Where did our favourite Great Dane come from?
Great Dane’s ancestors.
Scientists try to find out the origin of present day dogs’ breeds
since the second half of 20th century. Many skeletons of animals
transitional between wolf and dog were found during the
archaeological excavations. The bones were approximately 8000
to 10000 years old and made it possible to admit all the variety of
dogs’ breeds. The skeletons were given simple names, like bronze
dog, ashy dog, lupine dog, etc.
It’s impossible to say for sure from which of the aforementioned
breeds originated Great Dane, because it’s very difficult to follow
the Great Dane’s stemma to such ancient times.
Assyrian hunting and fighting dogs
The oldest picture of Dane-like dog is dated to 12th century B.C.
and was painted on the wall of Babylonian temple. The picture shows
strong Dane-like dog lead by ancient Assyrian. Assyrian fighting dog
is almost identical to modern Tibetan Dane. Tibetan high mountains
are considered to be the place of origin to all kinds of Dane-like
dogs. They came to India through the Himalayas and Alexander the
Great was presented these dogs during his campaign against Indian
tribes. Later, from Greece and Rome, Dane-like dogs came to Western
Europe through the Alps.
In Rome Dane-like dogs were considered to be the separate breed and,
along with the fighting dogs, hunting Dane-like dogs were selected.
Fighting dogs participated in so called “gladiatorial combats”
against giant Molosser dogs from the Northern Greece. Later, the
Kelts brought these dogs to Europe and then to England and Ireland,
where they were crossed with Irish wolfhounds.
The scientists found out that Dane-like dogs were present in Poland,
Russia and Germany. It’s a well-known fact, that Germans used these
dogs when hunting or during the battles.
Dane-like dogs in the Middle Ages
History of Dane-like dogs is closely associated with hunting
traditions. The dogs participated in hunting for wild boar, bear and
wolf, widespread in European forests. First descriptions of
Dane-like dogs were written in the descriptions of hunting. Very
strong and big-sized dogs were called English dogs. They were dogs,
resulted from cross of English mastiff and Irish wolfhounds. Special
armour was put on the dogs to prevent injuries during hunting. The
cape was made of brown brocade or silk with wooden strips, the chest
and stomach of the dog were protected by special strips made of
whalebones. Rich owners provided their dogs with strips, decorated
with golden and silver threads and jewelry.
In 18th century Dane-like dogs gradually stopped being used when
hunting, because the total number of wild animals was decreased and
firearm appeared, so there was no need in etching dogs.
The etching dogs had the same appearance as present-day Great Dane.
They were active dogs of grey, black and beige colors, used for
chasing and searching the prey.
Single name of the breed
It’s difficult to find any other breed, that had so many variants of
it’s name in 19th century. They were called Hunting dog, Ulm dog,
Great Dane and many other. In the middle of 19th century Germany
adopted the fashion for dogs’ exhibitions. First exhibition took
place in 1863 in Hamburg. Dane-like dogs participated in this
exhibion, among them 8 Great Danes and 7 Ulm dogs. In 1869, 1876 the
same division remained, though in 1876 the judges of the exhibition
expressed the assumption that the Great Danes and Ulm dogs belong to
the same breed and the division shouldn’t exist. It was offered to
call the breed “German Mastiff”. The final decision was made in 1880
in Berlin.
However, in France and English-speaking countries Dane-like dogs are
still known as “Grand Danois” or “Great Dane”. This name was first
used by Frensh naturalist Buffon and is still widely used in
literature. There is no basis to consider Denmark to be the
motherland of this breed.
