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Great Dane Pup arrives weds! Advice
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29-11-2010 3:09pm#1
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Luath or Burns would get our vote but all dogs are different so you may have to try a few before you find one that suits your dog. NB only buy small bags to start with so you're not left with tons of food that doesn't agree with the dog.
Also the most important rule when you get a puppy or new pet is to post pics for all of us to coo over!
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My great dane pup is just over 1 year old and my little angel
If you want any advice just pm me and I'll be happy to point you in the right direction.
As regards diet, stay away from puppy foods, these are way too high in protein and you do not want a puppy particularly a giant breed puppy with development/growth issues. If you are getting the pup from a reputable, experienced breeder they will no doubt give you a diet sheet which should include recommendations on supplements to help their development (ie glucosamine and chondroitin for their joints and vitamin c). You should be aiming to grow the pup slowly, you will have a much easier development process then. Bear in mind great danes literally grow before your eyes. 20%-23% is the ideal protein level, most puppy foods are waaay too high at on average 26% and sometimes as high as over 30%. And if you are willing do some research on BARF feeding, I can't recommend it enough, especially for giant breed dogs. Google Dr Ian Billinghurst and you will find all the information you need. I feed my pup BARF, have done so since a month after I got him, as recommended by his breeder. Majority of breeders recommend BARF and if your breeder doesn't give you information on it, go to the Irish Kennel Club website and you will find a list of breeders (if not, try the UK KC website), most reputable breeders will be more than happy to send you on advice if it means a boost for the breed. If you want advice on what to feed BARF wise give me a shout and I'll try and help you out but as I said your breeder or an experienced breeder would be your best bet in this regard.
The most important thing with great danes is training, as wompa1 said, when these dogs are excited, hell when they're calm, they can easily knock you over and that's when they're pups, imagine a dog that weighs more than you overpowering you, not something you want. Train from day one and you will have a nice, docile, obedient pup, I can guarantee you that. They go through a teenage period from about 10-18 months where they act exactly like teenagers, selective deafness etc but with consistent training this can be diluted down for you a bit. Also, make sure everyone in your house is consistent with training. My dog has knocked people over while playing, completely unintentional but it can so easily happen (I obviously am so used to him that I always manage to step out of the way haha!). Most people will recommend training classes but if you can do it one to one you will have much more success and it will be so fulfilling.
You should look into crate training or setting out one room in your house to confine the pup to when you are out/at night time etc, this will limit destruction and as much as their puppy eyes fool you they are destructive in the same way as all pups but the size of their jaws cause waaay more damage than a little jack russell or other such small breed. If you're interested in crate training pm me as I actually have a large crate that I no longer use and was bought for my pup.
Main advice would be to stay away from great dane forums, they are full of so-called "experts", you are better off contacting a breeder, even if it's not the breeder you're getting the pup from, if you have any questions or a decent vet.
These dogs when trained right are the best companion I could ever recommend but I hope you know what you're taking on, when I first got my pup I literally gave up my social life. In fairness, I took him on when I lived on my own so it was just me there to look after him (which had it's upsides too), but you need to be prepared to be at their beck and call to ensure you are consistent with the training.0 -
My great dane pup is just over 1 year old and my little angel If you want any advice just pm me and I'll be happy to point you in the right direction.
As regards diet, stay away from puppy foods, these are way too high in protein and you do not want a puppy particularly a giant breed puppy with development/growth issues. If you are getting the pup from a reputable, experienced breeder they will no doubt give you a diet sheet which should include recommendations on supplements to help their development (ie glucosamine and chondroitin for their joints and vitamin c). You should be aiming to grow the pup slowly, you will have a much easier development process then. Bear in mind great danes literally grow before your eyes. 20%-23% is the ideal protein level, most puppy foods are waaay too high at on average 26% and sometimes as high as over 30%. And if you are willing do some research on BARF feeding, I can't recommend it enough, especially for giant breed dogs. Google Dr Ian Billinghurst and you will find all the information you need. I feed my pup BARF, have done so since a month after I got him, as recommended by his breeder. Majority of breeders recommend BARF and if your breeder doesn't give you information on it, go to the Irish Kennel Club website and you will find a list of breeders (if not, try the UK KC website), most reputable breeders will be more than happy to send you on advice if it means a boost for the breed. If you want advice on what to feed BARF wise give me a shout and I'll try and help you out but as I said your breeder or an experienced breeder would be your best bet in this regard.
The most important thing with great danes is training, as wompa1 said, when these dogs are excited, hell when they're calm, they can easily knock you over and that's when they're pups, imagine a dog that weighs more than you overpowering you, not something you want. Train from day one and you will have a nice, docile, obedient pup, I can guarantee you that. They go through a teenage period from about 10-18 months where they act exactly like teenagers, selective deafness etc but with consistent training this can be diluted down for you a bit. Also, make sure everyone in your house is consistent with training. My dog has knocked people over while playing, completely unintentional but it can so easily happen (I obviously am so used to him that I always manage to step out of the way haha!). Most people will recommend training classes but if you can do it one to one you will have much more success and it will be so fulfilling.
