The Great Dane is an ancient breed (originally a hunting & guarding dog, these days, a companion & family watchdog) that belongs to the Molossian family, a group of dog types named after a region of ancient Greece where their European predecessor emerged. Somewhere in the middle between the mastiff and the greyhound, this type of dog was already known at the time of Alexander the Great and later on was developed in central and northern Europe as Great Dane, Grand Danois, Danische Dogge, Deutsche Dogge, Dogue Allemand or Alano (the latter name used in Italy, Spain and the latin countries). The Iron Chancellor Bismarck declared the Deutsche Dogge as the national breed of the Reich; Gary Cooper was among the rich and famous fanciers of the breed.

Characterized by great size and nobility that earned him the nickname of gentle giant, he also possesses the classic proportions and beauty for which he was rightfully called the Apollo of Dogs. This is a dog that, although he is grand beyond doubt, standing over 30" in height at the withers and exceeding 150 lb in weight, can equally adopt to living in an apartment with grace and ease, as he is a house dog, definitely more suitable to living indoors.
He is clean in habits, calm, aristocratic, discreet and sensible in disposition. It is a must, of course, that he lives close to us, next to us, otherwise the Dane withers. One of the easiest and most certain ways to harm him is to exclude him from human company and tie him by a chain to a dog house, confine him to the back yard, the corner of the garden or the balcony. The danes short, sleek, single coat (lacking undercoat) does not protect him from dampness or drafts and the breed is susceptible to colds and pneumonia if not sheltered from the winter conditions.

The Dane needs exercise and the smaller your home, the more time you need to spend walking and playing with him. Carefully though, because the giant breeds such as a dane mature very slowly and they must not be strenuously over-exercised before adulthood, so that their bone structure is not adversely affected during the critical growth stages; until he becomes twelve months old, dont allow your puppy to get overly tired, run up and down stairs or jump over obstacles, otherwise his bones, ligaments and joints may suffer irreversible damage. For the same reason, his food and water bowls must not lie on the floor but be always raised to the suitable height (approximately at elbow height) as the puppy is growing, using a adjustable device.

The Danes diet is of crucial importance for his health and correct development, so we advise the use of a good quality complete dry food suited to his age, containing all the necessary ingredients and vitamins; home-cooked meals cannot meet all the dogs requirements, adding supplements to the food has disastrous effects, table scraps are of course inadequate and fine bones from lamb, chicken or pork are extremely dangerous, as they break to many needle-sharp pieces that can pierce a dogs digestive organs causing an often certain and agonizing death. You must choose a variety of medium protein levels (not above 27% at all times) because the long-time experience of Dane breeders across the world has shown that giant breeds benefit from a diet during their sensitive growth stages; thankfully the dog food companies now offer excellent large breed varieties of correct calcium-to-phosphorus ratio (a very important factor) and suitable to the needs of a Dane puppy, whose skeletal growth must not be accelerated by over-rich diets and excessive protein levels that can cause long-term problems to his structure and joints. It is an arguable case that hip-dysplasia, among others, a common large breed skeletal malformation, is caused by a genetic-environmental combination of causes among which nutrition excesses are likely to be the most highly responsible for the condition.

The Great Dane, if well-bred from healthy ancestors and reared properly by his owners with love and care, is a magnificent animal, sound in mind and body, expected to live about ten years without problems. The dogs temperament, of course, is of the highest importance: the Dane must be friendly and confident, a real gentleman, fearless in the face of danger but never aggressive or quarrelsome; which is why you must never get a Dane from an unreliable source, such as the numerous puppy-trading shops that import surplus stock from puppy-mills. You are very likely to be disappointed, ending up with a poor specimen riddled by behavioral or health problems. Only through personal contact with a reputable breeder may a prospective puppy owner receive all the information necessary for the proper puppy rearing known only to a true breed expert but not to the professional profiteer that deals in all breeds or repeated dane litters.

The Great Dane is a very intelligent canine and displays a graceful, almost human sense and behavior, but only if he is a typical representative of his breed that has been properly nurtured and reared. He is not a four-legged robot that can be trained by anybody with violence, but a quick & positive learner eager to please the teacher he loves and respects: his beloved masters.

The Apollo of dogs is a true four-legged aristocrat, full of heart and generosity, superior spirit and courage; a companion that is protective, gentle, always attentive to his humans wishes and needs, proud and distinguished in appearance, beautiful like a classic statue, a dog that deserves to belong to people as good as himself.

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