How much does a great dane eat?
Danes do not need as much food as you think.
2 cups a feeding, 2 feedings a day is a good place to start. If your dane is still hungry increase a half a cup at a time. Danes are very prone to Bloat and Stomach Torsion, a condition that often leads to stomach torsion. This is a very serious, often fatal, medical condition in which the stomach actually flips over on itself. Feeding smaller meals of easily digestible ingredients found in high quality kibble recipes as opposed to larger amounts of fillers, and low quality additives found in most supermarket brands is recommended as the first step in avoiding this dangerous condition. Read all of this article "Feeding Your Dane"
WHAT should I feed my Great Dane?
Please read "Feeding Your Dane" There is more to feeding than just a list of approved dane foods.
I hear they are really big...how big?
The average adult Great Dane in rescue is 32-34 inches when measured from the shoulder top to the floor. We have had pure breed danes that are as short as 27 inches shoulder to the floor, but this is rare. To put the average adult Great Dane height into perspective take a look at our Adopted Danes Page where danes are shown with their owners and in home environments.
Average weight of a rescue Great Dane is between 110-150 lbs.
Why are they called Great Danes?
OOOH! So glad you asked! Now, we can share a little Great Dane History with you!
I see some danes have cropped ears and some not. What's up with that?
Cropping was a necessary procedure for Great Danes centuries ago when they were big tough mastiff-like Boar hunters. Getting a ripped ear in a Boar hunt could have been deadly, but today Cropping is just for looks. Its up to the individual dane owner to crop or leave natural.
Are Great Danes good with kids?
Adult Great Danes are excellent with older kids! Puppies and Toddlers are not a good combination since both have balance issues, and let's face it both puppies and toddlers can be rough on each other. Adult supervision is necessary with any dog and any young child.
I have a cat. Will a dane get along with my cat?
Overall Great Danes and cats are a good mix, but it depends. Some danes are afraid of cats and some danes want to chase cats. Whenever possible we "road test" danes in foster homes that have cats. Check out our Available Danes Page to see who is good with cats and who is not.
I have another dog and its kind of old. Should I get a dane now or wait?
Wait.
Your senior dog deserves to not have its world turned upside down. Senior dogs are like senior people they are comfortable with what they know. There is nothing wrong with letting your current dog live out its life in comfort as the center of your world, then consider bringing another dog into your life when you are ready.
What's better, buying a dane puppy or getting a rescue dane?
Hmmm?? We are rescue folks, what do you think WE are going to say? <grin>
Puppies are adorable, but a huge amount of work, we know. We've raised them. Great Dane Puppies are even more work and they are more expensive to vet. If you have the time, are willing to put in the work and have the financial resources for a puppy at this time...Great! Buy a puppy. Read our puppy section for what you should know and how to find a puppy without contributing the breeders who exploit puppy sales.
If you have a busy life, lots of commitments, want to take a vacation in the next 6 months, getting married soon, moving, or have small kids, then a puppy is not for you. Your world will not stop being busy long enough for you to raise a Great Dane puppy or any puppy for that matter. An unattended puppy will never grow into a well behaved adult.
An Adult Great Dane is calmer, easier to assimilate into a new home, and better for small children, and a rescue Great Dane has been tested and trained in a foster home as well as being fully vetted, spayed/neutered etc. If we say its good with kids...its good with kids. A puppy? Won't know until you bring it home, then its too late. An Adult Rescue Great Dane is a better value for this reason and you will not need to replace what a pup would chew up in your house.
...but you knew we were lrooting for the rescue dane all along, right!?
Rescue Basics
Where do rescue danes come from?
Rescue danes come mostly from Oklahoma Animal Shelters and private surrenders. We do get calls from vets, local ASPCA seizures, or State Government seizures of abused and neglected Great Danes from time to time as well.
Are these dogs retired show danes?
No. Often a show dane will retire from the show ring to be bred and produce/stud puppies. In cases where overbreeding, or neglectful breeding have occurred by show breeders and their downline, we have received those maturing pups and adults into rescue. But never the titled show dane itself.
In this manner rescue becomes aware of breeders who's practices are less than ethical. If you are in the market for a show dane or a pet quality show bred dane and want to know which breeders to avoid, contact us. We are happy to help you avoid pitfalls.
Are these dogs retired search and rescue dogs?
No. In this case " Great Dane Rescue" means we save them.
Search and Rescue dogs are seldom Great Danes to begin with. Why? because Great Danes are essentially lazy. Okay, a nice way to say this would be, the Great Danes low metabolism leaves them without the boundless energy of other breeds. Their size could be a factor as well. Medium size dogs can get into tighter spots. Okay, so they're big and lazy, but that doesn't mean they won't watch a search and rescue show on TV ...from the sofa, of course.
Do you have any danes available right now?
