Great Dane Puppies Blog

If you had a dog when you were a child, you will want your own children to experience the same positive feelings and you will get your children a dog. If you did not, you just have to read My First Best Friend to find out what an amazing thing a dog can be in a child’s life. Not only does a dog teach children responsibility, but it also helps them develop a healthy personality and a balanced emotional life.

However, bringing a dog into the family is not always a smart thing to do. You need to make sure that both the children and the adult members of the family are ready for a furry friend, otherwise someone is likely to get disappointed over time. You also need to make sure that you are selecting the right breed and you are treating your dog in a way that guarantees your children’s safety.

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The answer is definitely yes, if you would like to have a loyal companion that is very affectionate and playful. They are excellent watchdogs and can be trained easily – but on the other hand be careful not to leave them alone for a long time since they may suffer from separation anxiety especially, when young. Great Danes get on well with other dogs and pets and also love children, although you had better not leave them alone with smaller children, because they might accidentally knock children over and injure them.

This breed’s coat length is short and thick, therefore can live in warmer environments; however they can’t stand very cold weather. Great Danes’ intermittent shedding will cause no problems if you take care of the dog’s hair at least once a week. Sadly, they are very prone to some serious health issues, so can get expensive financially. They drool rarely. Great Danes are 100-120 lbs in weight and their height is around 30 inches. They can be trained at adult age as well if the handler is dominant and very gentle, but the best is if you train them at an early age. Be careful, never force them to do more exercise they are really capable of, since their growth plates are not fully developed until 2 years of age, so running on hard surfaces is not advised.

All in all, Great Danes are good pets for families with older children and for people, who like exercising themselves, but are not recommended
for the elderly because of their huge energy needs.

I hope this short introduction about Great Danes will help you decide whether this dog is the right one for you.

Is it normal, anyway?!

Yes, it is. Just imagine the situation from the point of view of your Great Dane. He is part of the family, often treated as “the kid”, and then, suddenly, a new creature arrives and takes all the attention of his beloved family. It is quite similar to what older children feel, when a little brother/sister arrives. One of the differences is just that the dog can’t speak English

Actually, if we are aware of this ‘problem’ in advance, the situation can be handled, but it needs consciousness and to be started in time, long before the baby’s arrival. Let’s see how we can prepare our Great Dane for the new family member.

If your dog’s daily routine has to be changed with the baby’s arrival (it probably will), you should start changing the rules much earlier, giving him plenty of time to get used to the new set up. This way it isn’t going to be so sudden and shocking. If your Great Dane hasn’t really been trained before, it’s high time to start. He should learn at least a few commands, like sit, stay, etc. This way, he’ll be easier to handle.

Many families worry about their dog endangering the health of the child, so the best thing to do is to take your pet to the vet, get him checked and get some advice. Get your Great Dane used to the new smells, sounds in advance (blankets, lotions, toys). It’s also a good idea, that just after your baby was born, send home a blanket that the baby had been in, so your dog can experience the child’s smell in advance. It is very important to know that your  Great Dane will get a lot less attention from the mother, so when taking the baby home for the first time, the mother should greet the dog, so it is better if someone else is carrying the baby.

It is also a good idea not to leave them alone together at the first times, until your Great Dane feels comfortable with the baby, because, for example, it is very possible that the dog won’t tolerate the child’s crying very well in the beginning. You have to teach him that this is a normal sound, and you should motivate him not to bark (with treats, for example).

And the most important rule for last, maybe it seems too obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning: try to give as much attention to your Great Dane as you can. The point is that he has to feel that you do care about him. If you keep this in mind, most probably there will be no problem. You could also try Preparing Fido, which is an amazing collection of Baby sounds designed especially to get your dog ready for the arrival of the new Baby!

Ever wanted to have a dog like the great canine detective, Scooby Doo? Well, the Great Dane is the model for this very lovable cartoon dog character. If ever, one wishes to have a Great Dane, here are some of the things to look for as stated in the breed standard. The standard, by the way, is the guidelines saying how a Great Dane should look like as well as its temperament. For example: Great Danes are tall and have powerful frames. Not bulky at all but their muscles are well developed. Their head are narrow and have dark round eyes that give them an alert and gentle look and their ears are erect. With legs that are long and straight, their feet are roundish. Coats are thick and close fitting with a glossiness to it. The accepted colors are black, blue, brindle and even harlequin. The appearance of a Great Dane is that of dignity. Now once having some basic information on the breed, you can now spend time sifting through all the sources and breeders out there and looking for some red flags. Read the rest of this entry »