Love In Respect

I received a wonderful question this week regarding an owner finding a tooth on the floor that seemed to come from her 5 month old Great Dane. I had also experienced the “tooth find” thinking the wee fairy that used to visit me as a kid had a hole in her sac and was dropping teeth here or there or wherever she could, or maybe since “Boston George” has been locked up there ‘s just no money in teeth any more? Turns out, not the case.J Charlie lost pretty much all of his puppy teeth between 5-6 months of age, we found some in our socks, I even made a sock ball from a few pairs and Charlie would chew on it soft like an apple and in a few days we gathered quite a few teeth from the ball. One day we even found a pile at the top of the stairs, new teeth were in almost instantly and we did see some bleeding but not anything alarming at all. Still the first one I found was quite a shock but nothing to be worried about. Just like us as kids puppies lose their baby teeth. Usually in the 5-7 month time period. Something not a lot of first time pet owners think about before it happens. I know I didn’t the first puppy I had. As a side note, we kept a lot of Charlie’s puppy teeth, as any proud parents do, now that he’s 15 months old we sometimes look at them and laugh at how small they are in comparison to his now full adult set.

Great Dane Temperament, everyone thinks gentle giant, Scooby-do, and Marmaduke. All of these famous Danes make the Great Dane an automatic friendly star. The goofy, happy go lucky, sloppy, lovable character in a larger then life Dog suit is far from being just two dimentional. There are many other traits to Great Dane Temperament that no one talks about and that Great Dane owners must handle every single day, all while your Great Dane is still wearing that larger than life dog suit. With Great Danes you must always take into consideration where the breed, and their uses in every day life, came from. Great Danes are largely a German creation but the modern breed of today does owe some debt to the British line. Dane’s were bread for hunting, courage, speed and exceptional power. Any owner can attest that the breed handles all three of these traits quite well. Later the breed was transitioned from hunter to guard dog, and from guard dog to the family pet many of us have today. While approaching any dog especially something as large as a Dane humans must show respect. Some stand almost 7 feet on their hind legs and can weigh well into the hundreds of pounds. It is important that you approach calmly and respectfully to the owner first. Keep children close until you know it’s okay. NEVER run up to any dog you do not know. My Dane would defend my life to the death and can be very protective of me, especially in our home. He can be quite unsure of single men; occasionally women and he can definitely use those long legs and huge paws to his advantage.

Have you ever interacted with a Great Dane while sitting on the floor and then get them all excited!! Guess what happens, the Dane pounces all over you jumping, licking, jowl flapping. You try to hold back but you start to laugh a bit at this huge dog flopping around you and then just as you think about getting up WaP! You take a giant padded claw to the inside of the leg, you move to relieve the pressure and SmAcK you get the butt end swing to the left side and your falling back. Then the giant paws show up again but this time their on your shoulder in your face, on your head your pinned to the ground and this huge drooly jowl is right in your kitchen breathing on you and then….. He usually licks me and lays down right on me. I’ve been pinned many times and even knocked over once; he’s still a pup. I would hate to see this in an aggressive protective life-threatening situation. A dog this big and this strong could overpower a full grown adult no worries. Remember that when approaching or allowing your children to run up to a Great Dane. Would you let them run up to a police dog? That’s only a German Sheppard, half the size of a Great Dane. Keep in mind too that many Dane owners are Rescuers and these Danes can come from battered and problematic homes. Their reaction may not be the happy one you expect making for a tough situation for owner, pet and innocent but curious person.

Love the breed but love in respect.