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[Joyce]

  Jo Ann & Chinpo, and anyone else out there with a large/giant breed doggie(s), 

I have a few large/giant breed dog questions for you all. 

What brand of dry dog food do you give your dog(s) and how much per day?  Any other supplements?
How much do your dogs weigh and what are their ages?
Has anyone ever dealt with a dog (any size) that had separation anxiety from you and the family?

We just adopted a special needs doggie that has separation anxiety.  She has been given up by 2 families now. She needed to go to a home where someone was there rather than a working family.  That someone is me!  We are going to work with her and she is going to the vet tomorrow for a full work up to get this ball rolling.
She is an 11 month old pup still.  One of her parents was a Harlequin Great Dane and the other was a Dalmation.  Looks as though she has blue dane coloring in her too.  Very sweet dog, gentle, loyal and not an agressive bone in her body.  She was already spayed, updated on all of her shots and microchipped and went through obedience training.  She is also one of those dogs that was selected to work with children that are disabled (I can't remember the name of the program). 
Now we just need to work with her anxiety issue!  Poor baby.    Any suggestions? 
Thank you. 
Here she is!  "Mitzi"

[Joyce]

More Mitzi

[chinclub]

Aww she is beautiful!!  We have an Old English Sheepdog, Scruffy.  We got him when was 2 years old and we were his 5th owner!  He is 5 now. We thought he might enjoy a companion so we search for a big dog.  We got a call from our local shelter telling us that they had a dog scheduled to be put to sleep that day but they would wait a few hours if we wanted to look at her.  Needless to say I was willing to take her no matter what considering the alternative.  She is part great dane and part lab and her name is Sweetie.  We don't know anything about her but we think she is older than him. We have had her for about 2 years now.

 Thankfully neither of them showed any anxiety.  They were in love at first sight and are pretty much inseparable.  We have always free fed our dogs.  I know that isn't really recommended but with Sweetie being a food hog and Scruffy being the gentleman who always lets her eat first its really the only way we can be sure he is getting enough. 

P.S.  Do they think her stress is due to the Dalmatian in her?  I have heard from people who have that breed that they can be very high strung.

[Summer]

Congrats she is beautiful. Out our five, two separation anxiety. Guess what they both came from the SPCA. BigGuy tore are carpit up,door, lots of blinds and a Our Xmas tree. Candy the other one carpit and blinds. They much better now. I can now leave in the bed room with the other dogs. As for any  supplements Bear is on glucosamine tablets for his atheists. They weigh from smallest to biggest 25 Pounds to 130. Candy is 9 years, Bear is 6 years, BigGuy is 7 years, Moose and Teenie are 1 year. For all five go though about a 160 pounds a month. Since
Mitzi is all most a year she go on adult large breed food.Don't feed her after she has exercised it can cause bloat and the stomach to turn on it's self.  Just take your time with her she will come around. BigGuy and Candy hold a very spacial place in my hart!! I hope this helped,If you have any Q's just ask.

[ChinchillAZ]

One of the best commercial dog feeds you can get (that you don't have to buy at a veterinary clinic) is Eukanuba.  You want to look for a food that has meat listed as the first ingredient.  As an example, the #1 ingredient in the Eukanuba Large Breed Adult is chicken.  Technically, she is still considered a puppy, so you may elect to buy a bag of the puppy food and then slowly start mixing in the adult food when she's over a year.  Feed the amount that is recommended on the bag, based on her weight.  From here, you can adjust as necessary.  (For example, my dog lives in an apartment and her activity level is VERY low, so she gets less than half of the amount that is recommended for her in order to keep her weight in the ideal range.)  Try sticking with dry food, as this helps to keep the teeth and gums healthy.  Supplements shouldn't be needed unless recommended by the veterinarian.

Your veterinarian can prescribe medication for separation anxiety, if it comes to that.  In the meantime, you may want to check out the article at http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00314.htm.

Best of luck and congratulations on your new addition!  She's adorable!   

[Jo Ann]

