Great Dane — questions to ask before paying a deposit
A responsible breeder will have these readily available. Deflection is a red flag.
Hip dysplasiacan shorten life or cause chronic pain
Malformation of the hip joint causing pain, lameness and early arthritis.
Ask to see: OFA hip evaluation, on both parents, from around 24 months old, under the Great Dane Club of America's CHIC programme
OFA / CHIC Programs (https://ofa.org/chic-programs/) · Great Dane Club of America — Health and Research (https://gdca.org/the-great-dane/health-and-research/)
Loose eyelids
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.
Ask to see: No test; ask whether a vet has checked both parents' eyelids.
FCI Breed Specific Instructions (Nordic Kennel Union) (https://www.fci.be/nomenclature/docs/JUG-BSI-en.pdf)
Autoimmune thyroiditis
The immune system attacks the thyroid gland, usually leading to hypothyroidism; manageable with lifelong medication once caught.
Ask to see: OFA thyroid panel (including TgAA) from an approved laboratory, on both parents
OFA / CHIC Programs (https://ofa.org/chic-programs/)
Dilated cardiomyopathycan shorten life or cause chronic pain
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.
Ask to see: 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.
UFAW Genetic Welfare Problems of Companion Animals (https://www.ufaw.org.uk/dogs/great-dane-dilated-cardiomyopathy)
Gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat)can shorten life or cause chronic pain
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.
Ask to see: No test exists. Ask whether the breeder discusses prophylactic gastropexy and feeding management rather than expecting a document.
Glickman et al. — incidence and breed-related risk factors for GDV (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10638316/)
Osteosarcomacan shorten life or cause chronic pain
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.
Ask to see: No test exists. Ask about bone cancer in the line, particularly in dogs that died before ten years old.
VetCompass — dog breeds and body conformations predisposed to osteosarcoma in the UK (https://cgejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40575-021-00100-7)
Cervical spondylomyelopathy ("wobbler syndrome")can shorten life or cause chronic pain
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.
Ask to see: 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.
PubMed — radiographic vertebral ratios in Great Danes with cervical spondylomyelopathy (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24698393/)
Shortened lifespan and orthopaedic/cardiac strain tied to giant body sizecan shorten life or cause chronic pain
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.
Ask to see: 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.
RVC VetCompass — giant dog breeds in the UK (https://www.rvc.ac.uk/vetcompass/news/living-it-large-new-rvc-research-reveals-health-and-lifespan-challenges-in-giant-breed-dogs)