puppy Dane

Question
QUESTION: Hello, My family and i are inquiring a great Dane in the next couple of days.
A puppy.
I know that a puppy being away from it's mother for the first couple nights will whine when in her crate.
I was wondering if me putting my shih-tzu and Boxer in the same room (my bedroom) as the dane&crate would help the puppy in comfort?
Would I be able to put the boxer in the same crate as the Dane; or should I let the Dane be alone?
A little insite would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

ANSWER: You do not want to put the crate in the same room that you are going to be sleeping in. Put her into a crate in a laundry room or a spare room positioned away from where everyone sleeps. Having the crate in your room increases the chances of anxiety, once the puppy has matured and no longer needs to be in the crate and can then sleep on a bed in the room. The puppy will probably whine and cry the first couple of nights. DO NOT take the puppy out of the crate, you can go in and tell him/her to hush and close the door behind you. If the puppy is let out when it is crying it will know that is all he/she has to do in order to get you to come in there and let them out. This will lead to MANY sleepless nights if you are trying to instill proper crate training techniques. The puppy does not need the other dogs for comfort and they should not be in the crate with her. If she does continue to cry you can put your other dogs in the same room as her but not inside the crate. After a few days once she has a schedule and she understands that it is "bedtime" and he/she is going into his/her crate for the night you shouldn't hear a peep out of him/her until the morning at which time you need to go take him/her out and immediately take them outside for their morning duty. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me again!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for this.
now, I was also wondering about when I will be able to take my puppy out on walks.
I have read to take them on walks everyday, and then some say that You can't until they are about 18 weeks..
After which set of shots can I take my puppy on walks to the park and what-not.
also, which dog food is best?
We feed our 2 dogs right now Beniful, (or however you spell it). Would that be okay? Adult food of course.
Also, How many times a day should she go on a walk?
We are picking her up August 4th (tomorrow) and we need just a little bit more information on what exactly to do.
We have done our research, and Read books, but some advice from an "expert" would be most appreciated.

Answer
You can take your puppy for walks around the neighborhood if you have a good idea that your other neighbors follow a vaccine protocol and their animals are up to date on their vaccines. I do not suggest dog parks, nature parks, forest preserves, pet stores, training and boarding facilities ect until after the puppy has had their FULL round of vaccines usually 3 or 4 sets depending on your veterinarian.

The vaccines are typically a 5-way DAPPv(distemper, adenovirus cough, parainfluenza, parvovirus and Hepatitis) with a Great Dane you typically need a series of 4 vaccines but again it will vary per veterinarian and you should establish this with your vet when you take her for her first exam. Typically you do not want to do leptospirosis or corona unless you live in an area where there is a presence of the virus and if you do you want to wait until the 3rd and 4th vaccines to add these two which would be the 7-way vaccine(canine distemper, adenovirus cough, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus, and two (or four) types of leptospirosis) plus corona. Vaccines are typically given 3-4 weeks apart until the puppy is 16-18 weeks old again this will be based on your veterinarian's recommendation. I would suggest doing your research and go to a Great Dane savvy vet only. This breed is sensitive to certain types of anesthesia, should be spayed and neutered a little differently then most breeds and requires a different type of diet. Remember that your vet will also suggest doing bordatella(kennel cough) if you are going to frequent parks, pet stores, and training/boarding/daycare facilities. Wait to do this vaccine after the puppy is 10 weeks old, if you do intra-nasal(nose mist) you will only do one, if you do intramuscular it will be two vaccines, 3-4 weeks apart. If you can help it try to do them on separate visits in case the puppy has an allergic reaction, you will know which vaccine caused it. I also suggest waiting with rabies until the last set or vaccines or a few weeks before she turns 6 months old. You are required by state law to get your dog vaccinated on or before they turn 6 months for rabies but stay as close to it as possible if you can, again try to vaccinate separate from other vaccines to ensure that there will not be an allergic reaction. Once you know the puppy is fine from the vaccine when you go in for one year boosters you can do them all at once to avoid multiple vet visits. You may also do the Lyme shot if you have deer tick in your living area outside and although I used to not vaccinate for CIV(Canine Influenza) I do now due to recent outbreaks of CIV all over the country.

Walks will depend on your puppy's activity level but you do not really want to do any extensive walking until the growth plates are closed as it can have a negative effect on your puppy's growth and may lead to skeletal issues in the future. Keep the walks short and slow paced. You should not do any jogging, running or forced exercise until after your puppy turns 2 years old.

I personally would never feed any of my dogs Beneful, but this is a personal choice. I know a lot of people are not on an unlimited budget as far as dog food is concerned but Beneful is chalk full of ingredients and chemically grown additives I would never allow my dogs to eat this. Benefuls first 5 ingredients: Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherol.

You want a food with Meat or a meat meal as the first ingredient.

By-product is essentially the non-edible parts of an animal ground up: heads, feet, eyeballs, internal organs, feathers ect...

This is the Guaranteed Analysis you want to look for: 24% or less protein, 14% fat or less, no corn, no fillers, no preservatives, no by-product. Calcium for developing Great Dane is critical. The lowest calcium level should be no lower than .9% but not to exceed more than 1.4 %. The calcium and phosphorus ratio is ever so important, it should be about 1.1:1.0 percentage ratio with calcium being no more than 1.4% and phosphorus no more than 1.2% since bone development is directly affected by the calcium/phosphorus ratio.

Keep in mind that some brands cater to "Large Breeds" but their protein and fat levels are still too high for a growing puppy. You need to always look at the label before buying a food. I will list a few but not all of my recommendations for dog foods:

Available at Petsmart/Petco and most larger pet stores:
Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula for Adult Dogs:
Chicken and Brown Rice
Lamb and Brown Rice
Fish and Sweet Potato
http://www.bluebuffalo.com/

Available at Petsmart/Petco and Pet Specialty store:
Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb)
Solid Gold WolfKing Adult Dog (bison)
Solid Gold MMillennia Beef & Barley Adult Dog
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/

Available at Pet Specialty stores and Feed Stores(This company does not sell their food to Chain stores(Petco/Petsmart):
Fromm 4 Star Nutritionals Chicken A La Veg(this is 15% fat but it is a good quality food and would help with good weight gain but has a good protein level)
Fromm 4 Star Nutritionals Duck and Sweet Potato(also 15% fat see comment above)
Fromm 4 Star Nutritionals Pork and AppleSauce
Fromm 4 Star Nutritionals Salmon A La Veg
Fromm 4 Star Nutritionals Whitefish and Potato
http://frommfamily.com/

These are the foods that I have had success with not only with Danes but other Mastiff breeds as well. I am in no way, shape or form associated with ANY of the foods listed above and these are not the ONLY foods available but are a small list of what is acceptable to feed a growing Dane puppy are are foods that I have personally used and have had great success with.


I hope this answers your questions and like I said before, if you need anything else feel free to e-mail me again! Good luck with your newest addition!!!