Can Great Danes Live Outside??

[par321]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

Hey there.. umm the dane i saw was 10 years old, and is kept outside about half the time. It does spend some time in the house, and sleeps outside. This is what i was planning on doing if i get a dane. By outside, i dont mean i will buy the dog and let it live completely outside. I planned on having indoors during the day, and having it sleep outside as needed. I was more unsure about if ocassionally having danes outdoors is fine. If it spends more time inside with the family (allergy treated...) and sleep outside, is that acceptable?

[Carol]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

Really needs to sleep inside in cold weather.

[weim_mom]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

No, in my opinion that is not acceptable. Your Dane should sleep inside. If that is going to be a problem with your family's allergies then you should not get a Dane. It is clear that you genuinely want some good advice and are open to opinions, so that is why I am giving mine. Please do not get a Dane if you are not going to let it sleep inside AND live inside most of the time.

Michelle

[littlmrs]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

If the dog can be inside during the day (at least some of the time) then what's the difference if he sleeps in there? Afterall, an unconscious/sleeping dane surely requires less than one that is awake. If he's going to be inside during the day, then what happened with the allergy thing? If your family is really alergic, then I would think that the dog wouldn't be inside at all. If they can stand it during the day, then why can't they stand it at night? Night time allergies??? Besides, no responsible breeder that has a dog's best interests at heart would sell a dane to someone who will be keeping it outside. Therefore, you can resonably expect to have a less than par animal, leading to heartbreak for certainly the dog, maybe for you, and even possibly thousands of dollars in health bills. I think Mandi (Zoey's Mom) posted a link to a new page on her website that details the medical expenses she's spent on her dane in the last 18 months or so--go check it out and see if you really want to foot that kind of bill. That's what you're asking for if you buy from an irresponsible breeder (in my opinion, any breeder who would sell a dane pup as an outside dog). Don't get me wrong, I do believe that there are breeds that can do quite well as primarily outside dogs as long as they get exercise and lots of interaction with the family (some of the hunting breeds). But Danes are just not able to function that way and I believe it is selfish to try to make them live in an environment that is unsuited to their needs. Just my opinion as always. Amanda

[danelvr]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

wow, nice links helen, even debb said so( the contending link person)

anyway, as i said before, depending on your climate wouldnt a shepherd of some kind be better? and if so, wouldnt u want two?

if it can be inside during the day, why not at nite?

i STILL would not want anyone to have an outdoor dane. my freind has two outdoor dogs as it is, and i feel way bad for them. they always smell bad, have giant sized ticks, ALL the time, their coats are rough and gross, they eat moles, ugh. i would not come home to a dog like that and kiss it((((

[VarsitySBaller15]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

Think of it this way - everyone always says having a dane is like having a child . . . . . . . so would you have your child sleep outside locked up in a kennel because the rest of the family has alergies?

JMO


~*Jen*~
2 weeks until my baby comes home!

[Cujasky]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

Bill, it seems as if you have already made your decision as to having your dane live outside. Here are some of the other conversations that were on this board before about the same subject:

http://www.danesonline.com/cgi-bin/d...5&viewmode=all

http://www.danesonline.com/cgi-bin/d...5&viewmode=all

http://www.danesonline.com/cgi-bin/d...0&viewmode=all

[Mom x 2]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

I think for every "happy" outside dog you can find me, I can show you 10 "unhappy" outside dogs that have come in to our rescue, most with behavioral/agression problems stemming from a lack of socialization. Think about it - why do you think that Harl dog was so happy? Probably because someone finally showed him some attention! And anyway, one dog is not enough for you to base your decision on.

Regarding the indoor/outdoor thing, I would imagine a sleeping Dane would also be much less likely to shed dander, so if anything I think it would make more sense to be inside during the night and outside during the day (but NOT all day!).

And although it wasn't directed at me, I'd be a little insulted by you're coming here asking for input (which I was glad to see) and then saying we're "biased as a result of the deep connection that no doubt exists between owner and animal." That deep connection is SUPPOSED to exist. I don't think you'd have that connection on both sides if you're keeping a dog outdoors. I hope you take the advice of the folks you've asked it from. If nothing else, consult a veterinarian or behaviorist before getting a Dane, if you don't trust us.

