One of the largest breeds of dog (height, 0·75 m/2½ ft), perfected in Germany from a mastiff-like ancestor; used for hunting; long powerful legs; square head with deep muzzle and pendulous ears; coat short, pale brown with dark flecks.
| Great Dane | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fawn coat color | ||
| Alternative names | ||
|
Mjóhund(ON) Hund, Grey/Grig(ON/OE) Den Danske Hund (fr.1767) Grand danois (fr.1741) Danish Dog (1762) Grosse Dänische Yagd Hund (1780) Dänische Dogge(1888-9) Deutsche Dogge (fr. 1880) German Mastiff (fr.1879-81). Alano Dogue Allemand Gran Danés Dog Niemiecki |
||
| Country of origin | ||
|
Denmark up to WW2 Germany after WW2 |
||
| Common nicknames | ||
| Gentle Giant | ||
| Classification and breed standards | ||
| FCI: | Group 2 Section 2 #235 | Stds |
| AKC: | Working | Stds |
| ANKC: | Group7 (Nonsporting) | Stds |
| CKC: | Group 3 (Working) | Stds |
| KC (UK): | Working | Stds |
| NZKC: | Nonsporting | Stds |
| UKC: | Guardian Dogs | Stds |
The Great Dane is a breed of dog known for its large size and gentle personality.
History
Some sources state that dogs similar to Great Danes were known in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.
The Great Dane is the large hunting dog of the Danír tribe, ”Dene” in the poem "Beowulf", today’s Danes, Norwegians, Englishmen and her daughters.
In Old Norse (ON) and Old English (OE) the male is always referred to as ”Hund” (in etymology from ”the Hunt/Hunter”) and the bitch as ”grey/grig”.
Thus in Norse and Old English literature, specifically the compilation of sagas known as Elder Edda (Poetic Edda), the hound is named in variations over these words, for example
”hvndar” and ”greyiom” ( Skírnismál , verse 11, Elder Edda)
”mjóhundr/myo hwnd/mjøhund, meaning "slender hound" or sighthound (Scanian Law from 1200/1250)
As the original purpose of the hound was to be able to take on the wild boar, the Deer and the wolf we often see kennings applied that identify Odin’s two hounds as wolfhounds. As the king’s personal hounds it is the very same hound that guards the entrance to the next world in both Denmark and England, the folklore of which forms the basis for ”The Hound of the Baskervilles” (see Black Shuck).
The large hound, alongside the horse and the raven, is holy to the kings of Denmark and England.
The large hound appears to be a migration dog.
Uniquely The Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen Faculty of Science has a collection of dog skeletons from both periods and thereafter well in to the Middle Ages.
The most treasured hound, as is the case with the horse, is the white coloured with black markings.
Two large hounds can be seen on “The Royal Purse Lid” (The British Museum) as guiding spirits to the king buried in Sutton Hoo, East Anglia, presumably (H)Rædwald in the 7th Century ACE.
Likewise the large hound is depicted on the engravings of the Golden horns of Gallehus from Southern Jutland, Denmark dated to the 5th Century ACE and on numerous rune stones (see the Tjängvide and Ledberg Runestone) and engravings on Viking ships used for burial purposes (see Oseberg ship).
The original large hound was lighter in construction than the current one.
Towards the end of the 16th Century the Royal Courts of Denmark introduce the new fashion of the Parforce Hunt – an unnatural hunt where the hunting dogs are no longer allowed to run down and kill the deer.
We can see from the protocols of the Danish court that the large hound is not well equipped to perform this new role in the Parforce Hunt.
The protocols of the Royal Danish Kennels maintain two separates lines in the kennel in the breeding programme; This new line of large hounds is the foundation of the present day Great Dane as
we see them in Denmark, England and the United States.
The various names used to identify the hound; Great Dane (English speaking world), датский дог (Dahtskeey Dog, Russian), Gran Danés (Spanish and Portuguese speaking world including South America), Grand Danois (French speaking world, Scandinavia in the 20th Century), Tanskandoggi (Finland), Danubius Dog (Hungary), Danua cinsi kopek or Grand Danua (Tyrkey) and Dänische Dogge or Grosse Dänische Yagd Hund (German speaking world up until 1888-9) simply reflects the tribal origin of the hounds (see for instance Dr. Leop Jeps Fitzinger: Der Hund und seine Rassen (1876) and Meyers Konversationslexikon (vierte Auflage, Leipzig, 1888-1889, page 8:799)).
The large hound was imported in to the Roman Empire and thus correctly is referred to as Alano in Italian (see Gaston III of Foix-Béarn and his treatise “Livre de la chasse” from 1389.
