Create Your Great Dane's Shop
Great Dane Breed Summary
Gentle, Friendly, Affectionate and Protective
Great Danes, although originally bred to hunt, are actually just gentle and peaceful souls. They love to be around children and particularly enjoy playing games with them. They are really social dogs and love to please their 'hoomans'. Although very large in size, they are prone to thinking of themselves as lap dogs!
They are athletic in shape and have huge heads! Additionally, they have a very long and elegant neck. Size can present some problems to this breed and their humans, particularly in terms of knocking things over. For this reason, they need lots of training in canine and human etiquette.
You may also be surprised to know that they don't eat half as much food as you would think and don't need huge amounts of exercise, so long as they receive daily walks. Unfortunately, their size means that they have a relatively short life span averaging around 8 years *whine...*.
Fun Fact: The dog in the cartoon series Scooby-Doo is also a Great Dane!
Kennel Club Group | Working |
Lifespan | 8 - 10 Years |
Height (at the withers) | Males 76cm - 81cm, Females 71cm - 76cm |
Weight | Males 54kg - 62kg, Females 46kg - 54kg |
Coat | Short, Thick Coat, Sleek to The Touch |
Colour | Black, Blue, Brindle, Fawn, Harlequin, Mantle (Black Body with White on Muzzle, Collar and Chest) |
Eye colour | Dark |
Common health issues | Dilated cardiomyopathy (DM), Bloat/gastric torsion, Hip dysplasia, Wobblers syndrome, Sensitivity to specific anaesthetics, Addison's Disease, Glaucoma, Osteosarcoma, Flea Allergic Dermatitis, Splenic Torsion/Twisted Spleen |
Other Names | Deutsche Dogge, German Mastiff |
Affectionately referred to as 'gentle giants', this breed is exceptionally good around children. They are incredibly sweet and friendly in nature. Though they were bred to hunt, nowadays, this is not their strength and they prefer to spend time with their 'hoomans' and other dogs. Fortunately, their size alongside a powerful bark does mean they make excellent guard dogs – enough to scare anyone! They are highly eager to please and demand lots of attention from their families, so it's vital you have enough time (and space!) for these lovely dogs. Great Danes also tend not to need lots and lots of exercise and prefer a couple of daily walks to keep them fit and active. Unfortunately, their size does mean that they only live for around eight years, but honestly, who could resist making a Great Danes life fantastic.
Great Danes are thought to have been around for some time! Similar looking dogs can be seen on Ancient Egyptian Artefacts and also in a Babylonian Temple that was built in 2000 B.C. There is also evidence suggesting that these dogs may have been in Tibet with writing on a similar type of dog dating back to 1121 B.C. It's then thought that this breed was traded by the Assyrians to the Greeks and Romans, who then went on to breed these dogs with other breeds, such as Mastiffs and Hounds, to create the dog we know today. Throughout history, they've been known as the Boar Hound, English Dogges, Chamber Dogs and eventually, in the 1700s, as 'Grand Danois' meaning Great Danish Dog. From then on, the name has stuck – even though the Danish part had nothing to do with their development!