Feeding Giants: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Dog Food for Great Danes!

The epitome of the phrase “gentle giant,” the Great Dane is not only one of the largest dog breeds out there, but also one of the most mild-mannered.

Great Danes are nothing if not sweet and they have the ability to get along with just about everyone they meet. These dogs do have a bit of a protective side and they make good watch dogs, though they can also be great family companions as well.

This breed needs a great deal of space, but their needs for exercise are surprisingly low for their size. The Great Dane has very low maintenance requirements and, despite their size, they are adaptable to condo or apartment life.

Unfortunately, this breed is prone to a number of serious health problems which contribute to a low life expectancy of 7 to 10 years. Any time you are able to spend with a Great Dane, however, is time well spent.

Breed Overview

• Pedigree: Purebred
• Size: 28 to 32 inches, or more
• Weight: 110 to 190 pounds
• Energy Level: Low
• Lifespan: 7 to 10 years

The Great Dane is one of the largest dog breeds out there and therefore also one of the most easily recognizable. These dogs grow up wards of 28 to 32 inches tall and it isn’t uncommon for them to weigh more than 150 pounds at maturity.

Although they may be massive, these dogs have hearts of gold and they bond very closely with their masters. This breed generally responds well to training, though they can be stubborn at times and may require a few more repetitions than more intelligent breeds to master a command.

They will always do their best to defend their family, however, and they make wonderful family companions. Great Danes have short, low-maintenance coats and low needs for exercise, but they do have some important health considerations you need to keep in mind and the quality of their diet will significantly impact their long-term health and longevity.

Best Dog Food For Great Danes

After reading the information above, you should have a better understanding of your Great Dane’s unique nutritional requirements, but you may be wondering how to choose the best dog food for this breed.

Below you will find three reviews for recommended brands of dog food for Great Dane adults as well as recommendations for puppies and senior Danes:

 

1. Nom Nom Pet Food Delivery

Nom Nom is custom designed, gently-cooked, restaurant grade food. You start with going to their website to make a profile for your Dane. Information is gathered about their size, breed, dietary restrictions, allergies, weight and age.

They will customize your Dane’s dog food. Next, you’ll be given a recipe with the exact portion size, so you won’t have to guess how much they need to eat. Food will then be delivered to your door on a schedule. This way, you’ll never run out.

Their cooked meals are a good balance between dry food and raw diets. Meals are prepared and arrive at your house ready to serve or store in the fridge (or freezer). Each recipe is handmade weekly and delivered right to your door. The Porkalicious Potluck (image shown above) only has seven ingredients.

The food comes in insulated, recyclable trays. Trays can be placed in your refrigerator or freezer up to 24 hours before it’s given to your dog.

Food can last 14-days in your refrigerator if the trays aren’t opened. You’ll also receive a scooper for portion control.

2. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Large Breed Chicken Recipe

The Blue Buffalo company offers various product lines. Every recipe this brand makes contains wholesome, nutritious ingredients that nourish your dog’s body from the inside out.

What makes their product line unique is the fact that it is designed to satisfy the spirit of your dog’s inner wolf – it is designed to promote your dog’s health, happiness, and harmony for the duration of his life.

Every recipe is made with real meat proteins, wholesome carbohydrates, and other healthy ingredients with beneficial supplements like probiotics and chelated minerals.

This recipe is particularly good for your Great Dane because it is designed to meet the unique nutritional needs of very large dogs.

It contains 32% crude protein and 13% crude fat, featuring protein-rich fish and chicken meal as the primary ingredients. It is also supplemented with chicken fat and whole flaxseeds as well as digestible carbohydrates like rice and oatmeal.

3. Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition Chicken

Gentle Giants have produced a chicken-based budget adult dry dog food that is packed with vitamins and minerals. It uses twelve whole fruits and vegetables including beets, tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, spinach, celery, and apples.

This means that your dog will not only be enjoying a flavor sensation, they will also be absorbing Vitamin A, Vitamin B 12, and Vitamin C from natural sources. These aim to foster good immune health in your dog. We are a little disappointed in this formula's protein and fat content.

Containing only 22% protein, this dog food falls below the average amount in this price bracket. Still, this will adequately meet the nutritional needs of your dog and support their muscles and bones.

This formula has been designed for dog's with sensitive stomachs, so it might be a good idea to try this if your pet is having digestive trouble with standard dog food.

Whilst, it isn't really competitive with premium dog food, Gentle Giants will be more than adequate for dog owners on a tight budget.

4. Nutro Ultra Large Breed Adult Formula

The Nutro pet food company follows a “feed clean” philosophy that is focused around real, natural ingredients combined in healthy ways to ensure complete and balanced nutrition for dogs in all life stages.

