The Official Kennel Club Breed Standard for the Great Dane General Appearance Very muscular, strongly though elegantly built, with look of dash and daring, of being ready to go anywhere and do anything. Head and neck carried high, tail in line with back, or slightly upwards, but never curled over hindquarters. Elegance of outline and grace of form most essential. Characteristics Alert expression, powerful, majestic action displaying dignity. Temperament Kindly without nervousness, friendly and outgoing. Head and Skull Head, taken altogether, gives idea of great length and strength of jaw. Muzzle broad, skull proportionately narrow, so that whole head when viewed from above and in front, has appearance of equal breadth throughout. Length of head in proportion to height of dog. Length from nose to point between eyes about equal or preferably of greater length than from this point to back of occiput. Skull flat, slight indentation running up centre, occipital peak not prominent. Decided rise or brow over the eyes but not abrupt stop between them; face well chiselled, well filled in below eyes with no appearance of being pinched: foreface long, of equal depth throughout. Cheeks showing as little lumpiness as possible, compatible with strength. Underline of head, viewed in profile, runs almost in a straight line from corner of lip to corner of jawbone, allowing for fold of lip, but with no loose skin hanging down. Bridge of nose very wide, with slight ridge where cartilage joins bone (this is a characteristic of breed). Nostrils large, wide and open, giving blunt look to nose. Lips hang squarely in front, forming right angle with upper line of foreface. Eyes Fairly deep set, not giving the appearance of being round, of medium size and preferably dark. Wall, or odd eyes permissible in harlequins. Ears Triangular, medium size, set high on skull and folded forward, not pendulous. Mouth Teeth level. Jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Neck Neck long, well arched, quite clean and free from loose skin, held well up, well set in shoulders, junction of head and neck well defined. Forequarters Shoulders muscular, not loaded, well sloped back, with elbows well under body. Forelegs perfectly straight with big flat bone. Body Very deep, brisket reaching elbow, ribs well sprung, belly well drawn up. Back and loins strong, latter slightly arched. Hindquarters Extremely muscular, giving strength and galloping power. Second thigh long and well developed, good turn of stifle, hocks set low, turning neither in nor out. Feet Cat-like, turning neither in nor out. Toes well arched and close, nails strong and curved. Nails preferably dark in all coat colours, except harlequins, where light are permissible. Tail Thick at the root, tapering towards end, reaching to or just below hocks. Carried in straight line level with back, when dog is moving, slightly curved towards end, but never curling or carried over back. Gait/Movement Action lithe, springy and free, covering ground well. Hocks move freely with driving action, head carried high. Coat Short dense and sleek-looking, never inclined to roughness. Colour Brindles : must be striped, ground colour from lightest buff to deepest orange, stripes always black, eyes and nails preferably dark, dark shadings on head and ears acceptable. Fawns: colour varies from lightest buff to deepest orange, dark shadings on head and ears acceptable, eyes and nails preferably dark. Blues: colour varies from light grey to deep slate, the nose and eyes may be blue. Blacks: black is black. In all above colours white is only permissible on chest and feet, but it is not desirable even there. Nose always black, except in blues and harlequins. Eyes and nails perfectly dark. Harlequins: pure white underground with preferably all black patches or all blue patches, having appearance of being torn. Light nails permissible. In harlequins, wall eyes, pink noses, or butterfly noses permissible but not desirable. Size Minimum height of an adult dog over eighteen months: 76 cms (30 ins); bitches: 71 cms (28 ins). Weight, minimum weight over eighteen months: dogs: 54 kgs (120 lbs); bitches: 46 kgs (100 lbs). Faults Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog. Note Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. March 1994 The above Standard published with kind permission from The Kennel Club ŠThe Kennel Club The Breed Standard STANDARD OF POINTS (1883) General Appearance The Great Dane is not so heavy or massive as the Mastiff, nor should he too nearly approach the Greyhound in type. Remarkable in size and very muscular, strongly though elegantly built, movements easy and graceful; head and neck carried high; the tail carried horizontally with the back, or slightly upwards, with a slight curl at the extremity. The minimum height and weight of dogs should be 30 inches and 120 lbs.; of bitches 28 inches and 100 lbs. anything below this should be debarred from competition. Head.  