How big does a Great Dane get?
A grown male Great Dane stands at least 30 inches at the shoulder and weighs about 140 to 175 pounds, and a female stands at least 28 inches and weighs about 110 to 140 pounds, according to AKC. Where breeders have given the parents' adult weights, the mothers weigh 130 pounds and the fathers weigh 140 pounds.
The breed standard itself sets a minimum height for each sex and no maximum, which is worth knowing before you read a listing.
What does the breed standard say about height?
The AKC standard sets a floor and a preference rather than a range. A male shall not be less than 30 inches at the shoulders, and the standard prefers 32 inches or more as long as he is well proportioned to his height. A female shall not be less than 28 inches, with 30 inches or more preferred. A Dane under the minimum height is disqualified from the show ring.
AKC's breed profile turns that into 30 to 32 inches for males and 28 to 30 for females, and gives the weights above. The standard itself asks that the male look more massive throughout than the female, with a larger frame and heavier bone.
How can you tell how big a Great Dane puppy will get?
The parents are the guide to use. Ask the breeder for both parents' adult heights and weights, and ask whether they are fully mature, since a young Dane can still be filling out. A puppy from a mother near 28 inches and a father near 30 has a different likely size from one whose parents are both well above the minimums.
If the same pair has had a litter before, ask how tall and heavy those dogs are now. Ask too whether the puppy is male or female, since the standard expects the male to be the larger and more heavily boned of the two.
How long does a Great Dane keep growing?
VCA Animal Hospitals puts large and giant dogs at closer to 18 to 24 months before they are adults, against 12 to 18 months for most large breeds, so a Dane may still be growing well into its second year.
Ask your vet how to feed a giant-breed puppy through that period, and have it weighed at each visit so the vet can follow its growth.
Does a Dane's size affect its health?
The biggest health worry AKC names for the breed is bloat, gastric dilatation-volvulus, and it asks Dane owners to know the signs and how to respond. It adds that many breeders and owners consider a surgery called prophylactic gastropexy, which can help prevent some of the more serious effects. Eye and heart disease, hypothyroidism and hip dysplasia can also affect the breed.
Breeding Danes should have hip, heart, eye and thyroid results under the national club's recommendations. Ask the breeder for both parents' results. AKC's life expectancy for a Dane is 7 to 10 years.
Do Great Dane colors differ in size?
Under the standard a Dane may be brindle, fawn, blue, black, harlequin, mantle or merle, and any other color disqualifies it. The same height minimums apply to all seven, so the parents' measurements remain the way to judge a puppy's size.
See Great Dane puppies
Great Dane breeders post their own litters on Puppy Connection, so you can see a puppy and then ask its breeder for the parents' heights and weights.