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.
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 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.