Their never seems to be a time when Great Danes do not need rescue, so we are nearly constantly full of danes. Check out our Available Danes Page to see who is looking for a new home.
How much does it cost to adopt a great dane?
The older the dog the smaller the adoption fee. Here is the breakdown...
Pups under 2 years $300
3 to 5 years $245
Over 6 years $195
It seems every time I look at your website its says your are full. What's the deal?
Its true. We are constantly full. This is because we foster our danes in family homes and the number of danes we can help is directly related to how many foster home spots we have. Sadly we have to turn danes in need away because of this. We are always looking for foster homes in the OKC and Tulsa areas. Learn more about being a foster home.
I called and haven't heard back. When is someone going to call me?
Email us. Tell us you have a call into us and tell us what you said on the message. We will get back to you ASAP via email.
Please remember we are all volunteers, meaning we squeeze rescue work into lives that are already full. Returning calls is important, but emails get returned faster, its just the nature of rescue that we are on the phone alot already and emails can be returned anytime of day. I am sure you do not want a callback at midnight, but you wouldn't mind receiving an email at that time, right? So email is the best way to get a faster response.
I have a dane I can no longer keep. Can you take it?
That depends on if we have an available foster spot and it depends on the Great Dane too. Do you think this Great Dane can be re-homed? Is there a behavior issue? Maybe it can be resolved. Visit our Surrender Page to learn more about common problems and their solutions and how to surrender a dane if needed.
How does this rescue thing work, exactly?
Well HGDR takes in danes in need, provides vet care, spay/neuter, foster, evaluate, train and love for each one. All the while finding great homes for them to be adopted into. We charge an adoption fee and require a contract on adoptions. We also offer help and maintain a continuing interest in the dane for the extent of its life. Meaning if you ever have issues with a dane adopted from us we want to be the first to hear about it and help, likewise if you want to give the dane away, it comes back to us first. See adoption basics below for more info.
Are you funded by the state?
No.
Are you funded by the US Government?
No.
What is your adoption area?
We adopt to the entire state of Oklahoma and up the I-35 corridor to Wichita, Kansas, on a regular basis. Note: We do not go past Wichita to the north, nor to we adopt beyond 30 miles east or west of the I-35 corridor.
In addition to our regular adoption area, we do make adoptions on a case by case basis into other surrounding states, but this is in conjunction with the existing Dane Rescue Groups in that area. We NEVER place a dog in an area that has an established dane rescue unless that group approves of the adopter, adoption and is willing to help us retrieve the dog if needed.
The reason we do this is to preserve quality Dane homes in that area for local danes in need and support local Dane Rescue efforts.
We have kept our regular adoption area small so we can be available to support adoptive families with after-adoption services. We do not believe in long range transport. It is not in the best interest of Great Danes nor Great Dane Rescue as a whole.
We urge you to adopt locally.
Adoption Basics
I
see a dog I want on your website. What's next?
Visit the
How to Adopt Page for your next step.
Where can I view/see/meet the Danes before I submit an application?
We
are an all volunteer organization and as such, we have no facility. The
mailing address for your application is simply that, for mailing only.
There are no dogs for viewing at that address.
Because
the Danes are housed in private volunteer residences, we ask that an
application be submitted and background check completed before giving
out addresses or contact information for our foster homes. After all,
you wouldn't want someone you know nothing about knowing where to find
We
encourage anyone who is interested in meeting our available Great Danes
to watch our
Events Page for an upcoming event and plan on attending. We
try to have as many available Danes present at our events as we can.
I
don't live in Oklahoma, but want to adopt from HGDR. What do I do?
We respect
the state boundaries as our rescue boundaries except in cases where there is no
dane rescue coverage in your area and you just happens to be
closer to us than the next available rescue. In this manner we do place danes in Wichita, KS and areas south to the Oklahoma border.
We have
made exceptions in the past when a out of state Great Dane Rescue has asked us to
place one of our danes in their area when they could not make a match
themselves.
This is rare
and requires the permission/recommendation of your local rescue to do.
If you wish to do this please contact your local rescue for their
permission. Your local rescue will have to contact us first if they are
interested.
I
don't have a tall fence, is this a problem?
How
tall is tall? For most Great Danes a fence of 5 feet is tall
enough.
I want a dane puppy to give to my boyfriend for his birthday, can you help me?
Sorry, dogs are not great Birthday, Hanukah, Christmas, or Easter gifts.
Buying a puppy as a gift is often at the expense of the pup.
I know, you have seen all those TV shows, Movies and Commercials showing a puppy in a big gift-wrapped box, and the happy family gathering all around as the box pops open...happy puppy with a big giant bow. OOOH! AHHH! That's fiction and its cute! 5 minutes later its not cute, puppy has to pee, puppy gets into other presents, puppy eats cake, candy, wants to play but has super sharp puppy teeth, or puppy is scared silly, new home, new people, noise, its pretty overwhelming. And not just for the pup, after 5 minutes of puppy care people can get pretty overwhelmed if they are not ready and well supplied.
