I have two concerns with my Dane,Sampson. #1 is his right ear. It wants to lay straight across his head. He was never cropped, it just started to grow like that in the past two weeks (he's 41/2 months). Is this normal and will it eventually hang normal like his left ear?
#2 concern is his weight. He's 41/2 months old and ways about 45 lbs. His ribs are clearly seen, you can see the shape of his backbone and if you look down on him you can see where his sides slope in. My vet told me his growing well and it's OK that he is skinny. I know you are suppose to keep them lighter while they are growing for stronger bones in adulthood, but I think he looks sickly. I look at so many pictures of Danes on the web and the pups his age look so well defined, thickly built and muscular all over. Should I be feeeding him more, he gets 4 cups 2Xdaily. He seems to be starving all the time like he can't eat enough, but he doesn't seem to be filling out like I think he should. Is it possible that it's just his natural build or should I be feeding him alot more? His feedings seem to fill him, sometimes he doesn't even finish the whole bowl. But, maybe an hour later he acts like he is so hungry again. He has vet visits every month and between each visit he has gained 15 lbs., it seems like alot in 4 weeks time but, his body form doesn't seem to change just his height. On May 25th he is going in to be neutered do you think possibly he might fill out better after the procedure?
Thanks for taking the time to read this and helping me out with my questions. I like to get all the oppions I can. I can't wait to here from you.
Thanks Again, Gina

Hi,
As far as concern #1 goes, it should hang normally like his other ear, given enough time. He is still such a young pup and he has a lot of growing to do. I hope that you don't get his ears cropped; they are so cute with long floppy ears!

As far as concern #2 goes, I have seen a lot of Dane pups that look kinda skinny but they eventually fill out and become big beautiful animals. They grow very quickly and it seems that a lot of them just don't put on the muscle fast enough. A couple of things to think about however . . . Are you feeding him a premium quality diet? Has he been dewormed thoroughly? Is there any vomiting or diarrhea? Is he active and playful? You may want to feed him more frequently; 3 or 4 meals a day may be preferable if everything else seems to be fine.

Are you really feeding him 8 cups a day?? I hope that was a typo because that seems like a lot of food!

He will likely fill out after his neuter . . . but he will fill out anyway as he gets older.

Good luck. He's lucky to have such a caring owner.


drphilvegasvet