Ups and Downs in Great Dane Care

Posted by Puppy Trainer on September 29th, 2009 filed in Dogs

Have you ever thought of keeping a Great Dane at home? What ever you decide has its ups and downs of course. Given that the Great Dane is longer, taller and heavier than most dog breeds, it naturally demands a larger share of every physical need! Try imagining how it is to own a baby in your house, and you are actually quite close to picturing out how busy, yet fun, it is being a Great Dane owner!

Con - expensive maintenance

The most important needs of your Great Dane are veterinary care, shelter, grooming, food and water, as other dogs do. But since this is a dog breed many times bigger, it calls for increased spending. This is usually considered as the first downside to raising a Great Dane. If you are still aiming for that Great Dane pet, then brace yourself for the costs of medicine, health care, and most noticeably, dog food! A Dane health insurance helps a lot to trim the costs on needed medical-related expenses.

Con - needs higher fences

After giving a thought to the extensive costs of keeping a Great Dane, the next important thing is the fencing to keep your dog safely within the yard. How tall must the fence be? A four-foot one is not enough, since an excited Dane can do much with its big strides and long legs.

Con - needs huge crate

Using a crate is a good idea, but what you need obviously is also big in size. A huge crate will help a lot since you may need to store your dog in it on certain instances, e.g. at night, or when you are away, or when you need to bring it with you as you travel. As you know, crate training and great dane training will help the dog to be accustomed to living in a crate.

Pro - can live in small houses or apartments

While the dog understands its needs in terms of much bigger proportions, this happily does not apply to the dog’s living quarters. The breed will instantly feel it belongs to a small home or apartment, in the same way that it will also fit in a huge sprawling bungalow. Living conditions are definitely no problem, as the Great Dane will also be content simply curled up on your sofa.

Pro and Con - they need time and affection

Is the dog’s craving for your attention a pro or a con to you? In any case, the breed wants human interaction badly! If you are able to fill the need (also by using great dane training), you can be sure of a house pet that is dedicated and loving beyond question. But if you are already being hounded by other needs, then the breed is not for you since it always looks to its owners or humans for guidance. In fact, the dog takes in not only verbal commands but also the body language, facial expression and moods as well. And whatever general trait their owner impresses on them is the trait they will carry for life. All this explains the need for patience and responsibility in training this dog breed.