Great Dane Puppies: Adopt or Buy in Australia?

Should you adopt or buy a Great Dane?

It depends on whether it has to be a puppy, and on how much certainty you want about the adult dog. With a giant breed, the adult is what you live with for most of a short life, so seeing that adult first is worth a lot.

• Adopt an adult and you can see the full-grown size, the lead manners and how the dog behaves with children, other dogs and visitors, as a shelter or foster carer has observed it. You also skip the puppy months, when a growing Dane needs careful, limited exercise.
• Buy a puppy from a registered breeder and you get known parents and health results, and you raise the dog from eight weeks. You also take on a fast-growing puppy that will outweigh many adults within its first year.
• Walk away from any seller who will not show you the mother, the parents' health certificates and your state's breeder number.

The RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase suggests the RSPCA or a reputable rescue first, and if you go to a breeder, making sure they are registered, visiting where the puppies were born and meeting the parents.

Reference figures read on 10 November 2026, not quotes. Breeders and rescues set their own prices and change them.

How much is a Great Dane puppy from a registered breeder?

The Great Dane Club of Victoria's FAQ answers it directly: “Purchase price is generally between $2500 - $3000.” That is the club's guide (undated, read 10 November 2026). A breed club figure is the best published guide there is, but the page carries no date, so treat it as a starting point and ask each breeder for a current price and what it includes.

We also looked for the price Great Dane breeders publish themselves. In November 2026 we read the websites of about twenty Australian Great Dane breeders, and none that shows membership of Dogs Australia through its state body published a puppy price on its own site. Most say to get in touch, or that no litter is planned. We do not quote prices from listing sites, because the seller's membership and the ad's date cannot be checked there.

Reference figures only, not quotes. Rescue fees usually include desexing, microchipping, vaccinations and a vet check, which cost more on a giant dog.

What a good breeder's price should buy, going by the Great Dane Club of Victoria's code of ethics:

• Health certificates before you pay. The code asks breeders to supply a copy of all health certificates for the parents to buyers before sale.
• A puppy at eight weeks or older, and at least seven days after its first vaccination.
• No middlemen. The code asks breeders not to sell to brokers or pet shops.
• A breeder who will take the dog back, or help rehome it, at any age.

What does a giant breed cost after you bring it home?

More than the price tag suggests, and for the whole of its life. The Great Dane Club of Victoria says Danes need more food than a Labrador-sized dog, and that vet bills and medications cost more because this is a giant breed. Bedding, crates, boarding and the car all have to fit a dog the breed standard puts at 54 kg or more for an adult male.

• Food: more than a Labrador-sized dog, for life. The same FAQ says many breeders suggest a well-balanced diet lower in protein; ask your vet and your breeder what to feed a growing giant puppy.
• Vet and insurance: bloat surgery and heart disease are both possible in this breed, so if you want insurance, price it before any condition is found and read how each policy treats pre-existing conditions.
• Space and gear: a big, supportive bed to protect the joints, a large car and a home with room for a dog to stretch out. The Great Dane Club of NSW says they can live indoors if exercised daily and would not thrive as a backyard dog.
• A shorter life: Dogs Victoria and the Great Dane Club of Victoria both put the average lifespan at about 7 to 10 years, so senior-dog costs arrive early.

The dog cost calculator estimates the first year for a giant dog. Our giant-breed ownership guide goes through the day-to-day reality.

Which health tests should a Great Dane breeder show you?

Hips and elbows, the heart, eyes and thyroid, plus a neck x-ray if the breeder does one. Dogs Victoria's Great Dane page tells buyers to ask what health testing the breeder does and lists the tests below. The Great Dane Club of America recommends hips, a cardiac check, thyroid and an eye clearance for every Dane used for breeding.

Sources: Dogs Victoria, Great Dane Society of Queensland and Great Dane Club of America, read 10 November 2026. A buying checklist, not veterinary advice.

Two honest limits sit alongside that list. The Great Dane Society of Queensland says heart testing only clears a dog for the time being, because a Dane can test clear and develop heart disease later, and it recommends a heart check at least once a year. It also says there is no screening test for wobbler syndrome or for bloat. So good results lower the odds; they are not a guarantee. The Great Dane Club of Victoria adds von Willebrand's disease, eye and hearing problems (especially in mostly white dogs), ligament tears and bone cancer to the conditions Danes may be prone to.

For what these conditions mean once you own a Dane, read our Great Dane health guide.

What is bloat, and what should every Dane owner know?

Bloat, properly called gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV), is when the stomach fills with gas and twists. The Royal Kennel Club calls it a life-threatening disorder that mainly occurs in deep-chested breeds, lists the signs above, and says time is crucial. The Great Dane Society of Queensland calls GDV the number one killer of Danes, says immediate surgery is the only thing that can save a dog with a twisted stomach, and notes that nearly all dogs that bloat once will do so again. Dogs Victoria also lists bloat among the breed's conditions.

