GREAT DANE DOG.... Temperament?

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mhorses

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Hi, I have waited for a long time and spent a lot of time in thought about whether to get a dog or not. (years!!) Well I have always admired Great Danes to look at especially Harlequin (Black and White) ones. Unfortunately I have no friends who have owned one before so I am very interested to hear your views on their temperament, what they are like around equines etc. We live in a quiet village with a large garden, stable yard and fields. I am studying at university but home for four full days a week and away 7.30am-5pm the other three days. Thanks any info is great!
 
I've always had Danes, they are fantastic, though they all think they are lap dogs! Great with kids, introduced properly to horses they are fine, although horses can give them a few weird looks at first!
Problems :- you need to limit exercise in the first year, short walks and playing in the garden is plenty for big soft bones. They are horrible teenagers!!! Get past the first eighteen months you are laughing. Essentially you have a puppy that can reach about four/five feet up on its back feet and believes it is entitled to.
Best dogs ever,but I may be slightly bias! If you need any other info feel free to pm me.
 
Some people I knew years ago had a harlequin great Dane. They paid £2500 for it !!!
It was fine with their horses and them and ok with visitors if you were introduced when the owner was their, but could be a bit over protective of the owner if they took a dislike to you or your dog coming onto their property.
Never needed much walking. Don't think I could of coped with the slobber!
 
I spent one summer a very long time ago looking after 25 harlequins as a holiday job. 24 of them were the sweetest, loving, easy to handle dogs and bitches I've ever encountered (until I discovered greyhounds and longdogs!) 1 of them was vile and dangerous. I would imagine, as in so many breeds, look into the breeding lines as much as possible for temperament as well as structure.
 
What are you planning to do once you've finished studying? Can't imagine what damage a frustrated Great Dane might do if left home alone all day!
 
Lovely dogs, my friend used to have one ( lived to a grand age if 10).

They do have the want and need to try and sit on your lap :D and they do not need very much exercise.

She was very friendly and used to come and stay with me when her owner went on holiday, and she was a complete pleasure :)
 
My aunt used to breed Great Danes. The black and tan ones. They were very sweet dogs. Great with the horses and ponies and little dogs too. Hers were all very highly socialised so they weren't particularly protective in any fashion. A poster above has given excellent advice on their exercise and upbringing and I'd concur with her comments. Nice dogs although my aunt's were all quite lazy and lolled around the house a lot from what I remember (it was a very long time ago :o).
 
We have one named Cleo :). Will never be able to live without one again!!!

Sweetest dogs, loyal and not very high maintenance. They prefer lying on the carpet all day than anything else really. Our Great Dane lives with our Daschund, Shih Tzu and our Siamese x Cat very peacefully and has never even looked at one of them with a bad intention in mind. Good with kids (I have 2 younger brothers - one is 6 and one is 11, both grew up with our Great Dane)

They don't have a very long life span though (ours is currently 8)

Would definitely recommend them but breeding is important. No one wants a vicious dog that is taller than a grown man when it's standing on it's hindlegs
 
I think that leaving a dog, especially a puppy on its own 7.30 - 5.30 for almost half the days in a week is too long. I have had two great danes and they are lovely dogs but very emotional and demanding. If left alone too long they will become destructive and even quite delinquent. I would not recommend them as a first dog. They can become quite dominant, especially the males and need experienced handling. Firstly, I would advise that you have a dog sitter for at least part of the time you would be away, and secondly, I would recommend a dog that is not quite such a handful as some danes can be.
 
puppystitch said:
What are you planning to do once you've finished studying? Can't imagine what damage a frustrated Great Dane might do if left home alone all day!
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I don't need to-my poor aunt got stuck at hospital for 8 hours (should have been a 5 min check and bloods thing) and the house was trashed.
Cushions eaten,curtains down and shredded,chairs and sofa's chewed beyond repair,dining table chewed to bits :o In a nutshell,if it could be damaged it was damaged to the max!

However, Z was the most wonderful animal, always fun, wanted to play (normally seen with a stuffed Babe toy in his mouth :D ) never worked out he was not a lap dog and loved children, even the noisey ones I wanted to slap :p


The slobber is a nightmare though :o and be think about where you live,if the stair case is narrow they will have trouble getting up and down/turning around ect.


