Great Dane Care

Lest I mislead you and make you think a great dane puppy is all joy and no work, let me tell you a few stories. I do this not to deter you, but to help you be sure you're ready for this wonderful breed.

I guess the work associated with the care of a Great Dane might be coorelated to their size. It's a lot of work! Great Danes grow FAST--this means before you even realize it, they're bigger than you. You have a small window of time to train them in the basics, before they can out muscle you.

House Training

Great Danes are surprisingly great house and apartment dogs. They love to be by their people, and if you train them how to behave in the house, this will be a win-win situation for both of you.

The first step to this is "potty training." I used a simple technique that worked in about 3 weeks for Cowboy, and 2 months for Scout (I'll explain why). I "crate" trained both of them. What this means is for the first while that they are in the house, they are in one of two places: 1: In a box large enough for them to sleep in, but small enough that they can't wander around too much, or 2: in your site, with your full attention.

If they are in their crate, they will "hold it" as long as they can. Puppies, for the most part, don't want to poop or pee in their "den," which is what its sleeping quarters are. They will probably whine or try to get out if they really need to go. If you are home, pay attention to this, and take your puppy outside!

If they are in your site, and you are doing your part by giving them your full attention, you will notice if and when they begin to look for a place to potty. You then take the puppy outside (to a specific place if you want to teach the puppy to use only a certain area of the yard) and let it do it's thing. Once its done, you praise your puppy for doing such a good job!

With Cowboy, this method worked great because it was summer time. This meant that during the day Cowboy could be outside in the back yard while we were at work. In the evening and morning we could devote our full attention to being sure he made it outside when he was supposed to.

With Scout this method worked, but with several more accidents along the way, and much more time required. This was because it was winter, and she couldn't stay outside. We would come home during lunch to let her "go." But sometimes she couldn't hold it that long. Cowboy also caused problems by figuring out ways to let her out of her box.

A couple CAVEATS about house training a Great Dane:

• Great Danes have short hair and are particularly susceptable to heat and cold. They cannot be left outside in temperatures below 60 or over 90 degrees. Be prepared for that.
  
• For the first while the puppy will need to go about every two hours (thus with Scout she had a harder time). This means day and night. Be prepared to be up 4 or 5 times a night to take the puppy outside. (They'll cry, like a human baby, when they need something in the night).
  
• Great Danes are prone to digestion problems, including diahreah and vomiting. Cowboy had diahreah maybe once a month until he was about a year, and Scout vomited perhaps twice a month until about 18 months. This is normal for the breed, but even when the puppy is trained, these situations will cause accidents. I cleaned up diahreah at 3:00 am more times than I care to count.
  

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Chewing

To this, I say: Good Luck! Part of helping the puppy not to chew on things it shouldn't is to: 1: Never let it get a hold of things it shouldn't chew on (keep things put away or up where it can't get to it) 2: Provide the puppy with several chew toys that it can chew on. Play with the chew toy with your puppy, so that it will identify the toy as belonging to it.

But accept the fact that you will probably loose a few things to your puppies teeth. I lost my favorite shoes, several books, and (gulp) a couch cushion! (Luckily my sister was able to mend it). After they've fully teethed, it may take several more months before you really trust them to leave your things alone. But Cowboy and Scout are finally to this point, and it's wonderful to be able to leave them them alone in the house if we go out, and not have to worry about what things will look like when we come home!

BE SURE THAT ALL ELECTRICAL CORDS AND OUTLETS ARE COVERED AND OUT OF THE WAY SO YOUR PUPPY DOESN'T CHEW ON THEM. THIS CAN KILL YOUR PUPPY!

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Feeding Your Puppy

Great Danes do not have particularly voracious appetites. Still, it's important to be sure your puppy is getting enough food, and the right food, to maintain its health. This will sound odd, but feed your puppy (especially while its growing) food low in protien. Some say to feed them half puppy half dog chow. Others say to simply choose a puppy chow designed specifically for large breed dogs. The reason this is important is because your puppy is growing so quickly, a diet low in protien will help slow down (not impede) the growth, helping your puppy develop strong bones and joints. If your puppy grows to quickly it can lead to health problems as an adult.

If your puppies legs start to bow (you'll know it when you see it), consult your vet. He will probably recommend a simple change of diet to help correct this problem.

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Sit, Shake, Lay Down, Rollover

These tricks are both practical and fun to teach your dog. With a little bit of patience and persistance, your puppy will master each trick! I recommend teaching only one trick at a time though.

Sit: For "Sit" take a dog treat, hold it straight out in the air so your puppy looks up at it. When the puppies head goes up, the butt naturally goes down (though you might need to help with a gentle push on the rump the first couple times). Say "Sit" as you do this. Once the dog sits down, give him the treat. (Make sure he stays sitting down, and doesn't jump up for the treat as you give it to him).

Shake: Get down on your knees so you're more on your puppy's level. Hold a dog treat in one hand and say "Shake" and grab one of his paws with your other hand. Shake the paw for a moment, and then give the puppy his treat, with his paw still in your hand.

Lay Down: With your puppy sitting down, take the dog treat and lower it down to the ground, a little bit in front of the puppy, while saying "lay down." This makes the puppy look down, and reach for it. This will cause him to lay down, though you might need to help him the first time or two.

Rollover: Once your puppy is laying down, take the treat and make a circle over the puppies head with it, saying "Rollover." It's eyes will follow the treat, and it will force the dog to rollover (again, help if needed the first time or two).

Each time your puppy gets the trick right, reward it with the treat, and lots of praise. Practice one trick for about 15 minutes a night until the puppy really gets it. Then move on to the next trick, but refresh the puppy on the past trick as well!

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Walking on a Leash

The technique I used to leash train my dogs is hard to describe in writing. But I will suggest checking your local community ed or kennels to see if they have training courses (this is what I did). It's generally fairly inexpensive, and well worth the money! Having my dogs leash trained makes them easy to take out in public. I know they will behave!

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