Great Dane Breed
Height: Males 30 - 34 inches (76 - 86 cm) Females 28 - 32 inches (71 - 81 cm)
Weight: Males 120 - 200 pounds (54 - 90 kg) Females 100 - 130 pounds (45 - 59 kg)
Great Danes are large dogs but at the same time they are kind and patient. These good-natured giants make wonderful family pets. Great Danes are tender of their owners and much attached to them.
Great Danes have big power together with accomplished worth. Truly fond giants, Great Danes are loving, affectionate animals and nice companions who above all things love to pass the time with their family at home. Danes are very sociable - in order that to feel comfortable they should be beside people.
Those who have some experience in managing this dog best do for being owners of the breed as Danes can be stubborn and capricious. Active early socialization matters a lot for upbringing of balanced self-confident Great Dane.
Before having Great Dane you should think twice since these dogs can smudge greatly and drivel.
Young Great Danes happen to be noisy and infamous therefore they should be controlled for 24 hours a day.
These giant dogs need sufficient physical pressure and much room due to their big size. When taking Great Dane for unleash walks you should find large and safe territory where he will be able to run.
Danes get along with kids when growing together with them but their proportions can cause problems if you have a little child. Great Danes develop relations with other pets in different ways sometimes good but it happens that Dane starts dominating over other animals. Early socialization is also important in this case.
Also, Great Danes can treat strangers differently – this mostly depends on each individual dog. Sometimes Danes are too sensitive and have sympathy for unknown people but sometimes they are absolutely indifferent to them.
Great Danes are brave and strong-minded dogs; they make good patrol dogs despite that they do not bark often. However, they are certain to be barking if someone enters their house. Weapon of Great Danes is their size and strength. Even appearance of this giant dog can frighten unasked guests.
Generally, Great Danes are not aggressive and non-dominant, however, it is desirable to take up training of Great Dane in early puppyhood in order that Great Dane should always know who is a leader in the house. After completing this training it is necessary to occasionally remind Great Danes of the rules.
The breed history dates back to high antiquity, so called "world roof" – Tibet. There, several millenniums BC stock-raising tribes domesticated ancestors of Tibetan dogs. Two groups of dog breeds originated from them: group of Asian shepherd dogs and group of Tibetan Danes that are ancestors of present Danes.
From Tibet they moved to India, China, Mesopotamia. The Babylonians esteemed these dogs; V-shaped script has records on the dogs that lived 4.000 years ago BC. Subsequent Assyro-Babilonian culture displays wonderful pictures of these dogs, for example, giant about 80-90 cm high at withers with perfect exterior was portrayed on terra-cotta board of Birs Nimrud.
There were made figures of the dogs pushing down horses and donkeys in the hunting field about 2.5 thousand years ago BC in the palace of Ashurbanipal. But ancient Danes more and more became useful as fighting dogs: their powerful jaws, power and wickedness could perfectly stand up to primitive arms of that time.
Many dogs were in army of Xerxes (V century BC) but soon after his discomfiture in Greek wars some Dane appeared in Greek region Molossia, from where came name Moloss or in name of city Epirus – dog of Epirus. The Romans also employed this dog first at the circuses but then during combat operations.
The Scythians also used Great Danes as fighting dogs: from them these dogs came to the Sarmatians and the Alans, but already therefrom in the time of the great transmission of people they got into present-day Europe.
By the will of history most of these dogs were found in Germany. Still in XX century Old German tribes created "Geoponika" – the corpus of forest hunting rules wherein seven types of Mastiff-like dogs were described including the dogs for wild boar- and bear baiting. These were far descendants of Molosser dogs, in some historians' opinion cross with English hunting dogs. And so, by XXV century direct descends of present Great Danes came into being. Over a period of four centuries these dogs had many different names: Danische Dogge, Old German Mastiff, Bullenbeiser and others.
But anyway the major pedigreed stock for breeding present Danes was just Great Dane (Danische Dogge) – the dog that was well-known and quite common in the territory of modern Denmark and its neighboring German regions. Great Dane had their its characteristics: for instance, in comparison with English Mastiff – this dog had more extended snout without handing lips, long neck; Great Dane was leaner and consequently quicker. Great Dane was an ideal sample of fighting dog.
As a rule he was engaged in wild boar and wild bull baiting as well as protection of dwellings. For historical reasons Great Danes did not almost grow in number in their homeland and by the end of XIX century main population of Great Danes appeared in the territory of future German empire.
Already from the middle of XIX century the German started mating Great Danes with other Mastiff-type hunting dogs from Southern German territories. This branch was initially named "Ulmer Danes" in the name of southern town Ulm situated in the waters of the Danube. Simultaneously in the north it was the breeding of Mastiff-type dogs. In here generally true Great Danes was bred. Two types of Danes were presented on the exhibition held in Hamburg: Ulmer Dane and Great Dane.
When Germany was proclaimed as empire in 1871 the idea of mating of the two congenial lines was brought about in order to produce the breed "Great Dane". The name of this new dog breed became known since 1875, but in 1879 at a meeting of German dog breeders under the chairmanship of doctor Bodinus the decision to recognize Danes as national German dog breed was adopted.
But national Deutsche Dogge Club (DDC) that completely united dog breeders was found only in Jan 12, 1888 in Berlin. It is true that by all appearances a uniform standard was first accepted only in 1890 and was entitled "Breed type description for studbook" (DDZB). It declared: Great Dane is built as beautiful horse; he is well-proportioned and is a perfect whole, his exterior combines big height, great power and elegancy.
This dog is not awkward as Mastiff but he is not the same slender and light as greyhounds. He is a happy medium between these two extremes." The citadel of the breeding was a Kennel "Plavia» owned by Mark Hartenstein who distinguished himself by Blue Danes that were entered in a studbook and Messer's Kennel in Stuttgart.
A famous chancellor of united Germany Otto von Bismarck greatly cared for Danes. In the beginning of XX century a final touch in the breed's improvement was made; this action had an unusual impact on future pedigrees of Danes. Beyond comparison these dogs had beauty, mental ballast and health. Without having one of these components Great Dane would never have got the title "Apollo among canine individuals".
By historical reasons the major breeding centers of best Great Danes are still distributed in Germany to the present time. Being producers of the breed, German dog breeders certainly lead the pack and determine the directions of further improvement of Great Danes, make evaluative criterions. This is achieved by a great number of excellent breeders, well-thought politics in pedigreed business and special scientific developments. Online shopping for Great Dane - Dog Harnesses, Muzzles, Collars, Leashes and more