ETA all the danes loved the horses too, Z would scare the crap out of me most days by jumping stable doors and tucking up with random horses :o if I had known which box he was in it would have been fine :p
 
Our friend has one and she's the softest dog going. She ran backwards across the room when the new 6 week old kitten attempted to hiss at her, she's kicked out of her bed by the rabbit and used to let the lab puppy swing off her ears. She's fab with kids of all ages (her owner persuades them you can see day light through her ears especially the nervous ones and she just sits there) and other dogs of all sizes and ages, she is slightly dopey about horses though. You do have to watch for food left on the table as she is the perfect height to do a sweep and carry on.
A fab dog but often doesn't realize how big she is when approaching other people or dogs a great big softie on the inside but watch out for the tail it's the only dangerous part of her :)
 
agree with Wagtail on this. Not a suitable first dog.

We've had 2, one died at 11 (vet said a record for them) one died before 5 (more usual). He had wobblers. If you are at all houseproud then its a no no. We had slobber on our celings (and everywhere else). He also ate our kitchen (wood, plaster etc). Eventually we built a conservatory with slate roof and a dog door (£25,000). They are also very very human like and losing them causes too much pain and happens too often. The great dane rescue and forum will tell you that leaving them for more than 4 hours is not on (true).

That said I think they are the greatest dog in the world, just wouldnt have another
 
Wagtail said:
I think that leaving a dog, especially a puppy on its own 7.30 - 5.30 for almost half the days in a week is too long. I have had two great danes and they are lovely dogs but very emotional and demanding. If left alone too long they will become destructive and even quite delinquent. I would not recommend them as a first dog. They can become quite dominant, especially the males and need experienced handling. Firstly, I would advise that you have a dog sitter for at least part of the time you would be away, and secondly, I would recommend a dog that is not quite such a handful as some danes can be.
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Wagtail can you tell me if your Danes were harlequins? As mentioned earlier my aunt's Danes were black and tan and none of your comments above resemble any of her dogs in the slightest (and she did have quite a few). I imagine there's different "types" as in bloodlines with horses of the same breed which perhaps dictates their particular disposition? Maybe this should be something the OP needs to consider when purchasing a Dane. I know nothing about Dane bloodlines, all I know is that none of my aunts dogs were demanding, emotional or dominant, they were all very placid and slightly lazy dogs :)
 
"away 7.30am-5pm" is too much for most dogs unless you're planning on some kind of (huge! what about burglars?!?) flap to an outside pen for it? Or will it be in a kennel/pen arrangement outside the whole time?

TBH both now, and presumably when you're done with college and working, you'd need a sitter/walker for it on those days.

My limited experience with GDs was growing up in a house next door to one. It was basically lovelly but when the owners went out leaving it in the garden it frequently broke the fence (which belonged to them) to come through into our garden and try to 'play' with us (quite scary for a small person!).

Later it had an ear problem (canker? presumably not treated effectively) and the episodes of escape became scarier as the dog was unhappy. I still recall my mum calling my grandad to come around becasue she'd bought us kids inside to keep away from it and it was standing against the back door which was mostly glass at the top and threatening to give way!

I'm sure they can be lovely but they are quite strong and what looks cute in a smaller animal can be quite scary (to non-doggy ppl at least) in something that size.
 
Spring Feather said:
Wagtail can you tell me if your Danes were harlequins? As mentioned earlier my aunt's Danes were black and tan and none of your comments above resemble any of her dogs in the slightest (and she did have quite a few). I imagine there's different "types" as in bloodlines with horses of the same breed which perhaps dictates their particular disposition? Maybe this should be something the OP needs to consider when purchasing a Dane. I know nothing about Dane bloodlines, all I know is that none of my aunts dogs were demanding, emotional or dominant, they were all very placid and slightly lazy dogs :)
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I have never seen a black and tan great dane, only dobermans and rottweillers. Do you mean fawn (fawn all over with black mask)? I had one fawn and one brindle. Both were bitches. Adorable dogs.
 
Just googled black and tan great dane. They look lovely. As I say though I have never seen them before. They must be a newer colour?
 
Wagtail said:
I have never seen a black and tan great dane, only dobermans and rottweillers. Do you mean fawn (fawn all over with black mask)? I had one fawn and one brindle. Both were bitches. Adorable dogs.
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Fawn/tan black face whatever, as said I haven't a clue about the name of the colour lol All I know is the dogs were all tan coloured with black muzzles and they were all easy going dogs.
 
I am on my 4th Great Dane. I have had a brindle (very gentle, soft and loyal), a Blue (very clever boy, entire male, a total handful and VERY high maintenance but the absolute love of my life) a harlie (absolutely INSANE!!) and now I have a black puppy girl who is 8 months.

