Great Dane

Breed

Dog

One of the tallest dog breeds, combining elegance with a powerful build. AKC Working Group. Gentle giant known for a friendly and dependable temperament.

Trait profiles

Heritable traits and their typical frequency in this breed population.

Dilute (MLPH)

Blue (dd) is AKC standard. "Blue great dane" drives 4.4K monthly searches.

Common

Extension (MC1R)

Em (mask) common in fawn and brindle Danes. ee not typical (fawn in Danes is Ay-based not ee).

Common

Black (CBD103)

Common

Agouti (ASIP)

Fawn (Ay) is standard and common. Tan points (at) occur in mantle lines.

Common

Spotting (MITF)

Piebald/mantle (sp allele) is core to the mantle and harlequin color families.

Common

Merle (PMEL)

Merle is AKC STANDARD in Great Danes. Harlequin pattern also requires merle. 8.1K monthly searches.

Common

Harlequin (PSMB7)

Harlequin locus is AKC STANDARD in Great Danes. H/H is embryonic lethal; all harlequin dogs are H/h.

Present

Intensity (MFSD12)

Present

Brown (TYRP1)

Chocolate (bb) is AKC DQ. Exists in small portions of population.

Present

Long Hair (FGF5)

Great Danes are short-coated. Long hair locus absent.

Absent

Morph names & registry status

Breed-specific naming conventions and recognition status across major registries.

Merle

Common

AKC:Standard

AKC STANDARD in Great Danes. 8.1K monthly searches. Merle Danes are a recognized show color.

Blue

Common

AKC:Standard

dd on black base. AKC STANDARD. 4.4K monthly searches for "blue great dane."

Fawn

Common

AKC:Standard

Ay/- with ky/ky, typically with black mask (Em). AKC STANDARD.

Brindle

Common

AKC:Standard

kbr/- on fawn base. AKC STANDARD.

Harlequin

Common

AKC:Standard

H/h + M/m. AKC STANDARD. Great Danes are the only breed where harlequin is a recognized pattern. 9.9K monthly searches for "harlequin great dane."

Unknown

Common

AKC:Standard

Merle on black eumelanin base. AKC standard merle family. Distinct from D-locus dilute.

Mantle

Common

AKC:Standard

In Great Danes, "Mantle" = piebald pattern (sp/sp) on a dominant-black (KB/-) base. White collar, chest, paws, and tail tip on black body. AKC STANDARD.

Chocolate

AKC:Disqualified

bb. AKC DQ in Great Danes.

Unknown

AKC:Non-standard

Merle with tan points. Non-standard in Great Danes.

Unknown

AKC:Disqualified

bb dd. Chocolate is AKC DQ in Great Danes; lilac (chocolate + dilute) is also DQ.

Unknown

AKC:Non-standard

Dilute fawn. AKC non-standard (mismark).

Unknown

AKC:Disqualified

Merle on chocolate base. AKC DQ (chocolate is DQ in Great Danes).

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