One thing to get straight first is that virtually any dog will ruin your yard, it doesn’t matter if it is a pip-squeak poodle. You can guarantee that with pets your grass will not be pristine. Little dogs make trails and their poop is harder to find when it hides in the grass. At least with great dane dog bombs you don’t have any trouble locating the danger.

If you are unfamiliar with animal patterns they are much like people in that they develop habits. Dogs habits are readily visible by the paths that they leave in your yard. They often run the same laps when they get excited, jump on the fence in the same place, or pace in the same area when they are nervous. One particularly bothersome habit that I have recently noticed as the weather warms up is that of my female great dane seeking out the longest healthiest grass on which to sprawl out. I am guessing that this has something to do with the coolness of the grass or the ergonomic benefits of laying in long grass as opposed to short. Whatever the case, it serves to destroy my best looking grass, but at least she tends to rotate her favorite area. This at least means that my yard looks uniformly crappy.

You have a couple of choices about how to approach this particular situation. You could get rid of your beast of burden, but who wants to do that? We love our beasts even if they are a burden. So, you are left with accepting the fact that you will have a less than perfect yard.

I suggest that you make a claim on at least a small portion of your yard. Section of a small area or a patio, at least for a zen meditation garden, you may need this to relax your nerves after dealing with your great dane. Your space requirements will vary depending on your love for your animal, the size of your yard, and the love for your kids. Build fences, buy prefab metal fence pieces, get creative. But stake your claim and stick to it. You do after all need your space.

This strategy allows you to love your beasts despite the fact that they are destructive little devils. Setting up your living environment so that everyone is primed for success is one of the best ways of making sure that your pets and the rest of your family have happy healthy lives and it will lower your stress level.

Let me repeat. Yards are not great dane approved but they are pretty much essential so you better figure out to make them work if you expect to have a happy and well adjusted great dane.

Removing a reason to get mad at your dog can go a along way in improving your relationship with your pet and removing the need for discipline. As much as I love my pets they have done some things that have been pretty infuriating over the years but in the end I have to realize that these things are usually my fault. Or at least they could have been prevented by me.

One of the biggest breakthroughs came when I started using a dog room for isolation. I already hear the scorn… Isolation!!!!??? Not like that, just for times when the great danes are left alone, at night or any other time when I need to put them away for awhile. At first I saw this as a bit cruel myself but in the long run it has eliminated a lot of heart ache and allows me to not worry about my house when I am gone and get a full nights rest when I am home.

I have found that a couple of things are essential for a dog room. And a king sized dog bed is not one of them. They may be spoiled but they are still dogs. Any area of the house that is easily isolated and not to big will work fine. If a dog knows that they may have to stay in an area for awhile they are less likely to make a mess, if you know what I mean.

A hard floor that is easily cleaned is another requirement for a dog room, not only because my dogs have accidents on occasion but also because they shed, droll, and may scratch carpet. Lets be honest, carpet is not exactly pet approved.

I have also learned my lesson about having anything that even remotely resembles a chew toy within any type of reach. I have had great danes chew up furniture, wall, cameras, shoes, toys, etc. The list could go on forever. I should have learned my lesson a long time ago, but I didn’t. Now If I leave everything that can be chewed is out of the area. I am not only talking about pups, but older mature great danes as well. They are mischievous when left alone, wether it comes to getting into the kitchen or getting chewing up anything that smells like mom or dad. DOn’t give them the chance.

If you do not have a good room in the house for a dog room, consider getting a large crate or even a toddler play pen. This can work very well for a great dane. I choose to not shut the door on the danes but to close a baby gat in the door way. This lets them still be part of the family and see what is going on without being a nuisance.

Great danes make a fabulous addition to any family and get along wonderfully with children but they must have boundaries and they must be properly trained. They demand enormous amounts of attention and can be quite annoying if you let them, so my word of wisdom is to put systems in place that manage that annoyance and destruction and allow you to have an enjoyable relationship with your great dane instead of a stressful one.

My conclusions are simple. Great danes love to have a comfortable place to lay down. At times they will even act as if they are too good for the floor, once the spoiling begins there is really no way to stop it. I have also concluded that most dog beds on the market are not adequate for great danes. They are just too big, size wise and they weight too much.

Most dog beds after a few uses by a great dane resemble a pancake. I know from experience that great danes are not the longest lived beast and because of that I would like to attempt to get the most out of my friends. Part of this means giving them a good nights sleep and giving them a comfortable place to lay down.

Think about what an important roll your bed plays in your life. Sleep can literally make you or break you, why would your dog be any different? Also think about this, in the wild dogs can usually find a pretty comfortable padded sheltered place to lay down. Shut inside with nothing more than a hard floor to sleep on dogs can not even find as good a place to sleep as they could in the wild.

Here is what I have found works well for my great danes:

• My first choice when it comes to a bed is a toddler mattress. Not a baby bed, but the size in between a twin and a baby bed. It is a great size and it fits very well into an XL sized dog crate. Find a mattress that has a plastic cover and you will be in business. One accident on a regular mattress and it is time for the land fill. With a plastic covering there is nothing a hose can’t fix. Put a blanket or a sheet on top to reduce the chances of your dane ripping the plastic with their claws. I have even found that a nice looking toddler day bed can make a great looking dane dog bed instead of just throwing a mattress on the ground.
• Used furniture is always a winner. After recliners or couches have passed their wear beyond return point they make great dog beds. I like to put them out of the way but still within reach of the family. Great danes like to be around their people so if yo stick a couch in the basement and expect your dane to use it think again. This works well because once your dane is trained to understand that this is their furniture but other furniture is off limits it keeps them off of the other furniture. I usually put a cover on the couch or chair to keep the hair off and keep it smelling as fresh as possible.
• This is a little bit of a stretch for some but I have found that putting my great dane dog bed in a K-9 room is a great way to keep them out of the way and help yourself get a good nights rest. If you have a great dane you know, they are noisy when they sleep if you want a good nights sleep put your dane dog in their own room and you will be waking more refreshed. Don’t sacrifice a kids room for your dog but if you have the space it is a good idea.
• Nice thick rugs are also a good compromise for your great dane. I have hardwood an tile in all of my rooms and I find that putting a dog bed in more than a few rooms tends to clutter the house but the great danes really appreciate the added comfort of a thick rug. I like the kind that you can wash in a big front load washer.

A little bit of thought and planning can go a long way when it comes to making your great danes comfortable and it doesn’t have to cost a lot or clutter your house needlessly. Owning a great dane dog is kind of like keeping a zoo animal in your house so it requires a little bit more planning but it is well worth it.

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.

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.

                If you walk a Dane, which you should if you have one because they respond very well to exercise and it greatly extends their life and aids in weight management, you should be very careful.  Pay close attention, take the time to train the Dane, keep the leash taught, use a choke collar with (the kind that looks like a medieval torture device with spikes that point inward, Danes feel very little pain), know where problem areas may exist, think twice before walking with kids or other dogs.

                The bone crushing principle applies to play as well as walking.  If you must play rough realize that you will sooner or later get hurt.  Playing rough with a great dane is similar to wrestling with Mike Tyson when he was 10 years old, they are strong as hell, they feel no pain and they are out of control.  Keep your mouth closed to avoid losing teeth and watch out for head butts and when you get tramped don’t said I didn’t tell you.  One of the four feet will most certainly be applied with great force to the family jewels.

                On a personal note.  My wife learned this the hard way and has been recovering from a broken scapula for over a year now.