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Great Dane

Lifespan
10.6 years
95% CI 10.4 to 11 · McMillan 2024, n=1,986
Most carried variant
None at one percent or more among 3,266 tested (Donner 2023).
Behind this page
30 dogs
in the atlas · an early sketch · 3,266 tested for variants

Great Danes have a cited life expectancy of 10.6 years (McMillan 2024 / VetCompass, n=1,986, 95% CI 10.4 to 11). No tested variant is carried by one percent or more of the 3,266 Great Danes tested (Donner 2023). That describes the variants tested, not the breed's health. 30 dogs stand behind the atlas figures here, so treat this page as an early sketch.

Great Dane
Photo: Lilly M · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia

Also known as Apollo of Dogs, Deutsche Dogge, Gentle Giant, and German Mastiff.

See in the atlas → From CanVAS
Mendelian-disease genetics

What genetic diseases do Great Danes carry?

From a panel of 250 Mendelian-disease variants screened in 1,054,293 dogs (Donner et al. 2023), Great Danes carry 15 of them at observable frequency. Carrier frequency is not clinical risk. Most recessive variants require two copies for disease expression; many dominant variants show incomplete penetrance. Read this as a population fingerprint of what's in the gene pool, not a per-dog prediction.

Cystinuria Type I-B (SLC7A9 p.A217T)
Autosomal recessive (Incomplete penetrance)
marker disputed 4.2%
n = 3,266 dogs · 2 variants tested · OMIA:001880-9615 · omia.org →
SLC7A9what this gene does

SLC7A9 is a gene that helps transport certain amino acids in the kidneys. It plays a role in how the body handles cystine, an amino acid that can form crystals.

For your dog: If your dog is a carrier, it’s worth discussing with your vet to monitor urinary health and catch any issues early.

Von Willebrand's Disease, Type 1 (vWD 1)
Autosomal recessive
low 0.32%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:001057-9615 · omia.org →
Cone-Rod Dystrophy (cord1-PRA/crd4)
Autosomal recessive (Incomplete penetrance)
low 0.26%
n = 3,257 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:001432-9615 · omia.org →
RPGRIP1what this gene does

RPGRIP1 is a gene involved in the function of photoreceptor cells in the eye, which help dogs see in different light conditions.

For your dog: If your dog belongs to a breed known to carry RPGRIP1 mutations, it’s worth discussing with your vet to understand the risks and monitor eye health.

Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)
Autosomal recessive (Incomplete penetrance)
low 0.14%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:000263-9615 · omia.org →
SOD1what this gene does

SOD1 is a gene that helps protect cells from damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals.

For your dog: If your dog is a carrier of SOD1 variants, it's worth discussing with your vet, but remember carrier status doesn't mean your dog will get the disease.

Dilated Cardiomyopathy risk factor (Discovered in the Doberman Pinscher; PDK4-related)
Autosomal dominant (Incomplete penetrance)
marker disputed 0.11%
n = 3,266 dogs · 2 variants tested · OMIA:000162-9615 · omia.org →
PDK4what this gene does

PDK4 helps regulate how cells use energy, especially in the heart muscle.

For your dog: If your dog is one of the breeds known to carry this gene, it’s worth discussing heart health with your vet, but being a carrier doesn’t mean your dog will develop disease.

Canine Multifocal Retinopathy 1 (Discovered in Mastiff-related breeds; CMR1)
Autosomal recessive
low <0.1%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:001444-9615 · omia.org →
BEST1what this gene does

BEST1 is a gene that helps maintain the health of the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. It plays a role in keeping the cells in the retina functioning properly.

For your dog: If your dog is from a breed known to carry BEST1 variants, it’s worth discussing retinal health with your vet, especially if you notice any vision changes.

Cystinuria Type I-A (SLC3A1 p.I192V)
Autosomal recessive
low <0.1%
n = 3,266 dogs · 3 variants tested · OMIA:000256-9615 · omia.org →
SLC3A1what this gene does

SLC3A1 is a gene that helps transport certain amino acids in the kidneys. It plays a key role in preventing the buildup of cystine, which can form stones.

For your dog: If your dog is from a breed known to carry SLC3A1 variants, it’s worth discussing cystinuria risks with your vet, especially if urinary issues arise.

Ichthyosis (Discovered in the Great Dane; SLC27A4-related)
Autosomal recessive
low <0.1%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:001973-9615 · omia.org →
Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (prcd-PRA)
Autosomal recessive
low <0.1%
n = 3,255 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:001298-9615 · omia.org →
PRCDwhat this gene does

PRCD is a gene involved in the health of a dog's retina, the part of the eye that detects light and helps with vision.

