Breed training guides
How to train a great dane
The great danes that come to the training home are gentle, goofy and enormous, and every one of them was allowed to jump, lean and counter-surf as a puppy because it was cute. At a hundred and forty pounds it is not. The plan below starts at eight weeks and never gets rough.
Last reviewed September 11, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
The breed in Houston
A gentle giant with fragile joints, a short life, and a reach that covers every counter in the house.
The great dane is a hundred to a hundred and seventy pounds of affectionate, slightly clumsy dog that wants to be a lap dog, and it brings three realities to a Houston home: it reaches every counter, doorknob and table without stretching; its joints and heart are fragile, with bloat and hip problems well known in the breed, so exercise is gentle and the growth years are managed; and it lives a short life, so the manners have to come early to be enjoyed at all. The short coat handles heat better than a doodle's, but the mass does not: a dane on a Cypress sidewalk in July heats up like a car and cools slowly, and the walks are short.
- A hundred to a hundred and seventy pounds
- Fragile joints, a bloat risk, a short life
- Reaches every counter and table
- Leans, and the lean is a hundred pounds
- Heats up and cools slowly in summer
The puppy months
Eight weeks to five months: everything you will want at a hundred and forty pounds.
A dane puppy grows faster than any dog the family has owned, so the rules are installed in the first eight weeks at home: the greeting rule with four paws on the floor, place with duration, a wait at every door, a walk at the knee, food taken gently from a hand, and handling of every part of the body by everyone, because this dog will be examined by a vet and will need to be moved when it does not want to be. The car is trained now, with a ramp, because a dane cannot be lifted at six months. Counters and furniture get their rules now too, before the dog can reach them. Exercise is play in the yard and short walks, never long runs, because the joints are growing.
- The greeting rule and place from week one
- A wait at every door and a walk at the knee
- Handling by everyone, and the car with a ramp
- Counters and furniture off limits before the dog can reach them
- Short walks and yard play, never runs, while the joints grow
Adolescence
Five to eighteen months: the lean, the counter, the drag and a body that is still growing.
A dane's adolescence is when the weight arrives ahead of the sense: the dog leans on guests and knocks children over, surfs counters from a standing position, plants its feet on the walk and discovers that a hundred pounds of resistance wins, and tests the couch and the bed. The joints are still growing until eighteen months or more, so the answer cannot be miles; it is structure. Place with duration during greetings, a leave-it for counters and a kitchen the dog is not in during cooking, a structured walk taught from a standstill with the dog paid at the knee, and a rule about furniture the whole family keeps. A dane worked through this stretch calmly is the steadiest dog on the street by two.
Eight to twelve weeks: crate, place, the greeting rule, handling, the car with a ramp
Three to five months: the walk at the knee, the wait at doors, counters and furniture rules, the puppy bundle if you want help
Five to eight months: the structured walk on the street, store trips, place through guests
Eight to twelve months: the lean and the drag met with place and the heel, never with force
Twelve to eighteen months: neutrality proofed on trails and at a patio, the settle for an hour
Eighteen months on: gentle freedom, a recall proofed, exercise built up slowly
Every day for life: two short walks, a job for the mind, and meals split to reduce the bloat risk
The problems we see
Leaning and jumping, counter-surfing, dragging, the car and the vet.
Leaning and jumping are a greeting rule and place with duration, and with a dane they are a safety matter for children and older guests. Counter-surfing is management first, nothing on the counters and the dog out of the kitchen during cooking, and then a leave-it and a place bed in the doorway. Dragging on the walk is a structured walk taught from a standstill; a dane that has learned to plant and pull has to be retaught patiently and the family has to be taught to stop rather than haul. The car and the vet are the calls nobody expects: a dane that will not load or will not stand for an exam is a dog nobody can help, and both are trained with a ramp, handling and food long before they are needed.
- A greeting rule and place for the lean
- Management, a leave-it and a doorway bed for the counters
- A structured walk from a standstill for the drag
- A ramp, handling and food for the car and the vet
- Structure and a large crate for the anxious dane
Summer and enrichment
A very large dog in a hot city, with joints that limit the exercise anyway.
A dane's summer is short walks at dawn and dusk with the pavement test at the door, a cool floor or a raised bed in the afternoon, water everywhere, and no exertion in the heat at all, because a dog this size heats up fast and cools slowly. The joints limit the exercise in every season, so the job is a mental one: obedience with duration, a slow search for kibble, a trick session, a walk through a store aisle at noon, a chew. Meals are split into two or three a day and the dog rests after them, which is the standard advice for a bloat-prone breed and worth a conversation with your vet. A dane that gets a job and a quiet house is a calm, funny companion.
- Short walks at dawn and dusk, no exertion in the heat
- A cool floor or a raised bed in the afternoon
- Mental work as the daily job
- Meals split and rest after them, on your vet's advice
- Store aisles for the summer outing
Which program
Gold for the manners, Platinum for the anxious dane, the bundle for the puppy.
Gold, two weeks at $2,500, is the great dane program most often: place, the greeting rule, the structured walk, the wait at doors and impulse control, taught gently and handed over in a go-home session that shows the family how to stop rather than haul. Platinum, three weeks at $3,750, is for the dane that panics alone or in storms, or that has become reactive on the walk, with unlimited lessons afterwards. The Puppy Development Bundle, $550 in Cypress or $750 at home, is the most important money a dane family spends, because the puppy months are when a giant is taught to be small. The great dane training page covers each in Houston terms.
The programs
Programs great danes usually need.
Gold for the manners taught gently, Platinum for the anxious or reactive dane, the bundle before the weight arrives.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
When should I start training a great dane?
The week it comes home. A dane puppy grows faster than any dog most families have owned and the rules that matter at a hundred and forty pounds, the greeting, the walk at the knee, the counters, the car, are taught at ten weeks or retaught with difficulty at ten months.
How much exercise does a great dane need?
Less than its size suggests. Two short walks a day and a job for the mind suit the breed, and the growth years need gentle exercise only because the joints are fragile. In a Houston summer the walks are at dawn and dusk and short, because a dog this size heats up fast.
How do I stop my great dane leaning on people?
A greeting rule, four paws on the floor and no lean before anyone touches the dog, and place with duration during arrivals so the dog has somewhere to be. A dane that has leaned for a year learns the rule in a couple of weeks if every guest keeps it.
Can a great dane live in a Houston townhome?
Yes, and many do; the breed is quiet and sedentary indoors. The stairs are the concern for a growing puppy and an older dog, the couch rule matters because a dane takes the whole thing, and the summer walks are short. A dane with rules is an easy housemate.
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