10 Surprising Facts About The Great Dane
The Great Dane is a dog that seems to capture attention wherever it goes, stopping traffic and drawing crowds. When well-bred, this dog is tall, chiseled and muscular in form, with a regal bearing. The qualities and characteristics of a well-bred Great Dane reflect the hundreds of years of careful breeding that has gone into the making of this magnificent creature. With popular media being what it is, as well as the legend and lore that accompanies the Great Dane, sometimes it can be difficult to know what is true and what is false when it comes to this huge breed of dog. Here are 10 surprising facts about the Great Dane:
- Apartment life is just fine for Great Danes. Despite their size, according to the AKC, life in an apartment can suit a Great Dane quite well. They are not as high energy as other breeds, but despite their couch potato ways, daily exercise is important. A brisk half hour walk a day will do, especially if complemented with some run time at a dog park or secure area a few times a week. No fenced area? A 50-foot training leash and a ball can help your Dane keep fit.
- Great Danes grow incredibly fast. Within a span of just 1 year, Great Danes go from just a handful of fluffy puppy to being able to stand up on their hind legs and look a 6-foot tall man eye-to-eye. During their rapid growth spurts, puppies can be visibly bigger after a night’s sleep.
- They really don’t eat that much. A full grown Great Dane eats about 2 cups of dry dog food in a day. Too much protein should be avoided, particularly with puppies, as growing faster than they already do can damage bones and joints. Rather than the high-protein, quick-grow type puppy foods, they should have an adult food with no more than 23 percent protein.Â
- Great Danes can be remarkably gentle. That is, once the period of rapid growth passes and they gain full control of their body, bringing an end to accidental injuries due to clumsiness. Many Danes share their homes with small dogs and cats. Great Danes have a well-deserved reputation for being wonderful with children and sometimes work as therapy dogs. However, no animal should be fully trusted with young children, especially one of such a size that a single mistake could be tragic.
- They must have people. Great Danes are an extremely sensitive breed and do not fare well without close contact with their human family. Living outside in a doghouse can destroy a Great Dane, make him mentally unstable, depressed, and even aggressive.
- Anxiety can kill Great Danes. There is increasing evidence that bloat, a condition in which the stomach gets air in it and twists, or torsions, is related to anxiety. This can kill a Great Dane in less than an hour. Make sure to learn the symptoms and, if considering this breed, consider how much time per day the dog will have to be alone.
- They tend to be a lady’s dog. That’s only because of the difference in speech and mannerisms between men and women, however. Great Danes do not respond well to hard correction or training methods, as they are emotionally sensitive creatures.
- Great Danes can be shockingly aggressive. Modern breeders have worked hard to eliminate the centuries of breeding for the aggression necessary to hunt such prey as wild boar. While they’ve met with great success, poorly bred Danes can display dangerous throwback temperament traits. Not every Dane is Scooby Doo friendly. Never approach a Great Dane on the assumption of friendliness, especially if the Dane is accompanied by the children in his family, as the drive to protect the youngsters of the pack from perceived danger isn’t something that is so easily bred out.
- They are not the tallest breed. Although the current holder of the world record for tallest dog is a 42-inch tall Great Dane, the Irish Wolfhound is the breed that tends to be tallest, though it is lighter in weight.
- Many Great Danes are thrown away. People don’t seem to understand that Great Danes are giant, powerful dogs. One of the commonest periods for this breed to be surrendered to a shelter or rescue organization is after they are 9 months old, as people neglect to factor in the potentials of a still rapidly growing 100-pound dog that, because of his age, still acts like a crazy puppy.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I can’t believe people give such wonderful dogs to the SPCA because they don’t understand puppy behavior! Someone did the same with our Old English Sheepdog, and she is now the sweetest dog I know!
People really need to know what they’re getting into when they get a dog.
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:58 am
Danes rule! lol My Daisy is the best dog I’ve ever owned, she’s so sweet and funny and lovable. People should have to pass a course to be able to own a dog ..that would eliminate a lot of the problem with abandoned and abused dogs ending up in shelters and rescues. Great post..i gave ya a stumble for it. :O)
February 19th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
i was presented with a 14mnt old harlequinn GD for my birthday “2007″. at 1st i was not quite sure about her as she was big & daft, she has turned out to be the most loveable, cuddly, funny dog i have ever owned & i could not imagine life without her now. unfortanatly she is deaf so it can be quite hard with her but that just adds to her caractier. she’s 1 in a million!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 21st, 2008 at 2:55 pm
[...] over 15-16 years!) than large breeds (who typically live to be around 12-13). Then we have the giant breeds who typically (and sadly) only live to be about 7 or 8 years of age. The process of aging varies [...]
