The Great Dane is a German breed of large mastiff-sighthound, which descends from hunting dogs of the Middle Ages used to hunt bears, wild boar, and deer. They were also used as guardian dogs of German nobility. It is one of the two largest dog breeds in the world, along with the Irish Wolfhound.

History

In the sixteenth century the nobility in many countries of Europe imported strong, long-legged dogs of different sizes and phenotypes, some of mastiff or greyhound type, from England and Ireland. These dogs were called Englische Docke or Englische Tocke (later written and spelled Dogge) or Englischer Hund in Germany. The name simply meant "English dog". Since then, the English word "dog" has come to be associated with a molossoid dog in Germany and France. These dogs were bred in the courts of German nobility, independent of the English methods, since the start of the 17th century.

The dogs were used for hunting bear, boar, and deer at princely courts, with the favorites staying in the bedchambers of their lords at night. These Kammerhunde (chamber dogs) were outfitted with ornate collars, and helped to protect the sleeping princes from assassins.

In the hunting of boar or bears, the Englische Dogge was a catch dog used after the other hunting dogs to seize the bear or boar and hold it in place until the huntsman was able to kill it. When the hunting customs changed, particularly because of the use of firearms, many of the involved dog types disappeared. The Englische Dogge became rare, and was kept only as a dog of hobby or luxury.

Name change

In 1878, a committee was formed in Berlin which changed the name of the "Englische Dogge" (English mastiff derivatives) to "Deutsche Dogge" (German mastiff), this being the Great Dane. This laid the foundations from which the breed was developed. During the 19th century, the dog was known as a "German boarhound" in English-speaking countries. Some German breeders tried to introduce the names "German Dogge" and "German Mastiff" on the English market, because they believed the breed should be marketed as a dog of luxury and not as a working dog. even though the breed has no known connection to Denmark. In Germany, it remains known as "Deutsche Dogge." In the Scandinavian languages, the French name and pronunciation are used.

In the late nineteenth century the dogs were sometimes known as Reichshund ("Empire dog") because of their association with the Reichskanzler, Otto von Bismarck.

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File:Johann Christof Merck - Ulmer Dogge - WGA15061.jpg|A "chamber dog" with a gilded collar, Brandenburg (Germany), 1705

File:1879 GreatDane Nero.jpg|Great Dane from 1879

File:Hannibal and Princess, Doggen Hessen-Kassel, Boar Hounds, 1807 Chalons.xcf|"Boar hounds" imported into Great Britain from the German Electorate of Hesse, 1807

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Description

thumb|Brindle Great Dane (male)

The Great Dane is an extremely large domestic dog of mastiff-sighthound type known for its size. It is often dubbed the "Apollo of dogs".

As described by the American Kennel Club:

<blockquote>The Great Dane combines, in its regal appearance, strength, and elegance with great size and a powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body. It is one of the giant working breeds, but is unique in that its general conformation must be so well balanced that it never appears clumsy, and shall move with a long reach and powerful drive.</blockquote> In the ratio between length and height, the Great Dane should be square. The male dog should not be less than at the shoulders, a female . Danes under minimum height are disqualified. He was also the tallest dog on record (according to Guinness World Records),

The UK and New Zealand Kennel Clubs specify the minimum weight for a Great Dane over 18 months of age, as for males, for females, but the American Kennel Club no longer specifies any in its standard. The male should appear more massive throughout than the female, with a larger frame and heavier bone. Today, the practice is still common in the United States, but much less common in Europe. In some European countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, and Germany, and parts of Australia and New Zealand, the practice is banned or controlled to only be performed by veterinary surgeons.

The dogs are generally not unduly aggressive towards people and other animals.

