Great Dane

[michelle]

The breed of dog, that is.

Anybody have any experience with this type of dog? I know there are a lot of "dog guys" on this forum.

Thanks in advanced!

[RanJer]

Why would you want a dog that's taller than Adam?

BTW - I do not have a Great Dane, had a friend that did, but that's as close as I get.

[d0nut]

My aunt and uncle always had them when I was growing up and they were very even tempered. Great with the cousins (all 8 of them 1 year apart from each other). They do take up some space and get a lot of attention when being walked.



The breed of dog, that is.

Anybody have any experience with this type of dog? I know there are a lot of "dog guys" on this forum.

Thanks in advanced!

[Holeshot]

We had one when I was a kid. They are laid back even tempered. But ours was a Slobber Chops. That Fooking dog would stand over my bed in the morning and slobber all over me.

[Car Guy]

If there's ONE thing I can't stand it's dogs that drool all over the place......:puke

[00FlowCamaro]

Great dogs man. Have one and its the nicest dog one could ever own

[PureSound15]

Neighbor has one - gets along great with my lab. Every one I've met was very relaxed and a "go with the flow" kind of personality.

[Voodoo Chick]

If there's ONE thing I can't stand it's dogs that drool all over the place......:puke


X's 2..........I CANNOT handle that, it WILL make me barf.

[fivonut]

Be careful. Danes are typically very gentle giants but if mistreated when young can be very dangerous. My mom had to have hers put down after she nearly tore my brother's arm off.

[CobaltSSTuner]

they are huge lazy dogs.

I'm scared of them because if they decide to get pissed, thats one big dog to stop.

[00FlowCamaro]

Be careful. Danes are typically very gentle giants but if mistreated when young can be very dangerous. My mom had to have hers put down after she nearly tore my brother's arm off.

People who mistreat dogs should not own them anyway. Ours has never attempted to harm a single person and its a pure bred, 150lb female.

[michelle]

The Dane I am looking at on Friday is already trained (house broken, crate trained, and great with two young children, familiar around cats). The owner has him trained to even wait before going down the stairs so that her kids make it all the way down first so he doesn't accidentally push them over - that's smart thinking! Plus she is very familiar about the breed, which is a big plus.

I was also looking at greyhounds (specifically retired ones from the track), but the natural instinct and training to chase after fake furry animals has me nervous if my ferrets are running around (they run around in their room, but just in case they manage to find their way out of their cage when their room is open).

I've always wanted a Great Dane, so we'll see. Timing isn't ideal, but I have a weakness when it comes to adding to my zoo. :goof

[Holeshot]

Michelle When do we start building the farm barn and stables ?

[Prince Valiant]

I love Dane's. They are gentle giants, very affectionate, and willing to please so reasonably trainable. Once they get through the puppy stage (which will vary based on the individual dog), they're just huge throw pillows. Very sweet, and if exposed to them and taught how to be gentle, very good with kids. Surprisingly athletic if you ever see one at a full gallop. Doesn't even have to be an aggressive dog to be a great guard dog...their size alone would intimidate most.

I prefer Dane's with uncropped ears, ie, naturally droopy ears.

Definitely plan to expose them to people, kids, dogs, and all sorts of noises early and often...some Dane's develop "shy sharpness" which makes them fear biters; this generally results from lack of socialization and raising them in a fashion that rewards the dog's anxiety (IE, consoling them when they tremble due to a loud noise like thunder/etc).

The only downside of the breed is that they're short lived...perhaps the shortest lived breed. Life expectancy of only 6 years or so...and for every GD that made it to 9, there's a few that only made it to 4. Gastric Torsion is a big problem for these guys, as well as joint problems. If you get one, make sure to feed it smaller meas 2-3x day, and elevate the food bowl. Also, no heavy, long walking until they are about 2 y/o or so as that around when they fully develop skeletally. If you want a long lived dane, don't pick the biggest male, and generally keep it a little underweight...this will give them the longest life expectancy.

[Brian98GTP]

They shit a lot.

[lordairgtar]

(house broken, crate trained, and great with two young children, familiar around cats).
Crate trained???!!! I wanna see that crate. You'll need one of those tool sheds the hardware store sells as its crate.:rolf

[HITMAN]

The only downside of the breed is that they're short lived...perhaps the shortest lived breed. Life expectancy of only 6 years or so...and for every GD that made it to 9, there's a few that only made it to 4. Gastric Torsion is a big problem for these guys, as well as joint problems. If you get one, make sure to feed it smaller meas 2-3x day, and elevate the food bowl. Also, no heavy, long walking until they are about 2 y/o or so as that around when they fully develop skeletally. If you want a long lived dane, don't pick the biggest male, and generally keep it a little underweight...this will give them the longest life expectancy.

Great gentle giants. A beautiful dog indeed. I love the breed but will never own one due to the short life expectancy. Imagine losing a child every 6 to 8 years. No fucking way...:(

[awsomeears]

You guys are correct, 6-8 years is so so short. Hitman you hit it on the head, imagine loosing a dog every 6-8 years and the % out there is pretty on spot.

