Great dane combines dignity, strength, and elegance with great size and a powerful, well-formed, smoothly muscled body. A great dane must be spirited, courageous, never timid, always friendly and dependable. The great dane head shall be rectangular, long, distinguished, expressive, finely chiseled, especially below the eyes. Eyes shall be medium size, deepset and dark, with a lively, intelligent expression. The eyelids are almond shapedand relatively tight, with well developed eyebrows. The coat shall be short, thick and clean with a smooth, glossy appearance.

To crop or not to crop, that is the question for some Great Dane enthusiasts. The practice of trimming great danes' ears is called cropping and strong voices argue for and against it. Cropped ears are not mandatory in the AKC standard. Ear cropping is still the norm for great danes of show quality in the US. However, great danes fanciers admit that and uncropped dog has a harder road in tough breed competition than its equal with cropped ears. Cropping should be done by a skilled vet who is experienced specifically with Dane ear cropping. A poor cropping job can spoil a pup's chances as a show dog. After their ears are cropped, the puppies must be stoutly bandaged and kept from doing themselves harm by pawing at their still-tender ears.

Great danes are not usually bullies. Generally a great dane can learn to live with other dogs in a household with no more difficulty than most other breeds. Giant dogs bring giant responsibilities. By obtaining great danes from bloodlines that have sound temperaments and provide them with necessary trainings, a pet owner should have few worries.

If you bring an adult Great Dane that has never been around small animals into home setting, there may be problems. If a great dane puppy is reared with other pets, it comes to view them as part of the home, and no problems should occur.

Great Danes are not always fond of strangers. These dogs like to know what they will encounter in their environment. A visitor may be treated with cool reserve at first. After showing that he or she is no threat to the home or the dog's owner, the stranger may receive a variety of responses ranging from being ignored to being lavishly adored.