March 4th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Hello.
This article on danes was so beautifully written i am about to get a GreatDane soon like on 6th of march, So this helped me alot i believe every dog owner should to some homework before they play with a dogs life.only then they can take good care of them, i might not have done few things wrong but know all my doubts are cleared
I dont have a dane yet but still trying my level best to buy one.
~ZODI.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:02 am
[...] the Great Dane is scared. Scared of an evil [...]
March 7th, 2008 at 10:00 am
[...] des Flandres, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Canadian Eskimo Dog, Doberman, German Pinscher, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Greenland Dog, Hovawart, Leonberger, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Newfoundland, Portuguese Water [...]
March 8th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
[...] of Group: CH GARSAK NAME OF THE GAME GREAT DANE Owner: MS M & G ARMOUR & [...]
March 14th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Zodi: I encourage you to do alot of reading on Great Danes :). The more familiar you are with this breed the better for both you and your future Dane adoptee.
Read up on bloat and feeding, and research on the best pet food to give a Dane.
Many Danes cannot eat corn, wheat and soy and some may be prone to food allergies.
Great Danes are not an outside dog. They need to live indoors with their people. So factor all this in before adoption.
Good luck and continue reading up on this breed.
March 18th, 2008 at 11:26 am
[...] you may be able to tell, we’re big fans of BIG dogs! Great Danes come in a variety of colors and patterns, but only 6 of these are recognized by the AKC (meaning [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 7:01 am
[...] always make jokes about putting saddles on large breeds like Great Danes and Mastiffs. The owners of this dog took it to a whole new [...]
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Oh man unfortunatly i didnt had enough money to buy a dane…so i brought a Boxer which is adorable too but i am saving money again to get a dane in few mins.
i love danes so much that i can do anything to get one lol i am saving money by all the ways possible..i even cut down on my smoking just to add afew more to the saving , anyways if i get one i will get in Harlequin color.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I LOVE MY GREAT DANE SOPHIE! she is the biggest dog i have ever seen! that is what all my friends say to. my mom m and dad just tought her to stay off the couch because my dad is alergic to her.i think it is mean but i guess if u r alergic to your own 170 lb. dog and she takes up the whole couch, where r u supposed to sit. but sophie is cute, funny, tall , and SWEET. the funniest thing about sophie is when she is in the backyard and she gets, what my mom calls, “THE ZOOMIES” and she bults around the backyard at full speed! I LOVE IT! sophie is the greatest dog in the world to me
May 6th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Thank you for giving up the facts. We are waiting for are new Great Dane puppy to join are Family of 4 very soon. We have two children 4 and 1 and we can’t wait for him to move in. When we went to meet with the breeder that we are getting are puppy from we took are kids so they could see the full grown Danes. They could not have been nicer to my kids. The home where are puppy is coming from has 5 adult Danes. We are going to go with one for now. We just can’t wait to bring Titan home.
May 27th, 2008 at 5:05 am
Great article! As I look at my 14 month old love of a Great Dane it makes me sad to think that people toss them away at 9 months and later just because of their big sizes and puppy brains! So so sad!!!
The only thing I disagree with, though, is that Great Danes need a heck of a lot more food than two cups a day. I’m not sure where you got that, but my Great Dane eats way more than that and he’s on really good quality dog food.
Lisa
May 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
[...] Lab Enjoys Wading while his Great Dane friend has a [...]
June 5th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Gotta agree with Lisa on the food thing. I have a 10 month old dane right now. (He just turned 10 months old today!) And he DEF eats more than two cups a day! Especially as growing pups they will eat a lot more but when they get older, and mellow out, they wont need as much as they do during thier puppy growth spurts but they will still eat more than 2 cups a day! x.x
I can understand how someone could not be ready for a 100lb PUPPY but it comes with the great dane package. I’ve found that smaller dogs are more aggressive towards me and my dane than my dane is towards anything! Sometimes the giant puppy stage can be a hassle but its all worth it in the end, and they DO mellow out, a lot! You just have to get past the hyperactivity first. Also I’ve heard of a lot of people giving up thier danes because they “Didn’t realize they would get so big” That makes me want to slap people. The fact that people would invest in getting a dane and then just throw it out because they didnt realize how big it was going to be shows that they obviously didn’t look into what they were getting. Its just so sad because they are wonderfu creatures and for the most part they have amazing friendly dispositions! I don’t think I can ever go back to another breed.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:03 am
I have two beautiful Danes.My male is 3 and my female is 6.I would like to know the characteristics of a Dane that is ageing.
