does anyone have a great dane?

[hfw]

I know it daesn't have much to do with phen , but i was wanting to get one when i reach my first goal, and I just had some questions about them.

[tlc93]

Hey we all post other stuff on here other than phen and weight loss related issues.So dont hesitate.
I have a cocker spaniel, but I think its a great idea to reward yourself with a new pet.Go to a web site about them. I bet they have alot of information about them you need to know.

[FireplaceNut]

I've heard they are great dogs. I have a Great Pyrnees (sp?). She is the fantastic! You should check them out, too.

They have great rescue places that specialize in larger breeds. You might want to do a search for your area. I got my dog from a rescue and she came 100% trained. She knew sit, stay, shake and was 100% potty trained. Very cool!

I'm still partial to my two wonderful cats...but the hubby loves BIG dogs. If it was up to me I would probably have a Yorkie but do love my Great Pyrnees :) .

Good luck!!!

[L J]

I don't; I have a bassett hound mix, but I am affiliated with a few different Great Dane rescues across the country, I also know several very reputable breeders, and I am a great admirer of the breed.
When I purchase a larger home and actually have a yard, I plan to adopt one.

Any questions you have, anything you want to know, ask away- If I don't know the answer I can find it pretty quickly.

[hfw]

Hi LJ!
One of my main questions is 'do they drool much?' I've read books, websites and just about every thing i can find on them. they all say they do but I want to know if it is exessive.. more than say a lab or blue heeler... I plan on having him inside and dont want to ruin everything with drool.

[L J]

Yep. They are droolers, there is no denying it. I am a big fan of hounds, my Gracie drools almost constantly, and it doesn't bother me at all. I have leather seats in my car and leather furniture in the house and it wipes off really well... lol.

If you are going to get a Great Dane, drool is something you are going to have to come to terms with.

What part of AL are you in? I can put you in touch with a couple of different rescues that would let you foster a dog for them- thats a good idea, I think, because it lets you get to know the breed before you make a commitment to one. Most of the Great Danes in rescues are wonderful companions- a lot of people get them when they are puppies and then decide they are too big to be a pet. So a lot of them end up in shelters or rescues.

[hfw]

I'm just outside of Montgomery, But I work In Mt. Meigs. I have had an inside dog before and I know I could handle it, but now I'm living with my parents and older brother and they have never had one inside. I think they would be able to handle anything but the drooling.

[FL Fat-So]

We live 'way out' and get alot of stray dogs dumped in my area and all seem to find my house! about 1.5 years ago someone dumped a great dane - could not beleive it ! he was gorgeous and healthy!! just enourmous (160 lbs)! He looked like a pony running around! We did not have a dog at the time and I wanted to keep him - my thought was we have 10 acres for him to run etc = how perfect! Well after doing a little homework on the breed online I found out that they are very much 'people' dogs and want to be in your home and part of your family. and when left outside (fenced yard, kennels etc) they can get very depressed! I was very surprised (for some reason?)! Well long story .. my house is very small - 2 bedrooms/1 bath and very crampt for my husband and two kids and myself and one cat. so there was just no way I could have him live in the house with us .. so I called the pound .. he was adopted and last I knew he was happy and healthy! and we wanted a 'big' dog but did not have the room so we got a Jack Russell Terrier ... she is very petite - maybe 10 pounds and almost 1 year old now! but she thinks she's at least 100 pounds! very much a family member .. anyway .. good luck with getting your dane! oh and the one we had for a few days had jawls ()sp>) that you would not beleive and drool was and understatement!! LOL more like 'flow' he was so cool though!!

[hfw]

Thanks for the replies. Is it worth the drool? or is it too much to handle?

[TwiceBlessed]

FireplaceNut -

We just lost our Great Pyrnees this year at age 14! WAAAAHHHH!! :( ( What a sad day that was. We loved her DEARLY and actually had 2 other Great Pyrnees that were temporary rescues at our home for several months. (I called them my "foster dogs"). But the one who just died was our baby - got her before we were even married.

Now we have a Boxer puppy (7 weeks) and our 4 year old Golden. Love them all!!!

[hfw]

twiceblessed, i know what you are going through. I just lost my heeler. he was 3 years old and my best friend! he went every where i did, and i miss him sooo much.

[L J]

http://www.netpets.org/dogs/dogresc/breeds/dogdane.html

http://www.ginnie.com/gdlinks.htm

The first link gives a comprehensive list of G.D. rescues, three of which are in Alabama. The next one is just an all around awesome web sites for Great Danes in general.

Please, please, please... whatever you do- DO YOUR RESEARCH on this breed before you make a commitment to one. All animals are a huge responsibility, but Great Danes have a lot of special needs and considerations... please be very sure that you can take one on before you get one.

