Have you ever wondered if Great Danes have webbed feet? Over the past few months, I’ve received numerous text messages and calls asking about this. As a result, I decided to conduct some research.
Do Great Danes have webbed feet? Yes, Great Danes have medium-sized webbed feet compared to water breeds. The webbed feet assist them in everyday activities like walking on challenging surfaces, swimming, maintaining stability, digging, and during the winter.
Since Great Danes benefit significantly from webbed feet, it’s worth being aware of. If you adore this enormous canine, keep reading!
Great Danes’ webbed feet are Extremely beneficial for walking.
When we explore this giant dog breed’s origins, they were originally used to protect the country states and hunt wild boars.
So ultimately we can say the Great Dane is a good hunter and protector. Many people love this breed and many keep it as a domestic dog.
The webbed feet are a significant feature of every hunting dog. I have visited 13 great Dane owners before writing this article to gather data on this matter. (And to gather some other cool data which will be essential for future articles.)
So if you have a great Dane, see inside their paw by spreading the toes apart. You will see a webbing that connects the toes.
When walking above different kinds of surfaces
In general, great Danes have to go over different types of surfaces while doing their job, especially over the muddy and slippery surfaces. Those surfaces are common in the woods.
Since great Danes have medium-sized webbed feet, it’s straightforward to go over those surfaces without sinking or falling.
It’s hard to imagine how much trouble they’ll have unless they have webbed paws. Because they have such a massive body with long legs.
But don’t be mistaken, this ability is somewhat worse than water breeds with fully grown webbed paws.
So when we think what’s going on here, the webbed feet getting wider when they walk above those surfaces. Then it works as a grip, which helps them to maintain stability.
So they can easily navigate over those surfaces without falling or sinking.
Great Danes’ webbed feet are much helpful during the winter.
Let me ask you something! Can you navigate through snow without using snow boots? I’m not talking about the coldness.
Your feet are more likely to be sink deeply unless you have snow boots.
So the same theory can be applied for great Danes as well. We know that they have long legs, which are more likely to be sink.
Since the great Danes have webbed paws, they can navigate through snow without sinking.
Their paw pads getting more extensive, and they give more surface area. So their feet are exactly like our snow boots.
Important
Imagine that you go out with your Great Dane during the winter. Once you return home, don’t forget to clear inside their paws.
Because there might be stuck snow inside their paws. Separate the toes apart and clean the webbing.
Why? Because it is so painful them, and most dog owners don’t know that.
How to avoid that? I suggest you buy dog snow boots, and it will be so comfortable for them.
Great Danes’ webbed feet much helpful for swimming
It should be appreciated that these dogs can swim well with a massive body. And also, their body shape is somewhat helpful for swimming.
I mean, they have large and long legs, a massive upper body, and long snouts. So, great Danes can use their webbed feet to paddling through the water.
Actually, they don’t like swimming. They prefer most dry landing activities such as hunting, burrowing, etc.
As my experiences, many great Danes cannot swim well as they don’t love water. (I know their body shape is somewhat helpful for swimming.
But swimming can be a slightly strange activity for those who never swim before.)
So giving swimming lessons at an early age is a crucial thing. As my knowledge, you can start to provide swimming training sessions once they turned about at least 12 weeks.
But is you have a mature one who doesn’t know how to swim, don’t worry. You can train them as well.
But it can take a slightly longer time than a puppy. But it is a completely doable thing.
In fact, many great Danes have a fear of water. So that’s the main obstacle for them. They can overcome that problem with the help of small activity.
Here is how they can overcome the fear of water!
Go for a long walk or hike once or twice per week. So when you go their find a shallow water body that is not depth more than one-third of your Great Dane.
Then you have to cross the shallow water body without giving a hand to your dog. Don’t think that as a heartless thing. (Because he fears the water.) Obviously, he will find a suitable way to reach you.
So do this couple of times. Then he will able to successfully overcome the fear of water.
But how to train great Danes to swim?
Now your great Dane is not afraid of water. The first thing I would say don’t think your Great Dane as a looser.
Because all dogs are natural swimmers, and they have some potential to become talented swimmers.
Don’t think your Great Dane as a looser. because all dogs are natural swimmers
Dog Breeds Experts
But in order to become a good swimmer, your great Dane requires several things.
So if you want to make them excellent swimmers, positive reinforcement, consistent, perseverance are a must.
