What can you tell me about a Great Dane?

Question

Specifically their ears. My boyfriend and I have researched all about Great Dane behavior, needs, eating and comfort requirements, life spans, the works. We've decided that a Dane is perfect for us so now we have set about the task of choosing our new little (soon to be big) friend but we have one question left to ask before we do. Why do some Great Danes have ears that stand up while others have ears that flop over? Every puppy we have looked at has had floppity ears...which is DARLING for a puppy but when looking at grown-up Danes we prefer the alert, standing ears. So how do we know, when picking out our puppy, if her ears will stand up or be floppity when she grows up? Can looking at her parents tell us for sure? Is it like Mini-Pins and other breeds where you have to massage the ear as a pup to get it to stand up? Please no "guessing" answers. If you're not experienced with Danes please don't bother to answer the question. Experts are highly preferred: vets, breeders etc.

Ok well cropping is probably not the rout we'll go then. We'll learn to love the floppy look :)

Actually our min-pin's ears did not require cropping. We wanted them to stay floppy and even tried taping them down when we saw them starting to stand but they stood all on their own regardless and now she looks like yoda. However, she has full mobility in her ears, whereas her father, my sister's dog, does not. His ears are up 24/7 because she massaged them as the vet told her to. Our dog can make hers flop when she's in trouble or wants a cookie because she knows it's cute and makes us go "awwww wook at da cute widdew doggy".

Thank you all for your answers, I'm going to let you all vote on the best one because there are so many informative answers it is hard for me to choose.

Answer 1

Great Dane ears are naturally floppy. In order to get them to stand up, they have to be cropped. This is a surgical procedure done by veterinarians that consists of trimming the edges off the ear to reshape them. Then they are bandaged in an erect position and taped together. The bandages stay on until the ears will stand erect on their own. This can take several attempts at re-bandaging to work. Sometimes, even after the procedure, the ears may never stand on their own. Many places are now outlawing this practice and many vets will not do it, since it is for cosmetic purposes only.
While I do like the erect ears, I think it's horrible to put a puppy through all that. The style of the ears has no effect on how good of a pet they'll be.

Answer 2

All Danes are born with floppy ears..this is the natural ears. A Danes ears will only stand if they are cropped..in otherwords before they are 12-14 weeks old they need to go to a vet that does cropping and have part of the ear actually cut off, then after the sutures are out then you wil lneed to tape them..some times for weeks, sometimes for months. The taping has to be done very carefully and correctly. It is time consuming and MUST be done correctly..even after all of this there is still no guarantee the ears will stand.Cropping is cosmetic surgery..it is NOT mandatory to do not even for a show dog, more and more Danes are being shown natural now. I currently am showing a natural eared Dane boy. There are several AKC champions that are natural eared.The breed standard doesn't dictate that ears need to be cropped.They can be natural or cropped.

(MinPins and other breeds also must be cropped in order to stand..the ears are not massaged to get them to stand.Cropping MUST be done in order to get them to "look" the way they are suppose to for standard and to get the "proper" stand).

More and more people are chosing not to crop any more. Also it is harder to find a vet that will do it much less one that can do a good job and help with taping. The AVMA does not endorse cropping nor is it taught in vet schools.

Also it is very, very important to get your Dane from a responsible breeder. You need to lokk for a breeder that does genetic health tests, pedigree research, etc. I highly recommend that you contact the GDCA (Great Dane Club Of America) for info in selecting a good breeder and for correct info on Great Danes.

Also if you buy a puppy absolutely NO puppy food of any kind not even large breed.Danes are not large breeds they are giant breeds. They need a high quality adult food with a protein level no higher then 24%.

I also recommend that you get the book The Great Dane Model of Nobility by Jill Swedlow. This is a very informative book full of correct info written by a very knowledgable breeder/owner/showperson.

