Royal Botanical Gardens, Melbourne walk, 10am. The Botanical Gardens are very scenic and there is a nice little café at the half way point with plenty of shade.

There may be new puppies attending, so lots of puppy cuddles. However, puppies shouldn’t do the whole walk and a suggested shorter walk has been mapped (see below).

The club organises group walk days once a month, which are a great way to catch up with other dogs and owners and see some new walk locations. Since most of our members are spread throughout the greater Melbourne area we try to choose a different side of Melbourne each month.
The December walk is a ‘Central’ location, and will be held at Royal Botanical Gardens.
DATE: Sunday 17th February between 10am and 12pm
WHERE: There is street metered parking, always check the street signs. Meet on the open grassed area to the right of Gate Lodge ENTRANCE F (circled in red on the map). Adult Dogs to follow Route marked in Blue and Puppies/Elderly marked in Yellow (see map below)
TIME: Walk starts at 10am get there a bit before. We ask if new members and guests can be there by 10am to meet their walk buddies for the day.
WALK LEADERS: wearing an Orange/Yellow vest: Tony, Michele
VISITORS & GUESTS: We have ‘guests’ at almost every Walk. These are people who may be considering joining the club & want to see how their dog would go or they may be people considering becoming a Great Dane owner and wanting to learn more. When we have a lot of guests, the Walk Leaders may ask members to help out by buddying up with a guest at times to help make the walk a good experience for them.
SPACE DOGS: The club has some yellow bandanas that some dogs will wear to show they need a bit of space from other dogs. Please cast an eye for any of our Space Dogs and help them and their owners enjoy their day out too. If anyone needs one, please see one of the Walk Leaders at the walk.
DETAILS:
Our usual conditions below apply:
1. All dogs MUST remain on a lead throughout the walk.
2. Bring Water!! Some of the walk locations do not have water available for your Danes. In high summer it is important to ensure your Dane gets plenty of water.
3. Bring Bags! It’s important we set a good example and clean up after our dogs, so bring poo bags!
4. Adult Handlers Only. As the club is responsible for the behaviour of ourselves and our dogs, we cannot allow children under 13 years to be the handler of a dog on a walk. If the dog lunged or got away and there was any issue at all, the owners could be held responsible and the risk is too great.
5. Bandana Wearing Dogs. There may be some dogs wearing a yellow cloth bandana. These are used to signify that this dog ‘needs some space’ from other dogs. It could be for health reasons, they could be shy or they could be reactive. Every attendee is asked to ensure they respect these dog’s needs and do not allow your dog to approach, leap at or crowd them. Just give them the little bit of space they need please.
6. Approach with caution! Once we get all our Danes together, a bit of rivalry may develop, especially amongst the boys, which is only natural. Before allowing your dog or your children to approach a dog, just enquire of the handler if they are OK with other dogs or children. It is really important that we attend walks being super vigilant with our dogs. They are excited and can be stressed on these walks where they are meeting lots of new, big dogs. Some dogs are more reactive than others and whilst you might know your dog’s reaction, you almost surely will not know another dog’s so ask first and then have controlled & careful dog meets.
7. Do not allow dogs to ‘lunge’ at each other: We all need to remember that leaping and lunging is a dangerous behaviour and can be very intimidating. Puppies can be hurt and dog fights or growly episodes start that way so you do need to make sure your dog is polite in greeting please.
8. Doggy Manners. The monthly walks are a great socialisation opportunity but as the numbers increase, everyone needs to be aware of a few things to keep it all happy & safe. If a dog is laying down, do not let your dog approach or stand over it – it’s a dominant behaviour and the dog laying down could be at risk. If your dog and another are having a bouncy ‘love-in’ play, just keep them a little apart from other dogs so they can have fun and no-one else gets concerned or wants to join in. Lead length ‘plus some’ is a good distance for safety.
9. Watch for the smaller Human kids too. We have quite a lot of children coming on the walks now and we all need to watch the dogs with kids. Parents – do not let your children rush up to or approach dogs without asking. Some of our Danes don’t recognise the kids loving as friendly or non-threatening.
10. Bring puppies! Best not to take them on the full walk. A smaller suggested mapped out area in Yellow (see map) has been mapped. When the adult dog walk is over is a great time for puppies to be meeting the ‘grown up dogs’, but always ask the handler first. Puppies just want to be happy and their bouncy ways might not suit an older or senior dog.