I realize that they live 7-8 yrs on average.
However, I feel that my female is starting her process of her final yrs. Any advice?
By the way she is by far the best!Even though
her brother is a close second.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
how can anyone not love these dogs ,i have a 18 month old rescue great dane,she is the most lovable and daftest animal any one could meet the only problem is she doesnt like other dogs.however she is getting better this is due to the time and energy needed to train her and well worth every single minute i wouldnt be without her>!!!!!
July 24th, 2008 at 7:01 am
[...] the Great Dane may only have 3 legs, but he has no problem patrolling the yard for [...]
August 7th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I now have 11 great danes! My dogs had a litter of 9. The food thing, my male eats about 10 cups a day. My female (when nursing) eats about 20 cups a day…when not nursing 5-8 cups a day. They do love to be around people, they hate being left alone, they hate being outside longer than it takes to “use the facilities”. They want, need, and feel they deserve to be inside with the rest of the family, sitting on the couch, watching TV. The little pups are very lovable, at 3 1/2 weeks they are already swarming at my feet when I walk into the room. You can see personalities developing, and they are beginning to eat me out of house and home.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:00 am
[...] Great Dane and Chihuahua hang out on a bench in NYC. There’s a person under there somewhere as well. [...]
August 17th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
My son and I adopted a 6 year old great dane and that dog was so sweet and gentle. Unfortunately, the dog died of bloat one afternoon. I still miss him after 3 years. I intend to adopt a rescue dane as soon as I can and I enthusiastically endorse great danes. They are a loving, sensitive breed.
August 26th, 2008 at 7:02 am
[...] Great Dane thinks the light must be [...]
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:01 am
[...] Great Dane decided the toilet was a good spot to take a rest. If only we could really potty train our dogs! [...]
September 9th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
[...] about the destructive nature of specific breeds. Number 1 on the list? You might not be shocked - Great Danes. These gentle giants proved to cost their owners an average of $1180 worth of damages in their [...]
September 14th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
[...] coffee table style with beautiful full page photographs depicting breeds from Brussels Griffons to Great Danes! Most of Ngo’s work is shot up close and does a fantastic job of capturing the expressions of [...]
September 19th, 2008 at 7:01 am
[...] video goes to show that any breed (or mixed breed!) can participate in this dog sport! This Great Dane has all the right [...]
September 25th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
[...] such as Chihuahuas or Yorkshire Terriers) to Extra Larges (which are designed to fit Mastiffs and Great Danes and other giant breeds). Click here to see their sizing [...]
October 10th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Toby is our first Dane but we’re hooked and probably won’t ever own another breed! He’s 10+ months right now and is a beautiful 110 lb puppy! Regarding food…he was the most finnicky eater I’ve ever seen when we were feeding him kibble. Now we feed him 4-6 pounds of raw chicken per day and he LOVES IT! He gets two meals each that have two drumsticks and two thighs each. Sometimes he gets more and he rarely leaves anything behind. If yours is finnicky like mine give it a shot.
November 20th, 2008 at 8:01 am
[...] Great Dane is over 6 feet long when she stretches out on the [...]
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:03 am
[...] Great Dane is obviously a rock star. However the little guy in the photo may be threatening to steal his [...]
December 21st, 2008 at 8:01 am
[...] Great Dane may have aspirations of being a junkyard dog, but the fancy jacket just makes her a [...]
January 12th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I have owned three GDs. My first one was a female Blue and what a gentle giant. Then I rescued a 18m male that someone dumped out in the country near my home. Unfortunately he died of bloat because I didn’t know the symptoms. I deeply regretted the loss of that dog. I didn’t have any dog until I moved back to the country in OK. I fostered large dogs for our local branch of ARF. Animal Rescue FOundation. One day they asked me if I would foster this abandoned GD. She had been lost and had 5 puppies and was almost dead from starvation. Luckily her puppies all made it and I took her in. Well if you know about GDs they quickly attach to a pack leader/ human. and She would not leave my side. I couldn’t go to work (I taught College Programming) and Had to take her with me. I learned that bloat was sometimes caused by anxiety and the best way to freak out the GD is to leave it alone, plus she had very bad issues about being left because of what happened to her. She is about 4.5yo now and I’m doing all I can to make sure she lives as long as possible and that she never has to go through a traumatic experience ever again, when my school finally objected to her sleeping under my desk I quit and since I had many ops on my back and spine I qualified for disability and now we are together all day long. I have a King size bed so she has plenty of room in bed to sleep with me. I also have five labs and 5 cats. and the whole family gets together and she loved romping with her lab sisters I have 8acres fenced for them to play in. I can’t ever imagine not having a GD in my life as long as I can take care of one. BTW her new name I gave her is Greta and she is just as regal and beautiful as her name sake.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:01 am
[...] takes a lot of work to grow so big! This 8 week old Great Dane puppy is tuckered [...]