Answer 3

Great Danes have cropped ears a long crop to be correct, Min pins can have both standing or drop ears. It cost money to crop a dogs ears and you must find a vet in your area that has done alot of dane ears. When a dogs ears are cropped it requires a part of the ear to be cut away and to be set in bandages and the ears keep erect with some sort of device. The whole process cases the pups little disconfort besides wanting to scrach at them. Dobermans have their ears cropped at 6 to 8 weeks and their ears have to be set for quite some time the same goes for danes, some dogs ears will never stand if the crop was set poorly or if the ears have thick skin, hopefully if you want your dogs ears cropped you'll by from a breeder who crops before the pups are sent to thier new home, because if you wait to long to crop the dogs ears they won't stand or will require alot of extra work. Be wary of any breeder who crops the ears themselves these are normally short and poorly set ears that do not stand high and look more like pit bull or doberman ears

Answer 4

Big dog. Eats lots. Poops more than the average pup. Actually a couch potato. Good apartment dog (go figure!)
Oh - the ears?
Some people choose to crop the ears to make them stand upright. Surgery and weeks of taping and training them are required in order to do this. It is not necessary to crop the ears. We have several Danes who come to the doggie daycare where I work, some have the natural floppy ears, and others have cropped ones.
We currently have a Great Dane pup named Conan who just had his ears "done" and he looks like he's wearing some sort of costume or headgear - we have a hard time getting the other dogs to leave it alone.
AKC recognizes the dogs, either way.
http://www.akc.org/breeds/great_dane/index.cfm
If I was going to crop anything, it would be the TAIL - haha, getting hit with a Dane's wagging tail is like getting hit across the rear with a sturdy stick!

Answer 5

They are awesome. Be sure to have an extra room furnished with the finest things. They want their own real bed no dog bed and the couch belongs to them. Big leaners. You can lean back on them and hold each other up but they rarely stand on their own they will hunt you down to lean on you. Yeah gaurding is not their thing. If someone breaks in your house you can gaurantee the dane will be the first one to hide. They really don't need more room because of their size they are pretty lazy once they mature. There are Great Dane rescues. Go meet some of them ask their fosters what they are like. Maybe foster for them to see a little more about them before you go to a breeder. Your best bet is check the rescue that are full grown who's personality is matured and you know what you are getting. We do get danes about twice a year. Usually around 6 months people can't handle them anymore. We still have two of them that their fosters kept them. The last one gave him up at a year and our volunteer figured the bad stuff was over she kept him. He runs (trollops) to his crate if someone comes to the door. And his boss is the old chihuahua,

Answer 6

As others have said, the ears that stand up have been cropped. Be aware that it is quite expensive to get ears cropped. It requires careful surgery by a vet experienced at getting a good, attractive, artistic result, plus several weeks of follow-up, retaping and resplinting to keep them upright, and even then there may not be a good result. In my area --Portland, Oregon -- cropping a Dane's ears can run $450-$700. Take this into account when you buy your dog.

Personally, I think all dogs look just fine with natual ears.

Answer 7

The reason you haven't seen puppies with erect ears is because their ears haven't been cropped yet. If you just want it as a pet there's no reason you can't have it with it's floppy ears. On the other hand if you want your dog for show you want the ears cropped otherwise it won't meet the standard of the American Kennel Club. Ear cropping is considered by many to be quite a cruelty, simply put the cut the ears without administering any kind of pain reliever (in the province of Quebec it is still practiced while in Ontario many places refuse to do it). I may not have a job in any of those fields, but I did go to school to be a Vet Assistant. In my opinion keep the ears!

Answer 8

As a puppy Danes look better with the big floppy ears.
But as they get older they look better with their ears cropped.
But you can't wait to long to do it. Their ears have to be cropped early so the cartilage will start to form while their ears are in the standing position, or the ears will fall over.
I had my Danes done and it was alot of work. He had to wear a headset with his ears taped to it for a long time but it was worth it. He's 3 years old now and looks great.
It cost us around 300 dollars to get it done. So if you have the money and time to take care of it, i suggest you get it done. If you want more info I would call a vet, and I'm sure they can tell you alot more about it.
Good choice of Dog to buy. Ours is great.
Good luck

Answer 9

the ears stand after they are cropped - they WILL NOT STAND ON THEIR OWN.( a surgical procedure that should only be done at a certain age) there is no massaging!. this is a personal choice and is not a necessity.. you will learn much more about the breed when you find a reputable breeder who will be very very helpful to you... have you search great dane club of america and/or ww.akc.org also would be a good source of information

Answer 10

You should come to me for that question. I have 7 Great Danes. There are a different colors: Blue, Merle, Harliquen, black, mantle, brindle, fawn, and thats all the colors. The tallest Great Dane (let alone dog) in the world is Gibson, TheGreat Dane. He is a merle. Marles are white with black and grey spots. If you have any more questions about Great Danes, just email me: [e-mail]