The Great Dane, The Gentle Giant
When you think of monstrous sized dogs the great dane comes to mind. This dog can be at almost shoulder length to a human. So, of course, if you are interested in getting one of these dogs you must consider that fact. They are not made for small spaces.
The Great Dane breed is said to be about four hundred years old. This is due to the ancient Egyptian drawings all through the tombs dating back to 2200BC! They were a bit shorter in that day than the current breed. The breed was actually made up from the Mastiff, the Boarhound, the Irish Wolfhound, and the Greyhound. That is a lot of mixtures. They were first just used for bull baiting, but then grew in popularity when they began to be used for hunting wild boar and deer.
The Great Dane has a thin, very short, and glossy looking coat. This is great for people who want a dog that does not require much maintenance. They are dogs that like to stay very clean, but some seem to find the idea of the BATH quite difficult.
There are six different approved show colors, according to the AKC. They are fawn (which is yellow gold with a black mask), brindle (which is fawn and black chevron stripes), blue (which is pure blue steel without any other markings), black (which is pure glossy black), harlequin (which is white with irregular black patches), and mantle (which is black and white with a solid black blanket and head with a white muzzle, chest, and collar). That is a whole lot of colors! The black great Dane is probably the most popular.
Despite the Great Dane’s enormous size, they are a very gentle-demeanored dog. They fit right into households with other pets and even children. They are one of the friendliest dogs there are. They are the perfect example of the “gentle giant” saying! They become very loyal to their owners and want to stay close with them. They are very active and need to be exercised regularly. They will also alert their owners to approaching strangers. This can cause them to be very aggressive dogs if they are not trained properly. That can be bad considering their size.
