unicorn_magic

ideally yes, but she was a fair drive away from us, I was too keen and did not want to miss the chance to adopt her and took the owner saying she is ok with kids, cats, dogs and birds without knowing there would be so much timidness. ...but you knew it was a Great Dane and not a toy poodle?...my sympathy for acting like that is pretty limited - that is just irresponsible. thanks for your help with what to do now. already feeling like crap!

OK, the owner just rang back and said they will not/can not take her back since they were about to be evicted for having her there in a rental that would not allow a big dog. So... what are we to do? We are on the central coast NSW, I have already sent a message to one dog trainer (John Gatt that I know of here on the coast) but have no reply. Is there another behaviorist anyone can recommend? The advice so far seems to be I should not keep this dog around my children and pets because of the fear she has shown. I'm worried, but I want the best for the dog.

thanks so much for your advice! Email, phonecall and text have still not been returned. I have the bulldog in the front yard today so she (the dane) can go from the garage/laundry into the backyard without worrying about him on her own - but she is still very nervous and pacing the backyard/garage frantically when she can't see me. She seems least nervous when I'm near yet still startling at everything (even me picking up the washing basket) poor thing! I will contact the great dane rescue today

Thanks, my husband is worrying the same thing, he tried to ring and msg'd a little while ago. I'm sure we will hear back soon

my email to the owner hasn't had a reply today, but will call tomorrow..

Thankyou :) it was a private rehoming, but we will call the owners tomorrow and see what they say. She is a little more relaxed in the garage/laundry and with me today (aside from all the howling when I'm not near her. I seen her tail almost wag for the first time, it's usually between her legs), but she still startles at everything and will not go out into the backyard at all. Such a shame, our bulldog would love to play with her and have a friend.

what I don't understand is: you have another dog, you have 3 kids etc....wouldn't you take your kids and your dog on a walk with the other dog you envisage to adopt, allow for some play and socialisation time to see how they get along or whether there are some issues recognizable?...even a car you would take for a test drive before you buy it... it is not a substitution for the socialisation with the new home, but it will give valuable clues whether to proceed with the adoption or not. ...I also would give a new dog a little bit more time to settle in and adjust to the new environment before I would allow myself a final verdict. Eta: I worte 'what I understand' ....forgot the 'don't'... ideally yes, but she was a fair drive away from us, I was too keen and did not want to miss the chance to adopt her and took the owner saying she is ok with kids, cats, dogs and birds without knowing there would be so much timidness.

thanks so much for your reply and advice! Yes very true, I feel I'm bonding fast to her too, she is so sweet with the fear aside and it's been 9 yrs since I've had a big loving dane snuggle up on my lap, I've missed it so! I feel bad for her! I will contact the owners and see what they say, I know that their living arrangements didn't allow them to keep her anymore though. Can I suggest any rescues to them if they can not take her back?

Hello :) Yesterday we privately adopted a dane, who is said to be almost 3yo. Owner said she was ok with kids, other dogs and cats. I have had danes before, but not one that is timid and displays signs of fear. I've worked with dogs in boarding, pounds and grooming too, so am after some advice about the fear signs she has shown so far and if I should be extra concerned or if under the new environment they are normal and will subside... When my husband brought her home last night, it was dark and very windy, so as well as being taken away from her people, that probably also put her on edge understandably. She has been very timid, I've tried to put her at ease and she seems to have bonded with me so far, she will come to me now and rest beside me/sit on me. She seems ok with my 3 children now too, although will still keep an eye on them and startle if they make a noise she isn't expecting. After about 10mins the first time she saw them she let out a low growl. I know she is uncomfortable with her new strange surroundings and they are strangers to her so do not see it as an aggression growl, more a fearful growl. We have 2 cats, today she has seen both of them, at first was extremely alarmed, growled and hackles went up and bolted but then stayed still and eventually calmed as they went away. That continued. The cats have come about a metre from her now, I haven't heard more growling to the cats only hackles up if she gets startled from not realising they were near. We have an Aussie bulldog too, didn't introduce them last night in the dark, but since she was in the laundry overnight, they could smell/hear each other under the door overnight and were barking at each other. Today I put our bulldog in a fenced area in our yard (not common ground since it's in our yard but he has not been in the enclosure before so was hoping that might help) So basically all day we have been trying to coax her into the yard to meet him, getting her used to different parts of the yard. She will eventually get more relaxed in certain areas and even layed down on me and napped while he was only a few metres away, but always gets startled and runs back to the laundry (her safe spot since she slept there I assume) then slowly creeps out again. Then she started barking/growling at the bulldog, hackles up, runs back to her retreat spot, then came out a little (still 8 metres from bulldog) barking/growling/hackles up, lunged forward dug her feet in a little at which point I stepped in to stop them. She retreated to the laundry again and seen my son through the laundry on the other side of the garage and started her low growling at him (my fault - he should not have been there! I know this is alot of new for her and should be limiting it more. I guess I wasn't expecting her to be so afraid) She is extremely timid, but how much of it is her new environment and is it likely to be an ongoing problem with our children/cats/dog in the long run? Should I continue to try and get her used to the backyard/bulldog or just keep her in the laundry for awhile? looking forward to hearing any advice!