Great Dane Info
Haus of Blues, LLC is an AKC and CKC Registered, Blue Great Dane Breeder in Southern Arizona.
All of our animals are raised indoors with two pre-teen boys, two adults and a cat who owns the place but doesn’t have a job.
Haus of Blues will always take back Great Danes that were purchased from our kennel, no questions asked. It is our hope that none of our puppies ever be turned in to a shelter. Furthermore, Haus of Blues will do whatever is possible and reasonable to ensure the welfare of these animals.
That being said, refunds will not be given on returns unless there is a genetic, health related issue which we are directly responsible for. Any such issues must be verified, in person, by a licensed veterinarian qualified to diagnose issues of this kind.
Great Dane Beds
When you own a Great Dane, you need a Great Dane sized bed . Sherry Wonderling makes custom beds with memory foam. They are made with fleece covering, which the dogs can’t chew. Beds are on sale for only $75!
Puppy Worms
Puppies are prone to worms, so if they use the bathroom and you see worms, that is usually the dewormer working. If you see worms, please take your puppy into the Vet. Worms in a puppy can zap their little resources very quickly and it can become a dire situation very fast.
Puppy Shots
Your puppy’s first shots will be Distemper, Measles, Parainfluenza and Bordatella. They will need their 3 week boosters when you get them.
Please do not miss their shots.
Remember, you can take your puppy out to places but you will have the hold him/her. They are not fully vaccinated against some very deadly diseases until 16 weeks of age. The Parvo shot does not take effect until 3 weeks after the last shot. So even if your puppy has been fully vaccinated, you still can not take them anywhere for 3 more weeks after the last shot.
If you need to or want to take them to like PetSmart, put down puppy pads or a blanket from home on the bottom of the cart and cart them around. Blankets will likely stay in place better than the puppy pads. We love these blankets, as do our dogs and puppies.
Goin’ for a ride
I do encourage you to put them in the car as much as possible, take them to stores and to dog parks. Unsocialized Danes are no fun. If you take them to a store before the age of 16 weeks (before fully inoculated against Parvo), always take a blanket to put down in the cart or plan on carrying them in your arms. People do put their dogs in the carts and puppies are still not full immune to some very deadly diseases. When they are done with their shots and you take them to a dog park, or any other place where there are a lot of dogs, hold them in your arms for awhile. They may be very nervous and every dog will want to sniff them and every person will want to pet them. Take it slow. Don’t expect a lot from them in the beginning. It is a big step with a lot of new sounds and smells. It can be very overwhelming for them. Keep the trip short.
If your puppy is just too heavy to carry, I highly recommend getting a soft sided kennel and a wagon. Or, just a wagon is fine, if they will stay in it.
This kennel opens from the top so you can load the kennel into the wagon, then lower your pup into the kennel. If you are doing just the wagon, I recommend a harness and a bungee car tether to tether them into the wagon so they won’t jump out. You’ll need to connect the tethers to the leash. I recommend a carabiner. Now, there definitely needs to be some training before taking that adventure. You do not want your Dane puppy jumping out and taking off with the wagon!
Items I recommend. Click the link to be taken to the products:
Train that Baby
Definitely go to a puppy training class. There are good trainers everywhere. Danes are big so you want to make sure you have the control you need over a dog that may outweigh you. One of the best pieces of advise I ever got was “what is cute as a puppy, may not be as cute or safe at 150lbs”. They were mostly referring to jumping up or your or other people.
Best Food for Great Dane Puppies AND Dane Tummies
My Danes do free feed, which you will read is “forbidden” however, all my Danes have always been free fed and never had issues. I asked Dr. Jackson about it and he said that all my Danes look very healthy and so free feeding them is not an issue. But of course, please do what your Vet advises you to do. If your vet recommends elevated bowls, I have found the cheapest way to do that is by purchasing plant stands. I used to use just Dollar Store plastic bowls but they are so light that the dogs knock everything down. I know there is controversy on feeding on an elevated platform so please do as your vet recommends.
So go to some resale store and get really heavy cooking pots.
In addition to following best practices in feeding, there is also a stomach tacking procedure that can be done. Please talk to your Vet about it.
One other note on feeding. Danes have sensitive stomachs. As puppies I have them at a 20-22% protein to control growth. If you give them anymore than 25%, they will get what is called Wobbler Syndrome (http://www.all-about-great-danes.com/feeding-great-danes.html).