We have a record of the hound acting as a wolfhunter very late in history.
The hound was highly treasured and a tribal competitive advantage. Thus the hound did not exist in Germania until King Christian VI of Denmark (regent 1730-1746) ceased the Parforce Hunt in 1741 and gave away all the large hounds from the royal kennels.
The records from the royal kennel at Jægersborg Castle (see Lauritz de Thurah), Denmark shows us who received the hounds as gifts:
King Frederick I of Sweden – 11 pack of hounds
Markgraf Friedrich (Brandenburg-Bayreuth) – 25 pack of hounds
The Duke of Pløen, Friedrich Carl – 6 packs of hounds
King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia – 4 large “Blendinge” (Blended) hounds
(Source: C.
This event distributes the large hound throughout Europe amongst the aristocracy and forms the basis for all later rewritings of history. Up until this event in 1741 the hounds were only to be
found in the original landscapes, including Normandy from year 912 ACE (hence why the hound can be seen in hunting scenes on the Bayeux Tapestry depicting year 1064 ACE, prior to The Battle of
Hastings).
In 1749 Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon begins publishing his large thesis on evolution called ”Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière”.
We know from a thesis by the Dane Jacob Nicolay Wilse titled ”Fuldstændig beskrivelse af stapelstaden Fridericia – efter pålidelige underretninger og egne undersøgninger.” (page 176) and published in 1767 that the Danes called the dog ”large hound”, a terminology continued well in to the 20th Century.
In Germany in 1780 the hound is referred to as ”Grosse Dänische Yagd Hund” or ”Large Danish Hunting Hound” (see Edward C.
The first dog exhibition was held in Hamburg 14-20 July 1863.
As part of the ever increasing German aggression throughout Europe Bismarck insisted on rewriting history and sets up a commission, ”Kynologischer Verein Hektor”, to invent a new origin of the hound, away from the enemies of Denmark and England and to cement it by renaming the dog ”Deutsche Dogge”.
In Spring 1937 the German equivalent of the national kennel clubs, called ”Reichverband für das Deutsche Hundewesen” is put under Nazi control and its activities are now run by the S.A.
This resulted in a great deal of activity and the Danes are successful in refuting the German rewriting of history (see the Minutes of the Meeting from the AGM at FCI 22nd July 1937, signed by Le Secretaire General, Baron Albert Houtart).
A board meeting at DKK dated 18th March 1935 approves the following standard for "den danske hund":
Standard for den danske Hund.
(Grand Danois, Great Dane)
Country of origin: Danmark (Denmark)
At some point, either during or immediately after World War II, the country of origin of the hound is changed from the original Denmark to Germany.
"Ðéah þe haéðstapa hundum geswenced
heorot hornum trum holtwudu séce"
(Beowulf, Old English, written about 755-757 ACE, line 1368-69)
"Though the heath-stepper harrassed by hounds,
The hart with strong horns, seeks the forest
(Modern English translation by Benjamin Slade)
Appearance
Height and weight requirements for show dogs vary from one kennel club's standards to another, but generally the minimum weight falls between 100 to 120 lb (46 to 54 kg) and the minimum height must be between 28 and 32 inches (71 to 81 cm) at the withers.
There are six show-acceptable coat colors for Great Danes:
Fawn: Yellow gold with a black mask.Cropping of the ears is common in the United States and much less common in Europe. The original purpose of Ear Cropping was to cut the ears so that the wolf would not be able to grap hold of the ear in defence.This was also used to keep wild boar (often the objective of great dane hunts) from shredding their velvety ears.
Temperament
The Great Dane's large and imposing appearance belies its friendly nature;
Health
Great Danes, like most giant dogs, have a fairly slow metabolism.
Great Danes have some health problems that are common to large breeds.
The latest epidemiological research by Dr. Larry Glickman at Purdue, and his coauthors, has found that using elevated food dishes actually dramatically increases the risk of bloat.
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and many congenital heart diseases are also commonly found in the Great Dane.
Also, some Danes may develop yeast infections, when not fed all needed nutritional requirements.
Great Danes also suffer from several genetic disorders that are specific to the breed.
Miscellaneous
The Great Dane is the state dog of Pennsylvania.
The Great Dane is the team mascot at the University at Albany. Company (1988) Just Nuisance - A member of the South African Navy Ace from Batman Beyond Mars and Jupiter, two Great Danes from The Patriot Duke and Turk, two Great Danes from Disney's The Swiss Family Robinson (1960 film), where they are able to fight off a tiger. Ben, a main character in Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin, was half Great Dane and half Mastiff, but mostly showed Great Dane characteristics.
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