How many color variations of The Great Dane breed?

The Great Dane is also known with the names like Danish Hound and German Mastiff. The Great Dane became popular with its big size. Dog clubs accept The Great Dane as one of the tallest dog breeds in history. World record of tallest dog is owned by a Great Dane with dimensions one paw to shoulder length 109 cm, head to tail length is 220 cm. Main reason The Great Dane breed is created was hunting. Especially they were popular to use in deer hunt parties. Today breed lost most of its hunting ability. How many color variations of The Great Dane breed?


Great Dane breed has 6 different coat colors. They are Fawn, Blue, Brindle, Black, Mantle and Harlequin. Fawn colored Great Dane is mainly classic yellow gold with black mask. Black is only possible on ears and rims but it’s very dominant and distinctive in yellow.
Brindle color on Great Dane is mainly black stripe and fawn. Sometimes it’s possible to see Great Dane’s in tiger style stripes also.

Blue is a rare color for Great Dane. Tone of blue is pure steel. White dots in chest and various areas of body were distinctive in 1900s but today they are accepting as skin faults.
Black Great Danes are very popular. Tone of color is mainly glossy black. White points in chest are possible in some black Great Danes and they are skin faults.
Color tones are very mixed and irregular in Harlequin color Great Danes. Only neck is pure white on whole body. Sometimes grey patches are also possible on white or black. People don’t like this color combination because it’s seen as dirty.
Mantle is also black and white. In some breeds, black cover whole body but it’s also possible to see white markings on breeds.
There’s a common belief that Great Danes’ color indicate the temperament of breed but it’s not a proved truth. Great Danes are friendly but don’t like game. Breed can live together with other dog breeds, animals and human but they are aggressive against strangers. Socializing is vital for this breed because if a Great Dane socialized well, it can help and make friendship to children but if it wasn’t socialized well, it can attack or be aggressive.

Obesity for Great Dane is very rare. They can burn calories easily with only walking. Puppies must grow with control because they grow quicker than normal and bones problems are very common.
Life span of a Great Dane is mostly 8 years. They have a small metabolism so they don’t get angry too much. Hip dysplasia and gastric dilatation are the common problems for breed. Also harlequin color Great Danes has some genetic problems like blindness and deafness.
Selective breeding reduced some genetic problems of Great Dane but researches showed that some problems are still continuing since 3,000 BC. Modern Great Dane is the breed from Irish Wolfhound and English mastiff.
Great Dane has a great influence on popular culture. English poet Alexander Pope was walking with his Great Dane. Also Peter Schmeichel’s , legendary goalkeeper of Manchester United, nickname was “the Great Dane”. Scooby-Doo and Jetson’s dog Astro were Great Dane.
Great Dane became popular after 60s. But breed’s short lifetime and unexpected death events then reduced the attention. Today Great Dane is popular on United States and England. Docking to tail is not a must for the Great Dane and its very important for Europeans. Puppy sell in under control in United States because of some illnesses coming from other countries’ breeds to U.S.