06/12/2026
Its National Great Dane Day! Lets celebrate these gentle giants today!
Here's some fun facts about the breed:
- Dogs resembling Great Danes have been around for thousands of years - featuring on Egyptian monuments dating back to 3,000 BC. Large boarhounds resembling the Great Dane also appear in ancient Greek art from the 14th century BC.
- The Great Dane breed first emerged in the 16th century, when European nobility imported the descendent of crossbreeds between the English Mastiff and Irish Wolfhound from England.
- Great Danes used to be called the German Boarhound in the 18th century and were later marketed as the German Dogge or German Mastiff. Following increased tensions between Germany and other countries, the true place of the breed's origin was removed from the dog's name, and the Great Dane was created.
- Small dogs tend to live longer than larger dogs and that's certainly the case for the Great Dane. Sadly they have one of the shortest average lifespans of any dog breed - just 7-10 years.
- The Great Dane is the tallest dog breed on the planet. The world record holder for tallest dog was a Great Dane called Zeus who measured an amazing 44 inches or 3.6 feet from paw to shoulder.
- In the 17th century, the Great Dane's ancestors were a favourite in the courts of German nobility. They were used to hunt bear, boar and deer during the day and at night slept in the same rooms as their royal masters - protecting them against assassination attempts.
- A Great Dane called Just Nuisance remains the only dog ever to be enlisted in the Royal Navy. He served in South Africa from 1939-1944, helping to enlist troops for World War Two and was buried with full military honours.
- Scooby-Doo, the famous Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, is a Great Dane - his creator used sketches of a colleague's dog as inspiration.
- The Great Dane is the official state dog of Pennsylvania. You can find a painting of the state's founder, William Penn, and his Great Dane hanging in the Governor's reception room.
- When Great Danes are born, they weigh only one or two pounds. In just half a year, they can weigh as much as 100 pounds. The dogs can continue to mature and grow until they’re 2 or 3 years old.
