Impressive, both in size and build, the Great Dane is well-known
as a giant amongst the other members of the dog world. Towering
over most breeds, it’s very common for Great Dane owners to
hear comments and jests about saddling up the pony or questions
regarding how much he eats. The Great Dane doesn’t seem to mind,
however - lapping up all of the attention, the Great Dane is
happiest when he takes center stage and has all the affection
lavished on him. If he were smaller, there’s little room for
doubt that he would love nothing more than to be a pampered
lap dog.
The foundation sires of the Great Dane breed remain a mystery,
though it is suspected that he may have originated from a cross
between the great Irish Wolfhounds and the noble English Mastiff.
Another story hints at the possible infusion of Greyhound blood,
though this is far less likely; the Great Dane is neither a
sight hound, nor is he overly athletic. Also interesting to
note is that, while his name would suggest otherwise, the Great
Dane is not a Danish-bred variety. Instead, it was the Germans
who created the breed and cultivated it, more than 400 years
ago, refining the bloodlines in order to create a superior dog
for hunting wild boar. The end result would be the beautiful
Great Dane that we know and love in these modern days.
The Great Dane is a regal animal with a powerful, yet graceful
body. Males are very strong and masculine in appearance, the
breed standard demanding that they have a more massive build
and blockier head. Females, on the other hand, are distinctively
dainty in comparison and often possess a longer body type than
the males. Great Danes can be bred or shown with either cropped
and upright-pointing ears, or with uncropped ears, though they
are faulted if the cropped ears make the dog appear hound-like
in appearance.
Great Danes come in a wide variety of colors, including black,
blue, brindle, fawn, and the patterned colors, which are the
harlequin and the mantle Great Dane. While the solid-colored
varieties occasionally will have white markings at the chest
or toes, this is undesirable according to the breed standard,
and one should not use such a dog for breeding purposes. Mismarked
Great Danes still make excellent pets, however, and that puppy
with the big white patch might be just the dog that you’re looking
for.
There’s good reason that the Great Dane is known as a “gentle
giant.” Very loving and affectionate animals, they enjoy human
contact much more than many other breeds of dog. In fact, the
Great Dane enjoys his “people time,” so much, that he will often
do very poorly if kept outdoors or kenneled. If you want to
own a Great Dane, you had best be prepared to spend lots of
time with your big baby.
The Great Dane is a very friendly dog that gets along well with
children, as well as other animals. While they seem to possess
a great deal of patience, towards smaller members of the family,
small children should always be supervised with Great Danes
- while they don’t mean to cause harm, those large bodies take
space to maneuver in and it’s very easy to knock a small body
down by accident. Also, while they may appear to be saints with
hearts of gold, any dog can have a tendency to snap if he gets
hurt. Keeping an eye on small children is essential when dealing
with any dog, including your Great Dane.
People often believe that the bigger the dog, the more exercise
he requires. This is not always true and the Great Dane is an
excellent example of that - while he isn’t a total couch potato,
the Great Dane will do well in an apartment, provided he gets
a chance to go out on a couple of daily walks a day, just to
stretch his leg. Dog parks are also excellent surroundings for
your Great Dane to get exercise, but be sure that he knows some
basic manners and commands, prior to taking him there.
The Great Dane is a very easy pet to keep groomed - a simple
brushing, a couple times a week, will help to remove dander,
dead hair, and to keep his coat nice and glossy. Additionally,
you will want to keep your Great Dane’s nails trimmed to a comfortable
length and, particularly if your dog has uncropped ears, ensure
that his ears stay clean and dry, checking them periodically
for problems such as ear mites or signs of infection.
Great Danes grow very quickly and, for many, it can come
as quite a shock to realize that they have a puppy that weighs
100 pounds bounding about the living room. Due to the fact that
Great Danes grow so quickly and because of their sheer size
and mass, it’s important to get them started in obedience training
as young as possible. While he may not mean to cause mischief,
puppies can’t help being clumsy and playful, and Great Dane
pups are especially affectionate. Teaching them control and
moderation, while they are still young, is very important.