For your dog: If your dog belongs to a breed known to carry PRCD changes, it's worth discussing eye health and potential genetic testing with your vet.

Chondrodystrophy and Intervertebral Disc Disease Risk (CDDY)
Autosomal dominant
low <0.1%
n = 3,253 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:000157-9615 · omia.org →
FGF4what this gene does

FGF4 influences leg length by affecting bone growth, leading to shorter legs in certain breeds.

For your dog: If your dog is from a breed known to carry this gene, it's worth discussing spinal health with your vet, but being a carrier doesn’t guarantee problems.

Centronuclear Myopathy (Discovered in the Great Dane; BIN1-related; CNM)
Autosomal recessive
low <0.1%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:001660-9615 · omia.org →
Fanconi Syndrome
Autosomal recessive
low <0.1%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:000366-9615 · omia.org →
Ichthyosis (Discovered in the Golden Retriever)
Autosomal recessive
low <0.1%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:001588-9615 · omia.org →
PNPLA1what this gene does

PNPLA1 is a gene involved in maintaining the skin's barrier by helping produce essential fats that keep the skin healthy and hydrated.

For your dog: If your dog is from a breed known to carry PNPLA1 variants and shows persistent dry, flaky skin, it's worth discussing with your vet to understand if genetics might be playing a role.

Pituitary-Dependent Hyperadrenocorticism (Discovered in Poodles)
Autosomal dominant
low <0.1%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:000247-9615 · omia.org →
Stargardt Disease (Discovered in the Labrador Retriever)
Autosomal recessive
Pathogenic low <0.1%
n = 3,266 dogs · 1 variant tested · OMIA:002179-9615 · omia.org →
ABCA4what this gene does

ABCA4 is a gene that helps manage the transport of molecules in the retina, the part of the eye responsible for vision.

For your dog: If your dog is from a breed known to carry ABCA4 variants, it's worth discussing eye health with your vet, especially as they age.

Source: Donner J et al. 2023. Genetic prevalence and clinical relevance of canine Mendelian disease variants in over one million dogs. PLOS Genetics 19(2):e1010651 · Evidence: Limited (DTC ascertainment, tag-SNP proxy) · Confounding MEDIUM · License CC-BY-4.0 · Phene IDs from OMIA (Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney; DOI 10.25910/2AMR-PV70).
Sample size in this breed: 3,266 dogs from the Donner 2023 cohort.
In plain terms

What these results mean for a Great Dane

SLC7A9 p.A217T (sold as a cystinuria test)

Marker disputed

4.2% of Great Danes in the Donner 2023 cohort carried it (n=3,266).

  • The curated record finds no support for this variant causing cystinuria, and the researchers who studied it advise against using it as a test.
    OMIA 001880-9615

    “there appears to be no support for the variant to be causal” OMIA 001880-9615

    “strongly recommend not to use "the variant in SLC7A9 as a test to predict the risk of developing cystinuria in male English bulldogs.” OMIA 001880-9615

What to do
A carrier result for this variant does not predict bladder stones. Straining to urinate or blood in the urine is a reason to see a veterinarian whatever a DNA test says.

No test, or a mix
The curated record gives no reason to test for this variant.

Which Mendelian variants matter most for Great Danes?

The Mendelian-disease table above lists variants screened in 3,266 Great Danes (Donner 2023). Six matter enough to test for. Great Danes’ genetic bottleneck is real: the breed derives from 30 atlas dogs and clusters into two sub-populations. This architectural constraint means that even low-frequency variants warrant attention in breeding decisions.

Von Willebrand’s Disease, Type 1 (vWD 1)

Von Willebrand’s Disease, Type 1 in Great Danes is an autosomal-recessive bleeding disorder caused by deficiency of von Willebrand factor. Affected dogs may show excessive bleeding after surgery or trauma, or spontaneous mucosal bleeding. 0.32% of Great Danes carry the variant (n=3,266), which is rare but consequential given the surgical risks bleeding disorders can pose in any large-breed dog.

Donner 2023 found 6 of 33 at-risk dogs with a confirmed phenotype (maximum 18% penetrance in this cohort). Not every dog with two copies showed clinical signs in that sample. Testing is available and recommended before elective surgery. Affected dogs tolerate normal life well but require careful perioperative management.

Cone-Rod Dystrophy (cord1-PRA/crd4)

Cone-Rod Dystrophy in Great Danes is an autosomal-recessive-with-incomplete-penetrance retinal degeneration. Affected dogs gradually lose vision, starting with color and night vision, progressing to daylight blindness. 0.26% of Great Danes carry the variant (n=3,257). It is rare in the breed but remains testable.