Coat

thumb|Blue Great Danethumb|Black Great Dane puppy with cropped ears

thumbnail|Harlequin Great Dane with cropped earsthumb|Grey merle Great Dane

According to the breed standard, Great Danes have six to seven (depending on the standard) show-acceptable coat colours:

  • Fawn and brindle
  • Fawn: The colour is yellow-gold with a black mask. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows and may appear on the ears.
  • Brindle: The colour is fawn and black in a chevron striped pattern. Often, they are also referred to as having a striped pattern.
  • Black, harlequin, grey merle and mantle
  • Black: The colour is a glossy black. White markings on the chest and toes are not desirable and considered faults.
  • Harlequin: The base colour is pure white with torn black patches irregularly distributed over the entire body; a pure white neck is preferred. The black patches should never be large enough to give the appearance of a blanket, nor so small as to give a stippled or dappled effect. Eligible, but less desirable, are a few small patches of grey that is consistent with a merle marking, or a white base with single black hairs showing through, which tend to give a salt and pepper or dirty effect. Merlequin, a white coat with grey patches instead of black, is a disqualification.
  • Grey merle (Grautiger) Great Danes are acceptable in conformation shows under the FCI. This colour was previously a disqualifying fault, but the fault was deleted in a new breed standard in 2012 to provide a wider gene pool and because the grey merle gene can produce a correct harlequin coat. Their status is that they are "neither desirable nor to be disqualified". Consequently, this colour must never obtain the highest grading at dog shows.
  • Blue brindle: This is a brindle coat with a blue-gray background and darker brindle striping.

Health

Great Danes, like most giant dogs, have a fast metabolism. This results in more energy and food consumption per pound of dog than in small breeds. They have some health problems that are common to large breeds, including bloat (gastric dilatation volvulus).

Nutrition plays a role in this breed's health. Bloat, or gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), is the greatest killer of Great Danes.

A 2024 UK study found the average life expectancy of the breed to be 10.6 years, compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds. A 2005 Swedish study of insurance records found 83% of Great Danes died by the age of 10, higher than the overall rate of 35% of dogs dying by the age of 10.

Dilated cardiomyopathy and many congenital heart diseases are also commonly found in the Great Dane, giving it a relatively short lifespan and leading to its nickname of the heartbreak breed. Great Danes also may carry the merle gene, which is part of the genetic makeup that creates the harlequin colouring. The merle gene is an incomplete dominant, meaning only one copy of the gene is needed to show the merle colouring; two merle genes produce excessive white markings and many health issues such as deafness, blindness, or other debilitating ocular issues. Another relevant gene for the breed is the harlequin gene. For the dog to have the harlequin colour, both a copy of the merle gene and one of the harlequin gene are needed. Homozygosity at the affected locus for the harlequin gene is lethal for dogs already at the embryonic stage.

Great Danes can also develop wobbler disease, a condition affecting the vertebral column. Since these dogs grow at a rapid rate, the bones in their vertebrae can push up against the spinal cord and cause weakness in the legs. This can be treated with surgery or may heal itself over time.

Like many larger breeds, Great Danes are at particular risk for hip dysplasia.

Cultural significance

Animation

  • The animation designer Iwao Takamoto based the character Scooby-Doo on a Great Dane. He derived his design from sketches given to him by a Hanna-Barbera employee who bred Danes, and then endeavoured to make Scooby the opposite of a perfect pedigree, with a longer tail, bowed legs, small chin and swayback.

Crime

  • On 24 October 1975, Rinka, a Great Dane belonging to Norman Scott, was shot in a bungled attempt to murder Scott, in what became known as the Thorpe affair. In 1996, Scott Freeman and Barrie Penrose published Rinkagate: Rise and Fall of Jeremy Thorpe.

Mascots

  • The Great Dane was named the state dog of Pennsylvania in 1965
  • The University of Iowa had Great Danes, Rex I and Rex II, as mascots before the Hawkeye was chosen.
  • "Great Danes" is the nickname of the University at Albany. Their mascot is the Great Dane.

Military

  • Just Nuisance was the only dog to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy, his enlistment being mainly a morale booster for World War II enlisted troops. Nuisance proved to be a lasting legacy of the small Cape Town suburb of Simon's Town.

Philosophy

  • An unnamed Great Dane knocks Jean-Jacques Rousseau to the ground in Reveries of a Solitary Walker; he describes the singular feeling of peace and suspended identity that the shock of the collision brings about in him.

References

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