Our RufusxPippa puppies have rapid growth. They do get growing pains! Because of that, we have them on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient in the dark green bag ONLY. They should be on it for 18 months, but always talk to your Vet about it.
Before I talk about the other foods, we need to address the Cardiomyopathy issue. Please see the latest information here and what foods are causing heart problems.
I have done
Taste of the Wild (Sierra Roasted Lamb),
Diamond Naturals, etc, they are all good however, they are on the list of foods causing cardiomyopathy so I do not recommend them. I personally have not had issues with them in the past. As adults, mine have done really well on the green bag of Kirkland dog food dry kibble found at Costco.
Kirkland in the Green Bag is super cheap but another Dane breeder told me to try it because it is made in the same place with the same ingredients as some of the super high quality dog foods. So I tried it and they were right! My Danes love the
Kirkland dog bones and their wet food too (green can) and never have tummy issues. Your puppy will come to you being fed on
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient in the dark green bag. I highly recommend keeping them on it until or unless the FDA updates the list and the
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient or Kirkland are listed as unsafe foods. If you are changing the food, please do a slow implementation. A tiny amount at first, mixed into the
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient in the dark green bag , for about 3-4 days. Watch for any bowel changes. If everything is ok, a little more and so on. If you see any bowel changes, stop the new food and revert back to the
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient in the dark green bag . I would not recommend trying a new food again for at least 2 weeks and then you can repeat the process.
If your Dane is having diarrhea try these things:
Add pumpkin puree to their food. Make sure you do not get the Pumpkin Pie ready mix! That has spices already in it for making pies. You want pure Pumpkin Puree. Add 1/4 cup per 1 cup of dog food. You will probably not want to free feed during this time so you can monitor I/O (intake/output). Give it a few days and see how your pup does. If your dog is having severe diarrhea, get them to the Vet obviously. What do I mean by severe? Really watery that they can’t hold, with almost no solids. That requires immediate veterinary assistance. Other signs you need to get to the vet are:
- Lethargy
- Vomiting with the diarrhea
- Pain
- Listless/depressed
- Bloody, dark or tarry stools
- Inability to throw up/dry heaving with heavy panting and clearly uncomfortable
If you have a young puppy, it is always best to get them into the Vet when they have diarrhea because their little systems are not fully immune quite yet
Opposite to that, an elderly dog. With diarrhea, an elderly dog can take a turn for the worse very quickly
Post-op vomiting or diarrhea
If the pumpkin does not work after a few days or you feel that your dog needs more than just pumpkin, add a 1/4 of white rice.
You can also add a little boiled white chicken breast with NO bones.
Some vets recommend Pedialyte to keep their electrolytes in balance. I prefer Smart Water as it does not taste as nasty. That said, you can add the Pedialyte to the food mixture and the pumpkin puree may be strong enough to mask the taste. There is now an electrolyte powder, in case you want to keep something in your house, just in case. I have never tried it though.
Lastly, I like to add Activa for the probiotics. I do it for my moms to be and nursing mothers as well as my puppies to assist with gut heath. Vanilla or plain is always best but for adult dogs, I have personally had issues with any of the fruit flavors.
Please remember, I am NOT a Vet or medical professional. These are only my opinions!
Products I am recommending (click the links to be taken to the product)
Note: I am NOT a vet, vet tech, or qualified to give any kind of veterinary advice. Please always speak with your Vet if your animal is sick!
Great Danes are not outdoor dogs.
I always use the test of “if I don’t want to be out here, neither do they”.
Kenneling is not mean
I do encourage kennel training for their safety and your sanity. It’s nice to know that when you are gone, they are not getting into something. The kennels I have found to the best are Midwest. Danes can stand up in them. They are huge but worth every penny. They come with a separator so when your guys are little, you can put that in to kennel train them otherwise it just feels like a giant area to use the bathroom in.
My theory on sitting I have no proof of this but I have noticed that Danes in general have trouble sitting. Many times you will see them prop their rears up onto a couch with their legs on the ground. When you instruct them to sit, they will, and then lay down. I just think they have such long bodies, sitting is not easy. But that is my opinion.
Bedmates
They love to be on couches and beds. If you are looking for a dog to stay off your furniture, a Dane is definitely not the dog you want.
