a day, but then she refuses kibble all together and feeding a Dane canned food exclusively could get pretty expensive lol

Cobuhe - My concern with the satin balls is if I start her on that, what happens if she refuses to eat kibble even worse after?  Will cottage cheese upset her tummy?

 Jessies mom - I looked up the Bil-jac dog food - it's not sold in Canada...or at least their store locator says location not found.

Shamrock Mommy - thanks for the compliment on the pup, but the one in my avatar is a male pup I picked up in the beginning of November, he's a hoot!  The female I'm having trouble with is a mantle...I'll have to see if I can find a picture!

Glenmar - Because of the corn, right?

 Not sure who said it, but in response to her spiting me...I know she's not, it just feels that way at times. Her & I have never really "clicked".

 Thank you so much for all your tips & suggestions!

 This pic is about a month old, the one in question is Sophie, the mantle walking in the background...she's probably lost another 10lbs since I took that picture :(

This is Merlin - he's three months old now.  Yes, I cropped his ears.  He's so much fun lol

And I don't seem to have any of Rowan just sitting still, but here are her & Sophie playin in the snow.  Rowan is 8 months old.

Bil Jac is basically corn, by products, and molasses. I have to say, it will put weight and coat on ANYTHING. Yes, it's junk food, and it's not the healthy way to do it, but I've used it, in a pinch. I used it to pack a few pounds onto Bean, when she was super underweight, as a puppy, and I used it to get Jewel (who had horrifying teeth and wasn't ready for anesthesia yet) eating when I brought her home. Two dentals later, she is a chowhound, and her nickname at training is "Sharky". You have to TOSS treats to her, if you like your fingers!

She's a very cute puppy, and yes, she's thin, but I think she will learn to eat, once you get consistent with her. Good luck with her!

floopy

The strangest thing about it all, is when I switched to the Blue Buffalo she actually seemed to like it...at first!

I'm with Karen on the chicken sensitivity.  Your above comment would indicate such---she probably likes the food, yet knows it causes stomach upset, thus the reluctance to eat.  Chicken is known to be an inflammatory meat, so this may be causing her problems.  You may want to try the Blue Basics line---the Turkey/Potato would be a better choice.  You may also want to look into the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient diets--the Bison formula would be a good choice as would the Duck formula.  I'd stay away from the BilJac as it is a chicken based food.

 Where in Canada are you?   Agreed with trying a Basic's line. Maze is allergic to chicken and her way of telling me was to spit kibble at me.. No I'm not joking. Lol. She was eating California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato before I switched my dogs to a raw diet.

I'd play around with flavors in the Blue line. If she started eating the kibble then she may like the brand.. Just not the flavor.

Beautiful dogs!

Wasn't there a food called Eagle Pack that lots of Dane owners used? 

  I think the frozen Bil-Jac, which is what I suggested,  had better ingredients that the dry food, and it was the only food that Dyan's Great Dane, Gibson, was able to eat and do well on when he was younger. I just checked their website and it looks like they don't make it anymore. Poor baby; if she's lost 10 pound since the pictures were taken, she must be very skinny. It looks like she's lost the muscle tone in her rear legs. I hope you can get her eating soon; keep us updated.

floopy

Cobuhe - My concern with the satin balls is if I start her on that, what happens if she refuses to eat kibble even worse after?  Will cottage cheese upset her tummy?

Satin Balls are a supplement to the regular meals...not a meal replacement.  Cottage cheese doesn't usually upset tummies.  But, I certainly can't say that it will or won't upset your puppy's tummy.

Adorable pictures!  I do believe I am in LOVE with Merlin!

floopy

Kpwlee - I didn't know that about chicken, but I have thought that maybe it's an allergy to something in the food.  Maybe I'll get the store to special order some of that Blue Wilderness food with no chicken in it for her.  I'd love to give her a can of food once a day, but then she refuses kibble all together and feeding a Dane canned food exclusively could get pretty expensive lol

Added to a limited ingredient simple food she might just turn a corner - get some weight on, feel better and start eating well all the time.  I really hate to see a dog so thin and it seems uncomfortable (tummy-wise)

BTW all of your dogs are stunning and zowie feeding 3 young danes takes a lot of food!!

 Thanks again for all the responses & tips!

Jennie - I looked at that Bil-jac food...it sure doesn't have a lot of good reviews, other than what you said, the dogs eat it! lol

 Tzu-mom - I definitely am going to call the pet store and ask if they can bring in something else that has no chicken from the Basics line.  It's a small town & they special ordered the Blue Buffalo for me to begin with so it shouldn't be a problem. 

 Oranges - I'm in Southern Alberta, about a 1/2 hour south of Calgary.  I missed ordering day...so will have to wait a week to get the Basics food brought in, thanks for the compliments on my pups!

Willowchow - I've come across Eagle Pack in my searches for decent dog foods lol  There is a supply store in the town nearest me that sells it.  If the basics food doesn't work I will try it.  Thank you for the suggestion!

 Jessie's Mom - She is skinny and I absolutely hate it!  That's why my search for information, tips & help on what I can do to help her.

Cobuhe - Merlin is my favorite too, and his personality is hilarious!  I call him the little rhino, he just bulldozes through everything lol

Kpwlee - I wondered when I saw that guy in your banner what he is, that is the dog you're talking about right?  I don't think I can feed tripe...I myself have a weak stomach when it comes to smells (I barf when I clean up barf, how disgusting is that??), so don't know if I can handle it lol  The pumpkin or cottage cheese I can do!! lol  They do eat a lot of food...at this point, I go through a bag a week...as Merlin grows that will be more, & if I ever get Sophie eating properly I can only imagine how much I'm going to go through LoL!