Breed GD - Pulsatilla grandis

About the breed
Danes are beside Irish wolfhounds the tallest dog breed in the world. Dogs, today known as Great Danes, can be traced as far as 3000 years back. In old greek money (36 pr.n.št.) is engraved a figure of a dog, which is similar to present Great Danes. In the year 407 A.D. Asiats came to the area of present Germany, Italy and Spain. With them came mastiff like, big and very powerful dogs. In Germany, where there dogs were especially appriciated for their skill of bear and wild boar hunts, started the first selective breeding (17. century). Dogs were genetically crossed with irish woulfhound. From this evolved a beautiful, tall, elegant and agile dog, today known as Great Dane.

Nowadays Great Dane has many different roles - as our companion, show dog, protector and work dog. Most of all itis popular for its inteligence and capability to adjust. Its size, elegance and simetry were the basis for its divine name - the Apollo of dogs.

Characteristics of the breed
Great Dane is a giant, that combines tenderness and roughness, power with elegance. Body of a Great Dane should be as tall as it is long, with appropriate bone structure, long tail, relatively long neck, square head and distinct stop. The neck should be long and muscular, front legs absolutely straight. Thies should be muscular, round feet with dark short nails. Tail is medium long, reachin to the tip of the enckles of last legs. Eyes are round and usually dark with lively inteligent expression. Ears are lowered, close to the head. Well built white teeth should have siccer-like bite. Furr is shourt, thick and shiny. Color of furr is the fundation to sort Danes in different groups.

Grown up male is minimum 80 cm tall (best if more), grown up female is minimum 72 cm (best if more). The upper level of height is not limited. Full hight is usually reached at about two to three years of age. In history people used to cut Danes ears. In Slovenia as well in many other countries under the supervision of FCI this is not alowed any more.

Great Danes usually live from 6 to 10 years, individuals may live up to 11, 12 years. Great Danes have specific health issues like twist of stomack, certain typs of cancer and heart condition. Puppies and young dogs may have problems with bones while growing up, which is usually caused by unballanced diet, food with too much protein, calchium or additives or different preasures while growwing up. Grown up males are leaned towards prostate deaseses, grown up females towards fals pregnancies or uturace infections.

Temperament
Great Dane is a soft giant. Dignified, kind and sweet, playful and patient around children. Unconditionally loves people around himeself and needs to be close to humans. He doesnt bark much and becomes agresive only in case of emergeny. He is calm, responsible and reliable. Brave, loyal and fit for a guardian. Because of his size its recomended to take him to school as a young dog, so he will listen and obey when he grows up. School of obedience is also a great school for a dog owner. Dog should be thought not to lean on people, esspecially children. From an early start puppy should be presented with variety of people and places. With certain goals that you have set, it is very important to be firm from the first day when puppy came to your home. Because of dogs extreme phisical abilities the key role of dogs schooling is to show him you are the leader.

There are five basic groups of Great Danes, based on color:
* fawn (fawn furr with black face)
* brindle (tiger fur with black stripes)
* black (absolutely black), mantle (black head and body with white spots on muzzle, color, chest and tip of the tail)
* harlequin (while basis with eaqually positioned black spots),
* blue (steel blue).

Doge v barvah ali z madeži, drugačnimi od zgoraj naštetih niso registrirani s strani KZS in FCI ter se ne smejo razstavljati ali vzrejati.

Ne glede na barvo pa lahko vse doge postanejo odlični družinski psi. Nemška doga je odlična izbira pasme za družine ali posameznike, ki si želijo velikega, ljubeznivega kratkodlakega hišnega psa, ki bo nudil tudi določeno mero zaščite. So zelo navezani na človeka, potrebujejo njegovo bližino in se želijo čutiti kot del družine. Potrebujejo in želijo si človekove bližine. Nemške doge se ne znajdejo najbolje kot izključno zunanji pes. Njihov kožuh ni dovolj debel, da bi jim zagotavljal toploto pozimi, zato morajo hladnejše dni preživeti v notranjosti.

