Do you take your Great Dane to restaurants with you? If you’re on the road as much as we are it is inevitable. There are also times at home that we just like having Martok with us, he’s part of the family after all. Good restaurant etiquette is a must.
Finding a dog friendly restaurant
The first obstacle to eating out with your Dane is figuring out where you can eat with them. The obvious clue is if the restaurant has a patio but not all patios are dog friendly. Its an easy enough question to ask but we also have had an exception made. During a hot day in Casper WY, a hostess was kind enough to let us bring K’Ehleyr onto the patio since it was too hot to leave her in the truck and we didn’t have our trailer with us.
We also try to make sure our Dane isn’t in the path of foot traffic. Varel was notorious for planting herself in just the wrong spot so that people would have to step over her. A trick that seems to work with Martok is bringing his blanket to define his spot and chew toy or his food to keep him busy. We also bring water and a bowl but sometimes one is offered by the dog friendly staff.
Edge tables are usually the best when you have a big dog (Danes don’t fit under the table like smaller dogs). They have more room and you can keep them away from other tables. Oddly enough some people don’t seem to like their food being examined by a dog while they’re eating.
Behavior
When we adopted Martok he had no table manners, well no good ones, at home or otherwise. When your dog can easily reach across a table with all 4 feet still on the ground you have to stay alert! Forgetting something in the kitchen he took as an open invitation to help himself to your unguarded plate. He would even help himself right in front of us. Now he spends most at home mealtimes sitting on the couch, he gave up fighting that battle a long time ago, and we can mostly eat in peace. I say mostly because he does try to offer up toys by putting them on the dining table or in my lap. I’m not sure if it is an offer for exchange or just for the attention.
Like any behavior training, table manners takes practice. We used to have to switch off watching and holding the dog while the other person ate. Now we can both eat at the same time with Martok attached to a chair but never the table. K’Ehleyr once pulled over a chair. It would have been a disaster if she had been attached to the table because it wouldn’t have stopped her when a chihuahua came out of the restaurant door onto the patio.
Don’t ruin it for others
Even on a dog friendly patio it’s important to be a good ambassador to keep it dog friendly. We did push it too far once with 2 Great Danes and 2 Airedales who weren’t friends. The 4 dogs were asked to leave, it was a bit too much for the small patio situated at the front door when the dogs started expressing their dislike for each other.
If you want to eat out with your Great Dane and never have before, then find a quiet, dog friendly restaurant and go during the slow time. You will probably get a little extra attention from people, as you know Great Danes always draw attention. I think your dog will probably enjoy the new experience and let you start creating good restaurant etiquette.
Feel free to share your favorite dog friendly restaurant or crazy Great Dane story about eating out.
