Our new Great Dane pup

[88_Stanga]

My wife and I recently bought a Great Dane puppy...Just waiting to move into the new house to take him home! I know there are a few Dane lovers on here, so any insight you can give us would be great!

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[WutApex]

So cute. I love danes

 

[WOTjunkie]

Love Great Danes... They seriously have one of the best personalities...

 

[88_Stanga]

Hes only 6 weeks old in these pictures. We went to go see him at the breeder and he wouldnt leave us alone. So we decided he was the one. We have both wanted a Dane for awhile now, and with the recent purchase of our house we can finally pull the trigger on one!

 

[WOTjunkie]

Hes only 6 weeks old in these pictures. We went to go see him at the breeder and he wouldnt leave us alone. So we decided he was the one. We have both wanted a Dane for awhile now, and with the recent purchase of our house we can finally pull the trigger on one!

Congrats... Can't wait to get another dog... Had to give my girl up when I got divorced and had to move... Freakin blows not having a dog.

 

[SNCBOOM]

I was about to say that he looked a little too young. Puppies benefit greatly from being around their mother and siblings during the next 2 weeks.

 

[88_Stanga]

Can anyone tell me the difference between the merlequin and the harlequin. Breeder says hes a merlequin. Moms 50% harlequin, and dad is straight up brown, no other colors. Do the blue/grey markings make him a merlequin, as opposed to just being black and white?

 

[Sonic605hp]

So damn cute. You should make this a thread over time and show his growth. The size Danes put on is amazing.

 

[88_Stanga]

Breeder says he should be right around 180lbs...Dad is 180 and mom is 140

 

[Booky]

Congratulations

Danes have so much personality it is amazing.

"Gunner" is our spoiled 14 month old male Great Dane.

Here is the post I created showing how he has grown:
http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...860292-new-addition-our-first-great-dane.html

From this at 8 weeks old:

To this at 1 year old:

I highly recommend:

1) Crate training - At first, he will cry and carry on like someone is pulling his tail off. This is normal because of separation anxiety. Place the crate close to your bed at night and that should help.

2) Danes have sensitive stomachs, so unless you enjoy cleaning up explosive diarrhea, I would suggest feeding him only one high quality dog food and no people food.

3) Research and know what "Bloat" is and consult with your Vet to see if he recommends Gastropexy (stomach tack surgery). We did it for Gunner, but it is not cheap. It will help prevent the stomach from flipping which is a problem with large breed dogs.

4) Enjoy everyday you have with them, their life span is short (6-8 years).

 

[upside]

I think most people distinguish a merlequin by grey patches with black spots, like the pattern on the right side of your pup's face.

very cool dog! My family had a harlequin when I was growing up, one of the best dogs we ever had.

 

[lobra97]

congrats...reminds me of my old Harlequin Queenie...I have a black one now.

 

[05slvrgt]

Nice pup.

Booky has some good advice for house training one. I was lucky enough to get mine already house broken at six months old, so I didn't have to deal with those issues.

The only problems mine has had has been with her (natural) ears. We try to keep to clean inside them frequently to prevent flopping. Her long ears can really pick up some speed from flopping and she eventually developed some blood clots on the ends that had to be surgically removed. Best of luck and keep this thread updated.

 

[Teal Terminator]

Congrats! And I second not giving the dog human food unless you want them to take it off the table and counter once they are grown.

Our Dane is 9 years old and still in good shape and on no drugs, so don't count them out quite as early as mentioned above. But definitely try and feed them quality food in order to keep their joints in good condition... that can typically be their down fall health-wise.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[TClark22]

big dogs are awesome

 

[88_Stanga]

what would you recommend for food? the breeder stated that he feeds his dogs pedigree adult formula as a puppy...lower protein levels help keep the dog from growing faster than needed. He never mentioned what to purchase when the dog becomes an adult however

 

[Mad_Marc]

That's a horse! Lol nice pup, buddy of mine has one... Great dogs

 

[Teal Terminator]

We like the brands that you can find "Large Breed Puppy" in. Currently we are feeding our Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy Blue Rhino LBP food and our Dane Blue Rhino "Large Breed Senior." There are other brands that make LBP as well though.

We also supplement the puppies diet with raw chicken a few times a week as well as throw in some vegetables every now and again. But that last two are admittedly over the top for many... even to us with our last Mastiff but per our breeder we decided to give it a try this go around.

 

[Sn95Snake]

Such awesome dogs!

 

[Notsoslowbowtie]

Great dogs! That will be our next choice as we have two Dobies Now. Although dont know what I would do with out my Dobies!