Good points:

Loyal
Brilliant watch dogs
Good with children
my absolute favourite breed, once you've been owned by a dane you wont go back

Bad points:

You cannot leave a dane for that length of time, possibly older when they are sleeping on the sofa but even then far from ideal. They NEED their families and adore their owners and a insecure dane is a destructive anxious one
They will chew...and I dont mean toys, I mean carpets, walls, sofas, conservatories... Willis ate through a wall!
They do need exercise in order to give them a longer better life, so they need training and they can be stubborn. It can be intimidating for a smaller dog owner to see a Great Dane hurtling towards them so recall is a must
Keeping an entire male can be very challenging. They are not stupid dogs at all and may walk all over someone who is not on top of their game re dogs

finally, they will absolutely steal your heart and you will never get it back. When I lost mine (who are now on the fireplace :) ) my entire family was devastated but I seriously thought my world was ending when I lost Will. We were so close and I adored him.

My boy

Willis.jpg


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Well done OP for researching about Danes before taking one on. I am a dane owner - they are lovely dogs, very affectionate and devoted to their owners. They slobber all over the place, they can be very destructive in their youth, they do not all have the best of health and are expensive at the vets, they do not like to live outside - they prefer the fire side, the settee or your bed! They also eat a lot of food and as they are prone to bloat and stomach problems cheap food is a no no!

In my opinion no dog, particularly a young one should be left alone all day.

If you still want a dane can I direct you to www.greatdaneowners.co.uk which is forum of dane owners. Post your original post here onto that forum and you will get excellent advice. Maybe you could in time take on a rescue dane - there are plenty of them about from people whose life has sadly taken a bad turn to the people who 'did not know how big it will grow'.

Why not take a trip to Crufts or any other dog show and meet owners and breeders?

Despite all their problems I can tell you that once a dane owner most remain faithfull to the breed. They are wonderful companions and mine get on fine with the horses once trained!!

Good luck and continue with your research to make sure that a dane is for you before you get it and that you will not have to add it to the many in rescue.
 
never owned one but all I'v met have been softies...bar ONE!! :eek:
went to my yard as per usual and the yard ladies daughter was there with her dog. nobody to be seen and it came haring up to me barking (can I say howling?! seething?!!) I remained calm and walked back to my car and it was jumping AT me! pushing me on the shyoulder barking in my ear, it is the only dog in my life that has truly fightened me!!!
it then attacked another liveries dog, i think just ridiculously territorial but im not sure that can be blamed on the breed :)
 
You could get a Dave -

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He is Great Dane cross English Mastiff.

He's very loyal to me and my husband, really not interested in other people. Sulked for three days straight when we got our Rottie, now they are the best of friends:rolleyes:

He is very aware of his size though, and I would agree with Wagtail that they can be quite dominant - Dave is like this with people who he doesn't respect.
 
The lady that runs the dog club I go to has 2 danes, both boys (she did have a bitch who was sadly pts in the last couple of months due to liver failure i think) there are a couple of other GD's that come to the club - all of them have been absolutely lovely, however i agree with others when the time left alone is really too long for any dog, but particularly a GD.

here's my little JRT playing with the biggest GD in our dog club...these two play together all the time!

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My mum is at home everyday so therefore the dog would not be on his own. I will be the one training the dog. Anybody know any harlequin breeders?
 
Hedwards said:
The lady that runs the dog club I go to has 2 danes, both boys (she did have a bitch who was sadly pts in the last couple of months due to liver failure i think) there are a couple of other GD's that come to the club - all of them have been absolutely lovely, however i agree with others when the time left alone is really too long for any dog, but particularly a GD.

here's my little JRT playing with the biggest GD in our dog club...these two play together all the time!



Hello there, does your friend from your club who owns the Great Dane breed Harlequins? It is stunning and your JR is rather cute. Thanks
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I have always had Danes, and currently have one pedigree and one crossed with a Doberman. Fantastic dogs, but can be a real handful if you let them be. My current boy is over 6ft tall on his back legs, and weighs 72kg, so just be aware that you're talking about a very large animal. You might have to get a larger car to carry your Dane (I did!) and you'll get sat on every time you sit down!

I buy my Danes from Vardanel Great Danes, they're absolutely lovely and breed Harlies. My boy at the moment is a Merlequin, and is unbelievably stupid. Bear in mind that whoever created Scooby Doo knew Great Danes very very well!
 
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