Getting a Great Dane tomorrow...

[MTG#10]

I haven't had a big dog in about a decade. Anyone here have any experience with Great Danes? I've read they dont typically live as long as other breeds and vet bills can get ridiculous but I've wanted one since I was a little kid.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by BWillie

You planning to bring the dog with you when you go on vacation? Hope you have a sitter - for a dog.

Hell, I'd hire an illegal just to come over every day a pick up the turds.

[Bob Dole]

Originally Posted by MTG#10

I haven't had a big dog in about a decade. Anyone here have any experience with Great Danes? I've read they dont typically live as long as other breeds and vet bills can get ridiculous but I've wanted one since I was a little kid.

Make the most of your 8 years together. I've lost 2 dogs in the past year, and it sucks.

[Hoover]

I love my Great Dane! Pulls like a dream

[Abba-Dabba]

Congrats. I see someone needing a 8ft fence in the near future.

[frozenchief]

Good friends have had a great dane for several years. It's their second.

Friendly
Good with kids
Drooly
they can get in the way
They have more energy than you'd think
not terribly bright
very loyal

Great Dane stories:

friends were hiking/camping in Alaska. They're off the road system. So one of them heads way into the bushes to do their business before going to sleep. A bit later, the dog comes in the tent and lies down. As she does, there is a horrible smell. Turns out the dog sought out where they did their business (some distance from camp), rolled in it and then came into the tent. Took a while to clean that up.

Once while hiking, friend saw something from the dog's butt. Turns out to be a string. She grabs the string and it is attached to ... a used tampon the dog had eaten.

Several socks went missing. Friend couldn't find them and figured laundry just ate them. Until dog is really having issues pooping. Turns out dog ate the socks.

Eating dinner one night, the doorbell rings. Friend gets up to get it and dog just grabs food off her plate since the dog's head is above the table.

On the other hand, we had a mastiff and found our mastiff was more mellow and a bit smarter than the Great Dane. No drooling. No rolling in shit. No eating weird things. Our mastiff would stay nearby when we went hiking and camping, which was a good bear alert. We never had bear issues but he would chase after moose, until one kicked him. He limped for a few days and I have no idea how that didn't kill him other than he was just a large, solid dog - about 120 lbs.

Our mastiff was really mellow around other dogs (Great Dane wasn't always but was friends with our mastiff). One day our Mastiff was on the front porch and my daughter starts walking to a friend's house. Neighbor's pit bull* comes out into the street and almost knocks over my daughter. He's about 2 feet in front, barking, growling and snarling. That mastiff, who was generally extremely mellow, just flew down the driveway and got between Olivia and that pit bull. It was one of a handful of times he ever barked and about the only time he barked in anger and he transformed from this mellow, faithful pet into the Hound of the Baskervilles. You could feel his bark.

Different strokes for different folks but for my money, I'd get a mastiff. They are a lot more gentle than they might appear and they are really loyal. The French mastiffs drool so I think our next one will be an English mastiff but I loved that mastiff.

* I've seen really well-behaved pit bulls. I firmly believe it's an owner issue and the 20 year old who owned this pit bull did not neuter it and did nothing to curb any aggression.

[Yosef_Malkovitch]

Originally Posted by dwwataz

Ah yes, because of their height I do believe they are more susceptible to bloat. If you're unfamiliar with the term I'd advise looking it up. Hips/joints also can be an issue, as can be the case with any large breed. This can actually be somewhat curbed by adding glucosamine and chondroitin supplements (if you're interested I can snap a pic of the treats I feed my 8 year old presa who was born with horrible hips) and later in life arthritis medications.

Oh, yes. You will definitely want to have a gastropexy done. If you do it at the same time as the spay/neuter, you can save a little bit. Ours cost $1200, so get ready for that.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Aren't Great Danes prone to carrying vaginal warts virus?

[Why Not?]

Be prepared to be called a butt ****ing moron a lot.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by MahiMike

Actually I did some research when I was in an apartment. Great Danes and Mastiffs are surprisingly good dogs for apartments.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by kstater

I’ve got a female. The dumbest dog by far I’ve ever known. Sweet. But ****ing stupid


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[Warpaint69]

I’d rather have an English Bulldog.

[ForeverChiefs58]

Originally Posted by dwwataz

A few friends of mine have had them. I was also a vet tech from 19-24, so I encountered a fair number of them. Sweethearts but the dumbest ****ing dogs I've ever known. Unfortunately, as pointed out, they aren't very long lived. They're actually somewhat prone to blindness and deafness, though that's usually seen in the white colored pups. Very active as a puppy, as is any puppy... But relatively calm and very sweet once mature.

