Archive for January, 2010
Ten Reasons to Get a Great Dane
10 reasons to have a great dane
1. If you want an animal that will act more like a family member than a dog this is a great choice. Danes seem to forget that they are dogs and start to think of themselves as people. This has some amusing consequences.
2. If you want a guard dog that will scare the crap out of people but not actually hurt anyone then this is the dog for you. Their bark is much bigger than their bite and while great danes can be aggressive it is unusual and usually limited to cases of mistreatment. One thing is for certain, they will scare strangers half to death.
3. They are lazy and lovable and great around the house but they can also have boundless energy when taken out to play. The are great for going running and lots of fun to take for long walks.
4. Great danes are excellent ice breakers. People always have a story to tell about a big dog and they get lots of attention. If you like attention and enjoy talking to strangers they are a great fit.
5. Great Danes are excellent foot rests. Have lots of chairs and no ottomans? Get a dane, they will happily lay under foot for hours.
6. If you like to cuddle and don’t mind a little bit of hair they will give you as much or more love than you require. Be prepared for a needy beast than can never get quite as much as it needs.
7. Because little dogs just plain suck. Want a real dog get a great dane. Want a rat dog that you have to worry about getting killed by an owl get a poodle.
8. If you need something to do with all that extra food laying around your house and want a portable automatic disposal this is the dog for you. They can devour a table full of food in the time it takes to get a bottle of ketchup from the pantry. Want to loose a couple of pounds and need help with your diet. A great dane will be happy to help.
9. This one is a little vain but thats ok. These are some great looking dogs and they make all other dogs jealous with their good looks. Go big or go home and never settle for second best looking.
10. If you realize that all of your material possessions have a limited life span and that you must rotate them out after they have lived out their usefulness a great dane will give you a reason to get rid of those old shoes, that new watch, or that whatever else you leave on the floor.
Carpet
Carpet
If you have a house with carpet and you thought it would be a good idea to get a great dane, what the heck were you thinking? You would be better off pulling the carpet out and exposing the plain concrete slab of your house. The dogs won’t appreciate this but your allergies will and you will save a fortune in carpet cleaning bills. There are a couple of reasons that carpet is a really bad idea
Short Hair
Just because danes have short hair does not mean that they don’t shed. They shed a lot and it is pretty easy to sweep up on hard floors but that short hair also has a way of burrowing deeply into nice carpet. It won’t vacuum out nearly as easily as long hair because of the reduced surface area and it tends to work its way deeper and deeper into the carpet. If you have ever removed carpet you know how disgusting it can be beneath the surface. Multiply that by a factor of 10 just when taking into account the great dane hair.
Big Paws
These monstrous paws do great damage in two ways. One they track in all sorts of good junk from the yard, danes are not very good at wiping their feet and their feet are so big that the increased surface area contributes greatly towards big muddy foot prints on nice carpet. Next damage factor. Ever see a cleated soccer player change direction on a muddy field? They leave a big divot in the grass. Danes are capable of doing this to your carpet. Their nails get long fast any you need a hedge trimmer to cut them so it often goes undone, thus contributing to divoted carpet.
Slobber
This one is a little more avoidable than some of the others but no less destructive. I have already discussed the tendency of food to disappear in a dane household and carpet seems to be prime eating area for great danes or and dog for that matter. The likely hood of a steak being eaten off of your nice carpet is pretty high and from what I know steak is fairly difficult to get out of carpet. Apply this rationale to basically anything that you expect to disappear in the future. Bones are also incredibly messy but a delight to chew on the carpet.
All solid floors is the way to go, you will save a fortune in heartache and bills alike. As much as we love our great danes we must be prepared for their ability to destroy.
Counter Tops are Head Level
Counter tops as a whole are not great dane approved. This may seem obvious to some who are familiar with danes but to those who are not let me paint a picture. As I am tediously fixing a delicious meal for myself I turn my back for long enough to grab another ingredient from the refrigerator. When I return to put the finishing touches on my meal, it is gone. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for a whole turkey to disappear and it works in the great dane’s favor that their heads are right at counter level. They simple prance through the kitchen and devour anything that is at mouth level and appear remotely appetizing.
As you can imagine this is kind of frustrating. But the danes are so lovable that I always end up giving them a second chance. Can this be trained out, maybe but I am not that talented a trainer. The best thing I have found to do is plan ahead a little and realize that they are doing what big dogs do.
If I am spending long in the kitchen and cooking a large meal, the area becomes a no great dane zone. This is by far the safest course of action but not always practical. If I do not condone off the area it does not take long at all before I have big noses pushing their way into the mix trying to be of assistance. I can do without their help.
If I made the daring choice to leave food out in the kitchen, it must, and this is imperative, not be left at head level. The quick safety test that I run consists of me imagine if I could reach something with my mouth, great danes are about as tall as me, maybe a little taller when standing on two legs, so naturally if I can reach it so can they. I find that the only truly safe area is on top of the refrigerator.
Tables are not different, if you are planning on getting a dane be prepared to alter your eating experience or be prepared to condone off an area during meal time. Don’t let the sad eyes fool you, they will devour am entire table of unattended, or attended food for that matter before you have much of a chance to react.
Great danes are irresistibly lovable and have more personality than any other breed I have met. But they do require some pretty serious lifestyle shifts and don’t ever forget, counter tops are not great dane approved.