Every Great Dane I've ever known was a friendly and affectionate couch potato! Their size is intimidating to the unfamiliar, but generally very sweet dogs and surprisingly gentle.
Update: I have held Jet like this every day of his life, and even though he's 70lbs, he will still let me grab him and pick him up like a puppy. Taken last week. He's all happy looking because we were about to go do lure training.
Nope, but anti-German sentiment at the time of naming the breed made the choice of 'Dane' more palatable to the dog-breeding & buying audience. "Groß Deutsche" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Very nice. My friend has an 8 year old american bulldog bordering on 100 lbs that absolutely loves me. Every time I see him, he runs to me and wants me to pick him up and give him a hug. Far cry from my grumpy chihuahua...
Last weekend took my Drahthaar to our first test. It was the puppy test or natural ability, officially known as the VJP. She had to do a field search, point a bird, and track a rabbit. They also score cooperation and nose throughout, amount other things. Top score is 70 without any bonus points. She scored a 68, lost a coulple points on rabbit track. I’ve not worked her enough on tracking, and was very happy with the score. She was very close to getting a bonus point on field search. Her sister ran a 70. The judges put her on two rabbit tracks, I should have led her more on the first one, so she would have had a better chance of staying on the track. She did much better overall than I was expecting. If you are familiar with NAVHDA NA test it’s the equivalent of scoring all fours in NAVHDA. It was a long day, but well worth it. Edit: the avatar pic is my previous shorthair, not Greta my 14mo Draht.
Many large dogs do want to be held, although this isnt always possible nor practical. I told my wife to enjoy our 'lap dog' while we can as soon she'll have to adapt to NOT being in our lap and be content with hanging out by our side. Danes are big 'leaners' so you have to anticipate this happening (and gird yourself!) if you find yourself standing next to one. Currently our 40lb pup sleeps in our bed...but my wife & I will be 'transitioning' her over to her own bed before she gets ridiculously large...
She is super cute. Enjoy. About 20 years ago, my mom and dad rescued a pair of brothers (max and elmo) that were 140 lb black and white dane / lab mixes. Super sweet dogs.
Agree, not encouraging people to hug big dogs. You're definitely right about all that. With Jet, I kind of started doing it as en experiment. I feel like he allows it simply because he's always had it done to him.