If you want one hell of a emotional roller coaster don't get one Michelle.

[Voodoo Chick]

It would be way too heartbreaking. I have a cat that's 16 right now....I know her time is winding down. I don't even want to think about it.

[DynoTom]

I have one now and have had 2 others in the past.....NOT ALL Great Danes drool , it depends on where the glands are located , out of my 3 danes only 1 had a slight wet mouth issue but , it was not bad at all....

They are a AWESOME dog but , it is sorta a "heartbreak breed " as they don't live very long.....My first 2 danes only lived 6 1/2 years.....Shelby my current Merle dane will be 5 in may and seems to be doing much better than my other danes were when they were 5......


They are very protective of their owners and make great watchdogs !


I have thoughts about getting a dane puppy pretty soon , it works out good to have a adult dog help train the puppy.


Even though danes dont live long I just can't bring myself to change breeds , I just love the dane breed so much !

[DynoTom]

Great gentle giants. A beautiful dog indeed. I love the breed but will never own one due to the short life expectancy. Imagine losing a child every 6 to 8 years. No fucking way...:(


You are right HITMAN , It is VERY HARD but , the good times they give you in those years make me keep on doing it.....

[HITMAN]

I love big breeds, and I love pure breds. But 6 years? You must be a glutton for pain...

I will stick with the Doberman Pinscher. I had two, a male and a female. The male lived to be 10.5 was active and awesome until he developed a cough one day that turned out to be congestive hear failure. Stupid vet misdiagnosed him with bronchitis or he probably would have lived another year.:fire Poor dog drowned in his own lung fluids... :( My female live to be 13. She was prone to fatty cysts just under the skin. She had a few big ones and we decided to have them removed. Nothing cancerous, they just looked kinda gross. We should have left her alone. 13 and general anesthesia just don't mix. She lived about 5 more days. She never properly recovered from the surgery. Too much for her old system. :(

Gee, what a great stroll down memory lane. I think I will go find some alcohol now...

[VroomPshhTsi]

Ron Dayne use to play for the Badgers, Heisman!!

But seriously Great Danes rule... never owned one but I'm a sucker for huge dogs.

[Voodoo Chick]

We had a Border Collie when I was little, she lived to be 16! She was also crazy, and an awesome dog......If I could have a dog....I'd definately want another Border Collie.

[Larrygto]

You'll need a big vehicle. I have a 210lb English Mastiff and we had to take him in to consideration when looking for new transportation.

[michelle]

We'll always have a tow vehicle of some sort, so the party van works well (especially with seats and rear bench removed). Plus I do have a Taurus or two. :goof

[RanJer]

Why would you need a big vehicle to transport it? Couldn't you just throw a saddle on it?

[limpimpg]

only thing with greyhounds from the track my buddy had four if they take off have fun catching them. he had problem with getting loose. so he kept them in the house.most of the time.not saying they are bad dog just those are made to run. and you don't know what they injected into them don't say it doesn't happen theres money in it.

[flyin_blue_egg]

the guy i work with has 2 of them, a male that's 200lbs and a female thats 150lbs. he always told me that if you ever get a dog that big to go out a buy a couch for them. Otherwise they will just take over your couch and being how big they are you won't be able to sit on it. He did say that he gives his male 2-4 cups of food twice a day and the female 1-2 twice a day

[00FlowCamaro]

the guy i work with has 2 of them, a male that's 200lbs and a female thats 150lbs. he always told me that if you ever get a dog that big to go out a buy a couch for them. Otherwise they will just take over your couch and being how big they are you won't be able to sit on it. He did say that he gives his male 2-4 cups of food twice a day and the female 1-2 twice a day

My dad gave up and bought our great dane, Dana, a futon haha.

[DynoTom]

My dad gave up and bought our great dane, Dana, a futon haha.

Wow ! I had a great dane named Dana too !


My first was DANA , my second one was HOLLEY and my current one is SHELBY.....Can you see the trend in the names I picked????;);)

[CAMAROJV123]

i had two of them, they can be great as long as you have enough house space lollll

[pOrk]

Anyone have photos of their Danes?

[DynoTom]

Anyone have photos of their Danes?


Here ya go Pork , this is Shelby my female great dane , she is almost 5 years old and is a Merle color......She loves to ride in my car !:goof



http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e93/DynoTom/IMG_5047.jpg

[easytoremember]

i sat nex to one on a plane.... in all seriousness it was a flight from MKE to LAS (milwaukee to las vegas) it was a lot better sititng next to him than a fat guy.

[michelle]

Anyone have photos of their Danes?

The one in particular I am looking at (and most likely adopting after we get settled in).

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g244/reupertm/mack1.jpg

And playing with the owner's kids.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g244/reupertm/mack2.jpg

[agent orange acr]

our neighbor has one, she always gets lose. You will tell her to go home she'll just look at you and bark at you. Great looking dog and great personallity.