Working group · Giant · Germany
Great Dane
Also known as: Apollo of Dogs, Deutsche Dogge, German Mastiff
The Great Dane is a 150 lb lap dog that never got the memo about its size — the 'Apollo of Dogs' spends most of its day leaning on people, draping itself over furniture, and gazing at you with theatrical devotion. Adults are surprisingly mellow and apartment-compatible. The devastating catch: you get all this magnificence for only 7-10 years, and bloat can take them overnight.
Height
28-32 in
Weight
110-175 lbs
Lifespan
7-10 years
Coat
Short, smooth single coat
Exercise
60+ min/day
Puppy price
$1,500-$3,000
AKC popularity
#22
Best for
Owners with space on the couch (not necessarily a big yard) who want a mellow, affectionate giant and accept the shorter lifespan that comes with it.
Trait Scores
What owners love
- +Genuinely mellow adults — after the puppy years, a Dane's day is 20 hours of elegant napping punctuated by short zoomies
- +One of the most affectionate giant breeds; the lean, the lap-sitting attempts, and the head-on-your-shoulder move are all standard
- +Surprisingly good apartment dogs if walked daily — they need less exercise than breeds half their size
- +Their sheer silhouette is home security; nobody tests a door with a 34-inch-tall dog behind it
- +Short coat is trivially easy to maintain — quick weekly brush and done
- +Generally polite with other dogs, cats, and strangers when socialized; standoffish is rare, gregarious is common
What owners warn about
- −The lifespan is the heartbreak: 7-10 years, and every Dane owner will tell you the last ones are borrowed time
- −Bloat (GDV) is the breed's #1 killer and a true middle-of-the-night emergency — many owners do preventive gastropexy at spay/neuter
- −Everything costs giant-size: food bills, meds dosed by weight, XL crates, and vet procedures that scale with mass
- −The tail is a whip at coffee-table height, the head is at counter height, and 'counter surfing' requires no jumping whatsoever
- −Puppy and adolescent Danes are gawky, clumsy, and capable of accidental destruction on a scale small breeds can't imagine
- −Growing puppies need carefully managed nutrition and exercise — too much of either wrecks giant-breed joints for life
Common Health Issues
How the Great Dane Compares
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Great Danes need a big house and yard?+
Less than you'd think — this is one of Reddit's favorite counterintuitive dog facts. Adult Danes are low-energy couch potatoes who need a daily walk and a sprint or two, not acreage. Plenty live happily in apartments. What they do need is floor space for a dog the size of a loveseat, and an elevator helps since stairs get hard on senior joints.
What is bloat and why do Dane owners obsess over it?+
Bloat (GDV) is when the stomach fills with gas and twists — it kills within hours and Great Danes are the highest-risk breed in existence, with some studies suggesting over a third experience it in their lifetime. Owners learn the symptoms (unproductive retching, distended belly, pacing) like CPR. Many get a preventive gastropexy, which tacks the stomach and largely prevents the fatal twist.
How long do Great Danes live?+
Typically 7-10 years, and that's the number that talks the most people out of the breed. Bloat, heart disease, and bone cancer are the main culprits. You can improve the odds with health-tested breeders, a gastropexy, lean body weight, and cardiology checks — but going in, you have to make peace with a shorter story.
Are Great Danes easy to train?+
Middling — they're smart but can be gentle-hearted and a bit stubborn, and the AKC rates trainability in the middle of the pack. The non-negotiable is leash manners and no-jumping, because a 140 lb dog that pulls or greets people chest-high is unmanageable no matter how sweet. Train it small, before they're big; you cannot muscle an adult Dane.