Great Dane Mix

Question
We recently adopted an eight week old Great Dane/Blue Heeler mix puppy and are wondering what to expect. Mother is the dane, father is blue heeler. Any idea whether the dane or heeler will be dominant? Can we expect a great dane sized adult or medium sized ? Puppy is currently solid black with blue heeler markings on back paws & chest. Should we consider cropping the ears , or is this just for pure breed Great Danes ? Will she forever be nipping at people and other animals per the blue heeler in her ? At what age should she be spayed ?

Answer
Hi Scott,

Congratulations on getting a puppy!  I just know she's beautiful!

As far as how big this puppy is going to be when grown, it's impossible to guess. With mixed breed dogs, there can be size and coat differences within a litter, making the guessing game even harder.

Even though your puppy is a female, she will probably be a large dog. As your puppy ages, more of the Blue Heeler's markings might get more pronounced.

I wouldn't crop this dog's ears. Ear cropping isn't mandated by the American Kennel Cub, they consider it "an optional cosmetic surgery".  Since you won't be showing the dog, why put the her through the painful surgery?  The average price for a Great Dane ear cropping is about $250-$350 dollars if performed by a veterinarian (cost will vary per your geographic location). It's a lot of money for something which is purely cosmetic. (Besides, your puppy is beautiful already!)

If the puppy turn out to take after her papa, her ears might stand up naturally, on their own. Gently stroking the ears in an upright direction can help train a puppy to hold it's ears upright and erect. Don't expect the puppy to hold it's ears up before 4-5 months of age.

Nipping is something you can work on right now. Of course a puppy will try to grab and nip, it's only natural. However, young puppies haven't learned  "bite inhibition", which means they show no mercy, even when playing!  Because your dog is going to be rather large, it's important that you lay down the rules of acceptable behavior now, while she's still quite young.
Read about teaching your puppy not to bite here:

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/bite2.html

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_BiteInhibition.php

Your dog will get the most health benefits from being spayed if she has the surgery before her first heat cycle. So spaying at 4-5 months is the time frame you're looking at. Some vets will spay earlier. Dogs suffer no medical or behavioral side effects from early age spaying.

I hope I've been a help. Please feel free to contact me if I can be further help.

Patti