The Official "Dogs of the DMF" Thread

[Nitewaif]

Aww, that Dane is beautiful.  He has such a sweet face.  They really are gentle giants. 

[cyrus buelton]

Aww, that Dane is beautiful.  He has such a sweet face.  They really are gentle giants. 

Sometimes.

SnakeGirl (motogpfan's ex) was severely bitten by a Dane. It was a rescue group, forced her in a room with the dog, and it struck. It came out the dog was abused by a woman. It was a terrible ordeal.

But I agree.


I love Great Danes. They are such large, beautiful animals. My only downside is their life span. Just so short.

[Stella]

We took our Great Dane to the beach this weekend. The Shepherd and the Leonberger went to daycare so we could spend some time working with the big guy.

Awww!!!   Nice puppy!  Nice guardian-y.   

[DRKWNG]

It looks more and more likely that I am not going to be able to bring Darmah with me when I move.     It seems that Dobes have been placed on the restricted breed list for the DC metro area and not many places are willing to let you have one.  One apartment complex that I was talking to originally told me that they would let me have her there, but then changed their mind a few days later. 

[triangleforge]

It looks more and more likely that I am not going to be able to bring Darmah with me when I move.     It seems that Dobes have been placed on the restricted breed list for the DC metro area and not many places are willing to let you have one.  One apartment complex that I was talking to originally told me that they would let me have her there, but then changed their mind a few days later. 

Sorry to hear that!  Don't know your timelines, but I'd keep looking -- The DC Metro area is huge, and there's certain to be a place that fits your needs; the trick is just finding it.  PM me with what you're looking for, where & by when, and I can put the word out to friends & colleagues back there. I'm sure you've done that on the CAM list already as well...

[DRKWNG]

Thanks!  I did put the word out in CAM but it never hurts to have more help.  PM coming.

[cyrus buelton]

I am so sorry to hear about that.

God that breaks my heart if you have to give up your dog. I don't know how I could do it. Honestly, I am not sure I could.


and


the whole "doberman is a mean breed" thing really make the beast with two backsing pisses me off.

From what I have read, the top two aggressive biting dogs are Dauchsaunds and Chihuahua's.


Of course they aren't banned, but the bite of a little dog is drastically different then a big dog.


I really hope you can find a spot that will let you have your pooch or find a great foster family you can get visitation rights with.

My hearts with you man. That is just a really shitty thing.




Chris@cyclecat was in to owning those Timberwolf hybrid wolf dogs. God knows what they are or what they were bred with, but they looked like make the beast with two backsing wolves.

The town he lives in just put a ban on wolf breed dogs, Rott's, Pit's, and I think a few others.

He was lucky enough to find a lady close by who has a lot of property that takes in wolf dogs. So his dog has a nice home, plenty of roaming ground, food, and shelter.



make the beast with two backsing irresponsible dog owners. GRRRRR. really pisses me off.

[SacDuc]

Sometimes.

SnakeGirl (motogpfan's ex) was severely bitten by a Dane. It was a rescue group, forced her in a room with the dog, and it struck. It came out the dog was abused by a woman. It was a terrible ordeal.

But I agree.


I love Great Danes. They are such large, beautiful animals. My only downside is their life span. Just so short.

The short life span of the Danes is a common misconception. The animals usually have shorter lives because they are fed wrong. You really have to watch how fast they grow when they are puppies (and Danes are puppies for 3-4 years). They can develop severe joint problems if they grow too fast. A food with less protein takes care of this. Making sure they don't get too much exercise helps this as well. They seem a bit more prone to developing cancer earlier than other breeds. A natural food with a good mix of veggies in it seems to take care of this. But the most startling thing I learned is that 75% of early Great Dane deaths are caused by bloat. This is 100% preventable in a young to middle aged healthy animal. Some basic feeding guidelines are:

Raised the food so that the dog only has to bend his neck slightly to feed
Feed 4-5 times a day as much as the dog wants (this keeps them from over eating because they know they will get more soon)
No play/exercise one hour before and one hour after eating.
No eating two hours before and two hours after a car ride.
No excitement while eating (keep the toddlers away, don't throw the ball for other dogs, etc.)

A lot of people don't do this stuff. They are basically killing their dogs early. So you hear things like, "But, but, but . . . I work and can't keep a feeding schedule like that!" Then get a different breed. Or don't whine that your dog died at the age of eight.

