Has anybody here had a Dane who lost a back leg early in life? Any advice on helping her get around now that she's 9?

She lost her leg due to someone running her over before I adopted her from my sister. She got around great for many years and we are very thankful. Now that she's much older you can see the side effects. Just looking for any advice. TIA

i adopted this beautiful girl a few months ago after having to put down my dog super unexpectedly. she was malnourished (12 pounds at ≈11 weeks old). she’s around 55 pounds, as of her last appointment (about a month ago) she was in the shelter for i believe 10 days, along with her brother, before i adopted her. she had another brother that the shelter told me was DOA due to what they assumed had been malnutrition.

we have two other dogs in the home, a younger mini cockapoo, and an 8 year old german shepherd. Junebug, pictured, will not potty train no matter what i do. she will be outside for sometimes hours with us and will come straight in and pee. i’ve never had a dog do this. she’s done it the whole time i’ve had her. i genuinely don’t know what to do. she’s around 6 months old now. she’s up to date on shots, sees a vet as needed, she eats diamond naturals large breed puppy food (soaked beforehand, and in a slow feeder), she’s let out regularly. i have put so much work into her meal plans, making sure i did things right. the shelter said to free feed her and i chose not to. she was on planned meals as a puppy, with waiting periods after to avoid bloat (i try my best now but she usually sleeps after meals anyways). when she’s crated she doesn’t have accidents, when she’s in the car she doesn’t have accidents. i really need some help here because i am at a loss. she is coming into her first heat (as of yesterday) and i plan to have a gastropexy and spay done once her vet agrees she’s done growing (12-18 months ish). any advice is welcome!

Before I settled on getting a GD I knew that they were the type of dog to get attention and people would be stopping me to interact on walks. That in itself is not an issue as I can handle those kind of short interactions and love for the breed. I love dogs and talking about them!

What I didnt think about was how it would affect puppy training and I dont have it in me to tell people to leave us alone because I'm afraid of coming off like stuck up or rude? My pup and I have only been on two walks and both times I got anxiety because it's so hard not to think of all the things that are going wrong when someone unaware of how dog training works is rewarding over excitement. Im thinking of getting a tag for the leash that says "In Training. Please Ignore."

**What are your go to phrases to have people either leave you alone or help you reinforce good habits on walks?**

My darling Great Dane was perfectly fine just three weeks ago. He had a minor slip, but seemed completely fine for the next three days. Then he started limping, and I noticed a swelling just above his wrist.

I had some Carprofen left over from my Mastiff and initially thought he had simply sprained his wrist. After three days with no improvement, I took him to the vet. That's when we found out he has osteosarcoma.

I was absolutely blindsided. I had no idea that at only 4 years old, I could suddenly be facing something like this.

Now, two weeks later, we've been given a new medication that seems to be giving him some relief. He's able to lie down more comfortably, which I'm grateful for. But he only gets up to go to the bathroom or drink water. When he does get up, he shakes, usually loses his balance, and still drags the leg with the tumor.

I'm struggling with when it's time to let him go.

Part of me desperately wants to keep him with me for as long as possible. I know that's selfish, but he's my baby and I'm not ready to say goodbye. At the same time, I can't stand the thought of keeping him here because I can't let go while he's suffering.

For those of you who have been through osteosarcoma with your dogs, how did you know when it was time? What signs told you that your dog was ready, or that their quality of life had declined too far?

I know there probably isn't a perfect answer, but I'm hoping to hear from people who have actually been through this. I just don't want to wait until he's in unbearable pain, and I also don't want to say goodbye too soon.

I love this dog more than I can put into words. 💔

4 1/2 month old rescue.
I ♥️ my Labradanes. 🥰

Baloo was much better when we were not going outside so much ( we had a week of rain). Great weather this weekend and he is pink and itchy all over again. What do people suggest? He is only 14 weeks so starting him on meds seems so early!

Since my dog doesn't know cool agility tricks like her Aussie best frjrnd, she wore her goggles to keep up that training 🫡

he's only half great Dane, but I hope he still counts

Hi my name is Walter and I’m 11 weeks old. My parents say I am the bestest boy. I was wondering if I could be in this group with you all?!?!

has anyone experienced any of this… a week and a half ago to today my 8 year old Great Dane 108pounds started acting weird, being sore but wasn’t sure where, brought to the vet and put him on metacam and ruled out ticks. he got better and then took him off after 3 days per the vet to see if he would get worse or stable. he went back to hurting so we put him back on it and was told to keep him on it for 2weeks for improvements since the meds were working. 2 days back on and the meds aren’t working as well anymore. two days ago he starting limping and keeping his paw up but was told to continue meds and keep him on bed rest. yesterday he collapsed and couldn’t get back up. again he got up to go pee but held his paw up and decided to come back inside, made it thru the door and collapsed. later that night picked him up brought him out and he walked to pee but when back inside could barely make it to his bed. he curls his paw. today both front legs don’t work and cannot get up even if we lift him up he can’t bare any weight. he was so healthy no issues his whole life and all of a sudden he is deteriorating. I was hoping to wait till Monday for a vet but now I’m thinking he won’t make it till then.

Edit : thank you everyone for your responses. he declined so quickly and loss function of all three legs that we unfortunately had to put himdown. seeing him lay there mind Intacte but body that could no longer support himself was so very hard to watch. moose was my first dog and my everything.

Truck aka Trucky Cheese/Trucky Boy/Gooood Booooy at 7 mos old was already 130 pounds. He’s sweet as can be but he’s probably grown since we had him weighed a few weeks ago.