NO Rawhide, everrrr
Danes can’t have rawhide or most other “chewies” because it gets stuck in their intestines. A great alternative are Yak Milk Chews. They will chew them until they are tiny so be sure to take it away before they get to a be a choking hazard. My measurement for too small is as soon as it gets to be smaller than the length of my palm is when I take it away. One thing I did was when they get super small, if you still them in the microwave, they actually puff up so then they are just edible and the hazard is no longer there. So I did that last time and it worked. They go by alternative names of Himalayan Chews or Tibetan Chews. Here is more info on Chewing.
Ropes are for horses
Rope toys shred over time. The issue then becomes that the dogs swallow those little strings and it can bind up their intestines. So no rope toys unless under supervision.
Kong Koncerns
Kongs are great for some breeds but I would not recommend them for Danes. I have seen photos of the holes in the Kongs creating a suctioning and causing a significant amount of damage to lips. There are better alternatives. Kong has done a great job at marketing and product placement but that does not mean they are the only toy in town.
Liver me long time
For training, freeze dried Liver Treats are an absolute must! Every dog in the Universe responds to them. I one time made the mistake of putting them in a plastic bag and taking them with me when I took my Danes to dog beach. I was quite popular that day!
Hulk chested Danes
Unfortunately with harnesses there will be no way to find one to grow with him. What I did was just started with a medium and it was a bit big but they would grow into them. Then just go to a large and then special order if you needed to. One of my Danes had a 42″ chest so I had to special order one. But definitely wait until he is full grown. And no need to buy super expensive harnesses while he grows. Most of the Dollar Tree stores carry dog harnesses. Use those for now. I have had puppies chew off their own harnesses so don’t spend a lot of money on them until their are grown enough not to do that.
Shhh…Danes are afoot
Danes are sensitive! Even a change in the tone of your voice can send them running to their kennels for a time-out. They are so sweet! As you are training them, they really respond to positive feedback. Liver treats, positive voice tones, lots of love. You will get back exactly what you put into your Dane. They are very loving and loyal.
Puppies get stressed Keep in mind that when pups are separated, sometimes they do get stressed and will have a bit of diarrhea. Please make sure they are staying hydrated and if you have any concerns, see your Vet immediately.
Be kind, you can’t rewind
Danes, and dogs in general, are animals. Shocking, I know. So though they live with us, they are not humans and still have animal-like tendencies. They chew, the get into trashcans, they do dog things. Yes, training helps but they slip up too. Beating them is not productive and I personally think they lose a little trust in you and they do not forget. It’s not worth it. For trashcans, I highly recommend the Simple Human line of trashcans. The tops lay flush, safe from a Dane nose.
Bye, bye baby, bye, bye
My experience has been that Danes, in general, do not take off. However, my 2016 group decided to go exploring on more than one occasion. Shout out the ever patient Huachuca City Animal Control for their never ending patience with my 5 Danes and my lovely neighbors who caught them and brought them home, looked for them or called me to let me know they saw them out. What can I say, where I live is amazing.
My opinion is that dogs get loose. It happens. But when it happens over and over, you have to do something because it is not responsible dog ownership. I was this owner. We tried SO many things and nothing was working. We ended up rehoming our dogs because we felt out of options. Then someone mentioned the wireless fence. We had thought about it but never thought it would work. Well, it does! I highly recommend the Petsafe Wireless Fence! You can add as many collars as you want and it gives increasing series of beeps before the zap. They usually learn the first time and that is all it takes.
Training Collars
I put these on when we go to the dog park. I want to know that if something happens, I can always grab my dogs attention. I have tried two and like them both but the other we got was really hard to get the collar off and on and then the little plastic pieces to hold the sensors on broken in the first 2 weeks. So I really prefer Petrainer. The collars are big enough for Danes and mine has been chewed up, dropped, stepped on and they still work! These collars come with the beep, the buzz and the shock. My Danes responded very well to the beep and the buzz. It’s a great tool to have if a dog fight breaks out because you can get them to come right to you and not get involved.
I want to touch on one thing that needs to pointed out. Just because there is a shock feature to these collars does not mean you should use them. I shocked myself so I would know how it felt and I didn’t like it. One other thing, these types of collars should not be used on any dog under 6 months old. So obviously the beep and buzz are fine but never shock your puppy! If you have read around my site and the web then you know how sensitive Danes are. A change of tone, a time out from you, all are very effective.