There is no test a breeder can do to rule bloat out, which is why it belongs in a buying decision, not just a health guide. Before you bring a Dane home, find your nearest 24-hour emergency vet, and ask your own vet about bloat risk, feeding and whether a preventive procedure called a gastropexy, which fixes the stomach to the body wall, makes sense for your dog.

What do Great Danes in rescue look like?

Mostly young adults and crosses. Across the rescues, shelters and council pounds we aggregate, purebred Great Danes are uncommon and Dane crosses turn up more often; a purebred Dane puppy in rescue is rare. They tend to be adopted quickly, so an alert on the Great Dane breed page matters more than checking once.

The usual reason they are there is size meeting circumstance: a puppy that grew faster and bigger than the household expected, food and vet bills that rose with it, or a move to a rental or strata that would not take a giant dog. That says nothing bad about the dog. A rescue Dane in foster care comes with notes on how it handles children, other dogs, time alone and the lead, which is exactly what a puppy cannot tell you.

Ask the rescue three things before you apply: whether the dog has had a heart check, what it weighs now, and how it travels in a car. Read the rescue's notes on children closely too. Dogs Victoria's children and dogs fact sheet says any dog can bite and children under five are most at risk, and Dogs Victoria's Great Dane page warns that a Dane can easily knock over children and older people.

How do Great Dane puppy scams work?

Scamwatch says scammers set up fake websites, social media profiles and marketplace listings offering popular breeds or pets that do not exist. Its advice: view the puppy in person, ask for a video call if you cannot visit, check the breeder is legitimate, and compare prices, because a very cheap pet is likely a scam.

Great Dane versions of the pattern:

• “Rare” colours at a premium. The Great Dane Club of Victoria warns buyers to be cautious of anyone selling rare colours. Its colours page says only six recognised colours can be bred from and shown on the Main register, and all other colours go on the Limited register. The Dogs Australia standard lists brindle, fawn, blue, black, mantle and harlequin.
• No health certificates. A breeder who will not show you the parents' hip, heart and eye results before you pay is not following the club's code, whether or not the ad is a scam.
• A giant puppy, shipped sight unseen. A seller who wants to send a puppy interstate before you have met it, or a breeder you cannot visit, is a warning sign.
• No breeder number. NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT each require an identifying number in puppy ads. Look it up on the official register yourself, not through a link the seller sends.

Our guide to puppies for sale in Australia has the full state-by-state table of breeder numbers and what to do if you have already paid.

When is a registered breeder the better choice?

Rescue is not right for everyone. A registered breeder makes sense if you want a puppy with known parents and health results, if you plan to show, or if you have owned Danes before and want the same lines. It also makes sense if you have waited months and no rescue Dane has come up near you.

If you go that way, check the breeder properly:

1. Registration. Check the membership number with Dogs Australia or your state body. Dogs Australia says it makes no representation about any breeder's reputation or the soundness of any puppy, so registration is a starting point, not a guarantee.
2. Hip, elbow, heart, eye and thyroid results for both parents, with names that match the litter, and when the heart was last checked.
3. The mother, in person, and where the puppies are raised, before any deposit.
4. A written contract covering register type, desexing, health problems and whether the breeder will take the dog back.
5. Honest talk about bloat and lifespan. A good Dane breeder raises both without being asked.

Is a Great Dane the right dog for you?

The Dogs Australia breed standard describes the temperament as “kindly without nervousness, friendly and outgoing,” and information from the Great Dane Club of NSW on the Dogs Australia breed page calls them calm family dogs with moderate exercise needs, for whom obedience training is very important. Be honest about these first:

Summer matters too. A Dane is a big body to cool. The RSPCA Knowledgebase on heatstroke says to exercise dogs at the coolest times of day, give constant shade, ventilation and water, avoid hot surfaces and never leave a dog in a car, and that heatstroke is an emergency needing a vet immediately.

Not sure a giant breed fits your life? The what dog breed am I quiz and the adoption readiness check each take a few minutes. Our best family dogs guide compares other options, and if you rent, read renting with pets in Australia before you apply for a giant dog. Weighing up other big breeds? See the Saint Bernard and Bernese Mountain Dog guides.

Find a Great Dane near you

Great Danes and Dane crosses listed by rescues, by city:

• Great Danes for adoption in Sydney
• Great Danes for adoption in Melbourne
• Great Danes for adoption in Brisbane
• Great Danes for adoption in Perth
• Great Danes for adoption in Adelaide

Local guides to adopting a Great Dane, with the rescues that serve each city: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast.

Open to another big, gentle dog? Browse the large dogs listed in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.