Positive reinforcement, consistent, perseverance are the main requirements to become a talented swimmer.
Dog Breeds Experts.
Take your great Dane too whenever you are going to swim. It’s not a problem with the place you swim in.
But remember, don’t put your dog in the water suddenly. Take him/ her into the water gently and give a small weight upwards through their belly. It will make great confidence with them.
At this point, normally great Danes start to paddle using their webbed feet. At the same time, you will feel that they start to swim. So help them to keep their head above the water level.
Pro tip: I suggest you buy a Dog swimming pool. Because they can play with water whenever they want throughout the day.
This gives them some closeness with the water. But if you have a swimming pool, it will be so helpful!
Here you will understand just how valuable webbed feet are for the Great Danes.
Great Danes’ webbed feet much helpful for digging.
Honestly, this is not a massive advantage for them. But dogs do love digging. Mostly the great Danes tend to dig holes in the backyard during the summer.
Mostly they love to sit on it. They tend to dig the cool places on the ground. So great Danes use their webbed feet for this kind of activity.
What if your great Danes don’t have webbed feet?
Don’t worry If your great Danes don’t have webbed feet. Because they have lived so far, and I’m pretty sure they have to get used to it. But in some cases, you have to worry about it.
If you keep great Danes as hunting dogs, they really need webbed feet. You know what the reasons are.
So, if you wanna adopt a Great Dane for hunting, check and understand if they have webbed feet.
But if you keep them just as house pets, you no need to worry about their feet. Because you need a little bit of security and other things from them.
Sometimes it can be a little bit difficult for them in the winter season. But overall, you no need to worry if your great Danes don’t have webbed feet.
But if you’re still worried about your great Danes webbed feet, go and see if everything’s alright with from a veterinarian.
Furthermore, in some cases, people tend to breed dogs as their own.
So the breed can be mutations with the time. Therefore it’s necessary to check whether they are purebred before buying them.
How to identify purebred Great Danes?
If you wanna buy a new great Dane, it’s necessary to find a purebred one. Furthermore, there are a lot of things we need to consider before buying a new dog. But for now, let’s understand how great Dones can identify.
| Male weight | 120-200 lbs |
| Female weight | 99-130 lbs |
| Male height | 30-34 inches |
| Female height | 28-32 inches |
| Coat colors | Black, Brindle, Fawn, Mantle, Blue, Harlequin |
| Coat length | short |
First, we need to identify their size and weight. You can see it from the above table. Usually, these dogs are growing very fast when their childhood.
They become mature when they about 2 years old. Therefore, it is not sufficient to examine the webbed feet of the Great Danes.
The next thing we should consider their head. Great Danes have massive heads. The heads are rectangular and long.
Next, consider their coat color. You can check it from the above table. Most time great Danes coat consists of black or white bobbles. Sometimes, they have a black mask across the face.
After that, switch your eyes to their legs and paws. The Great Danes have large paws with webbed feet. Their feet are often the size of an average human’s hand, and they have straight and long front legs.
Their hind legs are muscular and broad. Those are the basic characteristics great Danes have.
A word about the great danes
The Great Dane’s name refers to Denmark. The breed actually originates in Germany from German dog lineages. The oldest identified ancestor of this breed is the Bullenbeisser, and non-extinct German breed and dogs used to hunt wild boars.
Crosses between these dogs have given rise to different types of bulldogs from which the Great Dane was created in 1878.
The Great Dane is a vast, powerful, elegant, and aristocratic dog. Despite its large and imposing figure, they are well proportioned. So as you understood, this dog has originally bred for hunt wild boars. Which means purpose was hunting.
Webbed feet are a significant factor for hunting dogs. Because when they go hunting with their owners, they have to go above some difficult surfaces.
Since the great Danes have webbed feet, it make their lives easier during day to day life.
CONCLUSION
Great Danes are one of the popular breeds of the world. So, most time, Great Danes lovers love to find information about them. Therefore “Do great Danes have webbed feet?” a common question. Well, I have discussed a lot of things through this article. You can see a quick overview of it below.
- Introduction
- Great Danes’ webbed toes are Extremely beneficial for walking.
- Their webbed feet much helpful for swimming
- Great Danes’ webbed paws are much helpful for digging.
- What if your dog doesn’t have webbed feet?
- How to identify purebred Great Danes?
- A word about the great Danes
