Other names/Nicknames:
- Deutsche Dogge
- Ulm Dog
- Boarhound
Country/Date of origin:
- Germany
- 2000 BC
Height:
- Females: 30 inches or more
- Males: 32 inches or more
Weight:
- 100 to 120 pounds
Personality:
- Gentle and loving.
- An alert guard but not overly aggressive.
- Moderately intelligent but highly stubborn.
- Not easily trained.
History:
This breed, classified as a working dog by the American Kennel Club because it is used primarily as a guard today, was originally a hunting dog. Great Danes, the modern examples of which are of German origin in spite of the name, were bred to hunt wild boar. Boarhound was the first name it carried. Danes were shown at some of the first dog shows given in the United States.
Body Type:
- A combination of size, strength and dignity.
- The natural tail is long and tapering, with a slight curve at the end. It is carried low and is not altered.
- The natural hanging ears are usually cropped to a tall, tapering, erect triangle in the United States.
Coat:
- The coat is short and smooth.
- Permissible colors are brindle or fawn with dark face or mask. Other colors include blue, black, or harlequin (which is a white ground color with clearly defined, irregularly-shaped, black patches).
- Requires minimal grooming.
Health and Wellness:
- Not a long-lived breed. Its usual life span is eight to 10 years.
- Hip dysplasia.
- Autoimmune thyroid disease.
- Gastric dilatation and volvulus syndrome (GDV, also commonly called bloat)
- Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).
- Calcinosis circumscripta.
- Tricuspid dysplasia.
- Metabolic bone disease.
- Congenital deafness.
- Cervical vertebral instability (Wobbler’s syndrome).
- Cardiomyopathy.
- Callus formation.
- Hygroma.
- Demodicosis.
- Splenic torsion.
- Fibrocartilagenous emboli.
- Acral lick granuloma.
- Osteoscarcoma (appendicular).
What you should know:
- Because of the ear cropping, Dane puppies take a lot of care.
- Puppies are especially clumsy. They are wild and rambunctious.
- Walt Disney’s Ugly Dachshund movie did much to popularize the breed.
- Slow to mature.
