 The great dane combines, in it's regal apperance......
Those first words of the standard per the AKC discribes your first impresison of these gentle giants. Danes are wonderful dogs! Throughout the page, i will discribe what you go through, in stages. have fun, dont spurge and buy a dane, make sure you visit my links page and check out some of the great dane sites out there to learn more!
puppy- ahhh, puppy stages. fun, yet horrlbe at the same time. This is the time that you think it wont be tough to have a dane. They are so tiny when they are 8 weeks old but, before you know it, you have a 100 lbs puppy. This is the most adorable but worst stage of danehood. Danes house train very easily. I recomend crate training, I dont know how you could own a dane without a crate. well, if you have ever owned a dog, you know what the puppy stage is all about, chewing, potty breaks, feeding, midnight walks, etc. well, picture doing this (minus the midnight walks) for a year. If you can put up with a dane throughout puppyhood (up to three years long) then you can put up with anything! one subject I MUST address with danes is food. You need to be as close as possible to 15% fat and 24% protein. Danes will grow too fast and have weak bones if you give them too much more. One food that has worked wonders on my dane is proplan.
adolecents- this is another one of the tough stages.You can pretty much put this one under the puppy catagory. Adolecent danes a re HUGE puppies. They are starting to become couch potatoes at this time. This is their favorite time to live, this is the time they dicide they aren't going to show tricks to your friends and they want to make you look like a fool. My favorite trick of theirs; not baiting in the ring! when at home, the drool to get to the treat. So, as you can see, they are tough at this stage too. You can't really depend on them to work for you right now but, this is the most important time to build the skills they need. You should have already socialized while they were about 8 weeks old but, now, you need to show them who is boss and why they need to listen to you!
adult- wow! congratulations! You made it! These are the great years or sometimes, only a year. This is when your dog is in it's prime, thriving! It romps, it plays, hey, it even listens! What a change from adolecence huh? Well, what can I say about this time? Enjoy it while it lasts, which isn't long. danes become old very quickly. By the time they reach adult hood they are about three, by the time they meet senior citizen hood, they are about 4 and a half. Enjoy this time, make the most of it. have fun!
senior citizen- wow, what a ride huh? Sorry to say but, your old guy is grown up, puppy days are gone (believe it or not, when it gets to be this time, you are longing for those housebreaking days) and you have an old dog on your hands. This time can be the best for some people. This is the time to pamper your pooch. Let it stay very fit though, keep him active. Give him whatever he wants, afterall, he will have a short life (danes only live to about 8-9) and you want to make his short time on earth the best possible. My saying is, the reason their life on earth is so short is becuase God loves them so much, he wants them sooner than any other dog. These dogs are wonderful and they deserve everything they get a million times over.
i hope this site has given you some insite as to how danes realy are. Make sure you think about it before you get one.
The Breed Standard (per akc) |
