Great Danes. Rachel Cawley

       Chapter One

       All AboutGreat Danes

      The Great Dane is often referred to as the Apollo of dogs. Apollo, a son of Zeus (king of the gods), was sometimes referred to as the god of the sun or light. He also was linked to truth, prophecy, medicine, and poetry. The breed’s majesty and noble stature certainly gives it the statuesque appearance of the Greek gods.

      In fact, throughout history, mankind seemed fascinated with dogs of great size and strength. Paintings of giant dogs resembling Great Danes have been found on Egyptian monuments dating as far back as 3000 B.C. Artifacts found around Babylonian temples dated to 2000 B.C. have shown men walking a massive dog that resembles a Great Dane. Chinese literature dated 1121 B.C. mentions canines similar in appearance to Great Danes. A painting dated approximately 1200 B.C. shows Egyptians using Harlequin-colored dogs (white with black patches) that resemble Great Danes. An image similar to a Great Dane even appears on Greek money dated from 36 B.C.

The Birth of the Breed

      It should be stated up front that despite its name, the Great Dane did not originate in Denmark. The Great Dane did not immediately appear as the breed seen today. It was created by blending several existing breeds. And even after the breed had begun to be identified, it took some time before people could settle on a name. England and Germany struggled for years to claim the breed for themselves by attempting to name it after their country.

      The Great Dane has been recognized as a breed for more than 400 years. The early Great Danes were called Boarhounds for the job they performed: hunting boars. A boar, being strong and swift, demanded a superior dog to hunt it. Records of the time show these early Great Danes to be quite effective.

      As the boar population began to fall, the hounds began a new life. By the sixteenth century the English dubbed the breed English Dogges. These large dogs were bred for image and protection. In the late 1600s a German nobleman bred large numbers of the dogs, prizing the biggest and most attractive. These pampered dogs, often adorned with ornate collars, were kept inside homes and called Kammerhunde, literally meaning “chamber dogs.”

      French naturalist Comte de Buffon (1749–1788) gave the breed the name it has today. Buffon authored a massive (more than 35 volumes) natural-history encyclopedia, Historie Naturalle. While visiting Denmark, he came across a sleeker version of the Boarhound. Thinking it a Greyhound, the author said the Danish climate caused the Greyhound to become a Grand Danois, a Great Danish Dog. The name has remained despite attempts to rename the breed.

       Fun Facts

       Hunting Records

      In 1563, more than 2,500 boars were hunted down. The number may be less impressive if one considers the ratio of boars to hounds. One hunter, Duke Henry of Braunschweig, showed up at a hunt in 1592 with 600 male Boarhounds!

The Name Game

      More than the average breed, the Great Dane has gone through a variety of names. In the 1800s, the dog’s name became a point of contention between England and Germany. The first German dog show (1863) featured two similar breeds: the Dannish Doggen and the Ulmer Doggen. By 1876 the judges began to refuse to allow both names, saying that the dogs were the same breed and only the Deutsche Dogge name was to be used. At the 1879 Hanover show it was decided that the lighter-weight dogs would be Ulmer Doggen and the heavier-weight dogs would be Danish Dogs. More confusing was that Brindle Great Danes were called Hatzruden (Wolf Dogs)!

      The 1880 publication of Sydenham Edward’s encyclopedia Cynographia Britannica (an encyclopedia of British dog breeds) lists the “Great Danish Dog” with an illustration. It describes the dog as being a cross between Greyhounds and Mastiffs with usually cropped ears. The text even mentions “a beautiful variety called the Harlequin Dane.”

      That same year, a meeting of German breeders and judges agreed that the breed developed in Germany was substantially different from the English Mastiffs. The group insisted the name be changed to Deutsch Dogge (German Dog), forbade all other names, and founded the Deutshe Doggen Club of Germany.