The Great Dane
- Jul 29
- 9 min read
Updated: Jul 30
A Deep Dive on the Gentle Giants
What's Breed Got to Do With It: Vol. 13
They're the tallest dogs on the planet, they're named after a country they have nothing to do with, and they will absolutely try to sit in your lap. Here's what living with one actually looks like — the history, the health risks, the real costs, and why the "gentle giant" reputation is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Growing up, we lived around the corner from a doctor who owned what my small town considered an estate — a big house on a wooded lot, surrounded by a tall chainlink fence. Behind that fence lived a pair of black mask fawn Great Danes, and if you weren't paying attention as you walked past, you'd pay the price by peeing your pants. They seemed to delight in racing towards the fence, barking and snarling as though their plan was to eat you alive. I was equal parts terrified and fascinated. To thirteen-year-old me, those two dogs were the fence — a second, breathing layer of security around a house that already looked like nobody should mess with it.
Fast forward a few decades, and I've spent the last few months in classes at Ashton & Co. K9 Academy alongside Pike and Gus, watching three different Great Danes work through the same foundational stuff my dogs are working through. And I have to tell you: nothing about them is terrifying. They're timid. They're goofy. They are, without exception, mildly baffled by the amount of leg they've been issued. These are not estate guardians. These are large, loving disasters, and I fell for them immediately.
So which version is the real Great Dane — the fence with teeth, or the world's largest lap dog who can't figure out where his feet are? Turns out, both are true, and the difference mostly comes down to something very unglamorous: whether anyone did the work.
A Very German Dog with a Very French Mistake For a Name
Here's the part that surprises almost everyone: Great Danes have no connection to Denmark whatsoever. The breed is German through and through, and Germany still calls it what it's always called it — the Deutsche Dogge, or German Mastiff.
The confusion traces back to 1755, when a French naturalist named Comte de Buffon encountered one of these dogs while traveling through Denmark and assumed it was a Danish breed. He wrote it up as "Grand Danois" — Great Dane — and the name stuck in English-speaking countries even though the Germans spent the better part of the 1800s trying to talk everyone out of it.
Their actual origin story starts in the mid-1500s, when German hunters wanted a dog powerful enough to chase down and hold wild boar until the humans on horseback could catch up. Breeders crossed Mastiff-type dogs with Irish Wolfhounds and Greyhounds, chasing a very specific combination: the strength to take down something that could gut a horse, and the speed and agility to actually catch it. By the 1600s, German nobility were breeding them intentionally for the job, and by the time guns made boar-hunting dogs obsolete, the breed had already found its second career — guarding the estates of the same nobility who used to hunt with them.
Which brings us back to the doctor's fence. Those two Danes weren't an aesthetic choice. They were doing the exact job the breed was built for, just a couple hundred years and an ocean away from the original boar hunts.
In 1876, the Deutsche Dogge was declared the national breed of Germany, and Otto von Bismarck — the German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as the country's first chancellor — kept them as personal bodyguards. It's a good reminder that the "gentle giant" you meet today is the product of very deliberate, very modern breeding. Temperament instability that used to be tolerated, and even prized, in a boarhound has been intentionally bred out over the last century-plus, because the job that required it doesn't exist anymore. The goofy, uncoordinated dogs in my training class aren't a fluke. They're the breed working exactly as designed.
FUN FACT: Scooby-Doo is a Great Dane, allegedly cast in part because medieval superstition held that the breed could ward off ghosts. Which makes him either the most on-brand cartoon casting of all time, or proof that even the industry's most famous coward comes from a lineage of literal boar-killers. Both can be true.
What It's Actually Like to Live With One
Strip away the size, and the Great Dane temperament reads almost like a contradiction. They're friendly with strangers, patient with kids, playful in short bursts, and famously low-key for a working breed — genuinely one of the more trainable giants out there. They don't tend to bark without reason, they're generally easygoing with other dogs, and they are, without irony, often described as the world's largest lap dog. A 150-pound animal who is fully convinced he is a Chihuahua-sized cuddle companion is objectively one of the funniest things you can invite into your home.
