We both wanted to rescue a dog from a shelter, so we visited Haven Human Society and met three dogs. The first two were too hyper - they didn't calm down for the whole thirty minutes we spent with each of them, but Patch was different. He seemed excited to see everyone but calmed down and walked reasonably quietly when on leash. Deanne loved his eyes...there's something about a Great Dane's eyes and face...his head is large enough to be "read" like a human face, not a dog's. We're probably reading too much into it, but we enjoyed our time with him more than the others.
However...it's a GREAT DANE ! Good grief, he's 120 pounds now and he's underweight. He's short for a Dane, but still would stand over six feet if he stood on his hind legs. He can dig through carpet if he wants, eat furniture if he wants, knock people over even if by accident. Isn't it a good idea to stick with a smaller dog, especially since I've never had one ? His report card, filled in by the previous owner said that he didn't like men and was destructive with furniture !
We went back home and Deanne immediately started reading web sites like this one, learning about Great Dane's temperment, eating habits etc. It turned out that Dane owners tended to be totally in love not only with their own dog, but with the breed in general - "There is nothing like a Dane" was the phrase we saw over and over again. People who'd had many different breeds in their lives, but found that Dane's were the best dogs to have. Energetic and playful outside, but quiet and careful inside the house. "This, " I said, "is just what I want in a dog."
It took several hours, but Deanne kept me up until 5 AM reading page after page of tributes to these wonderful, intelligent dogs. I believed, as Deanne did, that his reported bad behaviour was because he'd been mistreated or ignored - Danes are a family dog and must be allowed to spend a lot of time around you, and if cut off from you they will start to act in the way described in his report. We believed that if we treated him well, his good nature would re-emerge.
Eventually I agreed that, despite the initial shock over his size, the sheer number of testimonials was enough to convince me that Patch would be a good dog to have in our home.
And she was right :)