Giant Breeds?

[Dan]

Has, or does anyone here own a giant dog breed? How would you say they compare to huskies in terms of requirements, like food, living space, traits like being very active or even shedding? 

 

My grandparents, when I was much younger, had a St Bernard and he was such an awesome dog. Very calm and gentle, they even used to put me on his back sometimes. Try that now! I have heard that despite their size, some of the giant breeds are actually pretty easy to train and look after, and they're usually very gentle, but I'd imagine with a 60kg+ dog, you'd want to be sure you had loose lead walking under control as quickly as possible.

 

Of course I'm still in no way able to take on another dog yet, but I enjoy thinking about possibilities in the future

 

Anyone want to share their experience?

[jmscott]

Its really not that simple. You need to find a breed that works for you and THEN find out the requirements for that breed.

[jmscott]

www.akc.org

 

www.ukcdogs.com

 

 

^^^two good websites for researching breeds. 

[Dan]

Yeah I understand that, but I'm mostly just curious how other people have found the breeds if they've owned them themselves. For example when I was researching huskies I found so many sources saying the usual "they're destructive, escape all the time, always dig up your yard, noisy" etc. But the fact is I bet most of this was just copypasted from a single source, and most of them never owned a husky before either. It's only once I found the forums where people shared their own experiences I realized that those kinds of things really are just a worse case scenario, I notice most people here don't really have those issues which I'd put down to proper training 

Edited December 26, 2014 by Dan

[mydiamond]

Proper training and a tinge of luck. There *are* Huskies out there that tick all the boxes described by the 'worst case scenario'. Some others only tick several of the boxes, but then there are the angels that barely tick any boxes. Luck.

 

That being said, I looked into the Irish Wolfhound once. They're awesome dogs, but the one that put me off is their lifespan. Compared to Huskies, most giant breeds sound like an easy keeper. Great Danes for example, the most popular giant breed, is super chill and doesn't need rigorous exercise. But then again they only live for about eight years

[Dan]

Yeah the lifespan is a bit of a shame. Really weird how that works. I personally probably won't ever own a smaller dog - don't really mind them but they're just not my cup of tea. That said a giant breed, being right on the other end of the scale, are probably a lot more difficult to look after. Even simple things like lifting them into a bath would be impractical. The flea/tick prevention drops get hugely expensive, and I'd imagine they would cost a lot to feed too. 

 

I think I got very lucky with Loki in regards to those traits. I'm not sure he's even actually a husky, apart from the fact he is, fussy eater, and he sheds a lot

 

I'd have to upgrade my car before I even considered it though. Loki takes up the back seat already But like I said, it's not even a consideration now. Just making conversation

Edited December 26, 2014 by Dan

[jmscott]

With large breeds the age factor is often just depending on the breeder. I know one dane breeder with dogs that live well into their teens.

 

I have had experience with tons of Giant breeds. They are all so different its just going to depend on what breed interests you. And as Liv stated, there are going to be some dogs that buck the breed type, however, the majority will be falling under those checkboxes for things like prey drive, willingness to escape, and poor recall skills.

[jmscott]

We work with LGD (livestock guardian breeds) for example; thats about 40 breeds. General traits are that they are easy keepers, must be within a heavily secured fence, and should not be owned by people who take issue locking them into another part of the house when friends and family come to visit. Oh, and the barking. They bark at night, they bark all day, they bark when they see the neighbor, they bark when the wind blows.

[mydiamond]

With large breeds the age factor is often just depending on the breeder. I know one dane breeder with dogs that live well into their teens.

 

 

I didn't know that

[jmscott]

Yup. Far too often the people who are breeding these giants may do all sorts of health testing, but figure their breed has a short lived life anyhow. Breeding for longevity should be a cornerstone of a good breeding program.

[Rosemary]

I had a Great Dane, she was 11 when she died of cancer. She was the most gentle and loving dog - it was as if she was aware of her size and was always careful around those animals and people who were smaller than her, as well as the elderly. She was the perfect companion, and I miss her still, 8 years later.

[qweasd]

We had an Old English Sheepdog when I was young. He calmly accepted all sorts of 'abuse' from three children and lived until about 13.