- The Great Dane is bred in three separate colour varieties: Variety 1: Fawn and brindle
- Variety 2: Harlequin: white and black spotted, Merle: grey and black spotted, and black
- Variety 3: Blue.
- Fawn: Light gold fawn to deep gold fawn, evenly shaded throughout the body.
- Preferred: Black mask
- Permissible: Small white markings on the chest
- Brindle: Basic colour, light golden fawn to rich golden fawn with black stripes running with the direction of the ribs, as even and clearly defined as possible.
- Preferred: Black mask
- Permissible: Small white markings on the chest
- Harlequin (white with black splashed patches): Basic colour pure white, preferably with no ticking.
- Pure black patches well distributed all over the body, having the appearance of being torn.
- Undesirable: Grey or brownish patches or nuances of those colours in the black as well as blue-grey ticking in the white
- Merle (grey-black splashed patches): Basic colour grey, preferably with no ticking, with well-distributed, irregular, torn, jet-black spots over the entire body.
- Permissible: White markings on the chest and paws
- Included here are “Mantel Great Danes”, where the grey-black spotting covers the body like a mantle and the muzzle, neck, chest, belly, legs, and tail tip are white.
- Permissible: Black: Jet black, white markings on chest and feet
- Included here are “Mantel Great Danes” in which the black covers the body like a coat (“mantel”) or blanket and muzzle, throat, chest, belly, legs and tip of tail are white.
- Dogs with basic white colour and large black patches so called “Plattenhunde”
- Permissible: Blue: Pure steel blue, white markings on chest and feet
About the Great Dane
Origin: Germany
- Typical life span
- 7-10 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 64-79 kg
- Female
- 50-64 kg
- Height
- Male
- 76-81 cm
- Female
- 71-76 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI groupFCI divides this breed into varieties, and our sources don’t record which one a breeder works. Ask them which variety their line is.
- Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs
- Origin
- Germany
- Also called
- Gran Danes
- Known hereditary risks
- 8 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a Great Dane?
Giant, regal breed known as the 'Apollo of Dogs' with a powerful, well-muscled body, sleek coat, and dignified presence combined with noble bearing despite imposing size
Great Dane history and origins
Originally bred by German nobility from Mastiff-type dogs to hunt wild boar and deer, later refined as estate guardians and companions. Declared national dog of Germany in 1876 and standardized as 'Deutsche Dogge'
Great Dane appearance and size
Males typically weigh 64-79 kg and stand 76-81 cm at the shoulder; females 50-64 kg and 71-76 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Companion, watch- and guard dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Friendly, loving and devoted to his owners. Might be reserved towards strangers, but required is a confident, fearless, easily tractable, docile companion and family dog with high resistance to provocation and without aggression. Socially acceptable behaviour is of the utmost importance”
Quoted from FCI standard n°235. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Companion, watch- and guard dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 4 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 2 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 8 conditions documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Great Dane
What you get with the Great Dane
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion, watch- and guard dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Friendly, loving and devoted to his owners”
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Very short, dense, smooth and close lying, glossy.”
What you are taking on
- 6 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in heart & circulation and bones & joints. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; OFA / CHIC Programs. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Great Dane
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred, permissible and undesirable.
Coat
Must never be coarse, dull or a double coat
- Very short
- Dense
- Smooth and close lying
- Glossy
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°235 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Great Dane down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Temperament: Fear-biting, easily provoked.
- Blind or deaf Danes.
- Nose: Liver coloured.
- Nose: Split nose.
- Eyes: Ectropion, entropion, macroblepharia. Differently coloured eyes in all solid-colours.
- Muzzle: Permanent presence of a rolled in lip (covering of the lower jaw incisors by the lower lip) or rolled in lip with signs of injury, swelling or inflammation of the oral mucosa.
- Jaw/Teeth: Bite that is overshot, undershot or a wry mouth, pincer bite. Missing teeth apart from up to two P1 in the upper and lower jaw.
