Great Danes

[poiuytrewq]

Not wanting to off set the other thread but inspired by GD chatter!
A Dane is a dog I’ve always loved,maybe my favourite “dream” breed, I’ve never had one but always wondered maybe in the future, In reality probably not! Where we live now would be the perfect place to have one but it’s not the perfect time and when that time comes we may well be living in a 2 bed semi so probably not ideal!
Does anyone else here have one? What are they like to live with? My old RI years ago had 2 and I remember them being lovely calm chilled dogs.
Do they need huge amounts of exercise? Are they trainable?
Cookies for photos!

 

[bonny]

from my experience of knowing friends who had them but stopped because they tend to have heart and diet problems and die in middle age I wouldn’t go there. They are lovely grand dogs to look at but walking vet bills and difficult to feed. Dogs aren’t meant to be that size !

 

[Tiddlypom]

Heartbreakingly short lived gentle giants in my limited experience of the breed.

 

[Supertrooper]

They just die so young

 

[CorvusCorax]

Lovely dogs but not long lived. My friends keep them, one had to have a leg amputated and their youngest one currently has a load of health issues. Think they're going to Labradors next time.

 

[sbloom]

Not generally true. We have one, currently 8.5 and in fine fettle. OH's previous Dane, a rescue, lived to at least 11.5. Choose your breeder very well if you go for a pup, we went to Ravendane. He does have skin and digestive allergies but isn't hard to feed once we got to grips with them, plus has to have a hibiscrub bath once a month so nothing major though it took a year of Apoquel at great expense before we found 1/6 dose of steroids is plenty.

He's confident, friendly, stubborn though, but he's especially that way and most aren't. They can't really be left alone, and certainly not for long days, and don't always count other dogs as company. They play best with other Danes, we found a local Dane group for occasional walks, but are brilliant with other dogs if well socialised, especially small, nervous ones and are also very good with small children.

Having help is difficult, many dog walkers and sitters can't deal with giant breeds.

 

[Tiddlypom]

How do you get a Dane into a car? Do they fit?

 

[sbloom]

How do you get a Dane into a car? Do they fit?

They'll fit in most medium and large 4x4s, one bitch we knew used to travel in a Mini Clubman (modern one!) but that wasn't ideal. We have a Volvo V70 and have even got two big dogs in there once for a very short journey. He has travelled up to 5 hours in it (with breaks).

He does, however, prefer jumping into friend's cars even if they're much higher up

 

[scats]

I have a Great Dane x Husky. Dane enthusiasts always recognise it in her. Others can’t quite put their finger on it but often remark she looks like Scooby Doo!

 

[Clodagh]

I love the harlequin ones. There is one that comes in where I work, she is lovely, but very high maintenance and her owner loves walking but she can’t go with him, she can only pootle round the block.
I must admit I don’t see the point in dogs that can’t do dog things. From pugs to Danes!

 

[Moobli]

I have only known one personally, and that was over 30 years ago. All I remember was he used to haul his petite owner everywhere and wanted to say hello to everyone. He was gigantic and clumsy but harmless.

 

[Smitty]

Quantock Hills on here had them and always hankered after another if I remember correctly.

A pub I worked in many years ago had one along with numerous cats. Neither of the publicans looked as though they took much exercise☺

But then again, where I used to live, I occasionally used to bump into a couple of them and they would have had to walk a mile to get there at the very least.

Now what is wrong with a terrier? Fit in any car or house, cheap to keep, small poos, kill your rats and will do any walk you like as long as it's over an hour? and you can race them!!

 

[Clodagh]

.

Now what is wrong with a terrier? Fit in any car or house, cheap to keep, small poos, kill your rats and will do any walk you like as long as it's over an hour? and you can race them!!

Where to start!? ?

 

[Smitty]

Where to start!? ?

Yeah, I know, hard to find fault, they are mostly perfect ???

 

[Karran]

I see one on my walks, its a lovely gentle (if slightly dopey looking) thing. He happily and politely greets other dogs and children who are fascinated by the size of him. Mrs Collie cannot for the life of her work him out (she's not good with dogs that don't fit into her idea of "dog") and will run at him screaming unless I take precautions, but he tolerates it with a waggy tail, a slightly puzzled look and isn't fazed by her dramatics at all, I'm not quite sure he registers what's going on underneath him!
He must be around 6 or 7 as he used to talk with Mrs Spaniel when he was a young pup and already bigger than her.

 

[sbloom]

Ours walked 2-3 miles daily though has slowed down a little now (especially as he did one cruciate 15 months ago), and would have managed more as a one-off.

 

[[153312]]

@SatansLittleHelper has one I think

 

[poiuytrewq]

Quantock Hills on here had them and always hankered after another if I remember correctly.


A pub I worked in many years ago had one along with numerous cats. Neither of the publicans looked as though they took much exercise☺

But then again, where I used to live, I occasionally used to bump into a couple of them and they would have had to walk a mile to get there at the very least.

