German dog

The predecessor of the Great Dane is depicted in miniature by the French artist Robin Testar for the book “A moral book on the chess of love . ” The manuscript was created in 1496-1598 in Cognac . The dog is depicted on the leash of its owner - Count Karl of Angouleme .

As the forerunners of the modern German Great Dane, one should consider Bullenbeisser (bulldog) or Hatz-and Sauruden (boar dogs) who were halfway between the strong English type of mastiff and the fast, agile Sighthound. The term "dog" in the first place meant a large, strong dog, which was not representative of any breed. Later names like “ Ulmer Dogge ”, “Great Dane” ( Englische Dogge ), “Great Dane” ( Danische Dogge ), “ Great Dane ”, “Great Dane”, Hatzrude , “ Boar Dog” ”( Saupacker ) and“ Great Dog ”( Grosse Dogge ), designated various types of these dogs, depending on their color and size. In 1878, in Berlin, a committee of seven active breeders and judges was created under the leadership of Dr. Bodinus, who decided to classify all the above types of dogs as "Great Dane." Thus, the foundation was laid for the breeding of this particular German breed.

In 1880, on the occasion of an exhibition in Berlin, the first Great Dane standard was approved. This was done under the control of the Great Dane National Club ( Deutscher Doggen-Club 1888 eV ) and the standard has changed over and over again over the years. This version of the standard complies with the FCI model ^[1] . Since 1965, the Great Dane has been the official symbol of the state of Pennsylvania ^{[2] [3]} .

Origin: Germany.

FCI - classification: Group 2, Pinschers and schnauzers, Molossoid breeds, Swiss Mountain Dogs and others

Section 2. I: Molossoid, Dog-shaped dogs

No performance testing

Application: Companion, guard dog and bodyguard.

General view: The Great Dane is a noble, large dog combining pride, strength, elegance with a powerful and harmonious body.

With a very expressive head, a powerful development of the skeleton and muscles, combined with a noble posture, a harmonious structure, a clear and proportional contour of the body, the dog gives the impression of a noble statue. Never rude or too elegant. Sexual dimorphism is well expressed. He is Apollo among dog breeds.

Important proportions: the Great Dane format seems almost square, this applies especially to males. Bitches may be in a longer format. The length of the back (from the sternum to the pelvis) should not exceed the height at the withers of males by more than 5%, and in bitches by 10%. Height at the withers: males 80 - 90 cm, females 72 - 84 cm.

Behavior / character: Friendly, kind and loyal to the owner, especially children; incredulous to strangers. Self-confident, undeterred, easily managed and obedient companion and family dog ​​are the necessary qualities of a dog. He must have high resistance to any provocation and should not be aggressive.

Head: Harmonious in overall appearance. Long, narrow, chiseled (especially under the eyes). The superciliary parts are well developed, but not protruding. The distance from the tip of the nose to the well-defined stop and from the stop to the slightly protruding occipital bone should be as equal as possible. The top line of the muzzle and skull should be parallel. The head should appear narrow when viewed from the front, however the width of the nose should be as wide as possible. The muscles in the cheeks are only slightly defined and do not protrude in any way.
Nose: Well developed, wider than round, with large nostrils. It should be black with the exception of marble dogs (for example, white with black dots). In marbled dogs, a black nose is desirable, but also partially pigmented.
Muzzle: Deep and as rectangular as possible. Well defined lip angles. Dark pigmented lips. In marble, incompletely pigmented lips are allowed.
Jaws / Bite / Teeth: Well developed wide jaws. Strong, healthy and full scissor bite (42 teeth).
Eyes: Medium size, rounded, as dark as possible, with lively intellectual expression. Blue German Great Danes have slightly lighter eyes. In marble, lighter eyes and discord are allowed. The eyelids should fit snugly.
Ears: Set high, naturally hanging, medium sized. The front of the ear is adjacent to the cheeks.
Neck: Long, beautiful, muscular. A well-set woman smoothly passes, tapering, to the head, slightly bending. The mastiff should keep the neck upright, with a slight forward bend.

Body: Withers: The highest point of a strong body. It is formed by the highest points of the shoulder blades, located just above the main line of the back.
Back: Short and firm. Slightly tilted to the back.
Loin: Slightly curved, broad, muscular.
Croup: Broad, muscular. Slightly tilted from the sacrum to the base of the tail.
Tail: Starting from the croup. Set high, wide at the base, tapering evenly to the tip. When relaxed, naturally hangs down. In a state of excitement or in motion, it can carry it like a saber, but not significantly higher than the back line. Coarse hair at the bottom of the tail is undesirable.
Chest: Reaches to the elbows. Well movable ribs going far back. Chest of good width with a well-defined chest.
Abdominal line: The abdomen is well tucked up, forms a beautifully curved line with the lower line of the sternum of the cell.

