my new 11 month old male great dane

Question
my 15, 17 and 19 year old daughters just adopted an 11 month old male non-neutered great dane - he is awesome at 130 pounds and 35 inches at the shoulder - he lived his brother and a chihuahua and a couple of cats and three kids - so his temperment is super so far - but he is peeing a lot - and i guess he eats a lot which makes him poop a lot - he will be alone while we are all at school - i thought of keeping him in the kitchen behind two closed doors and a linoleum floor so clean up is easier than on my carpets, which he likes to pee on - i read that a three month old can hold his bladder for three hours and add an hour per additional month - so should i be able to get him to chill while we are gone at some point? any suggestions - slightly overwhelmed...

Answer
Mike,

You need to get your puppy a crate and crate him while you are gone. Great Dane puppies, as most other breed puppies should not be left put in the house unattended. He could easily get into something and swallow something that he is not supposed to. Then you will have to deal with obstruction surgeries, spending money and keeping the pup on rest as this is a very invasive surgery. You also need to purchase a belly band for him. A belly band is a wrap that goes around the penis. When the puppy or dog tries to mark, which in his case is what he is doing to your house, it will make him pee on himself and make it very uncomfortable. At the same time you need to schedule to have him neutered as soon as possible. He will continue to mark in your house and as he gets older, the urine smell will be more pungent and harder to get rid of. He may not be hiking up his leg now, but as soon as he does, he will mark your couches, blankets, bedposts, coffee tables, end tables and any plants that are sitting on the ground. I hope this helps. Regardless of how much they eat, if he is on a quality food, he should not be pooping a lot. If he is, I'd suggest looking for a better food as well.