MorningStar Great Danes

Buying a Great Dane is not a decision to be taken lightly. A Great Dane is known as the Gentle Giant. The key word here is GIANT. A Great Dane is not the right dog for every home.

1. This will be a GIANT dog full grown!!!!! Minimum height is 30 inches for males, 28 inches for bitches, and can be as tall as 3 feet. Weight averages 140 pounds, even though males as big as 170 - 190 pounds is not uncommon.

2. With such large size comes an increased cost: food, vet bills, toys, routine surgery-spay/neuter or if you decide to crop the ears, any medications or medical treatments that may be necessary, and if an emergency should occur i.e. bloat surgery, those bills will be higher also. Vet bills are more because everything is charged by the animals weight. A spay/neuter procedure can be a minimum of $250. Heartworm medication can cost upwards of $150/year. A proper quality food usually costs $32-$40 for a 40 pound bag lasting 2-5 weeks depending on age and size of your Great Dane. A crate can cost $100-$400 and most Great Danes go through several sizes because they grow so big. 

3. Consideration of ear cropping. Though it is a personal decision ear cropping is often a heated debate. I personally do not crop. Cropped ears are not naturally occurring on Great Danes. It is done between 6 - 8 weeks of age by a veterinarian. The dog is sedated then approximately 1/2 of his ear is cut off. His ears are taped up using popsicle sticks or a cup sitting in the middle of his head. He then needs frequent tape changes. His ears are usually taped 6-12 weeks until his ears are trained to stand tall, erect, and pointed. Some ears take much longer to stand. Cropping ears and tails in dogs has become controversial. Many veterinarians hesitate or flat outright refuse to crop or dock. Some veterinarians may not be familiar with each breeds cropping tendencies, so you may not get a good crop either. More and more often it's being found that non-veterinarians, i.e breeders themselves, are performing these procedures, often without anesthesia, proper sterilization techniques, or pain medications.

4. Due to their massive size, the Great Danes life span averages 7-10 years. There have been many cases of this dog reaching ages up to 12 years old. I personally know a 12 1/2 year old Great Dane. You must be prepared that your Great Dane may not live a long life.

5. This is a dog that you can not let walk all over you. You must be able to give firm and consistent discipline to. Its one thing if its a 20 or even 50 pound dog, you can't make a 135+ pound dog do something it does not want to.

6. You have to be careful in the types and amount of food that you feed a Dane puppy. Too much or the wrong kinds of food can lead to growth and health issues. Regular puppy food has too much, fat, protein and calcium for a giant breed puppy whose growth needs to be slow and steady. To many owners are so intent on their puppy being so big by a certain age, etc that they forget about the effects it could be having on their puppy.

7. As a puppy, Great Danes can be cute and cuddly. You want to hold them in your lap, sleep with you in bed, and jump all over you, and even play bite you. Be forewarned! If you do not want a 150 pound Great Dane sleeping in your bed, and jumpin all over you, etc Do not let them do it as a puppy. Puppyhood is the benchmark for any dog. What they learn to get away with as a puppy, they will think they can do as an adult. Then once they learn that behavior it is much harder to unteach that behavior. Think of it like teaching your own children things during their childhood.