Archive for the 'temperment' Category
Fear not the Dane
Mans best friend is responsible numerous injuries and even a handful of deaths every year of its best friend. This is a tragedy whenever it happens and is usually foreshadowed similar circumstances. A handful of breeds receive the most scrutiny when it comes to attacks but it must be noted that breed popularity correlates with which type of dogs are responsible for the highest number of attacks in a given year.
I am not going to discuss all dog attacks or breeds I would like to highlight one area of attacks associated with great danes. Danes are known as gentle giants but they also are responsible for serious injuries every year, partly due to their size. And unfortunately most of these injuries are sustained by children for a couple of reasons. One, they are at the right height, two, they are often responsible for tormenting the animals, and three they are scarred.
I am not going to attempt to look too far into the psychology of a Dane but what I have observed numerous times is that people who are afraid of a Dane are much more likely to be attacked by the Dane. Showing fear leads one to be a little bit more outwardly aggressive, it leads to more eye contact, raised hands, sharper quicker movements, all of which a great dane associates with aggressive behavior.
I am not going to tell people to not be afraid of large dogs because many people simply have a fear of dogs which is easily intensified by size. To these people simply keep your distance or stand your ground. To those that would like to overcome learn the body language that will show that you are not a threat, such as, limited eye contact, sideways stance, crouched stance, hands down, higher voice (not loud, higher in pitch).
To the owners who want to make people comfortable with their Danes, learn to do proper introductions to strangers and reward the dane obsessively for good behavior. Also learn to teach new people in the dogs life the proper mannerisms and how to establish dominance over a large animal. Be present while these introductions take place and make sure that new people have enough introduction and bonding time with the great dane to overcome their fear. One effective strategy is to model proper behavior yourself or what I like to do is have my six year old son model the proper behavior for new people. When an adult who is afraid of dogs sees a six year old interacting without being eaten it can go a long way to overcome fear.
Great Danes and their feline friends
Great Danes known as the Apollo of dogs and famous for being lazy gentle giants are also listed as exceptions for some apartment leases that do not allow large breed dogs. Danes are wonderfully calm and quickly become part of a loving family and don’t seem to realize that they are not people too. They love furniture and attempt to sit on chairs and couches in the same fashion that their two legged family members sit. It is not uncommon at all for a greatdane to have its own room complete with a bed, not a dog bed, but a full fledged queen sized mattress.
Danes are famous for their photogenic appeal as well as their personality. They are often photographed dwarfing other animals or babies or in some upsurid character. One of the most famous dane poses is with a kitten, nose to nose or some other similar fashion. This particular picture seems to destroy the canine feline myth, poking fun at nature is always a bit amusing. But this situation is perfectly within the realm of possibility and not just for a well trained model dane.
Great danes were breed to hunt giant boars and various other animals. The strategy being, corner and hold, not kill. Warning to cat owners, a dane will chase a fast moving object, and while fast, their acceleration and maneuverability is that of a Mack truck. Your cat can easily escape but that is not the point. We want happy comfortable animals, not neurotic beast that take flight at the drop of a feather.
From experience I have learned that it is most important that cats need a place that they can be safe and away from the dane if they wish. If they wish to venture into dane territory and interact with the danes let them make this decision. Out of my three cats all of them will at times rub the legs of the danes, it is an amusing sight. They are a little leary, but have also realized that the danes have soft mouths and are not interested in eating them. I had one particularly brave cat that would actually wrestle with one of the danes. It would look traumatic to an outside observer but I observed the cat in the dogs mouth many times having a ball. At the end of these play sessions the cat would be covered in drool but thoroughly pleased, feline version of extreme sports.
One of the most important comfort factors that should be implemented is to allow the cats to eat in a safe area. Doing this as well as giving cats a private domain, proper introductions and plenty of space is a sure way to make friends for life. I have found that small dogs are actually more difficult to integrate into a dane household than cats. Go figure.
Kids
Great Danes love chew toys and were breed to chase and corner animals of all sizes so it does not seem like they would really do too well with kids but thankfully they do play well.
I have two danes and two kids and no serious injuries related to either category. The Greatdanes will scare the crap out of the occasional kid but it is normally unintentional. And on occasion one of the Danes will corner a small child and wait for the hunter to come finish the job, depending on the child I usually discourage this type of behavior.
Trampling is by far the most common incident related to children and is always unintentional. It is usually a misguided attempt to show love and is closely related to the bull in a china shop syndrome of which Danes are gifted. Trampling can usually be remedied with a hug and by reassuring the child that they are not lunch.
Be forewarned Great Danes and crybaby children do not play well. Black eyes, busted knees, and attacks from the killer Dane tale are common. By the way the Great Dane is the only canine that inherited the stegosaurus attack tail. Kids watch your heads, adults watch the soft spot located about midway.
A reminder to children. Great danes are not miniature horses, they are not related to cows, and while they will tolerate being ridden, it will ruin their backs and decrease their already short life expectancy.
As a reassurance to parents I will let you know that my ferocious looking, blue, male, Great Dane that slightly resembles Lucifer and scares the crap out of grown men will tolerate anything thrown at him so far. I have seen him ridden, chased, chase, hit, his teeth poked at, wrestled with, tail pulled, and to top all I have witnessed a 3 year old grab him by the balls. I thought for sure it was over despite the fact that this was a pretty tough kid but the Dane barley noticed, possibly even appreciated.
I have been pleased with the family dynamics of my kids and Great Danes and even more pleased to see these gentle beasts act protective of my family. Not overly protective but enough so to scare off most danger and reassure a concerned father. When the smaller children show up (under about 3 and possibly not so tough) I do keep a close eye or keep them away. Fighting, aka. Playing Danes can be dangerous to anything around people, furniture, cars, etc.