In April of 1996, I purchased my first Great Dane and my first "show dog."  Shades of Grey was a lively little "blue streak" in the house.  At three months old she weighed a very healthy twenty-five pounds."

Between four and five months of age she began to loose her baby teeth along with her appetite.  Her roly-poly body began to look lanky and thin.  I wasn't overly concerned as most puppies stop eating during this time.

A month later her appetite still hadn't returned.  She was barely eating 3 cups of dog food a day, instead of the 6 cup minimum.  Against my better judgment I took her to her first puppy match where she went "Best of Breed" and fourth in group.  Directly after the show I talked to the judge about Shades thinness.  She just reassured me with a pat, saying, "Shades is a growing puppy; that is why she looks leggy and thin.  Just give her time to grow up."  So I continued to wait.

As the weeks slid by Shades continued to decline, preferring to sleep most of the day.  When she was awake she was sluggish and mopey.  I had already been to the Vet several times and had given up on their high paid advice regarding Shade's "fussy appetite."  She had become so thin I dubbed her "dane dental floss."

With five bags of food sitting in my garage untouched, I was at my wits end.  No amount of coaxing, or cajoling would work.  Shades hadn't eaten in four days, and I decided that after the Toledo show I would just pull her until I could figure out what to do.

After the show we went back to the table where Karen, and Dan, introduced Shades and I to Animal Food Services--a raw meat product specially designed to meet the needs of all carnivorous animals.  I took it home that night and began to feed it to her.

Immediately, I noticed her energy level increase.  She lost the mopey look too.  Her tail was up and wagging!

The next morning, Shades trotted down the stairs to the kitchen instead of staying in her bed.  I followed behind to see what she was up to.  She actually ran to her food bowl a starving beggar!  When I pulled the meat from the refrigerator her ears went straight up, and her tail started wagging.  She devoured two pounds of meat in less than five minutes, and rooted around her bowl looking for more.

Shades of Grey is my success story!  Her eyes are bright, her tail is wagging, and she is confident and alert.  Muscle has replaced the sink hole between her shoulder blades.  She feels good, and she looks good.  In January, she took her class after a former three in a row loosing streak.
She still has a long way to go, but I know that it won't be long before she will be taking "Best of Show."

I just wanted to thank you all at "Back to Basics" (KDR Distributing) and the "Animal Food Services" for being there for me and Shades of Grey.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Lutz -- Toledo, Ohio