Average feeding costs for Great Dane and/or English Mastiffs

[Morbid Visions]

Hello there, I have been looking into adding another dog into my home for at least 6 months now, I was looking prior to that, but after my chihuahua passed I stopped. I must have done at least some reading on every pure bred dog 60 pounds and up at least twice, and I have found that a Great Dane or English Mastiff would best suit my home.
I do have some experience with large breeds, and I do plan to do obedience training as well. (Just in case anyone asks)

Pretty much I'm curious what the average feeding costs for an English Mastiff and a Great Dane would be, from what I understand Great Danes do not require as much food as English Mastiffs, the food I currently feed my chihuahuas is Orijen, most of the pages I've found on feeding are for foods like Iams, Pedigree and Eukanuba, which I refuse to feed my dogs, with the food my dogs are on, they do not require as much food as they would with Iams, they generally eat about half to a third of the recommended. For a 15 pound bag it costs around $65-80, it varies from the types. I'm looking for the average price or amount of food for an active adult, not for a puppy. If you do not know an approximate price, then just the amount of food you give your dog a day or week. Just to add, the price for the food is not a deciding factor, if need be, I don't mind spending $200 on food every month, I just want to get all the facts before I buy.

Thanks.

 

[*blackrose]

Hmmmmm....well, it really all depends.

I worked in dog boarding, and most of the giant breed dogs ate around 6 cups of food a day. One poor Great Dane had a health issue and he was eating 10-12 cups + two cans of food daily.

My 85 pound Chesapeake eats 4 cups of food a day of a 409kcal/cup food, plus treats/table scraps. He is kept lean. A 33 pound bag lasts him about 6 weeks. So I'd imagine a 30-35 pound bag would last a dog eating 6 cups a day...3-4weeks?

Then it depends on the individual dog and what their metabolism is...my 30 pound dog eats as much food as my mom's 50 pound dog, and the 30 pound dog is lean and the 50 pound dog is fat.

It's been my experience that English Mastiffs actually require less food to keep then fit and healthy than a Great Dane. I don't think I ever saw an obese Dane, but I saw plenty if obese Mastiffs because people thought they needed to feed them a ton and also though having an almost 200 pound dog was "awesome", when in reality the dog should have been 125lbs.

 

[Greenmagick]

I have to go look to be sure but I think many danes that I know of on orijen eat 4-6c a day. It varies very widely though for sure and some can be hard keepers. I know of some that eat under that and some that need almost double the range (talking about quality kibbles too, not ones with lots of filler). I feed raw so cant really compare but I spend about 150 a month for both of my danes.

 

[ruffiangirl]

Gage is a mastiff rotty mix and he went through a big bag of acana (Orijen made him sick) every 2-2.5 weeks. He got 4-5 cups a day to maintain 170lbs, so roughly 120-150 a month.

Now he eats raw he gets 3lbs a day, so now it's 150-200 a months, depends on what novel proteins I'm adding.

 

[HayleyMarie]

I have a one year old boerboel mastiff who is 13 months old. We go through a bag of pulser every two weeks. He eats 6 cups of kibble a day. The cost of a bag is 45.00

 

[Romy]

It varies a lot based on age and metabolism, even after they aren't puppies anymore.

My 90 lb. male borzoi has been on Taste of the Wild most of his life, and this is how it has gone for him:

6 - 12 months: 10-12 cups a day
12 - 16 months: 6-10 cups a day
16 months - 2 years: 6 cups a day
2 - 4 years: 4.5 cups a day
4 - 7 years: 2 cups a day.

If I feed him more than 2 cups a day now he will get horribly overweight.

 

[Morbid Visions]

Thank you guys for your replies, it gives me a good idea on the costs and amounts. All very helpful, I do plan to see a nutritionist every so often to ensure I'm not over or underfeeding. Since sometimes I get paranoid or worried that I'm not doing something right. And I definitely don't want an obese dog, in fact, I'm trying my best to really look into different breeders and make sure the dogs have been genetically health tested and all come from healthy lines, surprisingly I've found a lot of breeders are more interested in telling you about the show quality/"champion lines" of the dogs than the health of them. Which I understand I guess if people are buying to show them, but the majority have neutering/spaying and pet only contracts. I know the dogs I have chosen don't have the longest lifespans, but I'd like to do my best to ensure they'll live as long as possible.