- Tail with kink.
- Colour: Fawn and brindle Great Danes: Silver blue or isabella- colored, with a white blaze, white neck collar, white paws or "stockings," and white tail tip. Harlequin Great Danes: White without any black (albinos), known as porcelain Danes (they exhibit mainly blue, fawn, brindle, or grey spots on a white base color). Blue Great Danes: White forehead stripe, white neck collar, white stockings, or white tail tip.
- Size: Below minimum height
FCI varieties
FCI divides the Great Dane into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.
- Fawn
- Brindle
- Black
- Harlequin
- Merle
- Blue
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Great Dane in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Great Dane
Known hereditary risks for the Great Dane breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
8 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Heart & circulation
Dilated cardiomyopathy
Serious
A thin-walled, enlarged heart that fails progressively; Great Danes have one of the highest death rates from heart disease of any breed studied, and often die within weeks of the first signs of heart failure. The mode of inheritance is only suspected (possibly X-linked), not confirmed, and there is no gene test.
What to ask for
No genetic test exists. Echocardiogram and 24-hour Holter ECG by a cardiologist, repeated every 2 years, is the only way to check — early disease has no outward signs.
Shortened lifespan and orthopaedic/cardiac strain tied to giant body size
SeriousInherent to the breed
Great Danes are among the heaviest breeds in a 2026 study of UK veterinary records; giant breeds as a group had a median age at death under nine years, well below smaller breeds, alongside elevated rates of joint and heart disease — a pattern tied to the size the standard itself calls for.
What to ask for
No document changes this. Ask how the breeder manages growth rate in puppyhood and what age dogs in their own lines have actually lived to.
Bones & joints
Hip dysplasia
Serious
Malformation of the hip joint causing pain, lameness and early arthritis.
What to ask for
OFA hip evaluation, on both parents, from around 24 months old, under the Great Dane Club of America's CHIC programme
Cervical spondylomyelopathy ("wobbler syndrome")
Serious
Compression of the spinal cord in the neck, causing an unsteady, wobbling gait that can progress to weakness or paralysis; unlike in most other affected breeds, it typically appears young, between one and three years old.
What to ask for
No screening test exists for breeding stock. Ask whether the sire, dam or their close relatives have shown an unsteady gait, neck pain or hind-limb weakness — the diagnosis itself is made by radiograph or MRI in an affected dog, not by a pre-breeding test.
Eyes
Loose eyelids
MonitorInherent to the breed
The FCI's own judging guidance names loose eyelids as a specific area of risk for this breed, which can let in irritants or roll inward and rub the cornea.
What to ask for
No test; ask whether a vet has checked both parents' eyelids.
Immune system
Autoimmune thyroiditis
Monitor
The immune system attacks the thyroid gland, usually leading to hypothyroidism; manageable with lifelong medication once caught.
What to ask for
OFA thyroid panel (including TgAA) from an approved laboratory, on both parents
1 source
Digestion & liver
Gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat)
Serious
A gas-filled, twisted stomach that is fatal within hours without emergency surgery. Great Dane had the highest risk of any breed in a major prospective study — about ten times that of the average breed studied, and the highest raw incidence of all breeds followed.
What to ask for
No test exists. Ask whether the breeder discusses prophylactic gastropexy and feeding management rather than expecting a document.
Cancer
Osteosarcoma
Serious
An aggressive bone cancer usually treated with amputation and chemotherapy. A UK case-control study found Great Danes had more than 30 times the odds of osteosarcoma compared with crossbred dogs — among the highest of any breed studied.
What to ask for
No test exists. Ask about bone cancer in the line, particularly in dogs that died before ten years old.
How long the Great Dane lives, in the records
Median survival 10.6 years
95% confidence interval 10.4–11.0 years, from 864 recorded deaths among 1,981 dogs
Mortality hazard 1.2 (1.13, 1.29) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
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Puppies
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