Great Dane Breed Standard
Working Group

General Appearance
The Great Dane combines, in its regal appearance, dignity, strength and elegance with great size and a powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body. It is one of the giant working breeds, but is unique in that its general conformation must be so well balanced that it never appears clumsy, and shall move with a long reach and powerful drive. It is always a unit-the Apollo of dogs. A Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, never timid; always friendly and dependable. This physical and mental combination is the characteristic which gives the Great Dane the majesty possessed by no other breed. It is particularly true of this breed that there is an impression of great masculinity in dogs, as compared to an impression of femininity in bitches. Lack of true Dane breed type, as defined in this standard, is a serious fault.

Size, Proportion, Substance

The male should appear more massive throughout than the bitch, with larger frame and heavier bone. In the ratio between length and height, the Great Dane should be square. In bitches, a somewhat longer body is permissible, providing she is well proportioned to her height. Coarseness or lack of substance are equally undesirable. The male shall not be less than 30 inches at the shoulders, but it is preferable that he be 32 inches or more, providing he is well proportioned to his height. The female shall not be less than 28 inches at the shoulders, but it is preferable that she be 30 inches or more, providing she is well proportioned to her height. Danes under minimum height must be disqualified.

Head
The head shall be rectangular, long, distinguished, expressive, finely chiseled, especially below the eyes. Seen from the side, the Dane's forehead must be sharply set off from the bridge of the nose, (a strongly pronounced stop). The plane of the skull and the plane of the muzzle must be straight and parallel to one another. The skull plane under and to the inner point of the eye must slope without any bony protuberance in a smooth line to a full square jaw with a deep muzzle (fluttering lips are undesirable). The masculinity of the male is very pronounced in structural appearance of the head. The bitch's head is more delicately formed. Seen from the top, the skull should have parallel sides and the bridge of the nose should be as broad as possible. The cheek muscles should not be prominent. The length from the tip of the nose to the center of the stop should be equal to the length from the center of the stop to the rear of the slightly developed occiput. The head should be angular from all sides and should have flat planes with dimensions in proportion to the size of the Dane. Whiskers may be trimmed or left natural. Eyes shall be medium size, deep set, and dark, with a lively intelligent expression. The eyelids are almond-shaped and relatively tight, with well developed brows. Haws and mongolian eyes are serious faults. In harlequins, the eyes should be dark; light colored eyes, eyes of different colors and walleyes are permitted but not desirable. Ears shall be high set, medium in size and of moderate thickness, folded forward close to the cheek. The top line of the folded ear should be level with the skull. If cropped, the ear length is in proportion to the size of the head and the ears are carried uniformly erect.

Nose shall be black, except in the blue Dane, where it is a dark blue-black. A black spotted nose is permitted on the harlequin; a pink colored nose is not desirable. A split nose is a disqualification.

Teeth shall be strong, well developed, clean and with full dentition. The incisors of the lower jaw touch very lightly the bottoms of the inner surface of the upper incisors (scissors bite). An undershot jaw is a very serious fault. Overshot or wry bites are serious faults. Even bites, misaligned or crowded incisors are minor faults.

Neck, Topline, Body
The neck shall be firm, high set, well arched, long and muscular. From the nape, it should gradually broaden and flow smoothly into the withers. The neck underline should be clean. Withers shall slope smoothly into a short level back with a broad loin. The chest shall be broad, deep and well muscled. The forechest should be well developed without a pronounced sternum. The brisket extends to the elbow, with well sprung ribs. The body underline should be tightly muscled with a well-defined tuck-up.

The croup should be broad and very slightly sloping. The tail should be set high and smoothly into the croup, but not quite level with the back, a continuation of the spine. The tail should be broad at the base, tapering uniformly down to the hock joint. At rest, the tail should fall straight. When excited or running, it may curve slightly, but never above the level of the back. A ring or hooked tail is a serious fault. A docked tail is a disqualification.

Forequarters
The forequarters, viewed from the side, shall be strong and muscular. The shoulder blade must be strong and sloping, forming, as near as possible, a right angle in its articulation with the upper arm. A line from the upper tip of the shoulder to the back of the elbow joint should be perpendicular. The ligaments and muscles holding the shoulder blade to the rib cage must be well developed, firm and securely attached to prevent loose shoulders. The shoulder blade and the upper arm should be the same length. The elbow should be one-half the distance from the withers to the ground. The strong pasterns should slope slightly. The feet should be round and compact with well-arched toes, neither toeing in, toeing out, nor rolling to the inside or outside. The nails should be short, strong and as dark as possible, except that they may be lighter in harlequins. Dewclaws may or may not be removed.

Hindquarters
The hindquarters shall be strong, broad, muscular and well angulated, with well let down hocks. Seen from the rear, the hock joints appear to be perfectly straight, turned neither toward the inside nor toward the outside. The rear feet should be round and compact, with well-arched toes, neither toeing in nor out. The nails should be short, strong and as dark as possible, except they may be lighter in harlequins. Wolf claws are a serious fault.

