Whence
Great Dane (dog breed)
Animal

Where does Great Dane (dog breed) come from?

The Great Dane comes from Germany, where it is called the Deutsche Dogge. It was bred from the big hunting dogs of German noble courts and has no known link to Denmark: its English name was borrowed from French.

Hunting dogs of German courts

In the 16th century, nobles across Europe imported strong, long-legged dogs from England and Ireland, and in Germany these were called Englische Docke, simply 'English dog'. From the start of the 17th century they were bred at German courts. They hunted boar, bear and deer: after the other hounds, the big dog seized the quarry and held it until the huntsman could kill it. Favourites, called chamber dogs, wore ornate collars and spent the night in their lords' bedchambers.

A German breed gets its name

Firearms changed hunting, and the old catch dogs became rare. In 1878 a committee of seven breeders and judges met in Berlin and decided to group all the varieties, from the Ulmer Dogge to the Saupacker, under one name: Deutsche Dogge. The first breed standard was laid down at a Berlin show in 1880, and since 1888 it has been kept by the Deutsche Doggen Club. The international breed standard still gives the country of origin as Germany.

Why people think of Denmark

It is all in the name. In French the breed is the grand danois, 'great Danish', and English took the name over: Etymonline finds 'Dane' used for a breed of large dogs by 1774. In the 19th century English speakers also called the dog the German boarhound, and some German breeders tried to sell it abroad as the 'German Mastiff'. But 'Great Dane' stuck, although the breed has no known connection to Denmark.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org ↗ · fci.be ↗ · etymonline.com ↗

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