The rescue we got two of our dogs from has adopted out over 11,000 large breed dogs. Their Danes are living between 12-16 years on average as opposed to the 7-10 you often seen quoted. My wife's Belgian Shepherd/Dane mix lived until 16. Despite their large size Danes (and many other large breeds) are quite fragile. But if they are properly cared for they should live a long happy life.

sac

[lethe]

The short life span of the Danes is a common misconception. The animals usually have shorter lives because they are fed wrong. You really have to watch how fast they grow when they are puppies (and Danes are puppies for 3-4 years). They can develop severe joint problems if they grow too fast. A food with less protein takes care of this. Making sure they don't get too much exercise helps this as well. They seem a bit more prone to developing cancer earlier than other breeds. A natural food with a good mix of veggies in it seems to take care of this. But the most startling thing I learned is that 75% of early Great Dane deaths are caused by bloat. This is 100% preventable in a young to middle aged healthy animal. Some basic feeding guidelines are:

Raised the food so that the dog only has to bend his neck slightly to feed
Feed 4-5 times a day as much as the dog wants (this keeps them from over eating because they know they will get more soon)
No play/exercise one hour before and one hour after eating.
No eating two hours before and two hours after a car ride.
No excitement while eating (keep the toddlers away, don't throw the ball for other dogs, etc.)

A lot of people don't do this stuff. They are basically killing their dogs early. So you hear things like, "But, but, but . . . I work and can't keep a feeding schedule like that!" Then get a different breed. Or don't whine that your dog died at the age of eight.

The rescue we got two of our dogs from has adopted out over 11,000 large breed dogs. Their Danes are living between 12-16 years on average as opposed to the 7-10 you often seen quoted. My wife's Belgian Shepherd/Dane mix lived until 16. Despite their large size Danes (and many other large breeds) are quite fragile. But if they are properly cared for they should live a long happy life.

sac

That's great info, I'll make sure I pass that along to anybody I know that either has one or is thinking of getting one.

[SacDuc]

They really are gentle giants.  

Sometimes.

As with the pitbull and Doberman threads, can we not make this issue breed specific and agree that ANY dog has the potential to become aggressive and dangerous if it is abuse and/or neglected? And can we all also recognize that yes some are more dangerous to humans because of their size and/or the instincts that have been bred into them?

sac

[SacDuc]

Awww!!!   Nice puppy!  Nice guardian-y.   

Of my three dogs he is certainly the most intimidating looking, but he is the best with people. Danes don't really make good guard dogs and this dog in particular was so well socialized with people from such a young age that it would take something pretty severe for him to be aggressive toward a person. My shepherd would be the first to jump in between me and an attacker, though generally he his great with people too and we trust him with our nieces and nephews.

But people who don't own dogs themselves do tend to cross to the other side of the street when we walk our Dane.  Except for kids. Kids love him and want to pet him. I spend a lot of time tugging on his ears and jowls and tail so he perceives it as affection and won't get nippy if a kid does it.

sac

[JEFF_H]

Anybody's dogs going bald right now?

Darmah has seasonal flank alopecia and in the late winter/early spring she get big bald patches.
there's shots you can do...but it comes back normally and doesnt bother her so i just leave it alone.

i could leave her home i guess so she could get some sun...but who would i talk to at work all day?

[lethe]

Anybody's dogs going bald right now?

Darmah has seasonal flank alopecia and in the late winter/early spring she get big bald patches.
there's shots you can do...but it comes back normally and doesnt bother her so i just leave it alone.

i could leave her home i guess so she could get some sun...but who would i talk to at work all day?

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=dog+toupee&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=dog+toup&gs_rfai=&fp=a2bb30ecf4f91972

My one lost all her nails, freaked me out when she lost the first one but I found out it's not terrible or uncommon.

[Randimus Maximus]

You say this..

the whole "doberman is a mean breed" thing really make the beast with two backsing pisses me off.

From what I have read, the top two aggressive biting dogs are Dauchsaunds and Chihuahua's.

But you also say this:

I scare people out of the park!

as soon as I show up with a Doberman, the mean looks come and people collect their dogs and leave.

It is great.

I can't wait to show up with two of them!!!

I'm confused on where you stand on the issue.

[SacDuc]

You say this..

But you also say this:

I'm confused on where you stand on the issue.

There is no contradiction there. The same ignorance that makes people want to ban Dobes is the same ignorance that makes them leave the dog park. The cool part is that when he shows up people leave and that means less dogs around and more space for his pups.

sac