Coat
The coat shall be short, thick and clean with a smooth glossy appearance.

Color, Markings and Patterns
Brindle--The base color shall be yellow gold and always brindled with strong black cross stripes in a chevron pattern. A black mask is preferred. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The more intensive the base color and the more distinct and even the brindling, the more preferred will be the color. Too much or too little brindling are equally undesirable. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted, dirty colored brindles are not desirable.

Fawn--The color shall be yellow gold with a black mask. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The deep yellow gold must always be given the preference. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted dirty colored fawns are not desirable.

Blue--The color shall be a pure steel blue. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.

Black--The color shall be a glossy black. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.

Harlequin--Base color shall be pure white with black torn patches irregularly and well distributed over the entire body; a pure white neck is preferred. The black patches should never be large enough to give the appearance of a blanket, nor so small as to give a stippled or dappled effect. Eligible, but less desirable, are a few small gray patches, or a white base with single black hairs showing through, which tend to give a salt and pepper or dirty effect.

Mantle--The color shall be black and white with a solid black blanket extending over the body; black skull with white muzzle; white blaze is optional; whole white collar is preferred; a white chest; white on part or whole of forelegs and hind legs; white tipped black tail. A small white marking in the blanket is acceptable, as is a break in the white collar.

Any variance in color or markings as described above shall be faulted to the extent of the deviation. Any Great Dane which does not fall within the above color classifications must be disqualified.

Gait
The gait denotes strength and power with long, easy strides resulting in no tossing, rolling or bouncing of the topline or body. The backline shall appear level and parallel to the ground. The long reach should strike the ground below the nose while the head is carried forward. The powerful rear drive should be balanced to the reach. As speed increases, there is a natural tendency for the legs to converge toward the centerline of balance beneath the body. There should be no twisting in or out at the elbow or hock joints.

Temperament
The Great Dane must be spirited, courageous, always friendly and dependable, and never timid or aggressive.

Disqualifications
Danes under minimum height.
Split nose. Docked Tail.
Any color other than those described under "Color, Markings and Patterns."

Approved March 8, 1999
Effective April 28, 1999

Great Dane(大丹犬) [简介] 大丹同时结合了威严、力量、优雅三大优点，具有帝王般的外观，体型巨大同时兼具力与美，而且配合了线条流畅的肌肉。他是大型工作犬中的一员，但唯有他的一般形态是如此恰到好处的匀称，永远不会现得笨拙，前躯舒展且后躯驱动力强大。不愧是犬中的太阳神。大丹必须具备英勇、果敢的气质，决不胆怯；永远友善而可靠。大丹犬这些肉体和气质特点的组合，让它具有其他犬种望尘莫及的优势。大丹公犬具有上述所有的特点、而相对来说，母犬则显得温柔一些。缺乏上面所描述的特征，对大丹犬而言，属于严重缺陷。

[体型] 从整体来看，公犬比母犬显得粗壮，骨架长、骨骼粗。身高和体长的比例是呈正方形比例。发育正常的母犬可能身体会长一些。身体粗重笨拙和缺少肌肉都不好。公犬肩高不低于30英寸，但最理想的肩高是32英寸或更高（身高与体长的比例恰当）；母犬的肩高不低于28英寸，但最理想肩高是30英寸或更高（身高与体长的比例恰当）。没有达到最低肩高的大丹属于失格。

[头部] 头部呈矩形、长、高贵、富有表情、线倏像雕像一样的优美，尤以眼下部位更为突出。从侧面观察，前额和鼻梁会出现明现的断离（十分显著的止部）。前额和鼻梁线条都很直且相互平行。额平面下方和眼角内侧必须倾斜，但骨骼不会暴突，直达矩形且深的口吻（飘唇不符合要求）。公犬的头部构造结构清晰、特征显著；而母犬的头部构造则显得细腻柔和。从上面观察，脑袋两侧彼此平行，且鼻梁尽可能宽。面颊肌肉不显得突出。从鼻镜盗止部中间的长度约等于从止部中间到后枕骨的长度；从各角度观察，头部都应该有棱角，并形成鲜明的平面，头部的大小与大丹的体型成恰当的比例。眼睛：中等大小；位置深；颜色暗；眼神活泼聪明。呈杏仁状；眼睑紧。眉毛发达。蒙古眼；下眼脸过度下垂都属于严重缺陷。丑角大丹的眼睛应该为黑色，浅色眼睛、两眼颜色不同、眼内有色斑都是允许的，但不理想。耳朵：耳根位置高，中等大小、中等厚度。耳朵折向面颊，折痕与头顶在同一平面。如果剪耳，耳朵的长度与头部比例恰当，并始终竖立。鼻镜：应该为黑色，除了兰色大丹允许有深兰色鼻镜、丑角大丹允许有黑色带斑点的鼻镜（粉色鼻镜不理想）。裂鼻属于失格。牙齿：有力、洁白健全。下颚门牙应微微贴触上颚门牙的基部内缘(剪状咬合) 。下颚突出式咬和属于非常严重的缺陷。上颚突出式咬和或歪曲的牙齿属于严重缺陷。钳状咬和或门牙未对齐属于轻微缺陷。