Now what is wrong with a terrier? Fit in any car or house, cheap to keep, small poos, kill your rats and will do any walk you like as long as it's over an hour? and you can race them!!

Oh totally agree. A terrier is what I actually have now and he’s the best. Super easy, super mad and full of personality.

A GD is just something that’s always simmered away in the back of my mind, it’ll never happen in reality.
I really do just think they are gorgeous though.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I have a Great Dane x Husky. Dane enthusiasts always recognise it in her. Others can’t quite put their finger on it but often remark she looks like Scooby Doo!

I get told my little chap looks like scrappy ?

 

[poiuytrewq]

Ours walked 2-3 miles daily though has slowed down a little now (especially as he did one cruciate 15 months ago), and would have managed more as a one-off.

Do you have any photos?

 

[honetpot]

My neighbour had them, why I have no idea. The last one spent two years destroying her home, nothing was out of its reach, and only the husband could walk it, which he did when there was no one around. I think they had two years of sanity, before heath problems and it was dead by eight.

 

[poiuytrewq]

My neighbour had them, why I have no idea. The last one spent two years destroying her home, nothing was out of its reach, and only the husband could walk it, which he did when there was no one around. I think they had two years of sanity, before heath problems and it was dead by eight.

Oh dear! ? maybe I’ll screenshot this and look at it every time I’m tempted in the future!
I take it they never got another?!

 

[sbloom]

Do you have any photos?

I have lots but they're all too big to post on here and frankly I'm too lazy to go resize any more than this. Mind you half of them are borderline obscene as he's entire and likes to sleep upside down starfish style and we find it hilarious.. He was 2 or 3 here, 78kg. Mantle colour, Ravendane Black Domino is his official name.

I was warned by someone that they had had two Danes and they basically ate her dining table. Dogs can destructive, all sorts of breeds can be, he was never without cuddly toys to destroy, we kept a close eye on him as a puppy so all that got eaten was one slipper and one paperback and they were only damaged round the edges, and (our own fault for not training him to be left at least for short periods) we never leave him alone.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I have a Great Dane x Husky. Dane enthusiasts always recognise it in her. Others can’t quite put their finger on it but often remark she looks like Scooby Doo!

Oooh, please can we see a photo?

 

[poiuytrewq]

I have lots but they're all too big to post on here and frankly I'm too lazy to go resize any more than this. Mind you half of them are borderline obscene as he's entire and likes to sleep upside down starfish style and we find it hilarious.. He was 2 or 3 here, 78kg. Mantle colour, Ravendane Black Domino is his official name.

I was warned by someone that they had had two Danes and they basically ate her dining table. Dogs can destructive, all sorts of breeds can be, he was never without cuddly toys to destroy, we kept a close eye on him as a puppy so all that got eaten was one slipper and one paperback and they were only damaged round the edges, and (our own fault for not training him to be left at least for short periods) we never leave him alone.

View attachment 89828

And THAT is why I love them ?
Just beautiful

 

[some show]

A neighbour near me has a great dane x german shepherd and I love him to bits, he's huge and again looks quite a lot like scooby doo - but is very biddable and trainable! He's so well behaved. Quite nervous about other dogs but not aggressive, but that's about his only downside - I can't imagine he'll have a very long life either, but hopefully a bit longer than a full great dane. My greyhound's 31" to the shoulder so quite a big lad, and this fella is an inch or two taller - but much heavier!

 

[TPO]

When I was a teenager one of the guys in our group had one. He took the dog everywhere with him. It was when we were all too young to be driving so walked miles around the town day and night.

I had a chihuahua at the time so it was funny seeing the two together. The GD was the gentlest of dogs. I'm sure he lived into his early teens.

My friends in Australia have a lot of GD x for pigging, they are usually mixed with mastiffs/mastiff types and cattle dogs. The less cattle dog in them the friendlier they've been. The predominantly mastiff and GD ones have just been big cuddle monsters.

 

[Clodagh]

My friends in Australia have a lot of GD x for pigging, they are usually mixed with mastiffs/mastiff types and cattle dogs. The less cattle dog in them the friendlier they've been. The predominantly mastiff and GD ones have just been big cuddle monsters.

Oh my I remember that cross, used as roo dogs up in the North West. Dane or wolfhound x pit bull x whatever. Great big, scrawny tick covered neglected beasts in this instance. (Not saying your friends were the same). I worked at the service station and would fill the pick up with fuel while trying not to touch the dogs, they were friendly but grim.

 

[TPO]

Oh my I remember that cross, used as roo dogs up in the North West. Dane or wolfhound x pit bull x whatever. Great big, scrawny tick covered neglected beasts in this instance. (Not saying your friends were the same). I worked at the service station and would fill the pick up with fuel while trying not to touch the dogs, they were friendly but grim.

I've seen dogs like that tied on the back of utes but my friends dogs have all been in good nick and everything is kept tick free because of TB (they're all cattle owners QLD/NT).

 

[scats]

Oooh, please can we see a photo?

Here she is, she will be 13 in May


And when she was a pup