How to Care for a Great Dane

The Great Dane is patient, friendly with children and enjoys being with people. This breed does not do well when left alone and requires obedience training early on because of its large size.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dog Bones
• Dog Brushes
• Dog Collars
• Dog Conditioner
• Dog Dishes
• Dog Food
• Dog Grooming Sprays
• Dog Leashes
• Dog Shampoo
• Dog Toys
• Dog Training Leashes/collars
• Nail Clippers For Dogs
• Dog Shampoo

1. Vaccinate your Great Dane when you first get her, and follow up with yearly booster vaccinations to maintain the dog's immunity to disease. Worm your adult dog every three months and consult with your veterinarian about flea-control products.

2. Be prepared to feed your dog a lot. Great Danes eat 3 to 6 cups of food twice a day.

3. Feed your Great Dane high-grade dog food. The first ingredient should be meat if you want a quality product. Crude protein should be no less than 26 percent (for puppies, no more than 28 percent); crude fat, no less than 20 percent. Fiber content needs to be 4 percent or less.

4. Socialize your Great Dane as a puppy with other dogs. Because of their size, Great Danes need to be trained early on not to jump up or lean into children and knock them over.

5. Train your dog not to bite or jump. Because they're so large, Great Danes can inflict serious damage on others as they mature - even when playing. This breed learns best with positive reinforcement, not with force.

6. Exercise your Great Dane at least once a day with a long walk.

7. Brush your Great Dane's coat weekly with a firm-bristle brush. Her short coat stays relatively clean and needs to be washed only when necessary.

8. Trim toenails every two to three weeks.

9. Understand health problems related to Great Danes. They are prone to hip dysplasia (a malformed ball and socket in the hip joint), hypothyroidism (a condition that causes the body to slow down), Von Willebrand's disease (a bleeding disorder), heart disease, tumors and bloat.

10. Note that a male Great Dane will grow to 30 to 34 inches with an average weight of 120 to 160 lbs. Females will reach heights between 28 and 32 inches and weigh between 100 and 130 lbs.

11. Keep in mind that these great dogs usually have a relatively short life span of around five to six years, so appreciate every minute with them.

Tips & Warnings

• These dogs won't bark unless there's a real threat.

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[ariesblackdove]

on 1/28/2010 I find this post dangerous and extremely misleading! Great danes protine lvls should not be that high like other commentors have said also :Exercise your Great Dane at least once a day with a long walk. this is highly dangerous for people who have a puppy! puppies should not be over exercised it should be done gradually and not over 20 mins untill they have reached the age of 18 months!Taking a puppy that is in the growth stages, on a long walk every day will increase the chance of damage to the bones and cartilage! I wish people would study their subjects more before posting influential pieces like this, I would hate to think how many people have read this post and are now bringing up their Danes completely wrong! unless this vet is just trying to promote himself some business!

[moosemitchvane]

on 1/8/2010 we got our first (ever) great dane Moose two years ago, he is about 26 months old now. he was growing way too fast during the first three months and our vet told us to go to a lower protein food brand. we did and his growth has been steady and slow ever since. he is rather tall, 37 inches to the shoulder, but stays pretty slender, 130 pounds. he has not really put any weight on for the last 8 months but he looks pretty healthy and active! We were told not to try for the biggest great dane because that would reduce his life expectancy. I am Happy with his waight, whenever he is healthy!!

[danezoomies]

on 8/30/2009 I agree with the posts of the very much more informed commentors! High protein has also been linked to Wobbler's Syndrome in large and Giant breed dogs....and YEESH...I remember when we got my first Dane 12 years ago, the average speculated life-span of a healthy Dane was 11-12....it's EASY to see how we cut their lives in HALF if you follow this idiotic advice! High protein encourages rapid (IE UNSAFE) growth of bones and joints, and often dogs like Danes only get the "runs" from it. It's okay to maybe have a slightly higher protein content until 6 months of age (not more than 22-23%) and then back them off to 21% after 6 months.

Someone should FIRE this "expert"...

[antonioescape]

on 8/8/2009 I agree NEVER NEVER EVER feed over23-24% protien to a Greatdane. Yes they can live 8-12 yrs with proper care and nutrition. Research dane breeders and AKC CLUBS .

[bettythegreat]

on 5/31/2009 The "tip" part that says they only bark when there is a real threat is backwards! Based on my own personal experience, is that My great danes bark A LOT; especially when they play, but also they bark at neighbors that they have already met dozens of times. The one time they DO NOT bark is when there is a REAL threat, they are focused on physical protection rather than alerting (which is the job of my small dogs); although they may give a growl. What the author SHOULD have said was that the only time they might BITE is when there is a real threat. I can't imagine my danes biting any human EVER, but during a REAL threat (robber for example) if a headbutt, kick to the crotch, or bodyslam doesn't work I could see the potential for a bite; but, a growl usually does the job in the first place.