Long, the frontal bones of the forehead very slightly raised, and very little indentation between the eyes. Cheek muscles well developed. Nose large, bridge well arched. Lips in front perpendicularly blunted, not hanging too much over the sides, though with well-defined folds at the angle of the mouth. The lower jaw slightly projecting - about a sixteenth of an inch. Eyes small, round, with sharp expression and deeply set. Ears very small and Greyhound like in carriage when uncropped; they are, however, usually cropped. Neck.  Rather long, very strong and muscular, well arched, without dewlap or loose skin about the throat. The junction of head and neck strongly pronounced. Chest.  Not too broad, and very deep in brisket. Back.  Not too long or short; loins arched and falling in a beautiful line to the insertion of the tail. Tail.  Reaching to the hock, strong at the root and ending fine with a slight curve. When excited it becomes more curved, but in no case should it curve over the back. Belly.  Well drawn up. Forequarters.  Shoulders set sloping, elbows well under, neither turning inwards nor outwards. Leg, forearm muscular and with great development of bone, the whole leg strong and quite straight. Hindquarters.  Muscular thighs, and second thigh long and strong as in the Greyhound, and hocks well let down and turning neither in nor out. Feet.  Large and round, neither turned inwards nor outwards. Toes, well arched and closed. Nails, very strong and curved. Hair.  Very short, hard and dense, and not much longer on the under part of the tail. Colour and Markings.  The recognised colours are, the various shades of grey, (commonly termed "blue"), red, black, or pure white, or white with torn patches of the before-mentioned colours. These colours are sometimes accompanied with markings of a darker tint about the eyes and muzzle, and with a line of the same tint (called a "trace") along the course of the spine. The above ground colours also appear in the brindles, and are also the ground colours of the mottled specimens. In the whole-coloured specimens, the china or wall eye but rarely appears, and the nose more or less approaches black, according to the prevalent tint of the dog, and the eyes vary in colour also. The mottled specimens have irregular patches or "clouds" upon the above-named ground colours; in some instances the clouds or markings being of two or more tints. With the mottled specimens the wall or china eye is not uncommon, and the nose is often parti-coloured or wholly flesh coloured. The whole-coloured reddish yellow, with black muzzle and ears, is the colour least cared for, as indicative of the Mastiff cross. Faults.  Too heavy a head, too highly arched frontal bone, and deep "stop" or indentation between the eyes; large ears and hanging flat to the face; short neck; full dewlap; too narrow or too broad a chest; sunken or hollow or quite straight back; bent fore-legs; over-bent fetlocks; twisted feet; spreading toes; too heavy and much bent, or too highly carried tail, or with a brush underneath; weak hindquarters and a general want of muscle. Hon. Secretary: Rev. Gambier Bolton, Dinton, Salisbury. Standard of Points and Colour Revised and approved at the General Meeting, 7th February 1929. 1 - General Apperance The Great Dane should be remarkable in size and very muscular, strongly though elegantly built. The head and neck should be carried high, and the tail in line with the back, or slightly upward, but not curled over the hindquarters. Elegance of outline and grace of form are most essential to a Dane; size is absolutely necessary; but there must be that alertness of expression and briskness of movement without which the Dane character is lost. He should have a look of dash and daring, of being ready to go anywhere and do anything. 2 - Height The minimum height of an adult dog over eighteen months must be 30 inches; that of a bitch 28 inches. 