We actually argued for quite some time about what kind of dog to get. I wanted something ferocious and dangerous, she being the wiser one wanted something that would not kill our children and scare the crap out of the neighbors.

My first recollection of a great dane is not good. As a small child I remember being barked at by one of these giant beast, not a good experience. And, little to my knowledge this jaded me into adulthood. I had for the last 25 years believed great danes to be ferocious killers and I was still scared of them. The realization that they are gentle giants came as a welcome shock, once I realized that they are scary looking but not scary I was easy to convince.

Surprisingly enough shortly after our agreement an old friend called out of the blue and offered us a great dane puppy, free of charge. Wow, these dogs are expensive and we were offered one for free. Talk about meant to be or a match made in heaven. We agreed to pick him up right away.

We named him Klaus and he was a fine little blue merle dane. He had funny markings and his feet were so big he could hardly walk. He was a darling and we fell for him. Having just lost two dogs tragically we greatly appreciated this new great dane puppy and went to work spoiling him with enough love to make our children jealous. We bought him toys, we taught him tricks, we walked him and let him sleep in our bed (not suggested for a great dane).

And for financial reasons we put his vaccinations off for a couple weeks. Not thinking this was a big deal we didn’t give it a second thought. I took him to the grocery store and we took him walking at a local, very busy park.

First, he threw up and we didn’t think much of it, it was after a long hike and it wasn’t all that unusual, but then he started spiraling downhill. He couldn’t control, his bowls, he threw up more, and he looked miserable. I took poor Klaus to the vet and they told me he had Parvo. This is basically a death sentence and the worst part is that it is totally preventable. All you need is to get regular shots. If you can’t afford them from a vet you can get them from a feed store and do it yourself for less than $10.

A couple thousand dollars later, yes we tried to keep him alive, our great dane puppy died 6 weeks after we got him. This lead to a long dark period for my wife but taught us some very valuable lessons. If you get a pet make sure you have the means and the knowledge to take care of them, they are a responsibility and a privilege. We have since had another great dane puppy, but we have never forgotten this painful lesson.

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.

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.

Their bark will haunt a child for years and watching them at play is reminiscent of Roman coliseum blood battles.  At 120 lbs on the small side they easily dwarf most other dogs.  It is a little strange to see a dog with its paws on top of a 6 foot fence peering down at you, but not uncommon.  Great Danes make excellent scare dogs because of their imposing presence, most would be intruders will be happy to continue on to an easier target and avoid the dog that looks like it could eat them for an afternoon snack.

Despite the Great Danes imposing appearance and ferocious look they are quite possibly the gentlest of the Canine line.  With the exception of the bull in a china shop quality they are excellent house or apartment dogs.  And, aside from the fact that they may trample small children in their effort to show them how much they love them, they are excellent with kids, tough kids that is.   

Barking is fairly infrequent, though what my family refers to as talking is common, think Scooby.  Biting is pretty much nonexistent and when it does occur it is usually playful mouthing that looks much more ferocious than it really is.  Aggression is uncommon and the only time I have seen any true aggression it is directed at someone who may pose a real or imagined threat to the Great Dane or its people.

Danes usually play well with other animals but they were bread to hunt and corner other animals and hold them there until people could arrive and finish the hunt.  So, excessively yappy small beast should be forewarned, instinct may prevail and lead to a possibly destructive chase, that will probably end in a pee puddle on the floor when the yappy beast is corner and scared witless.

Anyone considering adding a Dane to the family should realize that they are adding a member to the family and should treat the dog accordingly.  These beast are altruistically loyal, I have seen them try to climb trees for their people, didn’t end well.  They will fit well into a family and do best when they are able to be as close as possible to the family.