Great Danes

Raw Feeding for Great Danes: Providing High Quality Nutrition for Large Breeds

Great Dane in the snow sitting under a fallen tree, looking at the camera.

Feeding your Great Dane isn't just about filling up their bowl, it's a crucial aspect of their overall health and well-being. Whether you're a new dog owner or a seasoned pro, trying a raw diet like Huntaway can make all the difference in ensuring a long and happy life for your pup. 

Known as the gentle giants of the dog world, Great Danes are described as friendly, patient and dependable, Great Danes are one of the biggest dog breeds. They range from 110-175 pounds.

Due to their size, proper nutrition for Great Danes is important for optimal growth and development. One of the best ways to make sure a growing dog has all of the nutrition they need is through a raw diet. Huntaway raw dog food provides an excellent calcium to phosphorus ratio, which is key for strong bones. Calcium and phosphorus are both important nutrients for bone health on their own, but the ratio that your dog consumes is of equal importance. Too much calcium can throw phosphorus levels off balance, and vice versa.

Huntaway contains ingredients like blueberries and Swiss chard, which help provide antioxidants. Antioxidants are important for your dog, as they help manage oxidative stress in the body and lower inflammation. 

Great Dane under a Christmas tree with gifts including Huntaway wild venison jerky treats and goat and venison chews and treats.

Why Huntaway is a Great Choice for your Great Dane

Wholesome Ingredients

Our wild venison recipe consists of a biologically appropriate balance of venison meat, offal, and bone. The recipe also includes nutritious fruits and vegetables like Swiss chard, kelp, and blueberries. You can read more about our ingredients.

Additionally, venison is a novel and hypoallergenic protein. A novel protein is a variety of protein that has not dominated our food system for a long time (like beef, pork, chicken and turkey). Given that it is "novel" to your dog, their immune systems are less likely to react with allergy symptoms. 

Huntaway raw dog food contains no grain, soy, wheat, corn, GMO’s, hormones or antibiotics.

Easy Portioning

Our raw dog food is simple to handle, coming in 3 oz cubes. They are easily stored in your freezer and fridge, making portioning and feeding a breeze. We also have an option for subscriptions, which allow you to receive food every 1-8 weeks. This gives you the peace of mind that you’ll never run out.

Earth Friendly

The Red Deer in our wild venison recipe are an invasive species in New Zealand. They disrupt the local environment and farm land, and currently do not have any natural predators, resulting in the population growing rapidly. By mindfully harvesting this species, and making sure no part of the animal goes to waste, there is a reduced amount of stress on the surrounding ecosystem. You can read more about our sustainable practices.

Great Dane walking in a field by the ocean.

Switching to Raw Venison for your Great Dane 

Whether you want to add Huntaway as a topper or switch your dog over completely, we recommend introducing our wild venison recipe over the course of four weeks. To figure out how much to feed your dog, use our calculator, or you can calculate 2-3% of your dog’s body weight, which is the general recommendation for how much to feed. Please note that this is a starting point, and should be adjusted based on activity level.

To serve, put portions in the refrigerator to thaw for 12 hours. As with all raw meat, handle with care, keep Huntaway separate from your other food, and make sure to wash surfaces and bowls thoroughly with soap and warm water after your dog is finished eating! Any food your pup hasn’t finished within 30 minutes should be discarded.

Voice of the Customer

One of our customers who has Great Danes, shared her experience with raw food. "I have raised all of my Great Danes on raw food for the wonderful health benefits. Danes often have sensitive stomachs and on kibble, they can have softer poop and easily experience stomach upset. With a fresh diet, my dogs have always had stronger, healthier guts and well-formed poo. They also have far less waste on raw compared to kibble. I also prefer raw because bloat/stomach torsion can be a common breed issue and I notice that with raw food, my dogs have far less gas build up. In addition to having beautiful coat health, they also tend to stay a bit more fit and lean compared to kibble-raised Danes, which is important because it helps keep any unnecessary weight off of their joints. The health benefits really speak for themselves when it comes to raising a giant breed on raw food!"

Great Dane with a bag of Huntaway wild venison jerky treat.

If you're thinking about introducing Huntaway to your Great Dane, scroll down to purchase or email us at hello@huntaway.pet with any questions.

The adventure starts here!

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