Great Dane?

[LockDownAndTwoSmokingBarrels]

Talk to me about Great Danes ☺️

Temperament?
Off lead walking?
Energy levels?

Lovely temperament. Generally gentle for their size. Not too energetic. Despite being easy to train though, I don’t know anyone who can let theirs off the lead

Nice dogs temperament wise, but the life expectancy would put me off. 8-10 is an average, and apparently some only get to about 6.

Looking at my little terrier who's coming up to 6 and he's still doing zoomies in the park - I just can't imagine having a dog this young and knowing that he could die of old age related conditions this soon.

Truly gentle giants. Love sitting on laps despite their size! Not the best recall when off lead. Mine would do two laps of the field at top speed and then be knackered and plod home. However, she did love a long stroll occasionally. Gorgeous dogs and I’d love another. Mine lived to almost 11 and was considered pretty ancient. Like a pp said, their short lifespan is a major drawback.

I just came on to say about the short life span. Worst thing about dogs in general in my opinion.

Lovely dogs but like PP's say, I could never have one as their life span is horribly short.

There are two locally, same owners. One walks off lead to heel and is beautifully behaved. The younger one they are clearly a bit worried about - it's never off lead and eyes my dogs in a way I don't like. I call mine in when I see it.

I knew two when I was younger - one not reliable around people, the other an absolute sap.

So, if you go one, check out the temperament of the parents and if possible the wider family. Also ask about the longevity of them, too.

I've never had one but Dsis did. As others have mentioned, short lifespan (he was 8 when he died) is a consideration. He was a proper lazy dog, had his own sofa as he was too big to share one and spent most of his time on it. He would casually wander around the house in a very chilled out way and if he liked you, he would lean on you like a wall. Good with her children. I wouldn't get one due to the likely lifespan though.

I used to baby sit for 3 kids and 7 Great Danes
Amazing dogs-very gentle,scared of everything and by god could they fart
The smell was unreal-you’d see an arse cheek wobble the tiniest bit and we’d all dive for the windows and doors
The mum used to come home to find us sitting in our coats with snow 3 inches on the ground outside and every window wide open
I’d love one but we don’t have a big enough garden

The lifespan would make it a hard “No!” for me. The ones I have known have been lovely but cost their owners £1000s in vets’ bills.
Prepare to have sticky drool halfway up your walls and kitchen units too if you feed them in there. They were quite bonkers when young bit in a friendly way.

I’ve never me one one that wasn’t a complete sweetie. Lovely dogs. Again the lifespan makes them a no for me.

I've never had one but did have a Newfoundland, so I hope you don't mind me joining in. One thing I hadn't taken into account was the extra expense of things like flea/worming treatment (most only cover weights up to 40 kilos - my girl was 68k!) and when she was sedated for an operation, the cost of the anaesthesia was huge too. Didn't eat a correspondingly massive amount of food though.

Also as a pp said, the slobber has to be seen to be believed! It regularly hit the ceiling when she shook herself. Our girl died when she was 9 and she was actually the last surviving one of her siblings, such huge dogs just don't have a long life. I miss my enormo-dog terribly though, she was absolutely wonderful

I haven't looked at the potential health problems for Great Danes, but I wouldn't be surprised if you had to watch for hip and elbow dysplasia too.

Can we see a photo when you get yours?