The vital, desirable dog, the one that is easy to rear and worth the care bestowed upon her, is active, inquisitive, and happy. She is sleek, her eyes free from pus or tears, her coat shining and alive, her flesh adequate and firm. She is not necessarily fat, but a small amount of surplus flesh, especially in puppyhood, is not undesirable. She is free from knobs on her joints or from crooked bones. Her teeth are firm and white and even. Her breath is sweet to the smell. Above all, she is playful and responsive. Puppies, like babies, are much given to sleep, but when they are awake the sturdy ones do not mope lethargically around.
There are different stress lessons that can be given to the puppy at this time. One is the Elevation exercise where you hold the pup up in the air until she begins to squirm and protest, then draw her close and stroke her gently to allow her to settle down. Another is the dominance exercise where you hold her on her back for 10-15 seconds. After pup begins to struggle and squeal turn upright and stroke gently.
During this time the puppy is given widely varied experiences and meets as many people of all ages and walks of life as possible. Once a puppy is reasonably housebroken, take it to the bank, hardware store, pet shop, florist, playground, and everywhere possible.
This is also a time when the puppy has not had all its shots so one must be careful about all of the puppy’s interactions. Keep it away from areas where other dogs frequently eliminate. There are 2 popular opinions about this stage: the major one being that the puppies immune system is strong enough to combat most things and should have as many experiences as possible for healthy socialization. The other is that it is unsafe for puppies to have contact with other dogs/animals/people who have had contact with other dogs until the puppy has had all its shots and is fully inoculated. In my opinion ask your vet what he/she thinks is good and bad for the puppy. They are the ones who deal with sick animals and know what the local animals are carrying, at what stage of shots your puppy is in, as well as the overall stamina of your dog.
Word of caution: If a puppy is separated from her mother and littermates before 6 weeks old she will not have learned the basic social behavior proper to her species. Serious behavior problems can suddenly develop as the dog matures. NEVER adopt a puppy before 6 weeks of age. Their interaction with mom and littermates is vital to their development. Most breeders will not let the puppy leave until after 8 weeks.
To Socialize your Puppy: Puppies need to be socialized, not only to people, but sights, sounds and textures as well. We begin by getting the pup accustomed to a variety of surfaces such as gravel, grass, woodchips, tile, cement, linoleum, and dirt. For sounds we tune radios to classical music stations in the puppy’s room and periodically blow whistles, clap together blocks, jingle bells, or turn on the vacuum cleaner throughout the day. In private sessions encourage the puppy to sniff, lick, and examine the noisemaker before and after the noise, making sure never to praise or comfort a puppy who shows fear. A puppy is praised only for reacting positively to a stimulation with alertness and curiosity. It is imperative that each pup be handled individually by different people, both men and women every day. During these sessions we combine simple play with a concluding restraint/petting exercise that helps familiarize the pup with having their front and back paws touched, mouths opened, and muzzles held. Combined with weekly grooming sessions this helps modify any touch sensitivity.
This is when the pup is naturally adjusting to full adult sensory capacities and lasts for several weeks. Experiences a puppy perceives as traumatic during this time are generalized and may affect him all his life. New experiences must be nontramatic and easy for the pup to deal with or the pup may result with long lasting emotional scars.
This period is otherwise known as Teenage Flakiness! In large breeds this period could extend longer since it is tied to sexual maturity. Incidents may occur more than once. During this time your Dane may have more pronounced expressions of independence. It may be harder to keep her attention and she ignores you when you call. She will be highly excitable and very mouthy since 4-6 months is the teething period. The Great Dane needs proper training at this stage.
During this time the Second Fear Impact Period occurs from 16-24 weeks, this is a fear of new situations and is handled with the utmost patients. The dog is encouraged to work it out on his/her own. If anything, it is better to ignore the whole situation than to reinforce the fear by praising the dog or petting him while he is afraid. When you “reassure” a dog with pets and “it’s ok,” you are telling the dog it is okay to be frightened and you are creating a potential problem.
At about 4 months the baby teeth are shed and gradually replaced by the perm teeth. This may take some 3-4 months. During this time she will need multiple varieties in chew toys since her teeth will require massaging. This is her adolescence.