Duke
Wick
These are our BIG BABIES.
They ALWAYS want attention and if you don’t give it to them they WILL figure out a way to get it. From laying their head on your cellphone to standing in front of you blocking your view or just plain blocking any movement you might want to do. Trust me, when BIG dogs block your walking path, you gently encourage them to “move” and most the time they do!
Duke at 4 years old weighs in at around 170#s and we are sure at full adult weight that Wick will be close to that.
At 8 months old Wick is weighing in at 133#’s.
**Update** As of March 21st, 2024 Wick is weighing in at 150#’s at a year and 4 months old.
Although many people keep telling us they think Wick is going to be bigger then Duke, We shall see 
– DUKE –
Duke was born July 15th, 2019 at a wonderful farm home in Vicksburg, Michigan.
We brought Duke home when he was just shy of 7 weeks old on labor day weekend. September 1st, 2019
We spent the course of winter 2019-2020 training Duke, getting him settled into a routine and finally leaving him to free roam the house at night and during the day when I was at work and Bruce was sleeping, the transition went smoothly and no furniture was destroyed in the process.
That next spring (2020) we took Duke on his first of many camping trips and his adjustment to being on a lead or leash all the time went beautifully, he adapted to camping life better then we could have hoped. Not saying we didn’t have to give him a few squirts of water from a spray bottle to stop barking at anyone and everyone that went by, and even now 3 years later he still needs a gentle reminder each camping trip.
– WICK –
3 Years later, we could hardly believe that we had the opportunity to get a second dane, and Duke’s full blooded brother at that. Wick was born on November 19th, 2022 and joined our family on January 6th 2023.
As I write this Wick has been with us a touch shy of 3 months, still a youngin’ and still in the learning stages, he will turn 5 months old on April 19th, 2023
We just very recently started letting Wick sleep over night uncrated, fingers crossed all goes well.
We have learned a bit about Wick in the short time he has been with us. He VERY much looks to big brother Duke for guidance, and Duke very much loves his little brother. Their evening playtime is all the entertainment anyone would need to complete their day!
We anticipate great camping adventures with Wick, the attention we get when walking just Duke will most likely be doubled. Like myself, lots of people are enamored with giant dogs.
Our Favorite Dane friendly products.
These guys eat A LOT. We spend on average, $200 per month to feed both Duke and Wick. Of course that price fluctuates from time to time. This is what we feed them – Purina Pro Plan Adult Shredded Blend Beef and Rice
As for treats, we bounce between Milk Bone biscuits, not the large ones like you might think, we buy the medium and Frankly Pet Cheese Beefy Puffs . They come in a variety of flavors and are 100% collagen and are very good for dogs. We found them at our local Menards store and you can also order them online. They both like carrots, cheese and at nail trim time, hotdogs work.
If we have the occasional run in with upset stomachs or loose poop, I use this product, Native Pet Pumpkin Fiber. The beautiful part of this product is it is dry, you can add water to make it a slurry then mix in your dogs food, or you can simply sprinkle it on their food dry. I love the fact that I no longer have to deal with partial cans of pumpkin shoved to the back of the fridge and I end up throwing out. This really cuts down on waste.
As for toys, we try to buy things that don’t have stuffing in them or very little because our boys if given something with stuffing will have that torn apart and stuffing out in less then 10 minutes.
Our favorite line of products is Chuckit. We have multiple Chuckit items, from house safe balls to outdoor balls. They last longer then anything else we have bought them. You would think they would tear them apart but they don’t. You can actually play fetch in the house because they are soft and lightweight to throw. Our boys love these things.
I cannot talk about toys without mentioning Jolly Balls. You may know them from being horse toys but great danes love them too. These are strictly for outdoor play and honestly a yearly investment into new ones is OK with us. They have a handle on them, our boys love both playing with it at the same time and running around the yard with them swinging from their mouth.