Great Danes & exercise

The uncanny popularity of Great Danes in my area has raised a big question in my mind - do these dogs require ANY exercise? I know at least a half dozen who get walked around the block twice a day, and another 4-5 who get turned out into a small yard to relieve themselves, and that's it for their outings. I've heard that the giant breeds require less exercise than more energetic medium breeds, but isn't this a bit extreme? Don't they need to get out more, just for their mental health, if nothing else?

Properly kept danes require quite a bit of exercise.

When I still had mine, up to an age of about 8 years old he would have gone absolutely bonkers with boredom without his daily bike ride (or long walk with lots of off leash exercise at the very least). After that he slowed down a little but still wanted at least two good walks a day.

Danes need proper exercise to build and maintain muscle tone and keep their heart conditioned. I'm not surprised that their life expectancy continually decreases - it's not just bad breeding but also a "couch potato" lifestyle many owners force on them.

And I agree with you 100%, for mental health, any dog out there should regularly see something different than the house and yard they live in.

That''s a myth that larger dogs needs less excercise. That''s why larger dogs seem to be more overweight. All dogs benefit from lots of excercise (some need it more than others). Danes deffinately need more than a couple rounds about the block

Thanks for the confirmation of something I suspected. I think a lot of the dogs I'm thinking of were bought as status symbols.