GreatDanes Online

Shadow · Site Admin Joined: 15 Nov 2007 Posts: 26

THINGS I LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE WHO HAVE 'NEVER' OWNED A GREAT DANE!

Great Danes grow extremely fast. They are very active dogs that need a lot of love, patience and supervision. They make great companions for any household, but should be crate trained when left alone. Small dogs can chew on a shoe or a table leg, a larger dog can cause more destruction; therefore should always be supervised. They are, afterall, still learning as puppies and have short attention spans and get bored very easily until they are over a year old. And Danes can be puppies for a year or two.

They eat a lot more than small dogs, of course. They require to be fed a good quality food, not just junk food. They need low protien foods. Iams Lamb and Rice is great food for them to eat, or Science Diet or Diamond both "Lamb and Rice" (lowest protien). I have found that DIAMOND 'Maintenance' is also just 21% and larger chucks so they do not have to eat as much! Better deal! I switched them at 12 weeks. It is comparable with 'same' ingredients but half the price! I have used it for 10 years on my growing puppies (of other breeds) and adult Danes as well as my Sharpai and many more pet breeds.

Great Dane puppies will average gaining up to, or more than, 5 lbs. a week for the first several months. As puppies, feed as much as they will eat until they level off and you know how much they need. (This is NOT the recommended amount on the bag!) As an adlut, they can eat 10-12 cups a day to maintain a good body weight. (maybe less in hot weather). If the adult dog is skinny, take them to the vet for a check up for worms, worm h/she and increase their food until they gain the proper amount. Feed more in the winter, IF it is an outside dog and make sure they have a warm soft place to sleep. They do not do well as long haired dogs in unprotected elements. They also do not do extremely well in the extreme heat either. Make sure they have fresh cool water.

Their food and water should be 'up' off of the floor as they get taller,to help prevent the bloat and that can be an expensive surgery (see link below on Bloat). You can buy or build the food/water stands, use metal bowls or buckets. Most pet stores have these available. A new study on Bloat stating the the dogs that did 'not' get bloat were the ones who ate at a lower level. Read the review and make your own decisions.

They need constant love and supervision until a year or more. A dane puppy can destroy an entire household of furniture if left alone too long. They can suffer seperation anxiety. They are enormous chewers and require really tough toys and bones to chew on.

Purchase a great dane size crate to start with, they grow extremely fast. The collapsible ones are the best, heavy gauge wire. Start them off being taught to go into the crate and stay at an early age so they do not bark all the time to get out.

It is wise to take them to Obedience Training classes when they are young. It helps them a lot. And LEASH train them! Do not wait until they are 90 lbs and want to pull and run wide open!! By this time it will be hard to teach them at all.

They are runners and are really fast! Mine would be hard to catch IF they decided to go on a neighborhood prowl. They need to be boundary trained to your yard and know their limits. Mine are really good to cut around the corners and come back. Since they will probably spend a lot of time outside, make sure they know the boundries.

They also love to dig holes! Don't lose your temper with the pup over this, it is just part of being a large breed that gets bored easily, I think. Be prepared to fill in holes, if h/she stays outside for an extended period if they stay in a lot for any extended period of time, they get really bored when they cannot run lose and play. Make sure to get them out for exercise often.

They are protective dogs, very family orientated. Not really agressive dogs, but protective and will probably stay close to you most of the time. They like to try climbing in your lap even as full grown dogs. They generally get along well with other types of dogs and cats if they are introduced to them at an early age.

They are very loyal to their families, which makes it very stressful for them to be given away or sold to someone else during their lifetime. My female gets really anxious when I go outside without her or go in the car without her, which I have to very often and leave her home in the crate. And when I get back she is so upset. If you start them out when you are home for along time, then take a job or something keeps you outta the house for a period of time each day, as I did, it is really hard on the dog. They don't understand what is going on.