Dogs 101 – Great Dane

Dogs 101 – Great Dane

here’s a quiz what’s the tallest dog in the world one of America’s favorite cartoon dogs and a dog that was thought to protect people from ghosts that’s right the Great Dane they’re called like the Apollo of the dog world and they definitely deserve that name they’re beautiful powerful and athletic yes but the Great Danes calm disposition has led the gentle giant to be called world’s largest lap dog I had a client the other day with his great day I kid you not sitting on his lap in the waiting room but the roots of this breed are anything but warm and fuzzy first of all they’re not really Danish yeah interesting that their name is Great Dane when their origins have nothing to do with Denmark they’re actually a German Mastiff I’m stumped oh I’m not sure how the name Great Dane came up well no one really knows how the English name of this dog came to be Great Dane the breed is part of the Mastiff family Asiatic tribes likely brought Dane like dogs to Germany in the 5th century there’s evidence of dogs resembling the Great Dane in ancient Rome Egypt and even China the breed we know today was developed in Germany about 400 years ago they were bred in Germany to hunt large prey to patrol estates and they were even used as war dog it’s a mastiff that’s that’s mixed with a greyhound I think sometimes people forget that underneath all calm is still a very very large guarding dog the breed was also ascribed mystical powers in medieval times and was said to protect against evil spirits the Great Dane is a magical animal over the last hundred years the aggression and prey drive that made the dogs such as sought-after hunter have largely been bred out of the breed today’s Great Danes prefer the couch to combat they’ll lay on the couch you better have a big bed they are couch potatoes the physical characteristics bred into this dog leave no doubt as to its original purpose start with great height it’s just a gigantic beast we’re talking about paws that are the size of a man’s hand fully splayed the Great Dane is one of the tallest dogs along with the Irish Wolfhound the Irish Wolfhound is actually on average taller than the Great Dane but a Great Dane named Gibson currently holds the title of world’s tallest dog at forty two point two inches while its cousin the English Mastiff is the heaviest dog at 150 pounds or more the Great Dane is no pushover in fact they like to do the pushing a lot of Danes tend to be leaners they tend to be like Dobermans dogs who like to step on your feet and kind of lean on you most of that height comes from proportionally long legs as big as they are they’re just so beautiful to see because they’re not clumsy they’re very graceful when they move the head of the Great Dane is unmistakeably Mastiff like the top of the skull is almost exactly parallel to the large snout this gives the dog a regal appearance the Great Dane is one of the most varied of all breeds they can weigh anywhere from 120 to 200 pounds and there are six coat color varieties for the most part they do well almost anywhere but Danes do need space this isn’t a dog that you cramp into an apartment this is a dog they need to stir it its legs out every single day it’s large size makes it critical to train this dog early the Great Dane is a short-haired dog so grooming is no sweat as easy as hosing them off and sponging them down unfortunately health problems abound this breed has one of the shortest life expectancies of all dogs at seven and a half years while the legs are often the first to go Great Danes are prone to a devastating internal disorder they’re the number one breed of dog to get bloat it’s the number one reason why Great Dane dies and that’s unfortunate because you get such a close bond again below can occur when a dog with a full stomach engages in heavy activity like exercise Great Danes along with many other breeds have stomachs that are not attached to the rib cage during heavy activity the stomach can flip blocking the intestinal tract if not treated immediately bloat is extremely dangerous what we need to be doing is making sure that they eat their meal and they rest for a good 40 minutes to an hour before giving them any type of exercise despite the health concerns these dogs fit in well with families I think kids might tend to think that they could climb all over that dog and you know ride it like a pony climb on it when playing on the bed and that’s really not a safe thing to do with any dog and certainly not a dog as large as a Great Dane not all dogs adhere to breed standards but in general the Great Dane needs space the breed does not live long it has lots of health issues they are easy to groom they’re easy to train but start early train and acclimate them early to children and there will be wonderful family dogs you