Mary Allen
An agitated Great Dane can wreak havoc in your home, no matter how big or small your living room is. Sometimes it can be difficult to contain that famous energy and enthusiasm.
Getting a Great Dane to calm down is a matter of patience. Most will eventually calm down on their own, but it can take time. When it comes to calming a Great Dane, it means training, doing exercises, and giving her lots of attention. Bonding with your dog is important. And if all the training and upbringing don’t help, you should seek advice from your veterinarian as to whether neutering might help.
Great Dane training is scheduled for the long term. A day or even a week of training is not enough.
To calm one down, try these techniques.
#1 Give your Great Dane time
If you have a Great Dane puppy, start early with a simple upbringing and training structure. Puppies are generally clumsy and full of energy. But a Great Dane has a considerable size even at a young age. If you don't train your pup at least a little, a bully that big can do some damage. That is why education is important, especially for Great Dane puppies.
In one thing, puppies and children are quite similar: they need time to grow and mature. Great Danes are not high-energy dogs, but any pup has a tendency to go a little crazy and push its limits. Therefore, you should start early with simple training in Great Danes.
#2 Create and follow a strict training schedule
Consistency and structure are what's best for your Great Dane. Great Danes are not known for being exceptionally persistent, but any untrained dog will take liberties and engage in bad habits if not handled properly.
Dogs are like children on an emotional level. A chaotic environment without structure is not good for them. A life without limits is also bad for you as an owner, because if your Great Dane is not trained even in adulthood, it can become uncomfortable for people and objects in the house.
To give your Great Dane structure and a regular training routine, you can do the following so that it becomes a calm, balanced dog:
Learning training (e.g. learning commands);
Body training;
game time.
Note that all of these "preventive" measures should be done on a schedule. Using each point is not as effective without a schedule.
Learning training (e.g. learning commands)
Command training is your best friend if you want a calm and well-behaved dog. Training your Great Dane can take around 3-6 months. (If you are not consistent, it will take longer.) You can save a lot of money and watch training videos on YouTube. Just go to Youtube and type in “Great Dane Training”.
Or you pay someone to train your dog. In this case, however, you are not building a strong bond with your dog. Or you can go to a dog trainer together with your Great Dane. Whatever you do, Great Danes need to have an education.
You can also check out my article on Great Dane training. There you will also learn how to teach your Great Dane which commands. “Are Great Danes difficult to train?”
You're wondering: How is training related to how calm my Great Dane is? Believe it or not, your dog can be trained not to whine, to relax, and to exhibit a calm demeanor.
Especially when it comes to puppies, many people think, oh, they are so cute, they shouldn't be properly trained yet. That's not true. Puppies need boundaries and discipline just like children do.
It might be tedious (and Great Danes can be quite stubborn at times), but if you stick to the training, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results. A dog can be well-behaved and happy. Dogs are pack animals and they need a pack leader to feel comfortable. And believe me, you're better off being the pack leader than your 150-pound adult Great Dane.
#3 Body training
Sometimes your Great Dane won't calm down because he/she hasn't had enough time outside to exercise and enjoy the freedom. They don't need a lot of exercises, but too little makes them unbalanced.
Adult Great Danes need around 30-60 minutes of daily exercise each day. Puppies need at least 90 minutes a day. If your adult Great Danes or puppies go several days without enough exercise or spend too much time alone, they will become restless.
When I talk about exercise, I don't mean the time they can do some walking around in the garden or around the house. If you're going to be away 4-5 hours and your Great Dane is free to roam around the house, that's not exercise. Especially since you have no way of knowing how much she moved. Speaking of leaving alone. Your Great Dane should never be alone for more than 7-8 hours.
That in itself is a long time and if you don't have as much time as you used to, e.g. for professional reasons, you should hire a dog sitter or consider with a heavy heart whether you should give up your dog. It's a tough decision, but you want what's best for the animal. And any pet would go mad and be restless if cooped up for too long.