Now that we have a fair number of Dane owners here, I thought it would be a good time to ask you all about the breed.
My mom's dream dog is a Great Dane. She has wanted one forever... probably more than twenty years now. She's never had one simply because we've always been a multi dog home and have never had a very big house, so it would be too crowded to have a giant breed amongst other dogs. Plus the fact that she probably didn't really want multiple dogs, plus a Dane, plus two young kids running around all at the same time. But now that my brother and I are older, and both of us will be leaving home within a few years probably (and I will be taking my dogs with me), she really, really would love to finally be able to get a Dane. My Doberman breeder knows of a good Dane breeder (shows, health tests, really friendly lady, great longevity in her dogs), so that's probably covered. But I wanted to ask owners what they're really like to live with?
She does not want anything overly demanding exercise wise. She likes walks and is not one that would enjoy taking a dog out to play endless games of fetch or take for a long run every evening after work.
Training wise she would do best with something pleasing and trainable, but it doesn't have to be super quick and as willing as say a retriever or a herding type breed. She, like most people, enjoys a quick learner but she is also used to a stubborn streak.
Health wise, what are they really like? Are most Dane owners drowning in vet bills? Or is it possible to have a Dane and have it be relatively healthy? Sorry if it's a stupid question. They seem to have similar health concerns to Dobermans and I know most Doberman people aren't constantly running to the vet, but I've heard an awful lot of bad stories about Dane health and vet costs.
Are they prone to dog aggression? I know they seem to have SSA concerns, but not sure about outright dog aggression.
I personally haven't read much about Danes or talked to many Dane people as I didn't think my mom would ever actually own one, but she's dreamed of one for so many years now and really would like one. So I thought it would be good to ask all of you knowledgable Dane owners here first about them. Also, anything else you think a potential Dane owner should know (that I didn't ask about) would be greatly appreciated! She's done a little bit of research and knows quite a bit about them already, but it's good to verify things and I'm sure you all will have new information to add as well.
My mom's dream dog is a Great Dane. She has wanted one forever... probably more than twenty years now. She's never had one simply because we've always been a multi dog home and have never had a very big house, so it would be too crowded to have a giant breed amongst other dogs. Plus the fact that she probably didn't really want multiple dogs, plus a Dane, plus two young kids running around all at the same time. But now that my brother and I are older, and both of us will be leaving home within a few years probably (and I will be taking my dogs with me), she really, really would love to finally be able to get a Dane. My Doberman breeder knows of a good Dane breeder (shows, health tests, really friendly lady, great longevity in her dogs), so that's probably covered. But I wanted to ask owners what they're really like to live with?
She does not want anything overly demanding exercise wise. She likes walks and is not one that would enjoy taking a dog out to play endless games of fetch or take for a long run every evening after work.
Training wise she would do best with something pleasing and trainable, but it doesn't have to be super quick and as willing as say a retriever or a herding type breed. She, like most people, enjoys a quick learner but she is also used to a stubborn streak.
Health wise, what are they really like? Are most Dane owners drowning in vet bills? Or is it possible to have a Dane and have it be relatively healthy? Sorry if it's a stupid question. They seem to have similar health concerns to Dobermans and I know most Doberman people aren't constantly running to the vet, but I've heard an awful lot of bad stories about Dane health and vet costs.
Are they prone to dog aggression? I know they seem to have SSA concerns, but not sure about outright dog aggression.
I personally haven't read much about Danes or talked to many Dane people as I didn't think my mom would ever actually own one, but she's dreamed of one for so many years now and really would like one. So I thought it would be good to ask all of you knowledgable Dane owners here first about them. Also, anything else you think a potential Dane owner should know (that I didn't ask about) would be greatly appreciated! She's done a little bit of research and knows quite a bit about them already, but it's good to verify things and I'm sure you all will have new information to add as well.