Like any breed of dog, the Great Dane is
subject to a variety of health concerns. Your best bet is, when
deciding to choose a new Great Dane puppy, check around with
several breeders and ask about the various health issues that
can affect these beautiful little dogs. A reputable breeder
should be well-versed in the health concerns and should be able
to give you more details, as well as showing you the sire and
dam of your potential puppy. Some of the health problems that
can affect Great Danes include:
- Bloat
- Cardiomyopathy
- Epilepsy
- Hip dysplasia
- Hypothyroidism
- Osteosarcoma
- Von Willebrand's Disease
The Great Dane is a loving and affectionate
dog but he is also a very large dog and, with large dogs come
big commitments. One of the major concerns and reasons that
Great Danes are abandoned or turned over to shelters is simply
because of cost. These are dogs that, in order to maintain a
good body weight, require roughly 8-10 cups of food per day,
and have to be fed twice a day in order to run the high risk
of bloat. This amasses to anywhere from 1-2 large bags of dog
food, per month, not to mention “raw” foods that are commonly
fed to Great Danes, in order to help balance out their diet.
Quite often, Great Dane owners will joke about how they need
a separate job, just to keep their beloved pet in kibble.
Also, due to the fact that these dogs are so large, they often
have shortened life spans, when compared to other breeds. While
true Great Dane lovers are grateful for whatever opportunity
they have with these gentle giants, losing a dear family pet
after a mere 7 or 8 years may be too much for some to bear.
These things should be taken into consideration, prior to making
the decision to buy any dog, but especially a loving Great Dane
puppy. These are giant dogs, with giant hearts, and owning one
is a long-term commitment.
There are a wealth of resources online that can help you
learn more about the Great Dane dog breed. We've compiled a
list of Great Dane information sites to assist you in quickly
locating quality information about the Great Dane dog breed,
while avoiding the "garbage" sites that are nothing more than
poor attempts to capitalize on the popularity of dog breeds
in general. If you know of a Great Dane information site that
offers unique, quality information and photos of the Great Dane
breed, please contact us with the URL and a brief description
so that our editors can consider it for inclusion in our list
below.
Great Danes are a very photogenic dog breed. By looking at
Great Dane pictures, you can usually gain more insight into
what these dogs and puppies are like as a breed, and this can
help you decide if you really want to become a Great Dane owner.
The following sites below offer pictures of Great Dane dogs,
Great Dane puppy photos, funny Great Dane photos and more. Enjoy!
Now
that you have decided that the Great Dane is the right breed
for you, it's time to start the process of finding a responsible
Great Dane breeder from which to buy a healthy, well-socialized
puppy. Not all breeders are alike; there are good breeders -
and bad breeders. Don't be in a hurry to buy the first Great
Dane puppy you find at the cheapest price available! To buy
a puppy from a responsible Great Dane breeder, you may need
to pay more and wait longer. The additional money and waiting
time will be well worth it. Buy a puppy in haste from a newspaper
ad, pet store or "backyard breeder", and you'll likely also
purchase a great deal of additional expense and heartache, since
you will likely end up falling in love with a puppy with health
and behavioral problems that will likely need special care,
plenty of veterinary visits, regular medication - or even euthanasia.
But do your homework and find a responsible, caring Great Dane
breeder who home-raises their puppies with love, screens their
breeding dogs for health problems, offers a health guarantee
and post sale support, and who genuinely loves the Great Dane
breed and is in it for the love of the breed, rather than profit,
and you can be fairly well assured of getting a healthy, happy,
long lived and affectionate family companion that will provide
you and your family with many years of joy, laughter and companionship.
Further information about choosing a responsible breeder...
Here are a few breeder directory sites that we recommend.
These sites attempt to screen advertisers to ensure that the
breeders listed are responsible and sell healthy, home-raised
Great Dane puppies to carefully screened buyers. There are many,
many sites now online that advertise dog breeders - many are
a Mecca for puppy mills and backyard breeders. We recommend
that you steer clear of these resources in favor of sites that
are more selective in the breeders whom they allow to advertise.
We Highly Recommend:
Choosing a name for your Great Dane puppy can be a daunting
task! There are so many names to choose from that it can take
a lot of thought and research to find just the Great
Dane dog names. Usually, it's best to get to know your puppy
for a few days or weeks. Often your puppy's personality will
help you decide on just the right name to choose. Does he have
a sense of humor? A serious side? A goofy way of cocking his
head to one side? A strange love of cantaloupe? By observing
your new Great Dane puppy over the first days or weeks, you
should at least have a clue about what type of name you want
to give. There are a ton of dog names and pet names web sites
on the internet. Some are wonderful information resources, while
others, unfortunately, are just "garbage" sites set up with
the sole purpose of cashing in on visitor hits for this popular
subject.
We recommend the following sites to assist you in choosing
a name for your new Great Dane puppy. These sites offer inventive,
unique, original and creative pet names suggestions that have
helped thousands of new puppy owners in selecting just the right
name for their new baby!
