The Great Dane Standard
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
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.
Mantle
The color shall be black and white with a solid
black blanket
extending over the body; black skull with white
muzzle; white blaze is optional;
whole white collar is preferred; a white chest;
white on part or whole of
forelegs and hind legs; white tipped black tail.
A small white marking
in the blanket is acceptable, as is a break in
the white collar.
Any variance in color or markings as described
above shall be faulted to the extent of the deviation.
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.
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."
Approved March 8, 1999
Effective April 28, 1999
This copy of the standard
is taken from the A.K.C Site