Registration: All Great Danes are registrable with the United Canine Association and eligible to participate in all UCA sanctioned dog shows and events.
Click here to learn more about
Great Dane registration; how to register your
Great Danes or to dual register your
Great Dane with the United Canine Association.
The United Canine Association recognized and began recording registration for the Great Dane in 2002.
Breed Characteristics: The Great Dane is a
giant dog that combines nobility with robustness and power. The
Great Dane should display strength and elegance with great size and a
powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body.
The Great Dane is indeed only one of several giant working canine
breeds, but is unique in that its general conformation is so well
balanced that it never appears clumsy, and moves with a long reach and
powerful drive.
A Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, never timid, always friendly
and dependable. This physical and mental combination is the
characteristic which gives the Great Dane the majesty possessed by no
other dog breed. It is particularly true of this breed that there
is an impression of great masculinity in dogs, as compared to an
impression of femininity in bitches
Country of Origin:
The Great Dane originated in Germany.
Original Purpose: The
ancestors of the Great Dane include British mastiffs and possibly
wolfhounds, brought to Europe, first by the Romans and later by German
aristocrats seeking to improve their hunting dogs. Despite its
name, the Great Dane is a German breed.
During the 15th and 16th
centuries, German forests were filled with game, and hunting wild boar
with dogs was a favorite pastime of German nobility. Each lord
kept large numbers of boarhounds, which they carefully bred to improve
their size, power, and endurance.
When game in the forests began
to dwindle, the large breeding kennels disappeared but the Great Dane
continued to be a favorite with German aristocrats.
Great Danes
were exhibited at the first German Dog show in 1863, and the first Danes
were imported into the United States not long thereafter.
Today's Uses: Today the Great Dane is a popular
family companion for people who admire their regal appearance and
affectionate personalities.
Coat: Great Danes require minimal grooming of
their shorthaired coat. Comb, brush and dry shampoo when necessary.
Color: The Great Dane can be brindle, fawn,
blue, black or harlequin (white is preferable with all black or all blue
patches). Great Danes can can also have a mantle pattern, which is
black with a white collar and chest, a white muzzle, and white on all or
part of the legs.
Temperament: Great
Danes are alert, lively and happy. The Great Dane loves to play,
are very good with children, and are very affectionate. Great
Danes are easy going, intelligent and trainable. The Great Dane
should be spirited, courageous, always friendly and dependable, and
never timid or aggressive.
With
Children: Great Danes can be excellent with children,
but should be supervised due to the large size of the breed. Great
Danes are very sensitive and need to be treated kindly.
Other Pet Compatibility:
Great Danes are a large and strong breed so owner supervision is
recommended with smaller pets.
Trainability:
Great Danes are a large and strong breed so
owners will also need to be physically strong to handle them. The Great
Dane is an intelligent breed, which is also deemed sensitive so the
Great Dane needs firm but very encouraging training methods combined
with plenty of positive reinforcement and praise.
Activity Level:
The Great Dane needs plenty of exercise and
enjoy long daily walks.
Life Expectancy:
The Great Dane has an average life expectancy of 7-10 years.
Breed Standard:
Great Dane
General Impression :
Very muscular, strongly though
elegantly built, with look of dash and daring, of being ready to go
anywhere and do anything. Head and neck
carried high, tail in line with back, or slightly upwards, but never
curled over hindquarters.
Elegance of outline and grace of form most essential.
Alert expression, powerful, majestic action
displaying dignity.
Temperament
: Disposition should be outgoing and happy.
While a watchful nature may be expected at home, human
aggression without provocation is a disqualifying fault.
Head
and Skull : The
Great Dane head is proportionate to the size of the dog, long,
rectangular, narrow and finely chiseled, especially below the eyes.
When viewed from the side, the Great Dane's skull and muzzle are of
equal length, straight, parallel to one another, and joined by a
strongly pronounced stop. Viewed from above, the planes of the
skull and foreface are parallel and the bridge of the nose is very
broad. Gender difference is readily apparent. Correct head
formation is essential to Great Dane breed type.
The skull of the Great Dane is narrow, long
and nearly flat, with parallel sides. The cheeks are clean and cheek
muscles are not prominent.
Ears :
The ears of the Great
Dane are triangular, medium size, set high on skull and folded forward,
not pendulous or hound like.
Muzzle
: When
viewed from the side, the Great Dane muzzle is long, equal in length to
the skull, and rather deep. The underline of the lower jaw is
nearly parallel to the bridge of the muzzle. The end of the muzzle is
blunt, and almost perpendicular to the upper and lower lines of the jaw,
forming a distinctly rectangular muzzle. The bridge of the muzzle is
very broad, so that the end of the muzzle, viewed from the front,
appears almost square. Faults: Muzzle too long or too
short; loose, fluttering lips.
Teeth: The Great
Dane has a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a
scissors bite.
The jaw of the Great Dane is strong with a
perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely
overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. The teeth are
level.
Eyes :
Fairly deep set, not
giving the appearance of being round, of medium size and preferably
dark. Non symmetrical eyes permissible in harlequins.
Nose :
The nose should be a solid color. Lacking pigment should be considered non preferred.
Fault: Completely pink nose (a small amount is acceptable).
Neck
:
Neck long, well arched,
quite clean and free from loose skin, held well up, well set in
shoulders, junction of head and neck well defined.
Body : Very deep, brisket reaching elbow, ribs
well sprung, belly well drawn up. Back and loins strong, latter slightly
arched.
Forequarters
:
Shoulders muscular, not loaded,
well sloped back, with elbows well under body. Forelegs perfectly
straight with big flat bone.
Hindquarters
: Extremely
muscular, giving strength and galloping power. Second thigh long
and well developed, good turn of stifle, hocks set low, turning neither
in nor out.
Feet
:
Round, tight both front and rear coming from strong pasterns.
Neither turning in or out.
Toes well arched and close, nails strong
and curved. Nails preferably dark in all coat colors, except
harlequins, where light nails are permissible.
Fault: Weak pasterns and/or splayed feet.
Height
: The
preferred heights for Great Danes are - Females: 28 - 30 inches;
Males 30 - 32 inches when measured at the shoulders.
Weight
:
The minimum weight for an adult Great Dane should be,
females 100 lbs and 120 lbs for adult males.
Coat : The of the
Great Dane is short, dense and sleek-looking, never inclined to
roughness.
Color :
The Great Dane can be
brindle, fawn, blue, black or harlequin (white is preferable with all
black or all blue patches). Great Danes can can also have a mantle
pattern, which is black with a white collar and chest, a white muzzle,
and white on all or part of the legs.
Tail :
The Great Dane posses a
tail that is thick at the base, tapering towards end, reaching to or
just below hocks. The tail is carried in straight line level with
back, when the Great is moving, slightly curved towards end, but never
curling or carried over the back.
Gait
/ Movement : Action
lite, springy and free, covering ground well. Hocks move freely with
driving action, head carried high.
Great Dane 
By United Canine Association 