Ribs showing on my Male great dane

Question
We are breeding our female great Dane with another great Dane that belongs to a friend the Danes name is Riley. We met Riley about 10 days ago when we decided to breed him to our female Necy.  He has lost weight in these past 10 days, we think it might be because he misses his owner but some people say it's because Necy is in heat and he's always all over her.  Please help with my question i need to know if he's ok.  He also doesn't want to eat and his ribs are showing very bad.  Thank you Veronica

Answer
Sounds like a typical male and something you and the owner should have known about.  Suggest you get a book on danes and one on breeding dogs then you might make a success of your proposed litter.

Where is she going to be whelped?  Who is going to stay with her and the litter 24/7 for the first 16-18 days?  What diet will you give her during and after pregnancy.  What about weaning the pups and feeding after up to eight weeks when they leave the litter?

Why do you want to breed your bitch anyway.  It's the most dangerous thing you can subject her to.  There are more problems and deaths caused by pregnancies than any other single disease.


Ken