Hi Joyce,
    Congratulations!  She is beautiful!   She does look like she has some blue and maybe even mantle in her. 
    Being trained to be a special needs dog, usually starts as a puppy, it is easily understandable that she has anxiety separation problems.  She was trained/brain-washed to be practically "physically attached" to the person she was caring for at the time.  She was the extention to their body, to do the normal things for them that most humans can do for themselves.   She was constantly being depended on for many things.  Her life had a purpose ... she was needed ... that has now been taken away from her.  She needs to feel like she is needed again.  You can do this by letting her do simple things for you and praising her for this.  One way to do this is to attach a leash to your belt and let her stay right beside you constantly during the day ... if you drop something, ask her to get it for you ... if the phone rings and it is a hand held one, let her bring it to you.  Just simple little things.  After a little while, the leash can go, and you will find she still shadows you.     Because of her past training, this should not take long at all.  Also, if she is beside you constantly, she will not be as prone to have 'an accident' in the house ... she will let you know she needs out.  She will always have to be some-what of a "special needs" dog for her to be happy. But ... she will also have to get use to being away from you, the article in the above post can help you with that ... but I would first let her get back into the groove of knowing she is needed and wanted by a particular family member.  You might want to surf the internet to find information on what special needs dogs go through and what they eventually feel their purpose in life really is.
     I've never had a Datamation, you might want to check out the American Kennel Club at: http://www.akc.org/index.cfm?nav_area=homeage  and get on some of the forums for each breed to get some particulars for both breeds.  I think Datamations are suppose to be very intelligent, loyal and high strung, but also a high-maintenance dog.  The Dane, on the other hand is a "gentle giant", high maintenance, intelligent and loyal ... maybe Mitzi got the best of both breeds.     Maybe the 'gentle giant' mixed with 'high strung' has evened things out a bit.    It would have had to, for her to become a special needs dog. 
     We feed Lady Chicken Soup for Dogs, the adult size, even when she was a tiny puppy.  Danes are not suppose to be fed more than 23% protine and 10% fat content in their food, even as puppies.  They have to be allowed to grow slowly, or they will develop major bone problems that can eventually cripple them.  They continue to grow in size until they are about 2 or 2 1/2 years old.  Be very careful not to allow her to run or play after eating ... due to their slender shape and bursts of energy ... running hard on a full tummy is a no-no, their tummy's can turn in on them and kill them.  If she ever starts with the dry heaves, get her to the vet immediately.  It is not unusual for one to loose what they eat if they play hard or run within an hour of eating ... like the human rule of not eating an within an hour before you go in swimming.  Lady is free-fed ... which goes against what most Dane owners will tell you ... most say feed 4 times a day for 15 minutes, then take it away.  You have to do what works best for you and your dog and what she is use to doing.  Most Danes are outside dogs during the daytime and I can understand why they can not be free-fed for that reason, but Lady is strictly an inside dog and we can control her activity much better.  Danes prefer to sleep in the same room with their masters.  They are very protective dogs, this is part of their make-up.
     They need that "burst of energy" they get to be exercised every day ... they are a high energy dog. If someone were to see Lady and I play and did not know her, they would probably think she was going to attack and kill me ... because of her size and the loud, deep voice she has.  But, if you look at it in perspective ... watch a little dog play ... they bounce around like on pogo sticks, making mild aggressive noises as they jump down on their front legs with their rears in the air, tails wagging ... we look at these little dogs and laugh ... but when it is a big dog doing the exact same thing, for the same reason, most are terrified because of their size ... just keep in mind the title 'gentle giant' that they have earned.  Lady answers a question from me with a kiss for 'yes' and turning her head away from me as 'no'.  When they run, you think you need to jump out of their way ... worst thing to do ... stand very still ... they love to run straight at you, then barely brush you with the wind as they go by.  Be still, or you may step into them instead of away from them.    
     When we tell Lady to "sit her happy butt down" ... she knows she is in trouble and quickly sits on the floor with her attention turned to us.   If we tell her to "have a seat" ... she backs up to the couch or a chair and sets down like a little lady ... front feet on the floor and behind placed on the couch.  When she wants a little extra loving and catches us sitting down, she will come over and gently sit in our lap.
  You're gonna love Mitzi!  Have fun!
     

You have to check out: http://www.doglitter.com/GetPage.aspx?PageID=176&DCMP=BAC-petcentric&D=9153266&T=3737468    
 
Jo Ann

[ThreeLilChins]

That is qutie the puppy. Great looking dog.

[Sweetnessheart]

Congrats on your new Doggie.....She is sooo Pretty!
We have Dalmatians!  Have had them now for over 11 years all together.  We bred them once and had 8 puppies.  We kept two of the puppies and sold or gave away the others. They are very active and high strung dogs, but can be lazy bones too.  We live on 23 acres so they get to run all of the time.  We haven't ever had trouble with them coming when we call or being our watch dogs.  They always respond happily with tails wagging wanting to please.  I know you will enjoy your new addition!!

[Misskitz]

  Jo Ann & Chinpo, and anyone else out there with a large/giant breed doggie(s), 

I have a few large/giant breed dog questions for you all. 

What brand of dry dog food do you give your dog(s) and how much per day?  Any other supplements?
How much do your dogs weigh and what are their ages?
Has anyone ever dealt with a dog (any size) that had separation anxiety from you and the family?

1: I give my Lab Kona Chicken soup for the dog lovers soul: Adult formula, and I give 3 cups (Big Bowl) in morning and a can of Alpo and 2 cups more of food.
2: Kona is 2yrs. old and is big girl of 98 pounds but she runs round the block 3x a day with me.
3: Kona does a little bit a separation anxiety but she can control herself, but my Italian greyhound Hunter has a case of separation anxiety.