Great Dane: temperament, training and care

At a glance

Temperament

• Gentle giant
• Leans on people
• Needs space to turn around

Training tips

Feed two or three smaller meals a day, with rest before and after.

Great Danes can be independent thinkers. Find what your dog will really work for, keep sessions short and fun, and expect to repeat things more often than with an eager-to-please breed.

Start with a marker word, sit, come and leave it. For a puppy, see the puppy training guides.

Exercise and energy

A healthy adult Great Dane typically needs around 45 to 60 minutes of activity a day. Mix walks with sniffing and short training games: mental work tires dogs as much as running does. Puppies need much shorter sessions while they grow.

See how much exercise a dog needs and our games and enrichment ideas.

Health to watch

Things the breed is known to be prone to. Ask your vet what to check for your dog.

• Bloat. A deep chest raises the risk of a twisted stomach: no hard play for an hour either side of a big meal. See: Bloat (Twisted Stomach).
• Heart. Heart conditions run in the breed: a yearly listen at the vet catches them early.
• Hips and elbows. Prone to joint problems: keep them lean and ask the vet to check the joints each year.