[颈部、背线、身躯] 颈部坚实、位置高、拱形、长且肌肉发达。逐渐变宽，平滑的融入肩部。颈部下轮廓整洁。马肩隆平滑的向短且平整的背部及宽阔的腰部倾斜。胸部宽、深而且肌肉发达。前胸发达但没有明显突出的胸骨。胸深达到肘部，肋骨扩张良好。身体下侧轮廓肌肉发达，且上提形成优美的曲线。臀部宽，非常轻微的倾斜。尾巴位置高，平滑的与臀部衔接，但不能与后背处于同一平面，而是脊椎的延伸。尾巴根部宽，而尖端细，一律下垂至飞节位置。休息时，尾巴笔直下垂，兴奋时或跑动中，尾巴会略显弯曲（军刀状），但决不能高过背平面。卷曲的尾巴、钩状的尾巴都属于缺陷。断尾属于失格。

[前躯] 前躯，从侧面观察，结实而肌肉发达。肩胛骨有力，且倾斜。肩胛骨与前臂形成的角度几乎是直角。从肩胛骨顶端到肘部后面形成的直线几乎是垂直于地面的。连接肩部和肋骨的肌肉和韧带非常发达，牢固，防止出现松脱的肩膀。肩胛骨与前臂长度一致，肘部位于马肩隆到地面距离的1/2处。结实的脚腕略略倾斜。足爪圆而紧凑，足趾圆拱，既不向内、也不向外。趾甲短、结实、颜色尽可能深，丑角大丹的趾甲颜色可能有浅色。狼爪可以切除、也可以不切。

[后躯] 后躯结实、宽、肌肉发达且角度恰当；飞节尽可能低。从后面观察，飞节整齐、垂直，既不向内弯也不向外翻。后腿足爪圆而紧凑，足趾圆拱，既不向内、也不向外。趾甲短、结实、颜色尽可能深，丑角大丹的趾甲颜色可能有浅色。后肢狼爪是严重缺陷。

[被毛] 被毛十分短且浓密，平滑而具光泽。

[颜色、斑纹和式样] 虎斑大丹(Brindle)：底色为金黄色，间杂深黑色横条斑纹。黑色条纹最为理想。黑色还应该出现在眼眶、眉毛，耳朵尖和尾尖。理想的颜色是：底色非常浓烈；配上非常清晰且均匀的条纹。条纹过多或过少都不理想。胸部和脚趾出现白色斑块、底色色泽较斑纹的颜色还深、斑纹颜色阴暗都属于缺陷。黄褐色的大丹(Fawn Danes)：颜色是金黄色配合黑色“面具”。黑色还应该出现在眼圈和眉毛、有时还出现在耳尖和尾尖。深金黄色永远都是最佳选择。胸部和脚趾出现白色斑块、颜色阴暗肮脏都属于缺陷蓝大丹(Blue Danes)：是一种纯钢蓝色。胸部和脚趾出现白色斑块属于缺陷。黑大丹(Black Danes)：有光泽的黑色。胸部和脚趾出现白色斑块属于缺陷。丑角(Harlequin Danes-黑白花)：底色为纯白色，带有黑色不规则色块，色块均匀地遍布全身；颈部最好是纯白色。黑色斑块不宜过大，象毯子裹在身上；也不能太小，呈条纹状或斑点状。缺陷：灰色斑块；或在白色毛发中混杂有单根黑色毛发，类似椒盐色效果。都属于可以接受但不理想的状态。披风大丹(Mantle Danes)：白色配合黑色，就象用一条黑色毯子包裹住身体。黑色脑袋、白色口吻；脸上的白筋可有可无；整个脖圈都为白色最理想；白色胸部；部分或全部白色的前后肢；黑色尾巴、白色尾尖。黑色披风的位置出现很小的白色斑纹是允许的，就象白色脖圈被打断一样。任何大丹出现不完全符合上述描绘的颜色，都属于缺陷并根据背离的程度扣分。出现上述描绘以外的颜色类型都属于失格。

[步态] 步态显示出力量和实力，步幅大且轻松，犬的身体和背线不会摇摆颠簸。背线保持水平且保持与地面平行。前肢舒展，后肢提供强大、平稳的驱动力。当速度增加时，四肢会自然地向身体下面、中心线收拢。肘部和飞节既不向内弯、也不向外翻。

[气质] 大丹的气质必须是英勇、果敢、永远友善而可靠，绝不胆怯或好斗。

[失格] 低於高度最低标准、断尾、裂鼻。颜色不符合颜色、斑纹和式样中的描述。

标准通过日期：1999年3月8日

标准执行日期：1999年4月28日

原作： 酋长

来源： 转译自AKC

本文引用地址：http://www.petwe.com/article/2006/0726/article_818.html