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So you have brought your new Great Dane home. What basic items do you need if this is your first Great Dane?
Basic items you will need
These might seem obvious to anyone who has owned a dog but if you have never had a Great Dane you might not realize the stuff you have for a smaller dog may not work or fit a Great Dane. The items I’m going to talk about have been used by my Danes, some successfully and some not so successfully.
- collar
- leash
- ID tag
- bowls
- beds
Collars
My favorite brand of collar is Lupine Pet. Their products are guaranteed for life, even if chewed, and come in many colors and patterns. We have never had one break or unhook accidentally. They also offer eco-friendly collars and leashes made from recycled plastic bottles. The correct size for Great Danes is 1 inch wide. Other brands come in wider sizes if you prefer.
Leashes
My leashes need to have two features to make me happy. They need to be 6 feet long and to have a second handle near the hook end. Believe it or not, some people are intimidated when they see a Great Dane walking towards them. The short handle lets me keep my dog near me when in traffic or around distractions. The six foot length is so I don’t trip over my dog’s feet if we have to walk single file and Martok is in front. I will have more specifics about the leashes which have worked and haven’t worked in a separate blog post. We have used the Ruffwear and ROK leashes and I’m thinking about trying the Kurgo leash.
Check out this post, Leashes for Traveling with Great Danes, which is all about leashes!
ID Tag and microchip
If you hate hearing the jingle of tags or just get tired of replacing them when they get worn out from rubbing together then get a collar tag. I love Boomerang Tags! They fit on the collar, don’t come off on their own and are guaranteed for the life of your Great Dane.
Rescued dogs come microchipped but you still need to register the information and keep it up to date. I use Petlink for registration. Some microchips come with a platform to register but when we had both Varel and K’Ehleyr, they had different microchip companies. With Petlink you can register any brand of microchip and update the information online as much as you need for one lifetime fee.
Bowls
The safest options for dog bowls are stainless steel or silicone. Don’t use plastic! Besides having to worry about BPA or phthalates, plastic bowls are easily chewed or scratched which then creates areas for bacteria to hide and grow. Make sure to get a big enough bowl. Martok’s bowl is 9 inches across and 4 inches deep. If your Great Dane is a fast eater you might want to consider a slow bowl or portion pacer ball. I have used the Omega Paw for our girls and it works well but I do suggest the stainless steel one over the ceramic. I have read that if the ceramic one gets dropped it will break.
Bark Think has a good blog post about dog bowls, Are Your Dog’s Food Bowls Safe? A Pet Bowl Materials Guide.
Beds
I either get dog beds from Costco or from my neighbor. She buys dog beds and decides she doesn’t like them and so I happily take them off her hands. Selar never destroyed a bed. All our Danes since her have found great pleasure in destroying beds. Spending a lot of money on a bed that might end up in pieces is not something I want to do. If you don’t have a neighbor who likes to give you dog beds then check out Costco if you have one near you.