You should look into crate training or setting out one room in your house to confine the pup to when you are out/at night time etc, this will limit destruction and as much as their puppy eyes fool you they are destructive in the same way as all pups but the size of their jaws cause waaay more damage than a little jack russell or other such small breed. If you're interested in crate training pm me as I actually have a large crate that I no longer use and was bought for my pup.
Main advice would be to stay away from great dane forums, they are full of so-called "experts", you are better off contacting a breeder, even if it's not the breeder you're getting the pup from, if you have any questions or a decent vet.
These dogs when trained right are the best companion I could ever recommend but I hope you know what you're taking on, when I first got my pup I literally gave up my social life. In fairness, I took him on when I lived on my own so it was just me there to look after him (which had it's upsides too), but you need to be prepared to be at their beck and call to ensure you are consistent with the training.0 -
ohhh very exciting
id agree that the breeder should give you a diet sheet and food for your pup to start with, make any food changes slowly over a week!
Def stay below 25% protien and give no added supplements other then vit c and sunflower oil!
The feeding guidelines on food can be deceiving and i always go by eye, for an 8week old dane id start with one normal mug of complete food,soaked slightly,four times a day...slowly introducing the vit c and sunflower oil!
lots of good dane sites around to browse, best of luck :cool:0 -
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Seconding the crate and don't become complacent around 12-18 months mark when they appear to have matured into a nice dog. It's a lie! They're trying to lull you into a false sense of security That idiot puppy is still there, just camouflaged and they can do a lot more damage now. We stopped crating the MooDog around 16 months as she seemed perfectly well behaved - couple of months later she ate the walls (through plasterboard and into the breezeblock underneath) one evening and ripped the architrave off the bathroom door :rolleyes: She was about 4 before I took the crate down the second time and even now I restrict her access in the house when I'm out
Print the symptoms of bloat out and keep them somewhere obvious - refer to them if you're unsure. YamaMoo bloated twice this summer and didn't display the classic symptoms until after we'd arrived at the vets despite having fully torsioned both times. Get insurance or set up a saving account - they have an extra sense called "out of hours vet" that kicks in when they feel poorly and hides the symptoms until the regular surgery hours are done.
Re the cats - lock that litter tray away, especially if it's a covered one. Litter snacks are the ultimate Dane treat and they will help themselves if they get the slightest chance. This is a big problem when you catch them, startling the IdiotDog who will then jump up and back in a guilty fashion with the litter tray stuck around their neck.
Take plenty of pictures, otherwise you'll never believe that the monster taking up the couch was a teeny puppy once 0 -
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Back when I was planning on getting a dane I put a good bit of research into the food as well, the main thing to look for is a puppy food specific to giant or x-large dogs. It should have no more than 2% calcium and about .9% phosphorous. Too much calcium for a dog that size means the bones will actually grow the wronrg shape .
+1 about the low calcium! Really important for giant breed pups ... Some great advice given here by everyone else too 0 -
DeadlyByDesign wrote: »Regarding the litter tray, you are the second person to say that to me in 24hours! Is kitty poo a delicacy to a dane or something ?!
It seems to be to every dog but other breeds don't get their head stuck in the litter tray 0 -
DeadlyByDesign wrote: »Is everyone with Allianz? I have a quote of 300 premium from them?
There's cheaper companies but I'm with Allianz cos our vet does direct claim with them so I just pay the €100 excess, sign the form and then they fill it all in and the jobs done. Also because we've been with them from day one we're covered for his existing illness - if we moved to a different insurer it wouldn't be covered. Check with your vets because they usually have booklets that have a voucher for a few months free etc
€300 euro is nothing btw when it comes to vets bills - our guy cut his paw in the summer and the bills would have easily been €300.0 -
pixiebean22 wrote: »Also, it's not even that they require the vet more often than other dogs (once they're healthy) it's that when they do they require larger doses of everything so bear that in mind
This!
After BloatII we were sent home with various drugs etc. I was very amused to read a caution on the front of one of the antibiotics stating that I wouldn't be able to eat or milk her for 10 days after the course was done (price per tablet for dog medication was so stupidly high for a Dane dose that the vet prescribed Cow meds lol).
I also had to collect her painkillers from the pharmacy (she was on a people version for the same reason) and ended up waiting an extra 20 minutes while they rang the vet to query the dosage as it "couldn't be right"
We were going to insure her with Allianz but they declared her heart condition to be pre existing so we went with the savings account.0 -
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Our new boards puppy :pac: Your new puppy is coming today!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to see the pics:D:D
Yep!!1 Sooooo excited! Collecting him tonight from the north, so will be tonight or early tomorrow until i can get anything on here, but just to whet your apetite, here he is at 3 weeks
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DeadlyByDesign wrote: »Yep!!1 Sooooo excited! Collecting him tonight from the north, so will be tonight or early tomorrow until i can get anything on here, but just to whet your apetite, here he is at 3 weeks
It looks like a bear cubs ass!0 -
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