American Champion Quaker Hill Lennox LeCheval CGC
Bred by Linda Slezak, USA, and Sussie Nilsson, Sweden.
Owned by Chantel & Stacey Johnson, Texas - USA.
The body of the Great Dane shows that the ancestors to the breed is both Mastiff and sighthounds.
Buffon (1707-1788) claimed that the Irish Wolfhound is the principal ancestor of the breed, Cuvier (1769-1832) believed, and claimed he had found evidence, that the English Mastiff
was the Great Dane ancestor, and it is possible that both breeds or breed-types have contributed to the development of the Grand Danois.
Other refer to the mastiffs brought by the Alans, when they invaded Gaul, Italy and Spain in the 5th century, as the ancestor of the Deutsche Dogge.
It is also believed by some that the old Bullenbeisser and Hatz and Saurüden is the foundation of the breed.
At left Mr. Voigt's dog. At right "Skjold", owned by Mr. Klemp.
Great Danes in the 1800's.
The Danish says that the breed is from Denmark and the Germans say that Germany is the country of this highest of dogbreeds. The most common believe nowadays is that the breed is German in origin,
was used as a boar-hound, and probably have at least a 400 years long history as a cultivated breed.
In one 1887 Danish dogbook I have it can be read that the German writer Götz said in 1834; "This outstanding beautiful dogbreed comes from Denmark, where it also have taken its name from.
The breed was called "Dänische Dogge" in Germany in the 1800's, as can be read in the 1876 book "Der Hund und seine Racen" by Fitzinger.
In a Swedish advertise from 1890 that I have, the breed is referred to as German Dogg. Great Dane entusiasts that I have talked with tells that the breed have been bred in Denmark at least since the 1500's, but they
says that the breed have been common in both Denmark and Germany.
Probably was the Great Dane bred on both sides of the Danish/German border, and both countrys have probably participated in the development of the breed known as the modern Great Dane, but the Germans have with no doubt refined the breed and
made it what it is today.
"Reanns Royal Swede of Diplomatic",
owned by Björn Einarsve of Diplomatic Kennels, Sweden.
As the English name "German Boarhound" indicate, the Great dane have been used as a boarhunter, but also on hunting animals like wolf and bear. One of the earlyer German names on the breed was "Saupacker", although it not was the
only breed given that name.
In the 1800's, when the breed no longer was needed as a hunter, the high-society adopted the German Mastiff and as a result of that the breed was one of the first who was issued with a pedigree.
In 1880 Dr. Bodinus called a meeting of Great Dane judges, and after the meeting they declared that the breed should thereafter be called Deutsche Dogge and a precise standard was written by the Germans eleven years later, in 1891.
At left two Danes from the late 1800's.
At right a Great Dane from the 1920's.
The Great Dane is widely known as a great family dog who truly enjoys the company of children. This large aristocrat is kind, loving and devoted to its owner, but reserved with strangers. They shall still
inhabit the confidence needed to hunt wild boar. The breed is not among the long-lived ones, and the lifespan is generally 7 years+.
The appearance of the Great Dane is that of a noble dog, showing elegance, power and a well-balanced body structure with harmony all over.
The head shall be in harmony with the other portions of the dog, long and narrow, refined as if chisled by a fine sculptor.
Owned and pictured by Björn Einarsve of Diplomatic Kennels, Sweden.
The coat of the Grand Danois is short, thick, clean, smooth and have a glossy apperance.
The colour is devided into five catagories; yellow, brindle, harlequin, black and blue. In the yellow catagory the colour spans from
light to dark golden, a black mask is favored. The brindle-stripes is equally distributed with clear stripes preferred over a yellow body, also in the brindle the yellow colour have a wide span, from light to dark golden. The harlequin dogs have a white body with black patches equally distributed over the body. In the black colour, white patches is allowed on the muzzle, neck, chest, under the body, on the legs and at the end of the tail.
The blue dogs shall be clear steel-blue, white is allowed on the chest and feet.
The size of the male have a minimum of 80 cm. (31,44 in) at the withers, the female minimum 72 cm. (28,2 in). The highest dog of all time was the Great Dane "Shamgret Danzas" (1975-1984), resident in England, who at 108 kg. (237 lbs) was 105,4 cm. (41,4 in) at the withers.
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