Anyone have a Dane?

[icouldabeenacontender]

We desperately want a Dane, I am at home all day, we have a dog park on the back of our house, a 14 year old in love with danes, BUT we live in a town house with lots of stairs and I don't know if it's viable.
Talk to me any lovely dane owners.

Bump

I don't have personal experience with owning Great Danes, but didn't want you to go unanswered.

My friends have one and it can't get down their stairs. It can get up. Which means they have had to carry it/juggle it down. The now have a stair gate to stop him getting up.

Every Great Dane I have met has been awesome. I love them.

But our lounge is on the first floor and that's where we spend most of our time. I wouldn't fancy having to carry a Dane down the stairs a few times a day.

Giant breeds are prone to joint issues and you want to restrict stairs till they're fully grown, which might prove a bit difficult and you've got to take into account that they'll more than likely end up with arthritis or another joint problem as they get a bit elderly (which isn't that old compared to other breeds).

We used to have a Great Dane/boxer . He was absolutely nuts!!
Lovely dog though

My dog's best pal is a lovely dane.
She lives in a town house so lots of stairs.
They have a few stair gates so although there's some up and down when leaving / coming home she doesn't have free reign to gallop up and down them. This will hopefully minimise joint damage.
Danes are so beautiful, never met a bad one.
Good luck, and buy a bigger car and sofa.
No, bigger than that!

My thinking on the joint issues is more at the other end of their life TBH.

Most dogs, never mind giant breeds get to a stage where stairs are a bit problematic, but the rest of their quality of life is still very good.

With the combination of a townhouse (so the stairs can't just be avoided) a dog way too large to be carried and an average lifespan of 6-8 years...you could be looking at having to have a still pretty active dog PTS at 5 or 6...or even younger, just because you have too many sets of stairs for them.

Personally I think that would be a very hard thing to deal with.

I just think if it was me, I'd be looking at a more manageable size dog if you're not planning to move soon because the possibility of having to have a dog PTS a couple of years earlier than you would in a different house just seems grim.

We are planning on getting a giant breed. It won't be allowed upstairs. Are the house and garden big enough for you to do the same?