Some of us may not notice but a lot of Great Danes are included in various films and television shows. Do you know that the famous cartoon character Scooby-Doo is a Great Dane? This animal character of the popular television series was created based on a Great Dane. But, Scooby-Doo is not the only popular Dane. In fact, Great Danes have been in various films and television series even during the 19th century. So what makes this breed so popular to be sought after by various film makers?

This domestic dog is known for its giant size and gentle personality and is often referred to as the "Gentle Giant and the "Apollo of all breed". Along with the Irish Wolfhound, Great Danes are considered the tallest dog breed with the height ranges from 30-40 inches (76-100 cm.). The males typically weigh 54-90 kg. (120-200 lbs.) and 45-68 kg. (100-150 lbs.) for females. This breed's giant and powerful body is covered with short, soft, thick and shiny close fitting hair in six show-acceptable colors. The colors are fawn, brindle, blue, black, harlequin and mantle. Other colors such as white, fawnequin, merle, merlequin and fawn mantle may occur occasionally but are not acceptable in the show ring.

The head is long and narrow with an accentuated frontal stop and a rather large nasal canal. The neck is strong and muscular, a pure white neck is preferred in a harlequin. The usually dark and deep set eyes with lively intelligent expression are medium in size. The ears are either cropped rather long, pointed and carried erect or left natural. Cropping of the ears is more common in the United States but is prohibited in some European countries such as UK, Denmark, Germany and in some parts of Australia and New Zealand. The tail reaching to the point of the hock is medium-length.

Referred to as the "Gentle Giant", this large and powerful appearance conceals a kind, sweet and affectionate temperament. They are good towards humans, even children, also towards other dogs and other animals. Dominance issues and aggression may occur rarely but can be addressed with thorough obedience training starting from an early age.

The average life span of Great Danes is ten years but can live for 12- 13 years as long as they are kept in good shape. Since large breed with fairly slow metabolism, they are more prone to a deadly disease called bloat. This may result to immediate death if not addressed quickly. Hip dysplasia is another problem common to this breed as well as to other large breeds. Breeding stocks or parents should be tested to make sure that they do not carry faulty genes and are likely to have healthy pups. Other health problems include dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and other congenital heart diseases, yeast infection and deafness especially among pure white Danes.

To make sure none of these diseases will affect your dog, check your dog's ancestral history. Making sure that your dog's ancestors aren't carrying any of these diseases will guarantee you of a sweet, kind and giant dog with less or no health problem.

Richard Cussons is a dog enthusiast. His site about Great Danes is filled with information about this breed as well as effective tips in Great Dane training.