This is another top-rated dog food from the brand that is made especially for large breed adult dogs. Nutro’s Ultra line features food with a superfood blend of high-quality animal proteins, antioxidant rich produce, whole grains, and healthy fats.

This brand chooses only the highest quality non-GMO ingredients that are sourced from reputable suppliers and combined in recipes that will nourish your dog’s body from the inside out.

They have several distinct product lines but the Nutro Ultra product line is designed around high-quality animal proteins, healthy whole grains, and vibrant superfoods.

Farm-raised chicken, salmon meal, and lamb meal provide good sources of protein and essential amino acids that help dogs build strong muscles. This combination of three lean animal proteins ensure an extra flavorful meal in every serving of this Nutro Ultra formula.

For carbohydrate support, this recipe relies on brown rice and oatmeal with dried fruits and vegetables for supplementary fiber and natural sources for key nutrients.

5. Holistic Select Large & Giant Breed Health Chicken Meal & Oatmeal Recipe

Holistic Select has been making high-quality pet foods for over a decade and they are known for their healthy, natural recipes made with premium ingredients.

Not only is each recipe designed to deliver complete and balanced nutrition, but they are supplemented with their Unique Digestive Health Support System to ensure healthy and regular digestion.

This is a combination of prebiotics and probiotics as well as digestive enzymes and natural fibers to keep your Great Dane’s digestive tract working as it should. This brand guarantees the quality and safety of their products, offering a money-back guarantee.

This recipe is a good choice for your Dane because it hits on all the major nutritional hallmarks – it is made with high-quality animal protein, supplemented with whole grains, and contains a blend of omega fatty acids.

The high protein content will help your dog maintain his lean muscle mass while the dried fermentation products support his digestion. It also contains supplementary glucosamine and chondroitin for bone and joint health.

6. Wellness CORE Wild Game Recipe

This food is designed for dogs of all sizes and meets their needs in several ways. On the surface, it has a large kibble size that’s perfect for larger mouths. To encourage joint health throughout your dog’s adult life, this food contains glucosamine and chondroitin.

All Wellness CORE foods use grain-free, protein rich recipes infused with botanicals and supplements for optimal health. Unlike some other high-protein foods, Wellness CORE foods avoid excessive fat.

They contain probiotics for digestive health, are enriched with antioxidants, and contain Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids for skin and coat health.

Like all other CORE foods, this is a grain-free, protein-rich recipe that uses botanicals and supplements for the complete health of the dog, including probiotics and prebiotics for improved digestive health and immune support. It is enriched with antioxidants, along with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.

7. CANIDAE PURE Real Bison, Lentil & Carrot Recipe

This recipe is loaded with fresh meat and whole foods for complete and balanced nutrition that also offers good digestibility.

Not only is this formula made with a limited number of main ingredients, but the primary protein is a novel protein for most dogs which further reduces the risk for food allergies and sensitivities.

This formula features fresh bison with grain-free carbohydrates and plenty of omega fatty acids for skin and coat support. All in all, this is a natural, delicious, and nutritious recipe for adult dogs.

As promised, this formula is made with fresh bison as the main ingredient. It is important to note that fresh meats contain up to 80% moisture by volume – once the product is cooked to remove moisture, some of that volume will be lost.

That isn’t a problem for this recipe, however, because lamb meal is the second ingredient.

Meat meals contain up to 300% more protein by volume than fresh meats because they have already been cooked to remove moisture. Overall, this bison recipe is an excellent source of high-quality and digestible nutrition for adult dogs.

This recipe starts off strong with two meat-rich sources of protein at the top of the list, followed by three gluten-free and grain-free carbohydrates.

8. Solid Gold Wolf King Bison & Brown Rice Recipe

This food is formulated to provide your Dane with all the building blocks for health at a more affordable price. It features whole proteins from bison with healthy brown rice and oats to provide carbs and fiber for energy and digestion.

Real bison meat is the very first ingredient, but this nutritious whole grain, holistic adult dog food with probiotic support is also packed with superfoods like pumpkins, cranberries, carrots, blueberries and more.

Balanced with prebiotics and 90 million probiotics per pound, this recipe is designed to help promote healthy gut bacteria as well as overall immune health in your majestic Dane.

It has joint support supplements and essential fatty acids for skin and coat health. Plus, there are no cheap fillers often found in other budget foods.

The company got started from a desire to create wholesome meals that could help the creator’s dogs have long lives. She decided her dogs deserved a nutritious, natural food that would keep them happy and healthy.