The best time to introduce a new dog no matter what age, is on a day when it can be all about the dog. A calm regular day where no one has anywhere else to be and the noise and activity levels in the house are low.
Sadly, rescue is inundated with Christmas puppies given as gifts starting in February and March by people who were just not ready to receive them. We all say we want dogs, puppies especially, but that doesn't always mean we are ready for one at one of the busiest times of the year or our birthdays.
Your
boyfriend is going to be responsible for caring for this dog so he
should pick the breed and the individual dog after careful consideration
of which breed is best for him. If you still want to give him a
pet for his birthday make him a gift basket of doggie goodies...leash,
collar, treats, etc. and then show him our website, if he wants to take
the plunge for one of our danes or wait for a pup to come into rescue he
will have all your goodies when the time comes and you can foot the bill
for the adoption fee. Both of you can enjoy his birthday dinner without
worrying what the puppy is getting into at home.
I
live in an apartment, shouldn't I get a little dog?
Only if
you want a little dog.
Great
Danes needs surprisingly little to be happy. They DO need constant
attention as pups, and can be quite the handful but after 2 years old
they settle into couch potato mode ( growing and metabolism slows) and
pretty much like to lay around on the sofa. All little dogs do not read
this...little dogs often need constant attention, have a tendency to be
more high-strung than Great Danes. Little breeds are often
over-stimulated by outside noises to race around or bark at seemingly
nothing at all. This can cause trouble with neighbors and behavior
problems when you are not home...chewing, destruction. Great
Danes are not often stimulated like this and pretty much like a little
TV or radio on when you go out to be perfectly satisfied. Not big
barkers either.
Great
Danes are good apartment dogs and we have placed quite a few in
apartment settings to the delight of their owners.
I
want to breed danes, what if I want an unaltered dog?
Sorry, no
unaltered danes for breeding here.
Please
read Big Benefits of
Spay and Neuter, especially section 8 to learn more about breeding
responsibly.
I
want to adopt, but not sure if a dane is for me. What if it doesn't work
out?
We will
always take the Great Dane back if it doesn't work out.
A great way to find out if a dane is
for you is to foster for a while. That way you get a chance to try out a
Great Dane just until it gets adopted, then you can decide if you want
to make a long term commitment or not.
How long is the adoption process?
Once your application is submitted
the process is usually 4-6 weeks. Incomplete applications take longer
since we must get back to you to gather information left off.
What are the adoption fees?
We have a sliding rate based on
the age of the dane you adopt.
Puppies under 2 years
$300
Young Adults 3 to 5 years $245
Older Adults & Seniors
( Over 6) $195
The adoption fee is pretty high.
Why is that?
The adoption fee is there to
offset some of the costs of vetting a dane completely, it does not
cover all the costs. Each dane requires different care, some more
expensive than others. Considering that adopters receive a fully
vetted dane we think the prices are pretty reasonable. For more
information on what we do with funds collected via adoption fees
check out "Where
Do My Adoption Fees Go?"
With adoption fees,
why does rescue need my donations too?
Adoption fees do not cover the costs of all basic vet care services.
Check out Where Do
My Adoption Fees Go? to learn more.
The application says you maintain
a "continuing interest" Is this dane really mine?
Yes,
the dane is yours. Because we worked so hard to save this dane, vet
it, train, house, and rehome it, we want to make sure if it ever
needs us again, we are here. Also if you ever need help with
training, advice, dane care etc, we are also here for you too.
What is fostering?
Fostering a Great Dane is taking them
into your home and treating them like your own dog, training them,
feeding them, bathing, grooming etc, with one exception...its going to
become someone else's dane someday.
I
want to foster a dane, but I heard its alot of work. Is it?
Yes, its alot of work in the beginning,
once you get the hang of it some say its no different than caring for
their own pets. The hard work is letting some of them go when they are
adopted.
I
don't live in Oklahoma, but want to foster a great dane from HGDR. Can
I?
Does rescue buy the food?
No. Our generous foster homes buy food for their foster Great Danes.
What if my foster dane needs vet care?
If its an emergency you will call
us, if its routine vet care you will email us. We will then arrange for
service and vet payments.
What if I want to adopt a dane I am fostering?
Other
How do I become an member?
Thank you! We would love you to become
a member. Go to Our Members Page
to learn more.
How can I help?
Thank you for asking! We always need help! Check out our Help Needed Page for a list of things we need, jobs to fill, and other ways to help.
Can I donate used doggie items, beds, crates, collars, leashes, bowls?
Absolutely! Email us and we will make arrangements to pick up or for you to drop off. Thank you Kindly!
Have a question for our Frequently Asked Question page? Email Jodiann.