Great Dane vs Doberman Pinscher - Breed Comparison

Known as the Deutsche Dogge or Apollo of dogs, the giant-breed Great Dane hails from Germany and not Denmark as many people believe.

The large Great Dane has been around for about 400 years already. They descend from mastiff-like dogs, being needed to protect country estates.

In the 18th century, apart from watching over estates, they were also popular with the upper class for sport.

The origin of Doberman is Apolda, in Germany in 1890. It was officially recognized as a breed in 1900. The name originally called as Thuringer pinscher or Plizeilichi and the peer was renamed as DOBERMAN PINSCHER in 1899.American Kennel Club recognized DOBERMAN PINSCHER in 1908. The German tax collector called Karl friedrich developed Doberman.

He developed a breed that would be able to protect him from his surroundings and from his neighborhoods. This Dober also ran as a local animal shelter and approch many dogs for his breeding program. But karl did not kept any proper records or document for this breeds origin. Dobeis are also found through United States, Russia and South Africa.

The Great Dame is a tall, lean, athletic, muscular, elegant looking dog. He can stand anything between 76–86cm in height and weigh around 54–90kg. The large head is long and narrow, and the medium sized floppy ears can be left or they can be cropped.

The tail is long and held low. The coat is short and smooth and can be in several colors such as fawn, black or brindle.

Temperament:

Any kind of aggressiveness was bred out of the Great Dane and today he is a gentle giant of a dog, getting on well with other dogs, children and everyone in his human family.

Even though he is a gentle giant, he will still require training and socialization just because of his size. Then they become the devoted pet that they are so well known to be. You'll want to know that when he comes indoors, he will obey you when you tell him to lie-down, sit or come, otherwise his sheer size will see him knocking things accidentally off table-tops.

He is an intelligent dog and is eager to please so he'll learn easily. He craves human companionship, so make sure that your social Dane has plenty of interaction with you.

Dobermans are certainly shorthaired mixed –breed shepherd dogs, this kind of dogs are chosen only for their intelligent, sound and endure. This breed is best in attitude and appearance, and now it is found in world wide. Dobermans are highly intelligent and fast runners. So mostly dobers are only suited for Police, Army and Guard works. Dobies are also used as guide dogs for the blind.

Appearance

They are very elegant in appearance. Dobies are watchful, determined, energetic, fearless, obedient, alert and loyal. Dobies are short coat so it is easy for care. Brushing regularly can avoid shedding at home. They have almond shaped eyes, they have long narrow heads. The Doberman ears are often cropped but many of the owners like dobers by their nature. Dobers looking was always like a graceful giant.

The Great Dane is a large breed, bred to hunt wild boar. The intelligence, bravery and fearless nature of the dog meant that he was sought after for this task.

Known as the Apollo of Dogs, you won’t find the Great Dane being used for hunting purposes anymore, being more suited as a companion dog.

While developed as a working breed, today he is a well balanced, intelligent, calm, loving, social, dependable dog that just wants to be loved by his human family and to provide love, loyalty and companionship back in return.

Personality

Dobermans are individual in personalities. Some dogs are friendly and outgoing; some Dobies are reserved and shy. Some will be more dominant with other dogs it used to chase small dogs and cats. Most of the dobers are soft in character and love companionship with people.

Activity

Dobers have high energy level and it requires a lot of exercise in order to avoid harmful behavior to others. We should keep them interested because intelligent dogs are easily got bored. They mostly enjoys only in outing because they will be happy with the people who walks, runs and in bike riding.

Learning Ability

When learning new things they are the best. Dobermans are not able to be a lazy. For many years dobers are the only dogs being excellent as police dogs. Because they are highly active in nature so they are interested in new this for learning.

Adaptability

Dobers are apartment adaptable dogs. They used to bark but are close and friendly to people. At the same time we have to train dobers to welcome the guest also.

Typically of giant dogs, the Great Dane doesn't have a particularly long life-span and will live to be about 8 to 10 years of age. Also, giant-breed dogs like this are susceptible to what is known as bloat.

You'll notice it because there is swelling of the stomach with gas buildup and also twisting of the stomach. It's a life-threatening condition and you'll need to get your dog to the vet as soon as possible. You can combat it by feeding him smaller, more frequent meals and perhaps buying a slow-feeder dish, forcing your hungry pet to eat slower and not gulp his food down.

Also, large dogs like this can develop hip dysplasia and with a dog like the Great Dane, it takes a while for the bones and joints to grow and then become stable. That is why it is important not to make him do any vigorous exercise till he is at least 18 months of age, as these exercises can put a lot of stress on the joints and bones which can lead to hip dysplasia later on.

This breed have chances of getting Cancer, Chronic disease of heart muscle, Thyroidism , Entropion which is called as an eye disease.

Diet:

This is a large dog so you’ll notice that with commercially manufactured dog foods, there are those made specially for large- or giant breeds. It is important to choose the right dog food for his large size so that you can be sure he gets the right amount of nutrients in for him to grow strong and healthy.

If you aren't sure about what food would most benefit your Great Dane, ask your vet. While it is important to also feed him quality home-made food and raw meat, when buying kibble for him,check the label of the food you buy him and make sure that the concentration of protein isn’t more than 23 to 25%.

Remember to provide him with a constant supply of fresh, cool water.

Grooming:

Brush your Great Dane’s coat at least twice a week. He has a short, smooth coat so it will be easy, and the brushing will keep his coat soft and shiny. Use this time to also check for fleas and ticks or lumps. You will also need to check his nails and trim them if they don’t trim down on their own.

Exercise:

Your Great Dane will need to be exercised every day if you want him to maintain his lean, muscular shape. It keeps him happy too. He isn’t the kind of dog though that you want to turn into your running partner when you go jogging or cycling. He can go on a walk and play in the garden, but the exercising shouldn’t be for long periods of time.

His first checkup:

Every puppy needs to get to the vet for his first check-up when he is 6 weeks of age, and your Dane will also have to. As a puppy he will need to be de-wormed which will happen with this 6 week check up. He will also be vaccinated for distemper.

Grooming

Dobers are mostly come in black, blue, red or fawn. Dobers are low maintenance for grooming. They were clean dogs because they never make a strong dog odor. Using brush in dobers hair for once per week reduces hair fall control. Dobers are not requiring frequent bathing most of the owners are getting bath for 3 or 4 times per year in grooming.

Feeding the puppy

You can feed your puppy 2-3 small meals per day until it was 4 months old. And then have to decrease one meal and two for a day. And often you should not keep food and leave food sitting out all the time. Then after six months needs to stop feeding much vitamins and minerals because it leads a several health problems in his muscle and joints.

Adoption

This type of dogs should not be tied up alone outside, because it should be manifest itself by barking chewing. The people who are working for a long time should not be adopting this type of dogs. Naturally dobers are well protective to our home and people. At the same time small children must be supervised. At the same time if we are not strict, dobers would be get out of our hand.