Cindy

[TBShash]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

I just went and visited 2 --3 year old girls who have lived outside since they were 6 mos old...and they were not okay!!! they are starved for attention and want pets but are afraid to approach too close for them...they also have never been houstrained!!! Why did I go visit them becasue they were advertised in the local paper for $200 / each READY TO BREED!!! Why would anyone get a pet and then relegate them to a pen in the yard??? Only answer I know is BYB!!
Shash

[danelvr]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

hey look! ! ! my dogs famous !! hes on your avatar-(im a mommy GLOWING with pride )

oh, and im guessing you werent going to breed them, you just wanted to see the situation they were in? why in the world would you advertise them as *ready to breed* thats just plain awful( some people and their low morales....its just amazing

[rugers mom]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

I wonder what draws you to the Great Dane breed. Is it the size? The massive size of the Dane, while indeed impressive, is the cause for it's short life span. Is it the sweet nature of the Dane? The way that they greet you at the door and lean against you as you rub their ears. The way that they follow you from room to room for just a little more love. The way that they gaze into your eyes as you lay with them while watching a movie? Maybe it's how they love to sit on your lap while you lounge on the couch? Could it be the way that they love their people in general? I can assure you that these are not the qualities that are cultivated in a Dane living outdoors. From my experience as a child, dogs living outdoors are SOOO excited to see their people, that they knock you down with their enthusiasm. They no longer have the sweet, mild mannered quality that the Dane is famous for. They are so starved for attention in fact, that any manners they have learned are quickly forgotten in the excitment of just a few minutes of attention. With a dog as large as a Dane, this could be scarey for a child or visitor, which could lead to less time spent outside with the dog. Less time spent outside with the dog, leads to more enthusiastic shows of affection. I'm sure that everyone can see the cycle. And how would this enthusiastic pup respond when allowed to come into the house? By running around laying slobbery kisses on everyone in sight. Sprinting from room to room to ensure they have properly greeted everyone present. In the excitement, they don't even realize how many breakable items they have thrown to the floor with one swoop of their very excited tail, or how many toes they have stepped on. They certainly wouldn't notice any children that were terrified of recieving the next kiss. This behavior no doubt would be immediatley stopped by placing the dog back outside to ponder how he might please the people next time with more enthusiasm and a bigger kiss. I can tell you that I still occassionaly have nightmares about our outside dog that we had when I was a child. I was in charge of feeding and general care of the dog. As a child though, I had childish priorities. As the novilty of my pup wore off with neighborhood friends, the dog suffered. It did not recieve the attention and care that it would have if it had been an indoor member of the family. When we euthanized my dog years later due to cancer, I wondered if I would have noticed the signs sooner if I would have spent more time with her. Would her suffering have been less? Did she have a happy life with my occassional attention? So many years later, I still feel guilty. I am certainly not saying that you would not take stellar care of your dog, but the breed of dog I speak of was not quite as emotionally dependant as the Dane. Would it not be a better choice to aquire a dog that does not have the emototional dependance that the Dane has. Or better yet, find a pet that can live indoors full time witout concern of compromising your human family's health?

[gmac]

RE: Move over link-meister??

Looks like you've got some competition Deb! ;-)

[Cujasky]

RE: Move over link-meister??

I'm ready to pass the crown, Gwenna

[zahirah]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

Okay, I have a question: my husband and I live at our hotel, and we are both outside ourselves all day long. So is the outside/inside issue a question of the dog not having company, or not being happy in an outdoors environment? When the woman who sold Sara to us brought her over, she was really happy to see where she would be living: she has five acres of land, beach, and sea to play in. But I think that with all this available, it would be a crime to keep her locked inside all day. Also, this is Southeast Mexico, so itīs warm and tropical. No cold problems. What do you think??

[MP]

RE: Can Great Danes Live Outside??

I think it's more an issue of keeping them safe and (environmentally) sound. Your hotel sounds like Dane paradise! But I would advise extreme care with the heat. Danes don't do well with heat and I believe should be "coddled" when it comes to hot weather and humidity.

I live in central Florida and here we keep Danes inside during the heat of the day (10 a.m. - 4 p.m. or later).

When I got my first Dane years ago, I met several people who would tell me very similar stories about their Danes. The dog died of a heart attack while playing with the kids, they told me, but at least he died doing what he loved.

I'd always ask what time of day this happened, and invariablely the answer would be 2 or 3 in the afternoon in the middle of summer. I always thought that if these folks had just kept their Dane inside in the air conditioning until evening, they would have had a few more years of companionship.