Steph and I will be hitting up the movie theaters this weekend not to see the movie, but to help educate others about the realities of owning a Dane. We're hoping to avoid a glut of surrenderd Danes following their big screen fame as happened with Dalmations, St. Bernards, etc.
Despite the ferociously adorable antics we share about our Danes here, the reality is that they are HUGE, expensive, have many health problems, and live short lives. The average Dane female is about Daisy's size (120 lbs) and males are around 150 lbs. Without proper training (and you WILL need to train that dog to be a gentle giant, it does NOT happen naturally), 100+ lbs of dog can do serious damage to your house, its occupants, and other dogs. Along with the Dane's famous size, are infamous vet bills. Because these dogs are as big as humans, they require the same dosage as humans. Compared to small to medium dogs, this means a Dane's meds often cost triple what other breeds cost. Add these outrageous vet bills to the cost of food (Daisy and Pinky go through a $50 33 lb bag of premium food every 2.5 weeks) and large toys, and you just begin to see the high cost of loving a Dane. Danes also are known for having numerous health problems including blindness, deafness, hip displaysia, stomach problems, and many others. Most of these problems are the result of backyard breeding and puppy mills. Finally, on average, Danes will only live about 8 years.
That said, if you see the adorable, goofy giant in Marmaduke, read more about the breed, and decide that a Dane is still the dog for you, seriously consider adopting a rescued Dane. There are too many dogs out there already and the rescues make fantastic pets. Pinky spent the first 3 years of her life in a puppy mill's cage being continuously bred. When she was no longer able to produce puppies (she had cysts on her ovaries) she was sold at an auction. Luckily a woman bought Pinky and gave her to one of the local Dane rescues. She had fleas, intestinal parasites, a frost bitten tail, shredded ear from another dog, was filthy, and claws that had never been trimmed. In spite of all of this, Pinky has been nothing but the world's best companion since day one. She is honestly the sweetest, most loving, and best behaved dog anyone could ever hope for.
Please, think hard before you get a Dane. And if you are going to get one, get a rescue.
Visit one of your local Dane rescues and tell them Pinky Powell sent you!
http://www.gdromn.org/Home.html
http://thegreatdanerescue.com/
I totally wanted a velociraptor after seeing Jurassic Park. So I got one, and I have to say it's pretty expensive, it eats like three goats a week. It also eats the kids that wander into our paddock, and sometimes it eats me. But I wouldn't change a thing, I just love our little Nibbles.
ReplyDeleteOk, it is very strange that you know 2 people who love velociraptors. At first I thought the other commentor was Melynda in disguise.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I concur, get a rescue dog...they're the best. Don't count out the ones who've had a tough life either, our Harvey is the sweetest dog!