Danes on the Shoulders

[Newf Lover]

I noticed something from all the pictures you Dane owners put up.  Do Danes like to jump up on you, or is it a Dane owner thing to pose with your dogs front paws up on your shoulders.  Almost everyone of you have taken a picture in that pose, I just wondered about that.  Drake isn't quite big enough to do that, but he likes to jump on us when were on the floor.  Somebody fill me in on this Dane phenomenon, or am I just trippin'?

[Anky]

Danes are very "In your face" dogs.  Almost everyone I know has a Dane that does this on their own, or they were trained not to do it or to do it on command only (Like I did with Sanity)  Alot of people like it because it showcases how tall they are, but honestly, as far as I know, the dogs like it.

[Blair]

I trained Grey to jump on me. Ild rather have him give me hugs when I allow him other then him jumping up trying to hug me and knock me on my butt lol All I do is bend down and tape my shoulder and if he wants to he will jump up and hug me if not he just stares at me like I am crazy  lol

[nohesnotahorse]

I trained Feste to do the same.  After the first time he did it on his own when I wasn't expecting it, I decided that it needed to be an invitation only event.  I am still working on this with Chance, though both are trained not to jump on anyone but me, with or without a command.  Feste, like Grey, will do it only if he's in the mood - otherwise I get this 'would you grow up' stare over his shoulder as he steams on toward the bed... lol

[cricket36580]

Mine do it to "dance with mama".  They had better not do it to anyone else!  I could just see my 70 something mother getting plowed under by that kind of a hug!!    Bella also "sits pretty"...like a dachsund sitting for treats.  You know, butt on the floor kind of sit.  I don't encourage her to do it but sometimes she'd rather do that than "dance".

[Perdi's Mom]

Our Perdi does not jump up on us.  She is a more timid dog so doesn't get real exhuberant.  She only jumps around when I toss a ball to her-she just learned that balls were fun!

[greek4]

Rocco, my newf/rott mix jumps up and puts his paws on my shoulders on command.  Making it a command has really curbed his jumping on me.  He will still get the occassional unsusupecting visitor, especially if it is a hyper person visiting.

[Moni]

I taught Tenchi to do this as well.  The reason being that when we're out, people always say, "OMG WHAT A HUUUUUUGE DOG!!!!  How tall is he when he stands up?!?!?"  Since I'm kind of shy, it was easier to teach Tenchi to do it to show them, then having to answer the question.   

Besides, there is just something awesome about looking eye to eye with your dog.. when you're standing up.  lol

[Nicole]

HOW FUNNY RYAN! I noticed the same thing. I was thinking about it a few days ago, like, "Huh. I guess that must be to show off how tall they are..."

Thanks for asking. Now we know.

[GR8DAME]

Both my danes would do it to anyone, and I went ahead and trained them to do it on command only in self defense. You may notice that Raven is absent from my avatar. That is because for some reason my (4)dobies NEVER let their front feet touch someone. They would stand on their back legs and smile in your face, but never make contact. It was a bit disconcerting to strangers. They had great balance...Unfo rtunetly Raven is too old and fat to do it anymore, so no pictures.
Stella