Are Great Danes Good With Other Dogs
Dog Care Tips · Dog Behavior

Are Great Danes Good With Other Dogs? 5 Indisputable Reasons They Are

Last Updated/Info Checked on October 18, 2023 by Scott

No wonder it’s called the Apollo of dogs. Apollo is the Greek god of the sun. I feel that the owners of a Great Dane are few of the lucky ones to own such a humble dog. 

So, to answer your question: Are Great Danes good with other dogs? Yes, they are super friendly with other dogs because they cannot tolerate loneliness, are not very territorial, are highly trainable, not very mouthy, and have a normal prey drive.

Despite their muscular stature, super-imposing personality, and demeanor that tell every threat to stay at bay, these dogs will never harm your other pets. Even kids and strangers get along well. 

Also read: Which dog breeds get along with other dogs easily?

Are Great Danes Good With Other Dogs - Infographic

Do Great Danes Get Along With Other Dogs? 5 Reasons Why They Do

Here are the reasons for that, if you want to explore this breed’s behavior towards other dogs.

1. Cannot Tolerate Being Alone 

Loneliness tolerance: ⅕ 

While you think the size of the dog should mean that they have strong hearts to tackle loneliness, you’re wrong.

Great Danes were bred to hunt wild boars. That justifies the size, but at the same time, it tells you about their relationship with their owners. 

They were meant to be a part of the pack and remain so. Even now, when you own a Great Dane, it will consider you as an Alpha and try to stay as close as possible. 

But a pack doesn’t just have one dog or a human, it has multiple dogs. That should explain why and how this breed warms up to other dogs quite often and quite well. 

However, do not forget early socialization even if the breed has genes for being good boys around other pets. This could save you from a number of accidents because even if it’s calm and collected, it could teach a lesson to aggressors. 

2. Does Not Care A Lot About Boundaries 

Territorial: ⅖ 

great dane aggression toward other dogs

Are Great Danes territorial? You ask.

Seeing a Great Dane aggressive towards other dogs is a rare sight. A dog’s behavior with a human and with another dog are two different things. You shouldn’t expect the same behavior of your dog with other dogs as it has with you.

With you, it doesn’t care about territory. In fact, you are part of its territory. But with other dogs, especially the ones your friends bring in, it may lose its mind and start attacking.

The obvious reason for that is, of course, territory aggression. 

I’ve seen that a lot in Bulldogs and Rottweilers. With Great Danes, it wouldn’t be a problem. 

These dogs are so friendly towards other dogs that they forget about their territory. Again, I’ll take you to the initial motive of their existence – hunting boars and staying in packs. 

Staying in packs is meant for the dogs to stay or coexist peacefully with other breeds and even other pets. The boundary lines blur within a pack and they act as a unit. 

This should explain why Great Danes are super friendly with dogs. So, don’t worry about your friend’s dog and welcome it with open arms because that’s what your dog will do. 

The occasional barking when it sees another dog may seem like aggression, only that it’s not. Well-socialized and trained dogs communicate with each other through barking.

So the initial barks you hear may translate into “Hey, sup?”. 

3. Highly Trainable 

Trainability: 5/5 

Beagles and Great Danes may not have anything in common size-wise, but they both are highly trainable breeds. They could ignore your shortcomings during the training sessions. That means you can tame your Great Dane’s aggressive behavior.

Throughout their training regimes, you’ll have more than one chance to reset everything or correct your mistakes. 

So, even if you’re still not convinced about how much Great Danes are friendly towards other dogs, this should do it. You could always train them to behave well whenever a new dog passes by or someone brings another dog to your home. 

4. They Bite Less 

Biting potential: ⅖

Great Danes stay to themselves most of the time. Their size does not allow them to do perky things like jumping around or chewing at things – or biting at dogs. 

They have a less tendency to get into play-bites that translate into a full-blown war of terror. Trust me, I’ve seen many of those. Not with this breed, though. 

I’ve co-trained Great Danes with the likes of Rottweilers, Bulldogs, Terriers, or name any aggressive dog you could. They were always the forgiving ones. 

However, their size served as a formidable barrier for all of them. 

5. Normal Prey Drive 

Prey drive: ⅗ 

What does prey drive to do with the behavior of a dog toward other breeds? Everything. 

Dogs with high prey drive tend to get agitated quite soon. They may start considering the other dog as prey more than a foe and lunge at it when it’s least suspecting. 

Great Danes, on the other hand, have a controllable prey drive. While you may see them chase things around, with other dogs, they tone down that capacity. 

Related: Are Golden Retrievers Good With Other Dogs

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What Dogs Do Great Danes Get Along With?

Great Danes have high energy and their size makes up a formidable barrier for small dogs to get along with them. Therefore, you have to look for bigger breeds such as Rottweilers, Great Pyrenees, Labradors, Pointers, and so on. 

However, two dogs of any breed would get along well if they were trained from puppyhood to do so. That means you could easily keep any breed with your Great Dane when they both are trained well. 

From this article, you came to know how well-behaved Great Danes are with other dogs. Therefore, you shouldn’t see blood spilling on your couch when you keep them with other dogs. 

Still, I suggest that any interaction between two dogs should be highly supervised. They are dogs, after all, not machines that wouldn’t go against their codes. 

Here’s a video to help control your Great Danes if they are showing unhealthy excitement towards other dogs.

Also Read: Are Dachshunds Good With Other Dogs
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Are Great Danes Good With Other Dogs – Final Thoughts

Yes, the Great Danes are good with other dogs for a number of reasons.

As you read, they are affectionate members of a family, their prey drives aren’t off the roof, they are too territorial, and even if things aren’t looking good, you could still train Great Danes to behave because they are super trainable. 

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