9. Orijen Puppy Large Dry Food

Though the Orijen pet food company is based in Canada, there is no reason to question the quality or safety of their products. Simply put, this is one of the top pet food brands on the market and would be an excellent choice for your Great Dane puppy.

Some customers have complained that they moved some production to their facilities in Kentucky, but rest assured that this dog food is top notch.

The brand makes it their goal to create “biologically appropriate” diets for dogs which means that their formulas are rich in animal ingredients and limited in carbohydrates.

This formula in particular is a great choice for your puppy because it is formulated to meet the nutritional needs of large-breed puppies without going overboard on calories.

It features 85% poultry, fish, and egg ingredients with no gluten, grains, or potatoes. This formula offers 38% crude protein and 16% crude fat, both of which are well above the recommended minimum for puppies.

You’ll also be glad to know that it is supplemented with probiotics for healthy digestion and fresh fruits and vegetables for nutritional balance.

10. Purina Pro Plan Adult 7+ Large Breed Chicken & Rice Formula

Older adult dogs need specific care to keep their senses sharp and their bodies in tip-top shape. This kibble is geared specifically for older large breeds who need help in maintaining a healthy body and mind.

It contains several ingredients that support the brain: DHA & EPA, arginine, folic acid, pyridoxine, and Vitamin E. To keep the body active, Purina also included glucosamine and EPA for joint health. Aging teeth and bones are aided by the supplemental calcium, phosphorus, and mineral content.

There are also botanical oils in the meal, which show visible alertness results within 30 days of feeding. These oils not only improve attention, but they also promote memory and trainability in senior doggies.

One of the main benefits of small-breed dogs is that they tend to live much longer than larger breeds. The Dane, for example, has a lifespan of up to 10 years, or more!

You have to remember, however, that your Dane will only achieve his maximum lifespan if you give him the nutrients he needs to thrive – that means feeding him a high-quality dog food from day one.

Your beloved pet deserves a high-quality diet that will support his growth and development as a puppy and help him maintain his lean muscle mass as an adult.

The best way to ensure that your Great Dane’s nutritional needs are met is to choose a quality large-breed formula for whatever life stage he is in.

Once you’ve chosen the right formula, carefully transition your dog onto the new recipe and follow the feeding recommendations to ensure that he gets the nutrients he needs without going overboard on calories.

Any of the recipes reviewed above would be a solid choice for your pet if you need somewhere to start your search.

 

Dietary Considerations

The Great Dane generally achieves an adult weight between 110 and 190 pounds with males of the breed reaching the higher end of the spectrum and females being a little smaller. Because the Great Dane is so large, you might assume that his daily calorie needs are very high.

They are, in fact, much higher than the needs of a smaller dog but you must keep in mind one important thing – large-breed dogs have lower calorie needs measured per pound of bodyweight than smaller dogs.

For example, a 22-pound Dachshund might need about 750 calories per day while your 110-pound Great Dane needs 2,500. If you divide it out, however, you’ll find that the Dachshund needs about 34 calories per pound of bodyweight while the Great Dane needs less than 23. Large dogs simply have slower metabolisms so while their daily calorie goals may be higher, you still need to be careful of overfeeding.

In addition to knowing that your Great Dane’s calorie needs per pound of bodyweight are a little lower than for smaller breeds, you should also be mindful of the fact that these dogs reach their full size much later than small dogs.

While a small dog might reach his adult size between 10 and 12 months of age, Great Danes often take two years or more to reach maturity. During this time, it is important that your dog gets plenty of protein to support his growth and development, but without too many extra calories that cause him to grow too quickly.

Growing too fast is dangerous for large-breed puppies because it can put extra strain on their developing bones and joints, predisposing them to musculoskeletal issues in adulthood.

A large-breed puppy formula is recommended for this breed because these recipes are typically rich in protein but moderate in fat to control the calorie count. Feed your dog a large-breed puppy formula until he reaches about 80% of his maximum size then switch to a large-breed adult recipe from then on.

In addition to controlling your Great Dane’s or Great Dane Mix intake of fat and calories, there are some other nutritional considerations you may need to make based on the health conditions to which the breed is prone.

The average lifespan for the Great Dane is only 7 to 10 years, largely because this breed is affected by some serious health problems that can limit his life expectancy.

These dogs are highly prone to cardiomyopathy, for example, which can cause the dog’s heart to grow too large as well as gastric torsion, or bloat, which can cause the stomach to twist, cutting off blood flow to the rest of the body.

These dogs are also highly prone to musculoskeletal issues like hip dysplasia, so choose a dog food that contains supplemental glucosamine and chondroitin for joint support.

In general, your Great Dane should be eating a high-quality diet that is rich in animal protein and limited in both fats and carbohydrates with just enough fiber to support healthy digestion.