But "easygoing" doesn't mean "manageable by accident." A dog that size — up to 32 inches at the shoulder and as much as 175 pounds — can knock over a toddler or an unsteady adult without a single aggressive bone in his body, purely through enthusiasm and a poor sense of his own dimensions. That uncoordinated, all-legs-no-plan phase I watched in class isn't a personality quirk — it's a developmental stage tied directly to how fast and how large these dogs grow, and it's part of why controlled nutrition and patient, early training matter so much more here than they do for a breed that tops out at 40 pounds.
This is where I'll say the quiet part out loud: the dogs I met in class weren't gentle by accident. They were gentle because somebody enrolled a growing giant breed in foundational training and socialization before size outpaced manners. Skip that step with a dog this large, and "goofy" can curdle into "genuinely unsafe" fast — not because the dog is bad, but because nobody taught 150 pounds of enthusiasm where the brakes are.
The Health Picture — and It's a Serious One
I'm not going to soften this: the Great Dane's health profile is the toughest part of loving this breed, and it's the single biggest thing to understand before bringing one home. Their average lifespan sits at just 7 to 10 years, and it's tied directly to their extreme size — the same scale that makes them so visually stunning puts outsized strain on the heart, joints, and spine.
Bloat (GDV — gastric dilatation-volvulus)
This is the big one. Great Danes carry the highest lifetime bloat risk of any breed, at roughly 37%, and it's the leading cause of death in the breed. Here's what's actually happening: the stomach fills with gas and then twists on itself, cutting off blood flow to the stomach and spleen. Left untreated, it can be fatal in under 24 hours — sometimes in as little as 30 minutes. Watch for a visibly swollen abdomen, unproductive retching or heaving, excessive drooling, restlessness, or a dog lying in a "prayer position" with front legs down and rear end up. None of these are wait-and-see symptoms — they're emergency-room-now symptoms. Many owners opt for a preventive surgery called a gastropexy, which tacks the stomach to the abdominal wall so it physically can't twist. It's often done at the same time as spay or neuter and can cut bloat risk by roughly 95%.
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)
This is the other major threat: the heart muscle progressively enlarges and weakens until it can't pump blood efficiently. It's frequently silent in early stages, which is why vets recommend annual cardiac screening — an echocardiogram — starting around age 2 or 3, well before symptoms like coughing, lethargy, labored breathing, or fainting would show up on their own.
Wobbler syndrome (cervical spondylomyelopathy)
This is a genetically-linked narrowing of the vertebrae in the neck that compresses the spinal cord, producing the unsteady, "wobbly" gait that gives the condition its name. It's treated with medication, a supportive neck brace, physical rehab, or surgery depending on severity — but even with treatment, research out of Ohio State's own College of Veterinary Medicine puts average post-diagnosis lifespan at only around 4 years. It's a sobering number, and one more reason regular vet checkups matter more with this breed than most.
Rounding out the list: hip dysplasia (roughly 12% of the breed, managed through weight control and joint support), elevated rates of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and lymphoma, hypothyroidism, and — genuinely — happy tail syndrome, where the sheer force of a Dane's wag against furniture and door frames causes repeated tail-tip injuries that won't heal on their own.
None of this means a Great Dane is destined for a hard life. It means the breed requires a level of proactive, informed veterinary partnership that isn't optional — pet insurance or a dedicated emergency fund isn't paranoia here, it's baseline preparation.
What It Costs, Honestly
Every giant breed costs more than the number on the price tag suggests, and Great Danes are near the top of that curve.
