Should I get this Great Dane Puppy?
Posted: April 13th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Common Questions | Tags: dane, Great, Puppy, Should, this | 7 Comments »There is a woman who breeds Great Danes, Her female has not earned her CH “Championship”, But has all necessary Health testing done, & has has limited showing and has done well in those shows.
The Sire Has his CHIC number “which means he has All health testing done” through OFA..& is a stud from another breeder. Both dogs are gorgeous & this breeder has told me that mom is an angel, and I contacted the owned of the Stud and he has a great Temperament as well. I also want to mention The Stud dog owner/breeder is a well known breeder who is looked up to for their breeding practices.
Sounds great so far, right..
Well, My Dilemma is that the Litter is now 4 1/2months old which is fine with me, I like getting older puppies opposed to 8week old’s. The down fall is this breeder had to go back to work Full Time Unknowing at the time, & Husband works full time as well & The Puppies are Kenneled out in the garage. She’s got 4 of them & They are Paper Trained. They do have all their necessary health checks, and vaccinations, but that is nothing if I’m going to have a HORRID time training this new puppy. I also have a 22months old, which is my biggest problem. From my understanding they have been out there quite a while now, and do get outside time but also from my understanding not much outside of her backyard.My 22month old is Wonderful With dogs, but of course an unruly 41/2month old could be a bad mix. I feel like these puppies will be healthy and great looking pups and one would fit nicely into our family, but should I take the chance? I am a stay at home mom and I do plan to do Obedience classes with my pup, but what do you think?
She said she also hasn’t had any time for Obedience, she said its really hard trying to take care of them, with them both working full time. She told me they are really good for their situation & She thinks I would be fine with some patience & Consistent training. But is not pushing the idea on me, shes being very honest I feel like & is answering all of my questions.
Walking Lady – She did say that the neighborhood kids come down to play with mom and the pups and the pups love it and do great. But from my understand, no socialization to the things they are supposed to be…
Oh and I have much experience with dogs, So I feel I can train this puppy. I can introduce things slowly with treats & praise and not overwhelm the new puppy.
Walking Lady – I agree 100% as well, these puppies weren’t raised and given a good start like they should have been. But I do feel I can do it, but I do worry about a 4 1/2month old dane who’s had no previous training with my son. I know he will have to stay tethered to me in the house for quite a while. I’ll enroll him into Obedience classes asap after he has become acclimated and we’ve worked on his social skills a lot more.
Yes, I have plenty of puppy/dog experience. I feel I can most certainly raise this dog, but I am concerned about deeper issues.
I’m sure you could housetrain this puppy without too many problems if you’ve got dog experience and know the best methods. Frankly, what I’d be concerned about is the total lack of socializing these puppies have had. And they’re past the 16 weeks which is prime time for needing socializing.
I’d have to meet these puppies and take the one I liked out for a walk to see just how they react to situations – traffic, people, bikes, other dogs, etc. I don’t think the way these people raised these puppies is at all acceptable.
I would go for it. I think being a stay at home mom would also help because you would have more time to train the dog. And it is always good to get the puppy young to grow up with you daughter/son. And when you train at a young age like 4 1/2 months they tend to learn faster. And Great Danes are known as the Gentle Giants so it may even be less crazy as a puppy then other breeds. But I think it could be a great experience!
First of all, have you raised a puppy before? I wouldn’t even consider a puppy, especially a large one, and a toddler unless you were an experienced puppy-raiser.
After that, the main thing I would be concerned with is how much or how little socializing they’ve had. I would suggest taking the puppy you are interested out to see how it reacts to different circumstances. Does it seem nervous or shy or does it take everything in stride with typical puppy aplomb? If the pup seems at all shy, pass on it and wait until a better opportunity comes along. It is worth the wait considering the dog will hopefully live at least 8 – 10 years.
If you want the dog and have the time to train it and enjoy its company, by all means get it if it is the kind of dog you like.
I wouldn’t necessarily count the pups out due to the socialization.
At what age were the pups when the breeder had to return to work full time? How has she socialized the pups from birth until now.
Many people unfortunately have to work full time and after bringing home a new puppy then crate the pup while they are at work.
Not of course that I condone it, but reality is that for some people, the need to crate their animals while they work is important. I myself am a breeder however do very limited breedings and only sell my pups to families that will have at least one person home with the pup during the day so that crating one of my pups is at a bare minimal.
With any puppy, training for many things will be necessary.
I am sure that the pup will need to be house-trained but being that the pups are 4 1/2 months old, would hope that it would not take too long.
Obedience training is a wonderful idea for so many reasons. Taking the puppy to puppy kindergarten will offer socialization with other pups and dogs, as well as being around other humans to learn his or her puppy manners. The obedience classes will offer insight to the pup as well as yourself for training you both on proper owner/puppy as to what is expected and appropriate behavior.
I am sure being that you are experienced with dogs that you will have no problem training.
I would suggest to go and see the pups, see how they interact with you and the other pups. You can also see the temperament of the Dam but most importantly see where the pups have been raised. How clean is the house? Where has the whelping box been and is it clean? How long have the pups been in the garage? Is the garage air conditioned? How does the breeder interact with the pups? Do the pups come with a contract a health guarantee and or spay/neuter contract? Can they be registered with the AKC? Have they been trained in any way or just left with the littermates and Dam? Have they had any interaction at all with people visiting? How often?
As for being able to take the pup for a walk. I myself would not allow that as (not that I am saying you would) but someone might just walk off with a pup and not return. I have my prospective families go out side with my pups and let them interact together. (I also set no time limit on the visit and they can stay as long as they wish, in fact one of my families that has one of my puppies used to come and stay from 2-5 hours at time.) In fact I have the families come to my home weekly from 4 weeks of age on, to interact with all of my puppies to make the transition easier for the 2 legged prospective family members as well as my 4 legged babies.
Continue to ask as many questions as you can think of so that you and your family make a good decision and not just one based on how cute they are.
I wish you luck in your decision and hope you find the pup of your dreams
The breeder sounds like a good one -don’t take mom not being finished too serious the dane ring is a highly competitve one it’s more important all health testing is done.As a rule they are pretty easy to house break and being an older puppy that would work with you rather than against.Raising a dane with a baby really depends on you and what you can handle.I would get this puppy spayed/or nuetered as soon as the vet will allow a whole male dane is not a good candidate coming into his own around a toddler. Either sex makes a good family pet although my experience is boys are more lovers and loyal they can be more goofy and slower to mature in the head.If the puppy is harliquin or a mismark with alot of white make sure the hearing has also been checked.Good luck -
I see way too many red flags to the story you were told by the “breeder) Also no responsible breeder will have puppies left at 4 months since puppies are spoken for and responsible breeders have a waiting list long before the dog is even bred.
Also a responsible breeder would not be having a litter out in the garage and papertrained nor would they be so lacking in socializing the puppies. Most breeders have full time jobs in addition ot raising pups so that is defiantely NOT an excuse.
I would not consider getting a puppy from this person.
I also doubt seriously that the stud owner is a “well known” responsible breeder.