March 7th, 2009 at 7:47 am
My Harlequin, Boris, is like therapy for me. In turn, I’d never feed him processed foods.
April 5th, 2009 at 1:46 am
Great Danes are awesome dogs. They are great companion animals and great for family’s. Due to the serious and life threatening nature of “bloat” (Gastric Dilitation and Volvulus) it is wise to discuss a gastropexy with your veterinarian when spaying or neutering.
April 14th, 2009 at 7:00 am
[...] Great Dane diving into a pool - can you say cannonball?! [...]
May 4th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
We have had Great Danes in our family for years, and it never gets any easier when its time to make the decision to make that last trip to the Vet’s office knowing my best friend will not be comming home with me. Zeke is 9 years old with bad hips and the pain meds don’t work a good as they once did, I promised my wife that when he was in pain and there was nothing the Vet could do to relieve it, I would take him for his last ride. Its breaking my heart to write this but people need to know that the breed is short lived and you do get very attached to them.
May 13th, 2009 at 7:02 am
[...] Great Dane knows how to work a water fountain. It’s just his size [...]
May 20th, 2009 at 10:37 am
wow! really this dog is very strongest dog.I want to buy that dog .but I have no money.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:01 am
[...] Great Dane face flapping in the [...]
July 16th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
[...] full story about great danes [...]
July 24th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
At my shelter, we had a one-year-old Great Dane. The owners purchased her without reading up on the breed and didn’t properly train her, so they brough her to us. They also weren’t aware of how quickly she would grow. Anyway, she had aggressive tendencies and after attacking the dog behaviorist, the animal control officers were forced to put her down. I wish everyone knew how important it is to read about animal breeds before adopting/purchasing.
August 21st, 2009 at 8:00 am
[...] love the expression on this Great Dane’s face - he takes his job very [...]
September 5th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Our MAXX is 190lbs of joy. He is the perfect dog. He is gentle with children and puts up with alot from them but he is viciously protective of my wife. I like that part about him. He has never been wrong about someone who he doesn’t want around her. He knows when we are sick, feeling bad, etc. As he has gotten older (7 yrs) he doesn’t like little brown dogs and I don’t know why. We will absolutely have Danes for the rest of our lives.
September 21st, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I adopted a one and a half year old dane and she is so sweet and perfect. My only challenge-she refuses to do her business outside. Anyone have any advice??? She is great with our family of five and even the kitties. By the way, one of u commented above that u want one but cant afford to buy one. U need to research and think what is best for the dog anyway, the purchase price is the least of the expenses of the beautiful danes, and if u cant afford to buy one, YOU SHOULDNT HAVE ONE!!! I do have to say, they steaL your heart, Tinkerbell is my second dane. My first, we lost last year in a fire in our home, and we still miss her dearly. My girls talk about her and miss her dearly also, and many extended family members too. Good luck to u all who wish to experience the love and companionship of a great dane, but consider the immense responsibility, care and lots of time needed to keep them happy. If they arent happy u arent gonna be happy. Research first!!!!! If chosen, a dane will be your sole responsibility- the good as well as the bad, as a child would need. CONSIDER RESCUING A DANE INSTEAD OF PURCHASING ONE FROM A BREEDER!!! Alot of them need homes due to irresponsible individuals who want to impress and have no education as to the needs of the breed. God bless
October 11th, 2009 at 2:26 am
I will buying one (1) Dane dog puppy (kides)
November 17th, 2009 at 9:48 am
My husband is in the Navy and when he went on deployment I was asked to watch one of his shipmates dogs for that 6 months. A beautiful, huge, 7 month old, gentle giant. He is a Black Lab Great Dane mix (they found him at the Humane Society!). the first few days he was a little crazy (new environment, and his owners left him outside all the time), but I fell in love with him in less than a month. As time neared for them to come home, the thought of them taking him back brought me to tears. He loves to hug, get kisses on the forehead, and when I lay on the floor with him he cuddles right up to my stomach. He’s even been known to fall asleep with his head on my shoulder. We get stopped all the time on walks or in the pet store. The first time I took him to the pet store I had my own posse of about 10 strangers, asking all about him. He sat right down and let the loving begin. Luckily with only one month left in the deployment, the owners offered him to me. I don’t know how they could give up such an amazing love muscle but I’m glad they did!