Great dane

The Great Dane tolerates loneliness extremely badly. It can cause irreversible changes in his psyche – so it’s definitely not a dog for a busy owner. Doga is quite difficult to upset, but when he gets upset he can be a formidable opponent.

Nature

The Great Dane is the most peaceful of all dogs. It combines impressive size and elegance with great attachment to the owner, courage and skill. He is confident, balanced, has a medium temperament. It cannot betray nervousness and unreasonable aggression, which is why overactive individuals should be excluded from breeding.

It is quite difficult to upset him, but when he gets upset he can be a formidable opponent. Distrustful of strangers, ideally suited as a guardian and defender, but intervenes only when absolutely necessary.

The Great Dane is strongly associated with the owner, so it should not be isolated. This sensitive giant tolerates loneliness extremely badly. It can cause irreversible changes in his psyche.

He is tolerant of the weak. He is extremely gentle with children, but due to its size, care must be taken so that he does not accidentally hurt them, even by wagging his tail.

It can share the house with other dogs and pets. Alien quadrupeds usually treat with indulgence and do not pay attention to their torment. There may sometimes be arguments between males.

The Great Dane can easily adapt to living in an apartment. He loses all his energy on long walks, which is why he behaves phlegmatically at home and spends his time on the sofa.

Skills

The ancestor of the German dog was eagerly kept at royal and noble courts. He took part in hunting big animals and was a four-legged companion. Today, this impressive giant is above all a family dog.

Works great as a cyclist or rider companion, but such training can only be started when the dog is one year old. Dogs are doing well on the agility track, although over time their size may prevent them from overcoming some obstacles, e.g. a tunnel.

Training and education

The Great Dane is intelligent – under the watchful eye of an experienced trainer, he learns quickly, willingly and effectively. However, you have to start learning quite early, preferably in dog kindergarten. A dog of this breed will not carry out instructions mechanically, that’s why positive motivation and a strong bond with the owner are important – then almost anything can be enforced from him.

Defense training (IPO) can be started only after the dog has learned obedience and must be skillfully taught. Puppies require consistent and at the same time gentle upbringing from the first moments at home and proper socialization.

Who is this race for?

Great Dane is not suitable for everyone. This is a dog for a true lover of the breed, patient and consistent, who will devote a lot of time to his pet. The dog’s owner cannot be overly submissive or overbearing.

Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• expensive to maintain
• not very resistant to weather conditions
• drool quite abundantly

Advantages

• strongly attached to the guardian
• intelligent and clever
• an excellent friend of children
• I feel good in the apartment
• tolerant to dogs and other animals
• good watchman and defender
• easy to care for

Health

The Great Dane does not belong to long-lived breeds, although there are individuals that live up to 12 years. The most common problems are tendencies to expand and twist the stomach, and in old age bone tumors.

Occasionally, there are misplaced eyelids (eversion and collapse), and in some lines of heart disease (cardiomyopathy). Hip dysplasia and osteochondrosis (OCD) occur sporadically.

Feeding

The dog of this breed is expensive to maintain. Up to the age of eighteen, it develops at a dizzying pace, which is why it requires perfectly balanced food with medium protein content, with the addition of substances that protect the joints – glucosamine and chondroitin. Any negligence during this period is often unrealistic.

The daily food ration for an adult dog is not as high as is commonly believed, but the quality of food must be high; a portion should be divided into at least two meals and rest the dog after eating.

Care

The Great Dane has a very easy-care coat. It is enough to comb it once a week with a bristle brush and a rubber glove, and then eventually wipe with a cotton towel or chamois leather to give the coat shine.

If necessary, the dog should be shampooed for short hair, and you can occasionally wipe the dog with a wet and then dry towel.

History

The ancestors of all dogs in the dog-like type were Tibetan dogs – massive animals with powerful heads, bred mainly in Tibet. They wandered quite quickly to Assyria, and then to ancient Persia, where they were used as war dogs.

They probably reached Epirus, land by the Ionian Sea, from where the Molosan tribe lived. In a warmer climate, their coat has become much shorter. After the fall of Alexander the Great, they came to ancient Greece and Rome, and from there to Central Europe, inhabited by the Germans.

Greek geographer and traveler Strabon (around 68 BC – around 20 AD) mentions in his notes about Gauls who bought large war dogs from Britons. The cymbers (Germanic tribe) on their journey from Jutland around 100 BC supposedly accompanied by powerful dogs that guarded the caravan and participated in skirmishes with the Romans.

In the old Icelandic legends, the motif of a powerful quadruple appears, while in the early medieval Leges Barbarorum collection of rights mentions large dogs hunting for bears and turns.

Hunting dogs for hunting large animals are considered the direct ancestors of the German dog. The dog gained its contemporary appearance thanks to crossing with a  greyhound. He became elegant, lighter and physically more efficient. The breed was finally established at the end of the 19th century, and its progenitor was to be the dog from Ulm.

For many years, the German origin of this dog was questioned and it was believed that the Danes bred him (to this day in England and Denmark the German dog is called a great danise), but it is undoubtedly German cynologists who created the modern form of the dog. The first model was created in 1880 on the occasion of an exhibition in Berlin. The official name – German dog – was given to the breed in 1888.

Template

Great Dane – Group II FCI, section 2, reference number 235

• Country of origin:  Germany
• Original purpose:  dog for hunting big animals, defensive and companion
• Character:  dog of medium temperament, calm, balanced, confident, imperious; strongly associated with the guardian, requires close contact with the family; distrustful of strangers, but show no unjustified aggression, a good guardian and defender; tolerant and gentle towards the weak
• Size:  height of the dogs at the withers at least 80 cm, bitches at least 72 cm
• Coat:  Very short and dense coat, close-fitting, shiny
• Color:  yellow and yellow brindle (black mask required), harlequin (irregular white and black spots are evenly distributed on white), black (coat dogs are also included in this group – black as coat covers the torso; muzzle, neck, breast, the limbs, belly and tail are white, and plate dogs – large black spots appear on a white background), blue
• Reaching puberty:  2.5-3 years
• Lifespan:  7-10 years
• Molting:  moderate, twice a year
• Activity:  medium, needs regular traffic; he can run by bike or horse, but only when he is one year old
• Training:  indicated basics of obedience (PT) due to the size of the dog
• Vulnerability to training:  high; intelligent, learns quickly, but needs the proper motivation and consistent upbringing from a puppy
• Attitude towards children:  friendly
• Attitude towards other dogs:  tolerant, although skirmishes can occur between foreign males
• Weather resistance:  low; sensitive to low temperatures and heat
• Apartment:  can live anywhere, but is not suitable for a playpen
• Preparation for exhibitions: the  garment does not require preparation; ring coat recommended
• Possibility to buy a puppy:  no problems with buying

Interesting facts

German dogs in blue, which are really impressive, are very popular.

The blue coat causes the gene to lighten the black coat. This is due to the fact that the pigment granules in the hair are distributed less frequently, at larger intervals, which makes the coat lighter.