Hello Everyone,
I might as well continue my recent trend on questions about my dogs if you all don’t mind. This question is about our Great Dane, Gunner. I have a feeling he is OCD.
Besides being the most loving doggie in the world he is very particular about things being a certain way. One thing in particular really makes us crack up every time he does it. We have a basket that we keep all the doggie toys in. Before we got Gunner I would spend 3 or 4 minutes 2 or 3 times a day picking up the various doggie toys left around the house. Well, we got Gunner and he, like the other dogs, quickly found the toy basket. However, unlike the other dogs he puts his toys back in the basket as soon as he is done playing with one. Or if he wants a different toy he puts back the one he has and gets out another. He also cleans up after the other dogs. When they leave their toys out he will walk around the floor and pick up after them, depositing the toys in the basket. Occasionally he will even go up to them, grab a toy out of their mouth and deposit it … in the basket.
Anyways, I found this very interesting behavior, I have never had a dog that “cleaned up” before. Wondering if this qualifies as doggie OCD? Oh, and update for those of you that read my last post on Agressive but Loving Dog. Carson the Chow/Shepherd is getting neutered tomorrow morning. I will update afterwards.
Those are great looking dogs. And Gunner is a great Great Dane if he cleans up after himself. I would think dog OCD is more like when Dude obsessively chewed the fur on her front legs, requiring us to use ‘bad dog spray’ to break her of the habit. Blackjack won’t take toys out of his basket, but if you remove one, he has to go put it somewhere safe. Pretty typical dog behavior. Gunner is probably using the instinct to safeguard possessions, and has conveniently chosen the toy basket. So I would give him a ‘good boy’ everytime he does it.
Thanks for the nice words, they are both great dogs. And to be clear, I am not annoyed in the least with Gunner’s actions. I think it is great that he cleans up after himself and the others. I have just never seen a dog do something like that before, so just wondering if he is OCD.
Here is another picture of Carson the Chow mix. If you like fuzzy, this is a good pic of him!
How big is he now? I had great danes when I was kid and they are so nice. They don’t live long though. Usually 6-8 years. Since great danes are “follow you everywhere dogs,” they have a habit of making nests. Ours used to take whatever they could get, usually clothes and build themselves a nest and sleep.
I wouldn’t call his habit OCD, as other noted, just a dog protecting his property. Our great danes out side would never play with a toy, unless you played with them. But as soon as you tried to pick the toy up, they’d run and grab all their toys and put them together in a “nest.”
But these “nests” or piles were never as consistent as Gunner. Danes are also highly trainable so someone may have shown him what to do. You only have to tell them once or twice and they catch on quickly.
I apologize for the delay in my response. Gunner just got weighed and he is 52lbs! (5 months old) he gained 20lbs in the last 30 days. His Grandad was 232lbs and his Dad was 183lbs. With any luck he will hit 250! and he is certainly a follower, always next to you or if on the couch on top of you! He is quickly becoming the favorite in the family, with each family member competing over Dane attention. I think we need to install one of those backup beepers on him as his favorite thing seems to be backing up to someone before sitting on them. It appears that we have a 200lb lapdog in the making.
He’s gonna be popular, especially if you take him on walks. Everyone wants to stop and pet a full grown dane. Make sure you read up about twisting stomach and bloat. Those are two big issues with great danes. Know the signs, so if something develops you can get it looked at fast
I have read up on it and it scares the crap out me. The biggest preventative step we are taking is absolutely no activity for Gunner 1 hour after he eats. It has taken him a while to understand, but he sits down pretty good now. It is really a tragedy that Danes only get about 8 years or so. They are called the “Heartbreak Breed” for a reason. It makes me sad every time I look at him and think about it. But, quite honestly I am lucky just to have known him.
This is a perfectly charming habit. And I like the striking black patch on the side of his face. Is he a merle? One caveat – my understanding is that merle is counterindicated for breeding due to the risk of health issues in the puppies:
One of our neighbors had a Great Dane named Zoe who developed back problems (slipped discs if I recall correctly) at seven that became too severe to be treatable with any quality of life.
I’ve had some good experiences with Danes I’ve met. There’s a Harlequin Great Dane I’ve seen a several times at the park who once stepped in and protected my little female pit bull from an aggressive admirer who started following her too closely. He took a nonaggressive but firm stance between the two dogs like a giant UN peacekeeper.
You are correct about the Blue Merles, they are not a recognized AKC color. We picked him from the litter because the lady that was selling them said that everyone that came before wanted him, remarked how unique his face was and then picked on of the solid colored pups. Funny, after we got him we were walking him at a community gathering and a woman with another Dane pup came up to us and asked us where we got him. She then showed us pictures of Gunner on her digital camera from when he was a little baby about a week before we got him. She wanted him and a told us she went to get him the day after we picked him up and she was quite disappointed that he was gone. So, that was kind of a strange meeting.
But, as much as I would love a whole herd of Great Danes my wife said “no”, so we aren’t going to breed. We will eventually have him neutered, the vet suggested we wait until after 18 months so we don’t stunt his growth. The bigger, the better and all that. Here is another photo of his face markings, it is unusual and very unique. To watch him grow so fast is amazing, he is getting bigger by the day.
And I apologize if I sound like a “proud father”, bragging on Gunner all the time. I have always wanted a Great Dane and I guess I am very proud of him. He really is an exceptional doggie.