Pred nakupom nemške doge
Namen tega prispevka je izobraževanje javnosti o odgovornosti, ki jo zahteva lastništvo nemške doge in o številnih zadevah, ki jih je potrebno upoštevati in razmisliti pred nakupom nemške doge. Želja naše psarne je, da nekdo, ki se odloči za nakup nemške doge pri nas, psu priskrbi stalni in ljubezni poln nov dom. Želimo poskrbeti, da bodoči lastniki razumejo karakteristike pasme in so se pripravljeni zavezati, da bodo poskrbeli za primerno okolje in izobrazbo, s katero bo nemška doga postal zdrav in lepo vzgojen član njihove družine. Pogosto delajo ljudje prehitre odločitve in niso pripravljeni na velikost in občasno uničujoče vedenje odraščajočega igrivega psa. Kot vzreditelji prevzamemo odgovornost za poučevanje novih lastnikov tako, da je trenutek, ko vzamejo mladička v nov dom, tako za mladička kot nove lastnike dobra izkušnja. Seveda morajo del te odgovornosti prevzeti tudi novi lastniki.

Kot potencialne nove lastnike vas naprošamo, da si vzamete čas in se iz različne literature pozanimate o nemških dogah. Internetna stran www.mojpes.net je primeren kraj za začetek.

Nemške doge so ljubeznive, lahke za učenje obnašanja v domu. Pravilen zgodnji trening in socializacija sta zelo pomembna. Priporočljivo je, da gredo bodoči lastniki z mladičkom v začetniški tečaj (med tretjim in šestim mesecem starosti) ali celo nadaljevalni tečaj poslušnosti. Čeprav so nemške doge, ki so rasle skupaj z majhnimi otroci, bolj umirjene in nežne, je potrebno upoštevati dejstvo, da so veliko večje od otrok. Da se preprečijo nezgodne poškodbe, četudi pri psih z zelo lepimi manirami, se otroke nikoli ne pušča same s psom. Če so v družini manjši otroci, jih je potrebno naučiti pravilnega ravnanja s psom.

Gospodinjstvo, ki razmišlja o nakupu nemške doge, naj ima večje zavarovano, po možnosti ograjeno zunanje dvorišče. Privezovanje psa na verigo, zapiranje v majhne prostore ali puščanje psa, da se svobodne giblje po vseh prostorih, so nevarne in nezaželjene prakse.

Večina nemških dog ne preskakuje ograje, zato je ograja višine 1.20 metra dovolj visoka. Veliko mladih, odraščajočih psov z izredno voljo in veseljem uničuje svojo okolico, zato je potrebno v času odraščanja psa okolico primerno zavarovati. V tem času bo pes pridobil navade, ki se jih bo držal tudi kasneje. Znotraj hiše je potrebno psa še posebej opazovati in učiti. Da se preprečijo razni problemi, naj se mladim dogam ne pušča prosto tekanje po hiši vse dokler se ne izkažejo zaupanja vredni.

Doge ni zaželeno učiti agresivnega in preveč zaščitniškega vedenja. Njihova velikost je ponavadi dovolj, da prestrašijo neželene obiskovalce. Imajo naravni instinkt, da ščitijo, ko je to potrebno. Odgovornost lastnika je, da pravilno socializira psa tako, da bo znal sam presojati, kdaj je njegovo posredovanje potrebno in kdaj ne.

Lastniki nemških dog morajo upoštevati dejstvo, da se nekateri ljudje bojijo velikih psov, zato morajo vedno ravnati v skladu z dobrimi in odgovornimi manirami tako, da imajo psa v javnosti na povodcu in pod kontrolo ali znotraj ograje, kadar je doma, čeprav vemo da naš kuža ni agresiven.

V primerjavi z drugimi manjšimi pasmami so nemške doge lahko drage za vzdrževanje. Pravilna prehrana, oskrba pri veterinarju, dodatki, tečaji, ograjeno dvorišče lahko hitro nanese na visoke stroške. Vse je večje zaradi velikosti samega psa.

Za vse dodatne informacije priporočamo obisk psarne. Oskrbeli vas bomo z osnovnimi informacijami, ki vam bodo pomagale pri odločitvi, če je nemška doga prava pasma za vas.