# Great Dane owners???



## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

I'm considering getting a Great Dane when we move. Do you have one? Would you recommend this breed? 

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

All I know is 1.They're SO awesome! and 2. You have to be somewhat educated on dog language and behavior and training. Great Danes are extremely large heavy dogs. In the wrong hands they can be quite terrifying! I seen aggressive GD on the Dog Whisperer. If you must get from a breeder (bc I advise you always check with shelters first) make sure you ask questions and be assured its a reputable breeder and not someone looking to make a buck. Meet the parents of the dog you wish to purchase if you DO get it from a breeder. 

Also, if you decide on one, PICS!!! My fave color pattern is brindles and fawnequin.


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

My wife and I have a rescue boy. We got him when he was 4 months old. He is now 11 months. He is nothing but a big puppy who thinks he is a lap dog. I do agree with Laki you need to watch out for certain traits in the parents of the dog and ask lots of questions. This dogs can be great companions but if they have been mistreat or bread for the wrong reasons you could have your hands full. Before we got this puppy we had a rescue male Dane. That was not treated right at all. We picked hjm up from the owners house chained up on a 4 foot chain outside. This dog was aggressive as could be and skin in bones. I was the only one that could handle him for awhile. In fact when we got home with him he actually lunged at must wife and I had to tackle the dog. Long store short just do your research first and you have a great dog!


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

Thank you for the great advice. Yes, I study dogs.. their behavior... temperaments and stuff. I met a couple with a pair of Danes that had a litter of pups last month. The doggy parents were amazing! They were both healthy... though a little on the slim side in my opinion... but its because they have SO MUCH land to run and explore. 
The adult dogs were extremely obedient, loyal, and mentally and behaviorally stable.

I have considered taking one of their pups. We are in the process of moving.. to a very rural area with hundreds of acres. We will be moved in at about the same time the pups are ready to be adopted. 

I have been looking for months for the perfect dog. I have scoured the shelters.. most dogs in this area come with TONS OF BAGGAGE. I have been taking in rescues for years... (I have a Chihuahua and Miniature Pinscher mix who was starved and was abused) 

I am still in the contemplative phase. So.. I'm trying to get all the info possible to make the best decision I can.
My animals are members of the family... I want to be sure its a right fit before I commit.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

Well they sound like they're well bred (maybe) and if you have a good feeling, go with it. This could be your chance to get a dog you want. You can mold it the way you want  And it will have loads of room to run and play!


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

Here's Danica at 2 months (she turned two months yesterday). She weighs over 17 lbs


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

woah! You picked a real beauty!! Love her name too! Grats!!


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

Thank you  She picked us. It was awesome.

She's almost an entire head taller than all of her littermates. She outweighs them by at least 5 lbs or more. They were all about the same size two weeks ago too. 
She has an impressive linage... and some of them are known to get outrageously huge! She's so smart. She is excelling in her training.


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)




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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

That's great news! The biggest dane I saw here is from Euro lines. His name is Riggs lol He goes to the pet expo every year I actually have a camera this year so I can show you. He's blue and just enormous. I love your dog, she'll impress when she grows up but right now she's a dainty princess clown! You're having her ears done, are you?


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

No, I'm not going to put her thru all that. Its not like she needs it for function... I cant compete with her in the show ring because she has white tips. (I'm not interested in that anyway) and she wont be hunting wild boars... so I dont see the need for it.

So far, she's BY FAR bigger than all her litter mates. And she's in her clumsy stage. She's so cute when she gallops. She's so awkward.

I think she's a little over 1/4 euro. Her grandfather was the most muscular dane I've ever seen. He was mostly euro. Danica's mother, Sammie, is the tallest female any of the breeders in eastern Ky and parts of Oho have ever seen. 

Her dad is of the Meistersinger linage. 

I would love to see pictures of the blue one. Thanks


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

wow she seems like a real good dog! Great lines.  Clumsy stage won't last forever, I'm sure its hilarious!! lol Get some vids and laugh for life <3 I love danes  THere's one on my street but it looks scared and skinny all the time. Obviously they have it just because. They also have a chihuahua, so you judge why they wanted it :/

From what you're describing, being taller and bigger than her mates, Danica sounds like the big blonde squire of Catleyn Stark in Game of Thrones. She's large and eager to please Stark's to avenge the death of someone Baratheon. Oh my. Here I go... lol


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## Enkil (Jan 15, 2012)

We have two Great Danes and and American Bully puppy. My advice to you is to make sure your GD is very well socialized! The two GDs I live with are not mine. They are a roommates. They were not socialized properly. The male is almost as tall as the current record holder of tallest living dog. He wasn't properly socialized and is now a bit aggressive with other dogs because of it. It is my opinion that it is mainly his frustration in wanting to play with them and not knowing how. I think this because it is what I observed from him when we brought my puppy home. He wants so badly to play with my Fenris but is unsure of how to go about doing so.


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

Here is Danica, 2 years old.


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## Ezzie (Sep 17, 2012)

Beautiful!
I know this thread is old but danes are my top favorite breed & i will most certainly be owning some in my future (just need to work out costs )


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## InStitches (May 26, 2014)

gorgeous dog!


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

Ezzie said:


> Beautiful!
> I know this thread is old but danes are my top favorite breed & i will most certainly be owning some in my future (just need to work out costs )


Find a reputable breeder. Make sure your dane comes from parents that have been OFA tested (and passed)for their eyes, heart, thyroid, hips, elbows and a genetic test for von Willebrand disease. Don't take the breeder's word for it either. You can look up their dog on the ofa website. This will save you so much heartache and money in the long run. Find a breeder that breeds for sound structure and temperament. If you do all that... your dane could live 10 to 12 years. 
The number 1 killer of danes is bloat/torsion. A gastropexy done at the same time as spaying/neutering can prevent it entirely. (Bloat can still occur but it buys you time to get to a vet?

They're worth taking the extra mile. They'll reward you with the love that only the heart of a hound can provide.


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

InStitches said:


> gorgeous dog!


Thank you


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## SeaKnight (May 24, 2013)

This is my Bambi at just over 3 years of age... She will be 6 in November.....


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## RayneForhest (Apr 22, 2011)

She is beautiful


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## SeaKnight (May 24, 2013)

Thank you, as is Danica....


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## kellyyoungmoney (Jun 20, 2012)

I have a Dane, well he's probably some sort of mix, but I rescued him a few months ago and he obviously hasn't been properly socialized, but he shows no aggression and is just terrified of lots of things. Lucky for me, he's only a year so I'm getting him out there and used to lots of things. But he's great and goofy and I will never not have a Dane in my life again.


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## SeaKnight (May 24, 2013)

kellyyoungmoney said:


> I have a Dane, well he's probably some sort of mix, but I rescued him a few months ago and he obviously hasn't been properly socialized, but he shows no aggression and is just terrified of lots of things. Lucky for me, he's only a year so I'm getting him out there and used to lots of things. But he's great and goofy and I will never not have a Dane in my life again.


Looks all Dane to me...


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## Jennalyn (Jun 23, 2014)

We had a Dane while I was growing up named Scout. Big, fantastic, cow-spotted dog with floppy ears and dark, handsome face that went gray early. He made it to 10 and we enjoyed every minute. Definitely thought he was a lap-dog. My dad wheedled him out of an auto body shop his skinny parents "guarded". >__>


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