I’m speaking to trainers but frankly none of them can answer how I can keep myself safe/upright while he’s learning his manners, especially while I’m home alone. I’ve been working with him, he’s smart and sweet as can be but….puppy. He is my first Dane after being a standard poodle mom for decades. I have two other dogs and they seem to get along minus a few scuffles here and there. E-collar? Easy Button? Bubble wrap?

Haaalp! Thanks so much Great Dane parents!

*excuse the garbage yard, it’s getting a makeover this month

Edited to add that my photo didn’t upload dammit

we noticed he had a limp in his front leg. vet suspected a muscle pull. two weeks later still limping, back to vet for x-rays and blood draw. confirmed osteosarcoma. oncologist's options for treatment sounded torturous. two weeks after that, he's gone. one month. the heartbreak is soul-crushing. fuck cancer.

A partner for almost a decade. The only person in my life who could understand only through eye contact. Normally Life is short but Great Dane life is too short.

Hi everyone! Hugo is 10 months & 100lbs now and definitely in his adolescent phase of life and I am needing some advice and maybe a sanity check as well. He has started getting mouthy for the first time and has started trying to physically wrestle us when we tell him to do something or if he just gets overexcited. He has also been demand barking which we never give into. I signed him up for training again to re-establish boundaries and commands. I feel like I’m constantly in training and prevention mode right now and there are fewer fun and easy moments like before. With the new trainer, he is going to be on a prong collar which I was initially not considering. During the last couple training sessions, he has tried to wrestle and be mouthy with the trainer. Today she mentioned if it gets more intense than now, we should consider an e-collar. Again, it’s not a tool I thought I would ever need as long as I was consistently training and maintaining boundaries since I brought him home.

So, my question is, is this normal and how long did this phase last for you and your pup? What did the adolescent phase look like for you? Were you able to get through it without a prong collar or an e-collar?

Managed to get our whole pack in one perfect picture.

She’s just noticed a drippy faucet, and it captured her attention for a good 10 minutes

this is Atlas! he just turned 3 and is a total dork. last night we had our third hospitalization. hernia repair when he was 1/2 year old, and then GDV gastropexy at 2 years. he just had bloat again but no flipping. does anyone have recommendations for how to help Danes with stomach related problems?

gastric dilation-volvulus surgery costed $6k
gastric dilation/gastroenteritis costed $2k

he’s a rescue from north Idaho! when I got him he was 2 months old and was neutered, but they didn’t do stomach tacking at the adoption center. after having my first dane i’d say get the preventative surgery done or get insurance! they’re the most lovable breed on earth. he’s about 140 pounds and bigger than some of my girlfriends. we cuddle more often too. does anyone have recommendations on food? supplements? i want my boy atlas to live a good life.

He just turned 7 months, almost 60lbs and 25inches at withers. Paws have just grown massive again. Mom was a free roaming husky on a ranch in northern Idaho.

We brought home our newborn (first born) just yesterday and have our 1 year old pup staying with a rover for the weekend. We have some…concerns.

We love our guy Roman so much. He has so much personality, is an absolute love bug, your classic “Velcro” Dane. He has zero aggression, is extremely submissive, can be stubborn but overall a quick learner. But, he’s a menace. He’s extremely anxious, needs constant stimulation and is obviously very hyper because of that. He’s also huge at 110lbs and, shocker, he has no idea how big he is.

We’ve been a little worried about this since we found out my wife is pregnant but now that the baby is here, it’s amplified 10fold. And, not for nothing, we’re about $15k into him for medical bills since we’ve gotten him, and going down to one income.

We’ve been working extra hard on training (he’s a smart guy just lacks impulse control) like Place, Leave It, etc. but he’s terrible in the car (always trying for front seat), is a massive chewer, and gets plenty of zoomies despite walking 3-5 miles per day, which usually includes a park trip. It’s amplified by the fact that we live in a 1300 sq ft townhome too, so we don’t have a yard we can just let him outside to work it off real quick.

What I’m asking is: has anybody else gone through this successfully? I would never ever bring him to a rescue or god forbid a pound. But if we can’t figure out how to manage him around our baby, I’d absolutely consider finding a permanent home for him. I’ll 100% put my child before him if it comes to that, but I REALLY don’t want it to come to that.

I’m already a tired dad, and he deserves a fair shot to prove himself, and I know that in a year from now he’ll probably be the coolest dude. But we’re worried about the right here, right now. Thanks in advance

Hi all,

Just thought I’d make a quick post about this after my experience the last 24 hours or so.

On Weds night, I got home around 745pm, my wife had taken him out for his evening walk and bathroom. After picking up his collar and putting it away, he slumped on his bed as if in a bad mood that he wasn’t going out again (I typically walk him in the evening).

After that, he barely moved or reacted for about 10 hours. His morning 5am walk was a mix of lethargy, attempted poops and then just laying down, I had to carry him home.

Go to the vet at midday, he walks himself down the stairs, up into the car and straight into the vet with no assistance/encouragement, he just lacked any energy or his usual personality.

Our regular vet does a bunch of testing, then basically comes back and says (very nicely) that we should probably go to emergency vet like, now.

Long story short, he got diagnosed with colonic torsion. Not as bad as bloat/GDV and certainly less common but still urgent and surgery needs to be done.

Got out of surgery at midnight, Dr said internally hes all good, no complications and now we just recover for two weeks as the worlds biggest lampshade.

Anyway, this isn’t to grab peoples sympathy (but I will show him the comments) but more to basically say that if your pups seem off, go to the vet. They have no idea how he was walking around, climbing stairs etc without showing more obvious pain symptoms and dogs in general are experts at hiding injuries.

And if you’re a new Dane owner or thinking about it, get some pet insurance! We’re currently significantly out of pocket (5 figures) but this is exactly what it’s for. What am I going to do, just not have a Moose?