Just adopted a 1 yr old Great dane!

Question
Hello,

We have a 2 1/2 yr old german shepherd and a 3 yr old mixed breed (german short haired pointer/boxer/lab mix...adopted as well) and we just adopted a 3rd dog. (which will be our last for awhile, our house is full haha!) A great dane!! We are so excited and feel so blessed to welcome the 1 yr old into our family, he is a male and we were wondering if ANYONE could give us tips...pointers...ANY valuable information on how to make sure we transition him into the home properly. We had the home visit and our 2 dogs were protective at first, but warmed up quickly to Walter and now we are picking him up in two days!! We have been reading till what feels like our eyes hurt all about the great dane breed, but we just would like some simple, first hand advice...like I said about anything that anyone would think would help us take care of our dane better and transition him smoothly! Thanks so much for your time, its greatly appreciated!!

Answer
If you are working with a rescue I would just take their advice on how to transition your new dog into your current pack.  

Remember that as a Mastiff Breed, Great Danes can become overwhelmed and stressed out in a new environment very quickly if not introduced the right way. The biggest issues I always see with families that adopt a new dog is that they give the dog too much freedoms right from the beginning, and then wonder why two weeks later their new dog, be it a Dane or any other breed, feels that they can control the house hold. With that being said, do not give your new dog all the freedoms because he is a rescue, gradually reward him for good behavior. The worst thing you can do for a new dog, especially a rescue is allow him to do what he wants. Which is very hard for some people especially if that dog has not come from the best situation.

Some of the things you are going to want to remember is that your other dogs come first, whichever dog was there first gets EVERYTHING first, toys, treats, food, the ability to go out and come back into the house...make sure that you stick with the routine, as this establishes the hierarchy within the dogs.

Do not allow your new Dane onto furniture and beds, if he comes up to you for attention and the other dogs try to growl or snap at him as if protecting you, do not allow that behavior as well...This is how most dog fights start when introducing new dogs into your home.

When you first bring him home, put him into a crate and allow your dogs to approach him and see that he is in their territory, of course you should always introduce the dogs on neutral territory, not in your yard, before bringing him into the house and allowing him to just run loose.

After your dogs have had a chance to see him in the crate and understand that he is staying, put your dogs away and allow him to check out the rest of the house, let him go into every room and walk around and smell everything.

After he has had a chance to do that, put him away again and allow your dogs to go back into the house and smell his new scent all over as well...

I would keep close eyes for the first 2 weeks at least and not leave all three of the dogs alone unattended. I would crate the Dane until you can fully trust that there will not be jealousy issue over toys, attention, treats and anything else they may fight over.

When you are going for walks, I always recommend teaching your new dog that you go through the door first, and not the dog. I would also have him sit and wait for food, and treats. These are all routines that establish dominance within a house hold as well as the pack order...people ALWAYS come first, then the dogs.

Because Great Danes are such a large dog, you want to make sure that he understands where his place is in the house hold...if you give him all the amenities right away, you are allowing him the freedom to do what he pleases when he pleases, and I can assure you, this will be a lot harder to take away in a situation where he thinks he can do what he wants.

If you have any other questions please feel free to e-mail me again on here. I am for now, the only Dane Expert on here, and I am sure if you have some other questions, be sure to read through what others have posted as well because a lot of times someone has already asked the same question!

Remember each dog needs rules, boundaries and limitations...as well as discipline, exercise and then affection!

Congratulations on the new member of your house hold and thank you for rescuing a dog in need of a home!