[FireplaceNut]

TwiceBlessed...

I'm sorry to hear about your Pry. Wow...she sure did live a long life for a Pry. They really are great dogs. I'll be sad when mine goes to the rainbow bridge someday, too :( !

[missus]

This is a coincidence. When I was returning from getting my son, I saw a man walking 2 great danes. Me being a dog lover, shouted to him, your babies are beautiful, and he gave me a thumbs up. One was black and one was gray. But as far as knowing anything about them, don't know. I luv all dogs though. We have a beagle.

Fireplace, what does a great Pyr look like?

Missus

BTW, where can you get heartworm medicine. The vet wants to charge 100.00 per visit. And all our pup needs is his heartwork medication for teh summer as he has had all of his shots.

[L J]

Hey Missus, try pet********

I get Gracie Iverheart (I think thats how its spelled) at the recommmendation of my vet, and its cheap!

[L J]

pet m e d s d o t c o m

[missus]

Hey LJ, didn' get the name of the business. But I'll try that med you metnioned. Thanks girl.

Missus

[hfw]

missus, you have a beagle? when i first started looking for a dog i wanted a beagle.
they are sooooo cut. is yours a 13 or a 15 in.?

[hfw]

sorry, i meant CUTE!

[politelypink]

I had a Fawn Great Dane many years ago, Dinro lines. They are great dogs, and very good with people. Their drool is not excessive in say, comparison to a Bordeaux breed (Turner & Hooch), but to say that it doesn't exist or that they don't wouldn't be true.

There are plenty of reputable breeders locally and online as well, with fantastic well put together and informative websites. Mine was shipped to us when he was a puppy, from MA to TX. There are also many wonderful rescues and shelters specific to Great Danes.

If you'd like to search a good site, go to www.petfinder.com (http://www.petfinder.com) and type in your search critera.

If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.

[politelypink]

Originally posted by missus:
Hey LJ, didn' get the name of the business. But I'll try that med you metnioned. Thanks girl.

Missus Hi Missus, in regards to the heartworm medicine question, Petsmart, every other Saturday of the month has their vet clinic staff come in and they have packages and individual shots that you can buy and they administer there. Their lines are always full of people who go and take their animals (cats/dogs) there. My first set of puppy shots were at the vets, but after that I get all their series and boosters there. They also have heartworm and flea prevention there that you can buy as well. It's be worth looking into!

[hfw]

Politelypink,
if i get one it would be a fawn. i think i would leane his ears natural. i just can't see putting him through that pain. were yours natural or cropped?

[politelypink]

Originally posted by hfw:
Politelypink,
if i get one it would be a fawn. i think i would leane his ears natural. i just can't see putting him through that pain. were yours natural or cropped? Fawns are soo pretty. Mine had a beautiful, strong black mask. His ears were cropped as a pup, per breeder look standards and choice, by a veterinarian. I even had to do all the taping business too. I prefer the look of the cropped ears. They look more strong featured, but without the crop they look so floppy and dopey, lol.

Here's a link if you're interested in reading more about cropping. Under professional care, local anesthesias & pain meds are usually used (vets). There were never any signs of discomfort as a pup, though. I imagine the initial "surgery" pain was uncomfortable for a little while, but they are generally acting normal as little puppies do even after it.

http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/should_I%20_crop_my_great_dane_puppy.htm

[hfw]

thanks!

[naz51]

Hi Missus! My vet gives out coupons for the heartworm pills. If you keep your dog on the HW pills year round, they only need to be tested every 3 years. It's expensive tho...
What's a poor pup lover to do?

I used to take my animals off the HW med from Nov. thru Feb., but one of my dogs got heartworm in the MIDDLE OF WINTER!!! Mosquitos living in the basement or something, never knew. The treatment is to give the dawg arsenic and poison the worms (and the dog too) Yaz was never the same after that horrific experience. He got cancer a couple years later. I think it was caused by the HW treatment.

:)


About GREAT DANES: my bro has 5 Harlequins, black and white. Beautiful dogs. Loving, protective, house babies; they all sleep with my brother. His poor wifey...

He used to raise the Fawn Great Danes, and I don't recall them drooling. A big dog is a big responsibility! You should visit dog shows, and get to know someone who has Danes. They like to run, and people are often needlessly fearful of their size.

Good luck!

:)

[cherrycoke]

We had several Great Danes when I was growing up. I really loved them. Both were really gentle, loyal dogs. They could ran like deer it seemed and every day it would follow the school bus for miles and keep up with it. (We lived way in the boonies in montana. Nobody fenced there dogs there.) We had one Dane when I was younger than after we lost the first, we got another one when I was in highschool. I thought they drooled like crazy though and they have wicked tails. We didn't have the tails cropped since they were outside dogs. Their tails would make big whip marks on your legs. They don't just drool, they like to slap it around all over. I can't imagine having the Danes in the house. They are were so big and drooly. Seemed they were a bit clumsey too in enclosed areas. But being farm animals, they rarely ever got in the house except for on exceptionally cold nights and they were skittish and nervous while inside.

