The Breed's History:

Extremely large boarhounds resembling the Great Dane appear in ancient Greece; in frescoes from Tiryns dating back to 14th-13th centuries BC. The large boarhound or Molossian hound continues to appear throughout ancient Greece in subsequent centuries right up to the Hellenistic era.

The Molossian hound, the Suliot dog and specific imports from Greece were used in the 18th century to increase the stature of the boarhounds in Austria and Germany and the wolfhounds in Ireland.

Bigger dogs are depicted on numerous runestones in Scandinavia, on coinage in Denmark from the 5th century AD and in the collection of Old Norse poems, known in English as Poetic Edda.

The University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum holds at least seven skeletons of very large hunting dogs, dating from the 5th century BC going forward through to the year 1000 AD.

In the middle of the 16th century, the nobility in many countries of Europe imported strong, long-legged dogs from England, which were descended from crossbreeds between the English Mastiff and the Irish Wolfhound.

They were dog hybrids in different sizes and phenotypes with no formal breed. These dogs were called Englische Docke or Englische Tocke - later written and spelled:

Dogge - or Englischer Hund in Germany. The name simply meant "English dog".

After time, the English word "dog" came to be the term for a molossoid dog in Germany and in France. Since the beginning of the 17th century, these dogs were bred in the courts of German nobility, independently of England.

The dogs were used for hunting bear, boar and deer at princely courts, with the favorites staying at night in the bedchambers of their lords. These Kammerhunde (chamber dogs) were outfitted with gilded collars, and helped protect the sleeping princes against assassins.

During the hunt for boar or bears, the Englische Dogge was used after the other hunting dogs to seize the bear or boar and hold the animal in place until the huntsman killed it.

When the hunting customs changed, particularly because of the use of firearms, many of the involved dog types disappeared. The Englische Dogge became rare, and was kept only as a dog of hobby or luxury.

In the 19th century, the dog was known as a "German boarhound" in English speaking countries. Some German breeders tried to introduce the names "German dogge" and "German mastiff" on the English market, because they believed the breed should be marketed as a dog of luxury and not as a working dog.

However, due to the increasing tensions between Germany and other countries, the dog later became referred to as a "Great Dane", after the grand danois in Buffon's Histoire naturelle, generale et particuliere in 1755.

Country of Origin:
Germany

Breed Group:
Working

Height:
2 feet, 4 inch. to 2 feet, 10 inch. (71,12 to 86,36 cm)

Weight:
100 to 200 pounds (45,35 to 90,72 Kg)

Life Span:
7 to 10 years

Potential Health Issues:

Gastric Torsion,
Hip Dysplasia,
Development Issues,
Bone Cancer,
Heart Disease,
Surgery

Adaptability

Apartment Living:

Friendliness

Affection With Family:

Health and Grooming

Shedding:

Training

Easiness:

Need For Exercise

Energy Level: