In appearance and nature the Great Dane is one of the most elegant and distinguished varieties of giant type dog.

Accurate canine history is limited to but little longer than the last half century. The first dog show was held as recently as 1859 in England where the 'dog game' was born. Before that time, there were occasional records of different sorts of dogs over a period of more than three thousand years; but the items are so few, incomplete and inaccurate that a student of the dogs of antiquity can 'prove' almost anything he care to imagine.

The name of the breed (in the English language) is a translation of an old French designation, grand Danois meaning "big Danish". This was only one of half a dozen names which had been used for centuries in France. Why the English adopted the name 'Great Dane' from the French is a mystery. At the same time the French were also calling it dogue allemand or "German Mastiff"

There is no known reason for connecting Denmark with either the origin or the development of the breed. It was 'made in Germany' and it is German fanciers who have led the world in breeding most of the finest specimens.

If the reader is susceptible to the charms of antiquity, he will be interested in Cassel's claim that on Egyptian monuments of about 3000 B.C. there are drawings of dogs much like the Great Dane. Also the earliest written description of a dog resembling the breed may be found in Chinese literature of 1121 B.C. (an article by Dr. G. Ciaburri, Great Dane Club of Italy publication, 1929).

Eminent zoologists like Keller and Kraemer believe that the mastiff breed originated in Asia. They think the modern Tibetan Mastiff, occasionally shown in England, is the most direct descendant of the prototype.

The great naturalist Buffon (1707 - 1788) claimed the Irish Wolfhoud as the principal ancestor of our Great Dane. The comparative anatomist Cuvier (1769 - 1821) found more evidence in favour of the old English Mastiff as the root from which it sprang. Both Irish and English breeds are known to have been carefully bred for 1300 years and more. Today, most students favour the idea that the Great Dane, or Deutsche Dogge, resulted from a mixture of both these ancient types.

This is not to say that the German Mastiff or Great Dane is a new breed. It is indeed a very old one, which has been cultivated as a distinct type for probably over 400 years, if not longer. Like all old varieties of dog, it was deveoped for a useful purpose. the Germans used the Great Dane as a boar hound. Europe's erstwhile boar was one of the most savage, swift, powerful and well armed of all big game on the Continent. To tackle the wild boar required a superdog, and that is precisely what the Germans developed. We who fancy him speak of him as the king of all dogs.

In common with all other breeds, the Great Dane's history of and development to a modern standard type began in the latter nineteenth century. In 1880 at Berlin, Dr. Bodinus, called a meeting of Great Dane judges who declared that the breed should be known as Deutsche dogge and that all other designations, especially the term "Great Dane", should be abolished thereafter. So far as the German people are concerned this declaration has been observed, but English speaking people have paid no heed. The Italians, who have a large Great Dane fancy, have also failed to give Germany credit for the name selected;aliano. This word means "a mastiff", consequently the name of their organization means "Mastiff Club of Italy." This however, has not prevented close co-operation between fanciers of the two countries. The leading Italian breeders have based their operation on nothing but German imported stock or its descendants.

In 1891 the Great Dane Club of Germany adopted a precise standard, or official description of the ideal specimen. In 1885, there was a Great Dane Club in England and in 1889 at Chicago, the German Mastiff or Great Dane Club of America was founded with G. Muss-Arnoldt as first delegate. Two years later the club reorganized as the Great Dane Club of America. At that time, its membership was mostly of Eastern fanciers.

The American standard of the Great Dane has always been based on the German standard as adopted by the Deutsche Doggen Club. In fact, all nations have recognized the authority of Germany on this matter. The English, French, Italian, Indian and Dutch standards are almost exact translations from the German. The world over there is a single ideal of excellence in Great Danes. If a Dane rates high in Germany he will rate high anywhere. This is not true of several breeds which have seen local fads take hold, so there there is a diversity of types in the same breed from country to country. This causes confusion in judging and breeding, since a 'flyer' in one country might be considered quite undesirable in another.

The Great Dane has deveoped steadily in popularity. He was never the rage outside of Germany in Bismarck's day; nevertheless, year after year all over the world he has slowly increased in numbers. The Germans have kept before them the stern business the boar hound must engage in. A merely "pretty" dog has not been enough. He must have size and weight, nobility and courage and endurance. What more can one ask for in a dog?