# Adding Great Dane puppy with 2 year old GSD



## whitetucker (Jan 13, 2013)

I am thinking about getting a female Great Dane puppy to add with my 2 year old neutered White German Shepherd who lives in the house with me. My dog is very active, but not aggressive at all. He grew up spending time every day with my parents female German Shepherd and they got along great and were the best of friends. A couple months ago she got sick and we had to put her down. My dog has been pretty depressed lately and I think it would be good for him to have another dog in the house. Does anyone has experience with having a GSD and Great Dane in the same household? I want to get a female so my dog doesn't feel like his dominance would be threaten, but not sure how he will react to a dog that will be quite a bit larger than him when he is full grown. I'd appreciate any input! Thanks!


----------



## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

yes if you can afford and handle

why not another shepherd? great danes arent bad but wow so big knock stuff over and huge craps lol very sweet nice dogs though

it will work out either way with your large shepherd, female of any rottie, dobie, great dane, gsd, you have a huge huge variety to pick from Id stay with the larger breeds though, also id stay with the more durable breeds who like to play rough just so your boy does not walk all over the girl. Not too sure what white shepherds are like? the ones i met were much more laid back than the german shepherd i kept. If u have ur heart set out on a great dane though I have a strong feeling it will work out for you. Great danes are usually easy dogs to get along with. All the ones i have met are good nature. Not all liked people but all were good with other dogs. Very good social skills compared to the snarky snappy shepherds lol Go to a good breeder I know u will be fine. But just remember you have a wider selection. Stick with the larger dogs though like you are doing. Very smart for getting a female and he will be happy for that also.


----------



## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

just wanted to comment tho from the 10 or so great danes i have known they were not half as active as my gsd's.


----------



## whitetucker (Jan 13, 2013)

my white shepherd needs a good half hour of playing ball everyday at the farm. i pick him up as soon as i get home from work and we go to the farm to play ball. he's hyper when i first come home. generally after playing ball he's calmed down and will spend most of the day lounging around on the couch or if he wants to play he'll want me to toss ball down the hallway a dozen times and he's content with that. i still intend to take him to farm everyday for ball and will leave the great dane at home especially as a puppy because they can't have lots of exercise while they are growing. they won't be able to play rough like mine did with my parents GSD, but i think just having another dog around during the day will be good for tucker. since dad's was put down tucker sleeps all day long and is only awake when i am home. the reason for the great dane is that's what my live in girlfriend grew up with and i've spent a lot of time around them lately and have fallen for them.


----------



## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I have met several Great Danes lately. My ex boyfriend really wants to get one so we've been meeting as many as we can as well as asking their owners about them.

Great Danes can be wild puppies but they don't know their size or strength and can easily hurt a smaller dog. Your GSD is larger though but I watched a Great Dane puppy beat up a Australian Shepherd mix and a Border Collie at the same time and they were both several months older than the Great Dane. He had to be put in a time out because he quickly became too much for those guys.

After puppyhood they tend to get lazy, 2 or 3 years old. They don't have a lot of energy anymore and are usually always laying on the couch. 

They also start to slow down around 5 or 6 years old and their life span is really short, like 7-9 years. 

My co worker has 2 of them, he loves the breed and said he will have more but only 1 at a time. His last Great Dane passed away at just 7 years old.


----------



## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I use to have danes years ago. Loved them, I had four but the short life span is just too hard.


----------



## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

yeah ive seen great dane pups be too rough for smaller breeds but my gsd was always able to handle all the ones she met. Actually she was too rough for a few of them and they were double her size. i personally dont like to mix smaller herding dogs with gsd's i know it works out for some people but I found the gsd's too hard on them and it triggers a strong prey response in them.


----------



## JackandMattie (Feb 4, 2013)

I wouldn't let them free play for a long while. The Dane will mature slowly and age quickly, compared to the GSD. GSDs can be super gentle. I have one in his prime and he shares his household with a senior Weimeraner, a middle aged Chihuahua, two young cats, and four hens... but he doesn't actively PLAY with anyone but me. If I let him loose in the yard with a Dane pup I would worry too much about young bones and joints forming. GSDs can be super gentle, but they really want to play roughly!


----------

