Dogue allemand

CHARACTERISTICS

Other Danish names, deutsche dogge, grand danish, great dane

FCI group Pinscher and schnauzer dog - molossoids

Short hair type

Long head shape

The Great Dane, as its name suggests, is from Germany where it is called Deutsche Dogge. His other names are: Danish and Great Dane.

His immediate ancestors are the former Büllenbeiser (German version of the bull dog) crossed with large dogs used for hunting (Hatzrüde), descendants of the friendly Alans. Subsequently, other names have come to denote the different types of these dogs. For example: Ulm's Dogs, Danish Dogue, Württemberg Dog, Great Dane, etc.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CYNOLOGICAL FEDERATION

The Great Dane belongs to the second group of this classification: the Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid Dogs and Swiss Mountain and Cattle Dogs.

The dogs in this group are watchdogs and defensive dogs. They are physically powerful, muscular and dissuasive. They also have a strong character.

The Great Dane is more closely related to the Dude Molossoid category.

HISTORICAL

The Great Dane is a great molosse that would descend from the Molossus of Tibet introduced in Europe first by the Phoenicians and then by a nomadic Persian people, who are called Alans.

During the Middle Ages, two varieties were distinguished among these Molossians: the "friendly Alans" hunting pack wild boar, wolf and bears, physically powerful, agile, slender and "Alans butcher" whose appearance heavier and picked up glued well to their role as guardian.

From 1878, these varieties were collected under the name "Great Dane". The breed standard will be set four years later in Germany. And in 1923, the Doggen Club de France was born.

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Great Dane is one of the giant breeds with its minimum 80 cm in the male and 72 cm in the female for a weight between 50 and 70 kg. He is tall, powerful but nevertheless harmonious. Its strength and strength are balanced by its elegance, its nobility and its royal port. Nicknamed the "Apollo of the dogs", he is not very proud! This dog with pigmented skin moves with harmonious and flexible paces.

His body fits in a square. His neck is long, dry and well muscled with a curved profile. His chest is pronounced, his ribs well arched. His back is short, almost rectilinear. His kidney is broad and slightly arched. Its rump is also wide and somewhat inclined. Her belly is well raised. The members of the Great Dane are strong and muscular with round feet (so-called "cat feet"), his fingers are arched and tight. Its tail is of medium length reaching up to the hock. Attached high and broad root, it is slender and thin at its end. It curls up a little sword shape when the dog is in action.

The head of this mastiff is finely carved, elongated, narrow and very expressive. He always wears it high. His eyebrows are well developed. Its snout, rectangular in shape, is high. Its truffle is black or lighter in Harlequin. Its eyes are of medium size, round, as dark as possible except for the Blue Mastiff in whom the blue eyes are admitted as well as in the Dogue harlequins for which eyes clear or of different color are also tolerated. His ears are tied up and naturally drooping. There are several dresses in the standard of the Great Dane. The brindle has a light yellow or intense yellow background color with black streaks clearly drawn and a black mask sought. The tawny dress is content with the light or intense yellow color and the black mask. The black dress may have some white marks too. The blue dress corresponds to the pure steel blue color with white marks at the level of the feet and chest admitted. Finally, the harlequin dress is characterized by a pure white background with black patches of lacquer jagged contours, of varying sizes but especially well distributed throughout the body. His hair is very short, dense, smooth or shiny and lying flat.

FRAGILITY

The Great Dane requires a lot of attention from the point of view of his health. This is mainly due to its size and its rapid growth. During its first three years of life, which represent its growth phase, care must be taken to provide it with sufficient exercise without abusing it because their framework is fragile during this stage of growth. This will minimize the joint and ligament problems that may occur later. As he grows up very quickly, his diet is to be adjusted regularly. From the point of view of the pathologies to which this breed may be subject, hip dysplasia constitutes