 

[Sparrow]

Zoe is 84 pounds (nice and lean) and is on Canine Caviar (Lamb/Millet.) She gets 3 1-cup meals per day, and a 27lb bag lasts I think about 5 weeks (they keep making the bags smaller, so I'm not 100% sure about that anymore.) The bags are $67, but being in Alaska, I am sure I pay a higher price than people in other locations. She is also older and not as active as she used to be.

 

[shadowfacedanes]

My last dane was an unaltered female. She was a lean 155-160 lbs most of her adult life. She at 2 cups in the morning and 2 at night when she ate kibble. When she ate raw, she actually had to eat about twice of what it is generally recommended for her age/weight in order to maintain. She was a fickle dog when it came to finding perfect harmony between her and her dietary needs.

Puppy danes are typically what break you when it comes to feeding costs. My first dane ate 40 lbs every 5 days, and he was very lean. BUT, that was twenty years ago and the most recommended food back then was Iams, so, he probably wouldn't have needed that much of a good kibble. Once they reach maturity, they tend to slow down quite a bit on consumption.

Also, I know you didn't ask, but if you're considering a breed prone to GVD (bloat/torsion), you will want to sock away a nice emergency fund or have a credit card ready in the event it happens. I always like to warn potential owners of this because:
1) It almost always seems to happen when you least expect it / are least prepared for it
2) It never seems to happen during regular vet hours and E-vets are twice (if not more) expensive
3) Your dog will die without treatment
4) Most E-vets won't even begin to treat the dog without a large deposit up front (I had to pull $1,500 out of my ass within seconds, because seconds count when dealing with GVD, before they would so much as start an IV or do an X-ray, or anything)
5) It's obscenely expensive..did I mention that yet?

If you decide to get a dane, stick around and post lots of pictures. This is the first time in 20 years I've been without one. I lost my last dane almost a year ago and I just needed a heartache break from them. I can feel the itch starting up again though. They are a hard habit to break!

 

[JacksonsMom]

Holy cow. :yikes: I love giant breeds but the amounts of foods are so crazy LOL... well, I knew they would be. It's just so funny to me, I'm used to feeding my 17lb dog about 1/2 cup a day. A 5-6lb bag of food will last us over a month, since I also mix in wet food lol.

 

[LMost]

hmmmmmmmmmm

Not sure why this aint posted before but last try.

Depend on the EM/EM pup.

At 6 months around 6 cups, 9 months to 18 months 6 to 9 cups. (dry food)
English Mastiffs vary greatly as the mature at greatly different rates per bloodlines. So reach 90% of the adult weight by 1 year and some reach 90% of there adult weight by 2 years. Full maturity is generally between 2.5 and 3 years, tho some lines take up to 3.5 years.

Best way to judge is 2 to 3 ribs easy felt with apply little or no pressure.

Stay away from chicken based foods as 75% of EM have allergies to processed chicken. Also they need grain free.
Most decent brands are 60 to 80 dollars for a 40lb bag.
When looking at food you should look for calcium and phosphorus ratio of 1:1.4 or lower for english mastiffs.

The standard for English Mastiff males is 160 to 220lbs so any EM that needs to be at 125lbs to be fit is either from a BYB/very poor bloodlines/ or way out of standard.

This years top EM at WM was around 230lbs and you could clearly see 3 ribs outlined. Comparing builds between a Great Danes and a English Mastiff is like comparing a Greyhound to a Basset Hound.

If you decide to get a pup, make sure to visit both parents, and view the breeds home and where they are raised, pups should never go to there forever home till 8 weeks some keep as long as 12, most 10.
Health testing is also very important, trust me the are prone to hip, elbow and eye issues. You may spend 1500 to 2500 for a parent tested pup, but it can save you 10 times that in vet bills.

If your rescuing research and research there are many issues you can tell by glance. Also if you rescue please remember it can take them 8 to 12 months to fully trust you.

Been around or owned English Mastiffs, proper name Mastiff, for around 25 years.

Best wishes, once you have a Mastiff in your life, you will always want one in it.