Avoiding Health Problems in Great Danes
Great danes as well as other large dogs are susceptible to gastric torsion and bloat. This is a common known fact and an unfortunately high killer of large dogs. There is unfortunately little evidence of what causes these problems. People are quick to jump to single cause solutions because that is often easiest but it is not always that simple. Thought to be common causes include, running, running after eating, running before eating, eating to fast, eating while standing, eating without an upright dish, drinking water too fast, as well as others. They all sound like part of being a dog in my opinion and I have observed my great danes do all of the mentioned without any problems.
A more holistic approach is to realize that health problems are normally complex in nature and are caused by repetitive stress triggers that we inflict on our bodies, why would our dogs be different?
Consider that we feed our dogs dry processed food every day of their lives. What little additional nutrient they consume come in the form of stolen table scraps or grub swiped from the trash. Not usually the best place to come by nutritious food. Now consider what a large roll stress plays in the lives of people and how our health is affected by stress. I ask again are our dogs any different. Sure they may not seem stressed, but they may be. Dogs sometimes pee inside, loose hair, can’t sleep, won’t eat, etc. All symptoms of stress.
To speak of great danes specifically we are talking about a genetically pure breed which also ads additional possibility of health problems because of the likely hood of inner breeding or reinforcing negative genetic traits. This is the main reason for the problem in the first place. To avoid gastric torsion and bloat, it is important to feed your dog a proper diet, consider the raw BARF diet or simply add in additional nutrients at times in the form of vitamins and minerals at the very least. Always consider the stress level of your dog and take this into consideration. Make sure your dog is happy, dogs need love too and a little affection goes a long way to calm a dogs nerves. Make sure that you provide a comfortable home for your dog, where they can sleep soundly and get adequate relaxation. Keep your dog in shape, monitor the waist line and add exercise and subtract food as necessary to keep your dog healthy.
Our dogs bring us happiness and joy, lets treat them as well as we possibly can and give them the quality of life that they deserve.
