Great Dane

The Great Dane is a German breed of domestic dog  known for its giant size. The name of the breed in Germany is Deutsche Dogge . They are known for their enormous bodies and great height.
The Great Dane is one of the world's tallest dog breeds; the current world record holder, measuring 112 cm  from paw to shoulder, is "Zeus.Their large size belies their friendly nature as Great Danes are known for seeking physical affection with their owners.Dogs resembling the Great Dane have been seen on Egyptian monuments dating back to 3,000.Extremely large boarhounds resembling early Great Dane type appear in ancient Greece, in frescoes from Tiryns dating back to 14th-13th centuries. The large boarhound or Molossian hound continues to appear throughout ancient Greece in subsequent centuries right up to the Hellenistic era. Later on the great hound of Epirus becomes known as the Suliot Dog.The authors David Hancock, John William Carleton Charles Hamilton Smith & Sir William Jardine Desmond Morris, W.H. Lizards  Μ.Β.Wynn  Lord Truro  all mention the great descendant of the Molossian hound, the Suliot dog and specific imports from Greece that were used in the 18th century to increase the stature of the boarhounds in Austria and Germany & the wolfhounds in Ireland. Bigger dogs are depicted on numerous rune stones in Scandinavia, on coinage in Denmark from the 5th Century  and in the collection of Old Norse poems, known in English as Poetic Edda. The University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum holds at least seven skeletons of very large hunting dogs dating from the 5th Century  going forward through to the year 1000 ACE.
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