Great Dane Health Problems and Raising a Great Dane Puppy to be Healthy

How To Raise a Healthy Dog
Feeding the Best Dog Foods
Vaccinations: Needed or Not?
Spaying and Neutering: Pros and Cons

The most common health problems in Great Danes:

This gentle giant is prone to so many health problems it's hard to know where to begin. Here are the three health issues that are responsible for the most deaths in Great Danes:

• Bloat is the number one killer of Great Danes. In fact, of all breeds, the Great Dane is the most likely breed to develop this deadly gastrointestinal syndrome – 1 of every 2 Great Danes is expected to suffer bloat during its lifetime.
• Of all breeds, the Great Dane is the second most likely to develop a deadly heart disease called cardiomyopathy. Other life-threatening (or life-shortening) heart diseases in Danes include subaortic stenosis, valve diseases, patent ductus arteriosus, and others.
• The third deadly disease that claims the lives of many Great Danes is cancer, especially osteosarcoma (bone cancer).

As you might expect from looking at the big square head perched on the l-o-o-o-ng neck, and the heavy body supported by slender legs and knobby knees, orthopedic problems are common in Great Danes.

• Of all breeds, the Great Dane is the most likely to develop the serious neck vertebrae disease called Wobbler's syndrome.
• The Orthopedic Foundation of America evaluated the hip X-rays of over 9400 Great Danes and found that 12% had hip dysplasia.
• Other orthopedic diseases in Great Danes include elbow dysplasia, osteochondritis, hypertrophic osteodystrophy, luxating patella, and panosteitis.

The most serious eye disease in Great Danes is cataracts, which can appear before 2 years old and can result in blindness. Eyelid abnormalities (ectropion and entropion) and cherry eye are fairly common, and glaucoma and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) can also occur.

Hypothyroidism and Addison's disease, both of which are disorders of the hormonal/ endocrine system, are concerns in the breed. According to the Michigan State University Thyroid Database, up to 17% of Great Danes have low thyroid levels.

Skin diseases include allergies (which cause itchy skin), pyoderma (folliculitis and the more severe furunculosis), demodectic mange in Great Dane puppies, elbow hygroma, zinc-responsive dermatosis, lick granuloma, calcinosis, and in blue Danes, color dilution alopecia.

In addition to cancerous growths, non-tumorous skin growths occur regularly on Great Danes.

Other health issues in Great Danes include epilepsy, blood-clotting disease (von Willebrand's), megaesophagus, cystinuria, and in harlequin Danes, inherited deafness.

Can you prevent health problems from happening to YOUR Great Dane?

Yes, often you can.

1. Some health problems are genetic, which means inherited from parents. Genetic health issues are common in Great Danes today because of unwise breeding practices. My book, Dog Quest: Find The Dog Of Your Dreams, shows you how to find a Great Dane puppy who is genetically healthy.
2. Other health problems are environmental – caused by the way you raise your dog. My best-selling dog health book, 11 Things You Must Do Right To Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy shows you how to prevent environmental health problems by raising your Great Dane puppy (or adult dog) in all the right ways.

Here are my dog health tips for raising a healthy Great Dane puppy or adult dog:

How To Raise a Healthy Dog – My Philosophies
Read my advice on sensible feeding and health care so that your Great Dane lives a long, healthy life and seldom needs to see the vet. An excellent goal, yes?

The Best Dog Food For Feeding Your Great Dane
The best diet for feeding your Great Dane is real food. Real chicken, turkey, beef, bison, venison, fish....This is not "people food" and I'll tell you why.

The Second-Best Dog Food For Your Great Dane
If you can't (or won't) feed what your Great Dane really needs, the best I can do is to point out what to look for – and look out for – when choosing a brand of kibble or canned dog food.

Vaccinations and Booster Shots: Needed or Not?
How many vaccinations does your Great Dane puppy really need? Does your adult Great Dane need yearly booster shots? The vaccination guidelines have changed. Find out what many vets aren't telling you.

The Type of Veterinarian I Recommend
Does your veterinarian belong to the AVMA or the AHVMA? They're not the same at all, and which one you choose can make a world of difference to the future health of your Great Dane.

Spaying and Neutering: Pros and Cons
Advantages and disadvantages of spaying your female Great Dane or neutering your male.

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