I've had a couple presa canarios (female is 8 now) and the vet, food, and maintenance can be pretty steep. Your dog will be several inches and dozens of pounds larger than my guys (94 F and 128 M) so expect even more. While growing my pups went through 5-7 cups of food per day EACH. That tapered off to 3-4 once they hit ~2. I love Danes but, like boxers and dobies, the lifespan is what scared me off. Best of luck!

This isn’t quite right. I’ve bred and trained Great Danes for years. I breed and train Blue Great Danes now. I have never encountered a dumb Great Dane. There might be plenty out there, but all that I have bred or interacted with are very smart.

It is true they are a very, very loving and loyal dog. I think that makes them much easier to train, because they really want so bad to make you happy.

I’ve also trained yellow labs and find many similarities between the two in training because of some of those same traits.

Very true that they also don’t know they are that big and instinctively will sit on a couch or your lap.

They can get hit by cars easier. Like a deer, sometimes if they are in a street, they might stop and look at a car.

Their stomachs can flip with large chest cavity, but just as seen in the movie “Marley and Me”, it happens in other breeds as well.

My vet bill for my Danes isn’t any more than the vet bills for my Labrador. I take them in at the same time, and they get the same shots.

They usually live around 10-15 years. In their later years, some can develop hip or bone problems, not untypical in such a larger dog, but a lot of that can be passed on through breeding. So, always check the dogs history, and make sure parents and grandparents on both sides are good.

I used to breed Harlequins 25 years ago. Harlequins are white with black spots.

If a Harlequin is born and doesn’t have a black spot anywhere on its head, then it will be blind and deaf. Those are usually put down at birth. I kept one once that had a spot on its neck. It ended up still being blind and deaf, but was very, very smart and I surprisingly was still able to find it a good home.

It is why Dalmatians are fire truck dogs. The siren doesn’t hurt their ears like other dogs.

Hope this help

[RockChalk]

Mine just passed away in April, after 7 good years. She was in good physical shape, but got sick very suddenly and that was it. She died in my arms at home, so it went as pleasantly as something like that can go.

An earlier post suggested they are big couch potatoes and he is correct. Very gentle, loving dogs. Would do anything for their owner. Mine was very well behaved except for her last six months, which looking back, was probably around the same time she became ill.

Although they are very docile, they are also very strong and can pretty much destroy anything in your house. Metal is NO problem to chew to pieces for them. She hated her kennel and destroyed (bent the metal beyond repair) her extra-large $200 cages.

Very excellent with other dogs though and loved exercise. I never found vet bills to be excessive, but you will go through a ton of money in food, which you're already aware of. If you are worried about experience any type of stomach bloat, just go ahead and get his/her stomach stapled. It will eliminate that concern. I didn't have it done for Riley and she never had any problems, but it is a fairly common problem for Danes.

At any rate, welcome to owning a 120-200lb dog that believes they only weigh 10lbs.

[Graystoke]

Very short lifespan but great dogs.
Plus if you train them right they are big enough to turn on and off the kitchen water to get a drink. My friends Dane was would turn on the water to get a sip, but would always forget to turn it off. They would come home to flooded kitchens frequently till they locked it out when they would leave for the day.

[Naptown Chief]

Originally Posted by ForeverChiefs58

This isn’t quite right. I’ve bred and trained Great Danes for years. I breed and train Blue Great Danes now. I have never encountered a dumb Great Dane. There might be plenty out there, but all that I have bred or interacted with are very smart.

It is true they are a very, very loving and loyal dog. I think that makes them much easier to train, because they really want so bad to make you happy.

I’ve also trained yellow labs and find many similarities between the two in training because of some of those same traits.

Very true that they also don’t know they are that big and instinctively will sit on a couch or your lap.

They can get hit by cars easier. Like a deer, sometimes if they are in a street, they might stop and look at a car.

Their stomachs can flip with large chest cavity, but just as seen in the movie “Marley and Me”, it happens in other breeds as well.

My vet bill for my Danes isn’t any more than the vet bills for my Labrador. I take them in at the same time, and they get the same shots.

They usually live around 10-15 years. In their later years, some can develop hip or bone problems, not untypical in such a larger dog, but a lot of that can be passed on through breeding. So, always check the dogs history, and make sure parents and grandparents on both sides are good.

I used to breed Harlequins 25 years ago. Harlequins are white with black spots.

If a Harlequin is born and doesn’t have a black spot anywhere on its head, then it will be blind and deaf. Those are usually put down at birth. I kept one once that had a spot on its neck. It ended up still being blind and deaf, but was very, very smart and I surprisingly was still able to find it a good home.

It is why Dalmatians are fire truck dogs. The siren doesn’t hurt their ears like other dogs.

Hope this help

My bad. I knew Danes were susceptible to blindness/deafness and thought it was the white gene like in some other breeds. Didn't realize it was the harlequins, which is a STUNNING color on them.