6 week old Great Dane?

Question

I purchased a Great Dane that is 6 weeks old from a breeder out of state. I know that 6 weeks old is too young to take a puppy from its mother, but that is how the situation worked out. The day after I got the puppy home I took him to the vet for a health screen & the vet said he looked healthy, but stressed. My puppy was eating a mix of Diamond & Nutro Lg. Breed solid food when I picked him up. He easily eats the Nutro solid food & I've been giving him bottle spring water to drink. I plan on starting puppy classes with him ASAP & continuing on to obedience training. Right now he sleeps hard & plays hard. I cage him at night while I sleep or when I'm away...he doesn't like it and the other night I woke him up to let him out and it was dark and he actually growled til he realized it was me. I have two kids who hes been playing with & the breeder had kids also. I am nervous about taking him at 6 weeks, but does he sound like he'll be okay when older? I dont want an aggressive dog!

Also, he was dewormed with Nemex when I picked him up and he has not pooped any worms out and its been like 3 days. Is this normal?

Answer 1

Dane Lover is completely correct in her answer to you. You have a giant breed pup not a Large breed pup.

The food you feed your pup now will determine the bone grow and strength not the fact that you have him at 6 weeks old.
Your pup should not be eating puppy food of any kind and if anyone know anything about both large breed dogs and Giant breed dogs they would have told you this.
A high quality food of no more than 24% protein is necessary for optium bone developement and growth of your Dane pup.
A bone problem called Knuckling over can result in feeding your pup a food to high in protein.
Canidae is an excellent food to feed your pup from now until he is old and gray. ABSOULTY no calicum is necessary for your pup. It will only cause problems.
As a breeder of Golden's for over 27 years I know from where I speak and from all those years I do have the knowlegde to relay to you.
Your pup is young and just needs to get accumated to hisnew home and all of you. It take more than just a few days.
You will need the puppy class's and obedience class's also.

Listen to Dane Lover and to me and follow our advice. Enjoy your pup they are a very loving and kind and gentle breed.

Answer 2

First off, worming puppies is usually a "just in case" scenario. If the puppy didn't have worms, you won't see any.
Your pup should be sleeping a lot. If he's playing a lot, you may be overstimulating him. 6 week old pups need lots of sleep.
Give him lots of love and attention, but don't get him all wound up. He's just a baby. He won't be ready for obedience classes until about the age of 12-15 weeks. Crating him is a GOOD thing, and he will learn that his crate is his safe place. Don't keep him locked in it for long periods of time during the day. Not more than an hour or two in the beginning. Until he has total control of his bladder and bowels, keep the crating periods short, and gradually lengthen them. I don't think you'll end up with a aggressive dog at all----Great Danes are wonderful with kids. It sounds like you're doing all the right things and obviously you want to be a good parent to both your kids and your puppy. Six weeks is young, but he'll be fine. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Not only is 6 weeks too young it is also against the law..both you and the breeder are in violation.
I can assume since the breeder dewormed with oTC dewormer and let the puppy go before 8 weeks that they are an irresponsible breeder...this leaves this puppy wide open to health and temperament issues.

He is going to need a lot of socialization and he will need training. He can't start his training until after his first vaccinations...what ever you do do NOT give him ANY vaccinations under 8 weeks of age, while this is important for all puppies it is doubly so for Danes. Also make sure NO rabies vacciantion under 20 weeks of age and NEVER at the same time as any other vaccination.
I wouldn't be concerned about his growling at this point in time but I would carefully watch and do lots of socializing and training...unfortunately BYB Danes can be prone to temerament issues as well as health issues..

Do NOT ever give a Dane puppy any kind of calcium supplement and do NOT feed them any puppy food of any kind not even large breed..it has to high a protein level and can cause some very serious growth issues. You need to feed a good quality adult food with 24% protein or less..some good choices are Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul Large Breed ADULT formula, Wellness, Merrick just to name a few.

You should go to Danes On Line (DOL) to learn as much as you can on raising a Dane. Also go to the GDCA site.
I also recommend the book The Great Dane Model Of Nobility by Jill Swedlow

Answer 4

I think it's pretty obvious that this is your first dog and you're pretty nervous. Relax!!! He's 6 months old, he's not showing aggression by growling when he's been startled out of a sound sleep. He's being socialized with your kids at a very young age, so providing his parents, especially his mother, had stable temperaments, he will too! You did see his mother, right? Did she have a good temperament? If so, don't worry so much - your puppy is soon going to be able to pick up on your nervousness and you're going to turn a good puppy into a nervous one.

Relax about training him, too. Do some work with him at home, but keep any lessons very short and fun, use lots of positive reinforcement and patience.

Answer 5

A dog should be trained on how to eat, walk with you, not to bark, potty training and sleep on its place etc. You can teach anything to your puppy, dogs get trained easily with some good instructions. If you want some good training tips visit https://tr.im/vz4YP

If properly trained, they should also understand whistle and gesture equivalents for all the relevant commands, e.g. short whistle or finger raised sit, long whistle or flat hand lay down, and so on.

It's important that they also get gestures and whistles as voice may not be sufficient over long distances and under certain circumstances.

Answer 6

Dalai2 is right about the bones. You really need to put him on extra calcium so that he develops health bone growth. Bone problems are a predominate fault in Danes & the calcium will help.

As far as the aggression is concerned he is just a puppy now & if he is showing signs of aggression now he may have a strong temperament issues.

One growl dosen't mean he is aggressive. he may have been startled. Keep an eye on any sign & nip them in the bud before you have major problems.

I love a strong temperamented dog, the stronger the better but these traits are hard to find when you go looking for it. I would rather a dog challenge me than to lay at my feet & pee.

Danes are usually good family dogs but every once in a while genetics will throw in a recessive gene & a very dominate dog will be thrown. As with any other breed they all have their tendenices but there is alway a chance a throw back gene will pop it's ugly head & the recessive gene got one in the litter & none of the rest.

Just watch him & if it gets worse contact a trainer to work with you & your dog on a one on one basis.

Answer 7

I volunteer at our local dog shelter 3-6 hours a day and the most important thing I've learned is that the personality of a dog that is stressed is soooo different from their normal personality. The first couple of weeks that they are there many show some form of fear or aggression. The important thing is that you do what you can to make them comfortable. Talk softly, don't make sudden moves, and gently take the role of alpha dog. Once they realize that life is good, they relax and that behavior disappears.

It sounds like you have made all the arrangements to be a responsible pet owner. Don't worry too much about taking your puppy home too soon. Many larger breeds leave the "nest" earlier than most dogs. I brought my American Bulldog home at 5 weeks and there have never been any affects. She's awesome. The important thing is that you socialize your puppy with other dogs and people as early and as often as possible. With leaving the litter early, he needs to know appropriate behavior for dealing with both and other dogs can teach him as well or better than you can.

Best of luck with your new puppy. Be firm, but be gentle.

Answer 8

6 weeks is fine i got my pitbull at 6 weeks of age, hes now 11 weeks i think the earlier you get its easier to get them use to you and its easier to potty train them my pitbull puppy is fully potty trained. I think its fine!

Answer 9

FYI your dog may suffer weak bones and joints from being taken away so young.they still nurse and eat solid food at 6 weeks.He was also to young to be de wormed.He's only 6 weeks old and your trying to temperament test him already.His personality hasn't developed yet.Chances are he's scared and that's why he growled.Make sure you have him neutered at 6 months old to discourage more aggressive tendencies.Most aggressive dog attacks are by un neutered MALE dogs.

Answer 10

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