Puppy from a reputable breeder: roughly $1,000–$3,000, sometimes higher for rare colors like harlequin or merle
Adoption/rescue: $75–$500 — and worth serious consideration, since breed-specific Great Dane rescues do exist and placement often skips the most destructive puppy months entirely
First year, all-in: most estimates land between $5,000 and $7,000 once you account for vaccines, spay/neuter, training, and gear sized for a dog who will outgrow three sets of it before adulthood
Ongoing monthly: food alone runs $100–$200 (a healthy adult eats 6–10 cups a day), and most owners land somewhere between $200–$500+ a month once insurance, preventatives, and supplies are factored in
Lifetime: commonly estimated between $25,000 and $35,000 over a 7–12 year life — before a single major emergency like bloat surgery ($3,500+) or cancer treatment ($5,000–$15,000+)
This is not a "big dog, slightly bigger bag of food" situation. Nearly every cost category scales with body weight — medication doses, anesthesia, even the size of the crate — and the breed's health risks make an unplanned four-figure vet bill more likely than average, not less.
Is a Great Dane Actually Right For Your House?
Square footage matters less than people assume — a Great Dane can do fine in a smaller home if daily exercise and a secure, fenced outdoor space are part of the routine. What matters more is a household that can physically and financially handle a giant breed: no small kids or unsteady adults at risk of being knocked flat by pure enthusiasm, a budget with room for size-scaled vet care, and — this is the non-negotiable one — a genuine commitment to early training and socialization while the dog is still small enough to correct course easily.
That last point is the whole thesis of this post, honestly. The difference between the dogs behind that chainlink fence and the dogs I met at Ashton & Co. isn't the breed. It's the work someone put in while the dog was still learning what he was.
If a Great Dane Sounds Like Your Dog
Not sure a giant breed is actually your match? Take the AKC Dog Breed Selector quiz before you fall for the ears and the size and nothing else — it's a quick gut check on whether a Great Dane fits your space, activity level, and experience before you fall further.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Answer a series of quick questions to find your best dog breed matches! You'll be asked about your preferences and needs for your new dog, and about your everyday lifestyle. The more questions you answer, the better the matches. https://www.akc.org/breed-selector-tool
Shelters and Rescues
My Barking Life advocates for shelter and rescue dogs of every breed and background, giants very much included. Purebred Danes are less common in general shelters but do turn up in breed-specific rescues — it's worth checking with a Great Dane rescue in your region before going the breeder route, and being patient if the right dog takes a little time to find you.
Here are a few that appear to be purebred and are currently sitting in a shelter within a 100-mile-radius of me right now. Click on the dog's image to see their Petfinder profile.
Smokey
Born May 27, 2025
Sweet big baby. Loves to play. Loves attention. Knows how to sit. Fully vetted.
Adoption fee: $750
Available through Pawprint Paradise in Diamond, OH. Request an application at puppyluvxx912@yahoo.com.
Doug
Doug is a 5-year-old Great Dane who came to the shelter in heartbreaking condition, severely emaciated, but still full of love for people. Despite his past, hes proven to be an incredibly sweet, gentle boy who just wants to be close to his humans.
Adoption fee: $300
Available through Mutts in a Rut Rescue, Inc. in Cleveland, OH.
Peanut
Peanut is a 6-year-old Great Dane who spent most of her life living at the end of a chain. She's crate trained, potty trained, and friendly with everyone she meets.
Adoption fee: $300
Available through Paws and Purpose Rescue in Shinnston, WV.
Reminder About Training
If you're bringing home a Dane — or any fast-growing giant breed puppy — and training feels like the expensive-but-nonnegotiable part of the budget: that's exactly what our Training Assistance Grant (TAG) program exists for. Because the dogs I met in class didn't get gentle by luck. They got gentle because someone invested in it early. If cost is the barrier between a Great Dane puppy and a properly socialized Great Dane adult, that's a gap we want to help close.
Don't miss a single bark.
What's Breed Got to Do With It is part of our ongoing series on breed realities, adoption advocacy, and finding the right fit. It drops right here on the Bark Blog once a week — but if you want it delivered straight to your inbox along with everything else happening at MBL, subscribe to Bark Bits, the My Barking Life free weekly email newsletter.
My Barking Life is an animal-themed art and advocacy brand based in Ohio. Follow along at mybarkinglife.com and on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and Pinterest.
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