Fore part: Shoulders: Very muscular. A long sloping shoulder blade forms an angle of approximately 100 to 110 degrees with the forearm.
Forearm: Strong and muscular, close-fitting, should be slightly longer than the shoulder blade.
Elbows: must not be turned neither in nor out.
Legs: Strong, muscular. Seen from the front, they are completely straight.
Metacarpal joint: Strong, stable, only slightly different from the structure of the paw itself.
Metacarpus: Strong. Direct when viewed from the front. Seen from the side, slightly tilted forward.
Feet: Rounded, well curved and tightly closed (cat's paw). Nails are short, strong, as dark as possible.

Hindquarters: The entire skeleton is completely covered in strong muscles, thanks to which the croup, hips, and sides look wide and rounded. Strong, with good angles, hind legs, when viewed from the rear, parallel to the front legs.
Upper Thigh: Long, broad, muscular.
Knee: Strong, located almost vertical to the hips.
Lower thigh: Long, approximately the same length as the upper thigh. Well muscled.
Knee: Strong, sturdy, not turned in or out.
Ankle: Short, strong, almost perpendicular to the ground.
Feet: Rounded, well curved (cat's paw). Nails are short, strong, as dark as possible.

Movement: Harmonious, flexible, "breathtaking" the earth and slightly elastic. Legs when viewed from the front or rear should be parallel in movement.

Skin: Tight. In solid colors it is well pigmented. In marbled dogs, the distribution of pigment mainly corresponds to the marks (spots).

Coat: Coat structure: very short and dense, smooth and shiny.

Colors: Great Dane is bred in three separate groups: fawn and tiger / marble and black / blue.

• Fawn: Pale to fawn to deep gold color. A black mask is desirable. There should be no shades of gray, blue or brown. Small white marks on the chest and toes are not desirable.
• Tiger: Primary color from pale golden fawn to deep golden with black stripes located in the direction of the ribs. The stripes should be as clear and correct as possible. A black mask is desirable. Small white marks on the chest and toes are not desirable.
• White with black spots (Marble, formerly Tigerdoggen): the main background is pure white, if possible without a hairline, uneven, ragged, black spots are located throughout the body. Gray or brown spots are not desirable. Gray-marble color (various shades of gray background with torn black spots) is allowed, but not desirable.
• Black: Deep black, white markings allowed. This also includes a raincoat in which the whole body is painted black like a blanket, but the muzzle, neck, chest, stomach, legs and tip of the tail can be white. And also platten color - the main background is white with a black mask on the head and somewhat evenly painted round spots on the body.
• Blue: light bluish-gray with a steel tint, white marks on the chest and legs are allowed. Fawn or black is not allowed.

By its nature, the Great Dane is quite a cheerful, loyal and very sociable dog. Calm and confident, will never bark for no reason. Due to its good nature, dogs of this breed can be recommended as pets for the family. The best time for the dog is to stay with family members, so it is not recommended to leave the dog alone for a long time. The dog perfectly feels the mood of the owner. Training the Great Dane for an experienced dog owner should not be difficult, because the breed has a good memory. However, during training, it is worth considering the characteristics of the pet, its natural slowness.

• The largest dog in the world is the Great Dane named Giant George, who lived in the United States and was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. George's height at the withers was 110 centimeters with a weight of 111 kilograms. If you put the dog on its hind legs, then its length exceeded 2.2 meters. Also, his master wrote the book “Giant George. Life with the world's largest dog. " He died on October 17, 2013, according to the owners of the dog, George died at the age of 7 years in their house in Arizona, not having lived 1 month to 8 years. The cause of death of the dog is not specified.
• After the death of Giant George, the Greatest dog in the world was recognized by the Great Dane named Zeus, who lived with the owners in Michigan (USA). Growth at the withers was 111 centimeters, growth on the hind legs - 2 meters 23 centimeters, weight - 75 kilograms. He died on September 11, 2014 at the age of 5 years.
• The average life expectancy of the Great Dane is one of the lowest among different breeds of dogs and is 6.5 years. ^[five]
• Great Dane nicknamed Cyclone starred "in the role" of the Baskervilles dog in the 1981 Soviet television film directed by Igor Maslennikov

• The Ugly Dachshund ( USA , 1966)
• The film " Chestnut - a hero of Central Park (Once upon a time there was a dog) / Chestnut: Hero of Central Park " ( USA - Germany , 2004)
• The film " Marmaduke " / Marmaduke "( USA , 2010)
• The animated series " Scooby-Doo / Scooby-Doo" ( USA , 1969 - present )
• Anime " Silver Fang / Ginga Nagareboshi Gin" ( Japan , 1986)
• The anime " The Legend of Silver Fang Weed / Ginga Densetsu Weed" ( China , 2005-2006)

• Adintsova, Y. Great Dane // Dog Island: Journal. - St. Petersburg: Charity Fund "Fidelity", 2010. - No. 3 (6) . - S. 10-13 .
• "About the largest and most beautiful dog." Author - Tatyana Petrovna Ozerova
• "German dog". Author - V.V. Uvarov
• "Great Dane - from puppy to champion." Author - Lyudmila Ruzhich
• "Life expectancy and the most common causes of death of the Great Dane." Posted by Ruth Stolzewski.