Great Dane

As its name suggests, the Great Dane is massive in stature and is currently thought to be the world’s tallest dog. Despite it’s incredible size, the breed is very gentle and this has seen some refer to it as the “gentle giant”. The second part of its name would seemingly suggest that it originated from Denmark, although this completely isn’t the case. The fact is that nobody quite knows where the breed first came from, with Germany and Ancient Egypt thought to be possible locations. It’s thought that big, powerful mastiff-like dogs were crossed with Irish Greyhounds to create the Greyhound, which is why it’s so tall and strong.

The Great Dane usually stands between twenty eight and thirty four inches, depending on the sex. Most of the time the breed weighs in somewhere around one hundred and one hundred and twenty pounds. The entire body of the Great Dane is muscular, with the neck being extremely long and strong. Most in the breed have very short and thick hair, with the most common colours being fawn, blue, black and mantle. If the Dane has a blue coat, then they are likely to have light eyes, while other coat colours result in darker eyes. In the US, it’s common practice for the ears to be docked, which is supposedly an advantage for the breed when it appears at show events.

The size of this breed would suggest that it would be aggressive and loud, but in fact it’s the complete opposite. The Great Dane is extremely gentle and is usually recommended as a family pet. If any owner is contemplating acquiring this dog for their family, it’s worth mentioning that they must be watched with children due to their tendency to lean against people. As well as this, it’s size and bravery means that it can be used as a good watchdog. The main problem with Great Dane’s is their temperament around other pets, which they can sometimes be fairly aggressive towards. However, if they are brought up with them from a young age, there shouldn’t be many problems. Also, the breed is known as quite hard to train, which causes some problems for owners in the dog’s later years, when it is fully grown and hard to handle.

Bloating is one of the main health problems that Great Danes go through as well as hip dyslexia. Due to it’s physique, many vets don’t recommend attempting to run with this breed until it reaches one year old. Unfortunately, the life expectancy of this breed is thought to be low, with many not living above ten years.