Sadly, it seems they don't have the longest life spans. Both died about the same age--I can't remember what it was now. I think 7-9 years. But it seemed they both had the very same thing happen to them when they turned a certain age. Since I was younger at the time, I didn't really understand it, but it seemed to have to do with their stomach twisted or turning over. They were rushed to the hospital and died very quickly. My father insisted they have their ears cropped although my mom was against it because they really do seem to be in so much pain. They do look kinda goofy with those big natural ears though. The second Dane kept pawing its ears so badly that one was messed up and never properly stood up. Later it on, it was her trademark. It was hysterical and she looked so comical because when she perked up to listen to something, her one ear would stand up and other one would fall over all dog eared. Anyway, I love Danes but personally I think they need A LOT of room. Keeping them in a little yard seems cruel, especially when I have childhood memories of how much that dog would run around in the fields. Sometimes it would regularly run tons of laps out there and we lived on a lot acreage. Thinking back on it now, they ran a LOT. They are very friendly animals and follow you around constantly and are very protective but ours wouldn't have hurt anyone. They actually are kinda scaredy cats. I do know that it would go bezerk if another dog snarled at us. It was nice to other animals..but one time a mean stray snarled at one of the kids and that Dane went nuts on it. We've had lots of dogs growing up and I never got as attached to any animal as much I did to the Danes. They just seemed to really love us kids so much. I don't really have any "adult" knowledge of them but many fond memories of them from childhood.

[ June 04, 2005, 04:59 AM: Message edited by: cherrycoke ]

[babagrlshell]

I have a lab mix that we got at the humane society. Jake is the cutest puppy see:

http://mpg.cc/babagrlshell04/picture-015_large.jpg

he was a little afraid of women (me included) when we got him, but he is warming up. He was also a little skittish around children, not mean, just scared. So especially when adopting, consider children and living environment.

[missus]

Baba, he's beautiful!!

Hey Naz, thanks for the tip girl. Our vet did the same thing. Said to come back in April or May cuz it's so cold here in Minnesota. I would have never though mosquitos in Winter. But we have spiders all Winter in our basement (in spite of trying everything available).

Thanks for the tips POlite and LJ.

HFW, he's 15 inches. I should post his pic again.

Missus

[hfw]

Hey missus, please do. I'd love to see his pic.

baba, it looks like he might have a little
german short haired pointer in him, do you know?
he's so cute!

Cherrycoke, that problem with their stomaches is called 'bloat'. it happens because their stomach has so much room in their huge chest cavity, that when they run aroun it gets twisted and cuts off the oxygen to the rest of the intestines(kinda like a kink in a water hose). their exersise should be monitered, esspecially after they eat. all of this info has been read since i have never had one. I also live in a place where nobody fences their dogs, but I cant put one outside any more because of what happend to my Heeler (hit by a car) :( . I cant go through that again.

[hfw]

Hey politelypink I forgot to ask, if you don't mind, how much does shipping a dog cost?

[babagrlshell]

Yeah german short haired? I'm going to have to get a book on them too. The vet said he probably has a little pointer in him (he's got some white on his paws, chest and around his mouth (can't see it in this pic) and he's got a little bit of a loose scruff on his neck (labs typically have a tighter scruff). Now I'm wishing we would have taken pictures of his brothers and sisters at the humane society so I could investigate! LoL!
He's got a LOT of energy, and slowly letting me train him (could never be the way around though- geez) since he's not really receptive to women.
We got him when he was 3 months and we are guessing that something must have happened when he was a tiny pup- he's 7.5 months now. Just hoping he'll warm up to children a little more b/c we want to be able to keep him as an in-house dog when we have kids (in the future).

[hfw]

I have decided not to get a great dane because my family thinks it is just too big. So i have done more research and have found that a Weimaraner will suit our family very well. If any one has any info on this breed i would appreciate it. I'm soo looking forward to the new addition to our family.

[politelypink]

Originally posted by hfw:
Hey politelypink I forgot to ask, if you don't mind, how much does shipping a dog cost? Usually from $100 something to $200 something. Depends which airline. I scrolled down and saw your choice not to get a GD, but good luck in whatever breed you are searching for. Oh, on that site I told you about, www.petfinder.com (http://www.petfinder.com) besides searching the shelters for certain breeds, etc. they have a classifieds section too that you can sort by state, then animal, that people post on.