what to buy st. bernard or great dane? why and why not?
By jairgirl
@jairgirl (2877)
United States
March 26, 2008 12:04am CST
we're thinking of having another dog maybe next year and i would like to plan ahead and would like to consider other's views.
me and my hubby wants a big dog since we both know we're no longer living out of the country and would like to have a big and small dog.
i always dream to have a st.bernard just because i love how they look and they are just like a sweetheart. i want my family to have a nice and sweet dog around.
my husband dream to have a great dane since he is a kid and he wants me to have want i dream and not his but i want to be reasonable when it comes to stuff like this coz the dog will gonna be a part of our life and family.
either dog, i'll be happy to have.
if we have the great dane, i told him i want the harlequin and he likes the same coz they are the biggest among the great danes.
anyway, i would love to hear your views regarding this matter,
the pros and cons
the problem you have experienced (i have read so much on the net but would like to know personal stories from here)
i know both dog are really loving and friendly and after having a moody dog we really want to have the sweet one this time, haha (dont worry we love the moody one despite his periods, hahaha)
i'll be happy to hear your story coz my understanding is very limited and would like to know better based on the sources there is.
takecare and thank you in advance!
2 people like this
3 responses
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
26 Mar 08
I had a saint bernard when I was a kid. She was a great dog. always gentle, generally calm. I never had a great dane, but I hear they are also nice. any dog can be loving if they are treated properly, but I find the bigger breeds are generally less moody. The only problem that might occur is if there are small children, either one might knock him/her down.
1 person likes this
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
26 Mar 08
oh, lucky you!
i love st.bernard, i was like at awe every time i see one even in tv haha. they are just really cute and very sweet.
i have read that they are very friendly, reliable and very calm too. they said either a st.bernard or a great dane will be a great family dog coz they are good with kids. i have seen a lot of photos that involves them and a baby.
the only thing that worries us is that they have short life span and they often have problems with hips and other posture issues.
yes, i have seen funny videos that the dog (either of the two) knocks a kid or a person if they played hard - maybe it wont be that funny if it happens to me, haha my bad!
anyway, thanks for the replies.
time for us to sleep now - finally (its almost 2am) geezzz this man can stay up all night, haha
goodnight!
2 people like this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
26 Mar 08
I have heard the same. I was 10 when we got her, she was a year old and a military family was moving and couldn't take her with them. We had her for five years but couldn't take her with us when we moved from Alaska to Missouri. We tried to give her away but she cried all the time so they brought her back. We had to put her in the pound. I hated that. Have a good night.1 person likes this
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
26 Mar 08
oh, that's very sad, i will be devastated too if that happens. i cried so hard whenever i lose a dog. i grow up having them around.
i hope your doggie did have a wonderful life after you guys, that would be awesome!
btw, that's one of our concerns.
we dont want to have a big dog if we know we are not really settled for the area coz it is such a pain, emotionally and physically, to move again.
oh well!
ps
i cried when i left our turtle and gold fish in china coz i cant find someone to make an arrangement to bring them with us here.
it is just heart breaking, they are very cute and most people who sees them cant believe when we say their age, specially our turtle coz he is just gigantic compared to most of the ones in his age.
so i told him that i dont want to have water pets for a while till i know we are retiring coz i dont want to leave them behind just like that.
takecare
@Carolyn63 (1403)
• United States
26 Mar 08
Hi sweetie. The thing about St. Bernards that you may not know is that you have to really watch them about eating. They will eat and eat and eat until thier intestines twist and you have to take them to the vet for emergency surgery. Granted, if you don't leave food out and only feed them accordingly, that wouldn't be a problem. You would just have to make sure they didn't have access themselves.
Both are marvelous pets. Just be sure and read up on them, even talk to the vet. Some pure breds have genetic problems, like German Shepards with hip dysplasia.
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
26 Mar 08
hello again,
i have never heard of a st.bernard eating habits and i appreciate you informing me.
my friend have a miniature poddle and she can eat like crazy, i have told her not to leave any food on the bowl coz she will just eat it in one time and it is not healthy coz she is very tiny and her belly is too huge for her and she cant hardly walk. anyway, she thinks i feed her dog too much one time but i told her that it is the food she is leaving that her dog is eating.
after that she seems to watch it out.
our dog now never have problems with food, he is very picky though, he will smell his foods forever before he eats it and will not eat something in a snap without him looking so hard on it, haha just funny!
thanks for saying your views, im really excited to have either one of them next year....
i feel the kid in me is jumping high just the thought of it, haha
@saintowner1 (1)
• United States
9 Nov 08
Saints do not eat until they twist their intestines. When this happens it is called bloat & is caused by other things such as air, or water in the intestines, not by too much food. You simply put out the amount of food they are to have at that time...no pet should be free fed anyway. You feed an adult Saint twice per day, and a puppy three meals per day. Bloat can be caused by too much water after getting hot, moistening dry kibble, then it swells in the stomach...it is much like gas that causes the intestines to twist.
Lisa
@quatelmon (955)
• United States
26 Mar 08
I've never had either type of dog. However, my friends had a great dane when I was growing up. They did not train this dog, and it would knock the kids over all the time (the dog was just playing, and did not know any better because of lack of training) I've always had big dogs growing up, but have a small dog now. I think either way you go will be great. Just make she you find a trainer to help you get started!
@jairgirl (2877)
• United States
26 Mar 08
hello,
thanks for the ideas, we are pretty good on training our dog and we never have problems with them till we have our dog now who seem to have 2 persona in him, haha!
but other than that, i can say that we are pretty good at it :)
i would like to learn how to train dog myself coz it is fun and yes we will do our best to train him coz we dont want him hurting anybody specially a kid.
there are so many sad consequences of such actions and we dont want to take the risk.
again, thanks for the input, im sure no matter what we get, we will be both happy with hit.
takecare
