Great Dane - Breed Standard (American)

General Appearance:

The Great Dane combines, in its regal appearance, dignity, strength and elegance with great size
and a powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body. It is one of the giant working breeds, but is
unique in that its general conformation must be so well balanced that it never appears clumsy, and
shall move with a long reach and powerful drive. It is always a unit, - the Apollo of dogs. 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 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. Lack of true Dane breed type, as
defined in this standard, is a serious fault.

Size, Proportion, Substance:

The male should appear more massive throughout than the bitch, with larger frame and heavier
bone. In the ratio between length and height, the Great Dane should be square. In bitches, a
somewhat longer body is permissible, providing she is well proportioned to her height.
Coarseness or lack of substance are equally undesirable. The male shall not be less than 30 inches
at the shoulders, but it is preferable that he be 32 inches or more, providing he is well proportioned
to his height. The female shall not be less than 28 inches at the shoulders, but it is preferable that
she be 30 inches or more, providing she is well proportioned to her height. Danes under minimum
height must be disqualified.

Head:

The head shall be rectangular, long, distinguished, expressive, finely chiseled, especially below the
eyes. Seen from the side, the Dane's forehead must be sharply set off from the bridge of the nose,
(a strongly pronounced stop). The plane of the skull and the plane of the muzzle must be straight
and parallel to one another. The skull plane under and to the inner point of the eye must slope
without any bony protuberance in a smooth line to a full square jaw with a deep muzzle (fluttering
lips are undesirable). The masculinity of the male is very pronounced in structural appearance of
the head. The bitch's head is more delicately formed. Seen from the top, the skull should have
parallel sides and the bridge of the nose should be as broad as possible. The cheek muscles
should not be prominent. The length from the tip of the nose to the center of the stop should be
equal to the length from the center of the stop to the rear of the slightly developed occiput. The
head should be angular from all sides and should have flat planes with dimensions in proportion to
the size of the Dane. Whiskers may be trimmed or left natural. Eyes- shall be medium size, deep
set, and dark, with a lively intelligent expression. The eyelids are almond-shaped and relatively
tight, with well developed brows. Haws and mongolian eyes are serious faults. In harlequins, the
eyes should be dark; light colored eyes, eyes of different colors and walleyes are permitted but not
desirable. Ears- shall be high set, medium in size and of moderate thickness, folded forward close
to the cheek. The top line of the folded ear should be level with the skull. If cropped, the ear
length is in proportion to the size of the head and the ears are carried uniformly erect. Nose- shall
be black, except in the blue Dane, where it is a dark blue-black. A black spotted nose is permitted
on the harlequin; a pink colored nose is not desirable. A split nose is a disqualification. Teeth-
shall be strong, well developed, clean and with full dentition. The incisors of the lower jaw touch
very lightly the bottoms of the inner surface of the upper incisors (scissors bite). An undershot
jaw is a very serious fault. Overshot or wry bites are serious faults. Even bites, misaligned or
crowded incisors are minor faults.

Neck, Topline, Body:

The neck shall be firm, high set, well arched, long and muscular. From the nape, it should gradually
broaden and flow smoothly into the withers. The neck underline should be clean. Withers shall
slope smoothly into a short level back with a broad loin. The chest shall be broad, deep and well
muscled. The forechest should be well developed without a pronounced sternum. The brisket
extends to the elbow, with well sprung ribs. The body underline should be tightly muscled with a
well-defined tuck-up. The croup should be broad and very slightly sloping. The tail should be set
high and smoothly into the croup, but not quite level with the back, a continuation of the spine.
The tail should be broad at the base, tapering uniformly down to the hock joint. At rest, the tail
should fall straight. When excited or running, it may curve slightly, but never above the level of
the back. A ring or hooked tail is a serious fault. A docked tail is a disqualification.

Forequarters:

The forequarters, viewed from the side, shall be strong and muscular. The shoulder blade must be
strong and sloping, forming, as near as possible, a right angle in its articulation with the upper arm.
A line from the upper tip of the shoulder to the back of the elbow joint should be perpendicular.
The ligaments and muscles holding the shoulder blade to the rib cage must be well developed, firm
and securely attached to prevent loose shoulders. The shoulder blade and the upper arm should
be the same length. The elbow should be one-half the distance from the withers to the ground.
The strong pasterns should slope slightly. The feet should be round and compact with
well-arched toes, neither toeing in, toeing out, nor rolling to the inside or outside. The nails should
be short, strong and as dark as possible, except that they may be lighter in harlequins. Dewclaws
may or may not be removed.

Hindquarters:

The hindquarters shall be strong, broad, muscular and well angulated, with well let down hocks.
Seen from the rear, the hock joints appear to be perfectly straight, turned neither toward the inside
nor toward the outside. The rear feet should be round and compact, with well-arched toes, neither
toeing in nor out. The nails should be short, strong and as dark as possible, except they may be
lighter in harlequins. Wolf claws are a serious fault.

Coat:

The coat shall be short, thick and clean with a smooth glossy appearance.

Color, Markings and Patterns:

Brindle - The base color shall be yellow gold and always brindled with strong black cross stripes in
a chevron pattern. A black mask is preferred. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows,
and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The more intensive the base color and the more distinct
and even the brindling, the more preferred will be the color. Too much or too little brindling are
equally undesirable. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted, dirty colored brindles are
not desirable.
Fawn - The color shall be yellow gold with a black mask. Black should appear on the eye rims and
eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The deep yellow gold must always be given the
preference. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted dirty colored fawns are not
desirable.
Blue - The color shall be a pure steel blue. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.
Black - The color shall be a glossy black. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.
Harlequin - Base color shall be pure white with black torn patches irregularly and well distributed
over the entire body; a pure white neck is preferred. The black patches should never be large
enough to give the appearance of a blanket, nor so small as to give a stippled or dappled effect.
Eligible, but less desirable, are a few small gray patches, or a white base with single black hairs
showing through, which tend to give a salt and pepper or dirty effect. Any variance in color or
markings as described above shall be faulted to the extent of the deviation.
Any Great Dane which does not fall within the above color classifications must be disqualified.

Gait:

The gait denotes strength and power with long, easy strides resulting in no tossing, rolling or
bouncing of the topline or body. The backline shall appear level and parallel to the ground. The
long reach should strike the ground below the nose while the head is carried forward. The
powerful rear drive should be balanced to the reach. As speed increases, there is a natural
tendency for the legs to converge toward the centerline of balance beneath the body. There
should be no twisting in or out at the elbow or hock joints.

Temperament:

The Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, always friendly and dependable, and never timid or
aggressive.

DISQUALIFICATIONS:

Danes under minimum height.
Split nose. Docked Tail.
Any color other than those described under "Color, Markings and Patterns."