Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi i'm getting a great dane puppy and i was wondering if any one has ever heard of this or seen a great dane doing schutzhund?. i just recently had some one walk through my door and take a 2k touchscreen laptop from my house and that is one of the reasons we decided to get a dog...and i've heard danes don't really protect your house?

Great Danes technically CAN do Schutzhund, but I doubt they'd be very good at it. I haven't really met a Dane with the drive needed to be successful with it. Also, Schutzhund dogs are trained to work on command (for safety reasons) so someone breaking into the house when you are not around would probably not get the response you desire from the dog. Even the best trained dogs can be distracted by a burglar if the burglar wants to break in bad enough.

I'm sorry your house was burgalrized. I'm glad no one was hurt.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles www.freewebs.com/performanceshibas

A Great Dane is too large to do Schutzhund, even if the dog did have the right temperament. That is too much weight to be able to control a dog when it strikes. A dog is about 3 times its weight in comparison with the strength of a man. A Great Dane is just too big.

But the dog can provide protection in a safer, better way. Read the article at the following link--it's free, no registration or anything required. The site is provided as a public service by the Veterinary Information Network.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2019&S=1&SourceID=47
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I don't know how protective your great dane will be, but my girlfriend's 3 slept on her bed while all of her jewlery was stolen. Maybe the size of him might make some burglers think twice. Good luck with your puppy. I know a lot who are great in obedience.
Debby