What’s Black and White and the size of a Horse …

My dog ...

I spent my whole life being around dogs of every breed you could imagine. Not only did I grow up with a wonderful rescue Lab/Dane mix but most of my friends had canine buddies, too. My aunt, a forest ranger up in the woods, always had large mixed groups of dog breeds. So dogs have always been in my life, from Rotts, Germies, Collies, Labs, Pits, Shepards and even a half wolf rescue.

However, there was a point in time when I had to leave them behind and head off on my own to college. As saddened as I was, I eventually adapted to a no-dog living standard and continued forward. I went to college, fell in love with my to-be wife, got married, started a career in IT and began a family. You know, the usual thing to do. But I still didn’t have the canines back in my life and somewhere in the recesses of my mind, there was an unfilled spot.

Challenges …

My oldest daughter had a negative experience regarding dogs early in her life that left an emotional scar. At the age of three, she had an overly playful dog wound her and the follow up situation didn’t help. Long story short, she grew up with a rising fear of dogs that despite our parental efforts, continued to become worse. Eventually, she reached a point of extreme anxiety in which even seeing a canine across the street on a leash put her into a state of frozen panic. For a guy that loved dogs, this was not a good situation and my wife and I agreed we needed to help her overcome this fear.

As a last ditch effort to resolve the problem, we decided that we needed to bring a puppy into our lives. The concept was that if my daughter, now in her teens, could help raise the dog from infancy, she would learn that there was no foundation for her anxiety and she could learn to control her fears. My wife was raised with small breeds, in particular, the highly excited Pomeranian. However, it was these jumping, hyper-anxious breeds that our daughter was most fearful of, despite their size.

So we both came to the agreement we needed to look into the larger, calmer breeds.

Lily …

Months of research, chat with vets and long discussions with breeders we landed at a breed that neither of us had ever raised: the Great Dane. Known as gentle giants, they have a particular affinity for females and tend to be very calm … sometimes even called couch potatoes. Very intelligent, loyal and listed as great family animals, we started looking for the right fit for our family.

Our first Great Dane, Lily was a true calm gentle giant.

Along came Lily, a wonderful little black fuzzball from an accidental litter, she was a pure-breed mantle Great Dane almost completely black. She arrived near Christmas and the kids went wild, even my oldest daughter. Lily was a small, easily managed tongue surrounded by black fur and a constantly wagging tail. She grew up in our family, adored and spoiled as any good canine should be. Lily taught us a lot about the uniqueness of the breed, having many traits that were less common for dogs and more in common with a horse.

As for my daughter’s fears, Lily put them to rest completely. Looking back now, she says that one day it hit her that she just felt more confident about dogs. In particular, for the little ones that scared her the most, she would think “My dog could eat you .. so behave”. The anxiety was dying off being replaced with a strong confidence that would help her in life. She had conquered.

Lily was a blessing, bringing a whole new dimension to our family. She helped my oldest get control of her fears. Lily provided my youngest her incessant need to have animals around her constantly … she had no animal fears, my daughter would feed a charging bear while trying to pet the creature. She sparked a new appreciation and love for dogs in my wife. And Lily rekindled my life long love of “man’s best friend” filling that blank spot.

Disaster strikes …

Lily passed away one morning at the young age of 18 months old. We were devastated. Eventually, she was diagnosed with a rare undetectable genetic heart disease that showed itself in one of two ways: slow death over time or insta-kills. Lily went to sleep one morning and never woke up; insta-kill. We later discovered her father was just diagnosed with the slow death kind and was starting medications. I think my daughters mourned the most of our family … especially my oldest. It was almost like she had lost her pillar of security.

My wife and I had already been searching for another Great Dane to provide Lily with a friend when we had a breeder contact us that she had a new litter. It was only a month after the loss of Lily but the hole was too big … we needed a puppy back in our lives … things were just not right without one. And so just after Halloween, we acquired our second Great Dane puppy.

Piper …

Piper is our very active, power house monster of a Great Dane.

Enter Piper … and enter she did. Where Lily was a very calm, passive, easily tired puppy … something that hindsight demonstrates as a clue to her heart issue … Piper is a firecracker. Although similar being a Great Dane mantle, Piper is definitely her own unique dog. Her white markings are much more distinct. She is constantly in play mode and does not tire easily nor stay down for long. And she is large … very large … very VERY large. Lily was the runt of a three puppy litter. Piper was the king (or queen) of sizes in a seven puppy litter. And even though a female, she out sized all her brothers and is still growing even after fourteen months.

At first, this was difficult for my daughters to grasp … why did this puppy have to be different … why couldn’t it be Lily version 2.0? However, after a year they have come to love her and appreciate her for all her differences. Lily did what she was supposed to do … she brought us love, she helped my oldest conquer her fears and she helped complete our family. Now Piper is continuing on the job in her own unique way and we love her for it … all 120+ pounds on her 34” tall frame … and she’s still growing.

Piper keeps me company all day while I sit at my computer doing work. She rides in the truck when I go to pick my youngest up from Water Polo practice. She plays fetch indoors testing the integrity of our walls. And she has an abundance of quirks that make her enduring to all that get to know her.

Great Danes …

There are definitely challenges to raising a dog breed that is larger than most of your furniture (and moves around … its like dodging a mobile desk). Transportation can be challenging since Danes are just another full sized body in the vehicle and some cars just can’t work … such as my oldest’s Honda Civic … yeah .. not happening.

The breed is also well known as a “Velcro dog” in that they want a lot of attention. Great Danes were bred to sit at the sides of royalty and constantly be the center of attention. They are still like this today … they don’t care what you are doing, they want to be included so they get right up in your face to check things out. Be prepared to have a massive head two inches away from you when you are trying to focus on something. Personal space means nothing to a Dane.

Normally a very calm breed, they have moments owners and breeders call “the crazies” where they have a need to run full speed laps for about two minutes then crash. It scares most people the first time they see it … mostly because a dog THAT big running full speed is more like a car crash looking for a place to happen. However, they don’t need a ton of room, just enough to run the laps … just make sure your hallway is clear.

Big … real Big …

Everything they do is large … their toys, their play, their beds, their blankets … and their “leftovers”. They pee rivers and the #2 from a full grown Dane will no longer fit into any poop bag made at the pet store … try Glad or Hefty. Be ready to lose anything remotely related to grass if that’s where they go because that river will kill anything living.

The most common question I field (after the shock of her size wears off) is “how much does she eat?”. The answer is surprising; less than my two teenagers. She eats about six cups a day but the Great Dane has the slowest of breed metabolisms and therefore, does not need much. Due to their size, they can have joint issues later in life and so you don’t want them ever getting overweight. So you never want to over feed them at any stage of their lives and its very difficult for a Dane to lose weight because of their structure. Don’t let a Great Dane get fat.

I could go on about Great Danes but this article is already much larger than I originally intended: just like Piper. I love this breed but I warn anyone that is intending to have one; be prepared more than any other dog … this breed is different and takes a lot more dedication. Do NOT get a Great Dane with the thought that it’s just another dog … it isn’t. I say this because the breed is well known as one of the most abandoned types of dogs. People get them and are not prepared when they reach full size for the complete life impact. Do not do that disservice to your family or the animal. Know what you are getting into as a Dane parent.

So don’t be surprised to see more of Piper here … it’s hard to do anything without her big nose in my face. You might even see her in a stream … or at least hear her bark … its large just like everything else.

-Bones