I was surprised to get an email from a client, asking me “What is a Great Dane?”. I thought, why not do a little blurb on the most common questions and comments we get about our Great Dane, Hemingway?
If you have a Great Dane, chances are you hear a lot of the questions/comments we get:
1) Wow. That is a BIG dog. Is that a Marmaduke (or a Scooby Doo?)
Hemi certainly doesn’t think he’s big! He is surprised that he can’t fit everywhere. He’d like to believe he’s a lap dog, that’s for sure! I wonder what comments Gibson, the biggest Dane in the world, gets. He’s 7 feet tall.
Yeah! Impressive!!
2) You could put a saddle on that thing! He’s a horse!
It certainly gets more difficult (read: nearly impossible) to laugh at that one since we hear it so often. I’m so used to his size that I don’t see him as big anymore. It can be amusing to see him through other people’s eyes.
3) How much does he eat?
Well, let’s see. He eats like a horse. No no… just kidding. He eats the equivalent of 2% of his body weight in raw food. He weighs almost 140 lbs, which means that he eats roughly between 2 and 3 lbs a day. He’s pretty darn lazy in the house and doesn’t burn much energy when he”s in the house.
I’ve heard of people feeding their Danes up to 16 cups of kibble a day. Though that is an impressive amount of food, I would look carefully at the quality of that food. The more you have to feed your dog, the higher the chance you are feeding junk. Kibble fed Danes, on a high quality kibble, should be eating 6-8 cups a day (modify of course depending on your dog”s activity level).
4) Great Danes have a short life span. Don’t they only live about 7 years?
Unfortunately, a large breed like the Great Dane does not have a long life span, typically. I like to think that I can expect Hemi to live longer than 7 years, thanks to his diet and activity level. I am aware, however, that the average life span is 8 years, though many live to be 10 to 12 years old. Hemi is a rescue from a Puppy Mill, so I sometimes wonder if his immune system been compromised? I have also only been feeding raw for about 2 years, therefore I regularly re-evaluate his diet.
5) Aren’t Danes supposed to have docked tails?
NO! Danes do not have docked tails. Yes, they can clear a coffee table with a brush of the tail, and even whip you with it when they get very excited, but their tail is meant to be all there. If you have seen a GD with a docked tail, it has likely been amputated because of an injury.
6) What colour is that? It looks rare.
Hemi is brindle. This is not a rare colour. If you are interested in knowing which colours are acceptable for showing in conformation, they are : Black (glossy black), Blue (steel blue colour), Mantle (black and white - solid black over the body, black skull with white muzzle, white chest, white on the legs and white tip of tail), Harlequin (White with black patches), Fawn (yellow gold with black mask), Brindle (yellow gold brindled with black stripes in a chevron pattern.
You will also hear of other Great Danes colours: Merle, Merlequin, White, Piebald, Blue Fawn.
7) I like his ears. Why aren’t they standing up like other Great Danes’ I have seen?
Hemi has natural ears. It may not make him look as tall (but isn’t he a horse anyway? What’s a couple inches of ears going to add to his charm?). I’m not a fan of the cropped ears, mainly because I’m not a fan of cutting part of a dog’s ear off for no good reason. Danes were originally bred to hunt wild boar. Their ears were a weakness because the wild boar could get a hold of them. Today, Danes are known as the Gentle Giant, not hunters of boar. The cropped ears is esthetically more pleasing to some and is the main reason it is still done. I think Hemi is more stunning with his natural ears.
Ear cropping is banned in some European countries (United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany) and in parts of Australia and New Zealand.
8- How tall is he when he stands up?
I don’t know because a) he doesn’t stand up. Well, I should say that he did it once the first month we had him. We caught him, paws on top of the fridge, looking at the cat’s dinner. That was the last time he ever ”stood up”. Hemi is, as are most Danes, very sensitive to voice. One firm DOWN! and jumping up on the fridge lost all its attraction. (I wish ALL of his training were that easy…)
and b) I don’t want him to stand up. I know one thing… he is NOT 7 feet tall!
As far as height goes, Hemi is about 33inches from the withers down.
9) How much does he weigh?
That answer has changed a lot over the past 9 months. He came to us as an adult, rescued from the Rawdon Puppy Mill, at a disgustingly emaciated 77lbs. He quickly put on weight and I was shocked to find out that he now weighs 138lbs (as of July 16th 2009). We’ve noticed him getting a bit chunky, so we’re keeping a close eye on his portion size. His goal weight, in my opinion, is closer to 130lbs.
10) Is he friendly? Can I pet him?
Great Danes are typically friendly. Hemi certainly is! He will often “fall in love” with someone in the park and get very close for some hugs and scratching behind the ears. He is loving, loyal, gentle, good with children, sweet and loves to be around people. He is also an excellent watch dog in the home.
Yes, you can pet him! I appreciate people asking me first. There must be something about a Great Dane that makes people be a bit more careful about sticking their hand in this dog’s face!
I’d love to hear what questions or comments you regularly get about your dog, Great Dane or not!