3 - Weight The minimum weight of an adult dog over eighteen months should be 120 lbs.; that of a bitch 100 lbs. 4 - Head Taken altogether the head should give the idea of great length and strength of jaw. The muzzle or foreface is broad, and the skull proportionately narrow, so that the whole head when viewed from above and in front has the appearance of equal breadth throughout. The entire length of head varies with the height of the dog; 13 inches from the tip of the nose to the back of the occiput is a good measurement for a dog of 32 inches at the shoulder. The length from the end of the nose to the point between the eyes should be about equal or preferably of greater length than from this point to the back of the occiput. The skull should be flat and have a slight indentation running up the centre, the occipital peak not prominent. There should be a decided rise or brow over the eyes, but no abrupt stop between them; the face should be well chiselled, well filled in below the eyes, with no appearance of being pinched; the fore-face long, of equal depth throughout. The cheeks should show as little lumpiness as possible compatible with strength. Lips.  The lips should hang quite square in front, forming a right angle with the upper line of foreface. Underline.  The underline of the head, viewed in profile, should run almost in a straight line from the corner of the lip, to the corner of the jawbone, allowing for the fold of the lip, but with no loose skin to hang down. Jaw.  The teeth should be level and not project one way or the other. Nose and Nostrils.  The bridge of the nose should be very wide, with a straight ridge where the cartilage joins the bone. (This is quite a characteristic of the breed). The nostrils should be large, wide and open, giving a blunt look to the nose. A butterfly or flesh-coloured nose is not objected to in harlequins. Ears.  The ears should be small, set high on the skull, and carried slightly erect with the tips falling forward. 5 - Neck. The neck should be long, well arched, and quite clean and free from loose skin, held well up, snake-like in carriage, well set in the shoulders, and the junction of head and neck well defined. 6 - Shoulders. The shoulders should be muscular but not loaded, and well-sloped back, with the elbows well under the body. 7 - Forelegs and Feet. The forelegs should be perfectly straight, with big bone. The feet should be catlike, the toes well arched and close, the nails strong and curved. 8 - Body. The body should be very deep, with ribs well sprung and body well drawn up. 9 - Back and Loins. The back and loins should be strong, the latter slightly arched. 10 - Tail. The tail should be thick at the root, and taper towards the end, reaching to or just below the hocks. It should be carried, when the dog is in action, in a straight line, level with the back, slightly curved towards the end, but in no case should it curl or be carried over the back. 11 - Hindquarters. The hindquarters and thighs should be extremely muscular, giving the idea of great strength and galloping power. The second thigh is long and well developed, the stifle and hock well bent, the hocks set low, turning neither out nor in. 12 - Coat. The hair is short and dense and sleek looking, and in no case should it incline to roughness. 13 - Movement. The action should be lithe, springy and free. The hocks move freely, and the head be carried high except when galloping. Colour Standards The following are the recognised definitions of the various colours as approved by The Great Dane Club in General Meeting. a.  Fawn. The colour varies from the lightest yellow to deepest orange, with or without a shading of black on the muzzle and ears and around the eyes. White is only admissible on the chest and toes, but is not desirable even there. The nose is always black. The eyes and nails are preferably dark. b.  Brindle. Brindles must be striped. The ground colour may vary from the lightest yellow to deepest orange with or without a shading of black on the muzzle and ears and around the eyes. The stripes must always be black and clearly defined and the ground colour should be obvious. White is only admissible on the chest and toes, but is not desirable even there. The nose is always black. Eyes and nails preferably dark. c.  Blue. The colour varies from light grey to deepest slate. White is only admissible on the chest and toes, but is not desirable even there. The nose to be either black or blue. Eyes and nails preferably dark. d.  Black. Black is black. White is only admissible on the chest and toes, but is not desirable even there. The nose is always black. Eyes and nails preferably black. e.  Harlequin. The colour should be predominating pure white underground, with clearly defined and irregularly torn patches of either black or blue, preferably all black or all blue patches on an individual dog, distributed in such a manner as to give a harmonious and pleasing appearance. A flecked appearance is considered undesirable. In this variety, walleyes, pink noses, or butterfly noses are not a fault. Back To Top