Are you ready to own a Great Dane???
If you are here looking to buy your next Great Dane puppy, then you have probably already discovered, or are anticipating, the joy of owing a Great Dane puppy. There loving, and loyal temperament, their commanding presents, and the wonderful squirming, cuddly puppy. I love having a puppy Great Dane around, there is nothing better than getting those exuberant wet puppy kisses. They are smart, trusting, loyal, willing to learn, and easily trained, but for inexperienced puppy owners, or first time Dane owners, disaster may strike, and your wonderful puppy may end up all alone, and in need of a home.
Owning a Great Dane is as rewarding as it is challenging, and my goal is to not simply place puppies in a new home, but to place them in a permanent, and loving home. Your puppy is capable of doing all of the things that a normal puppy will do, if not well trained and supervised. It will make mistakes in the house, it will be rambunctious, it will knock thing over, and it will dig holes. The only difference is that a great Dane puppy weighs up to 100lb, and it’s mistakes will be the size of a soccer ball, and pee will flood all of your floor. It won’t just knock things off of your table, it will knock the table over, and the hole it digs could hide you car. This is all normal, but to be a Great Dane owner you must have great patience, to receive the great reward of the adult Dane. There is nothing in the world more rewarding that a well trained, well behaved adult Great Dane. First, however, you must get through the puppy days. I will offer a few pointer, to make this transition easier for the both of you.
*Remember that when ever your puppy makes a mistake it is YOUR fault, puppies are not born knowing what is right and wrong, it is your responsibility to teach them. So if they do something bad, then YOU have not taught them well enough, or YOU were not supervising well enough. It is NEVER their fault!
*Constant supervision, makes all the training easier, faster, and smoother, but for many of you this is not practical. So when you are not supervising your puppy, put him or her somewhere he/she cannot do any damage. A bathroom will not do, your puppy is capable of chewing through the walls or tearing up the floors, and by allowing that you have just created a very bad habit.
*Fine the biggest crate you can, and keep him there when not supervised (but not for more that a few hours at a time)!!! He is a puppy and needs to go potty.
*If you do not want to crate him, make sure he has plenty to occupy his time with ex. toys toys toys/ chew toys, bones, raw hide, stuffed animals, and a playmate if possible. A bored puppy is a mischievous puppy.
*teach your puppy how to play by himself.
*play with your puppy, with his toys, this helps to show him how to play by himself.
*If your puppy makes a mistake when you are not around, DO NOT SPANK HIM he will not understand! you have to catch him in the act and then spank him and firmly tell him no. DO NOT LOOSE YOUR TEMPER, or he will be to afraid to learn.
*NEVER MAKE YOUR PUPPY AFRAID OF YOU, animals are not capable of learning when they are in a state of fear!
*If your puppy goes to the bathroom on the floor, firmly tell him no, and take him directly outside, and tell him to go potty.
*If you catch you puppy chewing on something he should not be, firmly tell him no, and immediately give him one of his chew toys, this helps him distinguish good toys from bad toys.
*When ever you are home have your puppy with you, never allow him out of your site, this helps to prevent bad habits from starting.
*If your puppy is a hole digger, and you catch him, firmly tell him no, show him the hole (do not make him afraid) and then fill in the hole with his droppings, to prevent a reoccurrence, in that spot anyway.
*If your puppy continues to dig, then every time he is out you must watch him and catch him in the act to correct it.
**Remember: The puppy is not being bad, you just have not trained him properly, and it is up to you to fix it.
*Great Danes have sensitive digestive tracts, even the smallest, abrupt, change in diet may cause diarrhea
*When your puppy has diarrhea, never scold him, he cannot help it!!!!!!! Be compassionate, and think about how you would feel in his situation.
*Some puppies have abnormal amounts of anal fluid, from there tremendous growth, and it needs to be expressed either by you or by a vet. otherwise it will be in your house, and it is the worst smell you will ever smell.
*Your puppy will begin to drool around 75lb, when ever he is overheated, overly excited, or after he has had something to drink. Keep hand towels handy. Keep the water bowl in the furthest room in the house, he should drip dry by the time he gets to you or your guests.
**GREAT DANES ARE INSIDE DOGS!!!!!!!!!
*Any temperature below 60 and above 90, and your great Dane needs to come in the house and stay there! They have thin skin and what hair they have is the equivalent to a sheet, so unless you feel comfortable standing outside in 40 degree weather wearing nothing but a sheet, then neither does he.
*Great Danes are large massive dogs, and can overheat in hot weather, so unless you want him to have a stroke bring him inside when it gets hot.
*if you feel that it is ‘JUST A DOG’ and can ‘DEAL WITH IT’ then you have no business owning a dog in the first place and especially not a Great Dane
*A Great Dane is an Exotic Pet, and must be treated that way.
*If any of this scares you, that is ok, it should….owing a great Dane is a great responsibility that should be left to those to can handle it, there are plenty of other dogs that are of a more manageable size.
*The worst thing that can happen to such an incredible animal, and companion, is being adopted by a family that just wants a big dog, and has no idea what to do with it, they encourage bad habits that as a 20lb puppy is cute, they don’t go to puppy classes, and then they have a 150lb untrained animal in their house, and that beautiful dog, that if raised by someone else, would be well mannered and trained and forever loved in its family, now must be put to sleep.
DO’S and DON’T
-Don’t allow you great Dane to jump on you EVER! not even if you think it is cute, not even if you like it, because in the future your friends might not like it.
-Don’t send mixed signals
*ex. allowing your puppy on the furniture (sometimes) and not other times, this only reinforces confusion, and future problems.
-Don’t allow your puppy to walk you. Start training you puppy how to Be walked on a leash as soon as he arrives, it is never to early to start training
-Don’t encourage barking, it may be cute when they are little, but it is scary and unacceptable when they are grown, Once they are grown they WILL protect you, and they don’t need ANY encouragement as puppies!!!!!!!!!!!
-Do start training them to sit as soon as you get them.
-Do start training them stay as soon as you get them.
-*Do take puppy classes, remember your cuddly ball of fur will weigh more than you when grown
-Do socialize your puppy at least twice a week until a year old
this is one of the most important things that you can do for your puppy
*park
*friends and family’s houses
*dog friendly events
*dog friendly businesses
(any business that does not sell food will usually allow animals)
*walks through town
*puppy school *puppy school *puppy school
*car rides