Testing is available. Carriers do not require management, but breeding stock should be screened to prevent affected offspring.

What should I feed a Great Dane?

Great Danes are among the fastest-growing dog breeds, reaching giant-breed adult weights in roughly 18 to 24 months. The growth rate is so fast that the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio in the puppy formula is the single most important food decision an owner makes. A cystinuria carrier adds dietary constraint: low-protein, alkalinizing management if the dog is affected.

Puppy formula is non-negotiable. The National Research Council recommends a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio between 1.1:1 and 2:1 for large-breed puppies (NRC 2006). Great Dane puppies fed adult maintenance kibble or homemade diets with unbalanced mineral ratios face accelerated bone growth, widened growth plates, and lifelong joint consequences. The breed’s rapid growth window is roughly 12 to 18 months. A large-breed puppy formulation from a manufacturer that runs AAFCO feeding trials is the conservative default. Switch to adult formula only after growth plates close, typically around 18 to 24 months.

Weight management in adulthood extends the breed’s lifespan. Great Danes have a median atlas lifespan of 10.6 years. Obesity shortens that window further. Adult maintenance should provide enough calories for a lean body condition without excess. The breed-typical food motivation means that measured portions and structured treat budgets are more effective than free-feeding. A Giant Breed adult formula from a manufacturer with published feeding trials is appropriate once growth is complete.

The cardiac signal in grain-free diets warrants caution. The FDA’s diet-associated DCM advisories (FDA 2018, 2022) identified a signal across multiple large and giant breeds, including Great Danes. A grain-inclusive, taurine-supplemented formulation remains the conservative default pending mechanistic clarity. A grain-inclusive, taurine-supplemented formulation remains the conservative default for Great Danes pending mechanistic clarity.

What we don’t know

The CDDY variant tied to intervertebral disc disease risk is nearly absent in Great Danes: its carrier frequency is below 0.1% in Donner 2023 (n=3,266). The variant is associated with intervertebral disc disease risk in smaller breeds; the expression in Great Danes, whether skeletal, neurological, or silent, is not yet characterized in published literature. The honest summary is that the research on this specific breed-variant pair has not yet landed.

The breed’s founder structure and genetic bottleneck mean that even rare variants carry weight in breeding decisions. The atlas includes only 30 Great Danes. Larger cohorts would clarify penetrance for vWD 1, DM, and cord1-PRA within this specific population. Until then, testing before breeding remains the safest practice.

Frequently asked questions about Great Danes?

How long do Great Danes live? Cited life expectancy is 10.6 years (McMillan 2024 / VetCompass, n=1,986, 95% CI 10.4 to 11). The breed’s short lifespan is among the lowest across the 107 breeds ranked in the atlas (Donner 2023). Giant size and rapid growth drive early organ wear.

Should I do a DNA test on my Great Dane? For breeding stock, yes. The breed’s small atlas population and genetic bottleneck mean that identifying carriers of even rare variants is important. A panel covering cystinuria, von Willebrand’s Disease, cone-rod dystrophy, and degenerative myelopathy is the standard.

Are Great Danes prone to heart disease? Great Danes are predisposed to dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle weakens and chambers enlarge. The breed does not have a breed-specific genetic variant at high frequency, but the giant size and rapid growth create physiological stress. Annual cardiac screening with echocardiography is widely practiced in the breed; consult the Great Dane Club of America Health and Research Committee (gdca.org) for current screening guidelines.

What is the best diet for a Great Dane? A large-breed puppy formula with controlled calcium (calcium-to-phosphorus ratio 1.1:1 to 2:1) during the growth phase is non-negotiable. After 18 to 24 months, transition to a giant-breed adult formula. If the dog is a cystinuria carrier, discuss a low-protein variant with your veterinarian. Weight management in adulthood is critical to lifespan extension.

Are Great Danes good with kids? Great Danes are gentle and patient with children, though their size means supervision is necessary to prevent accidental knocking over of small children. Temperament varies by individual and socialization.

Do Great Danes have genetic eye problems? Cone-rod dystrophy (RPGRIP1) has a carrier frequency of 0.26% in the Donner cohort (n=3,257). Multifocal retinopathy (BEST1) sits below 0.1%. Both are rare but testable before breeding. Testing is available before breeding. Progressive retinal atrophy is not a breed-typical concern at the population level.

What health problems should a Great Dane owner watch for? Great Danes are commonly screened for dilated cardiomyopathy, gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat), and hip dysplasia; consult the Great Dane Club of America (gdca.org) for breed-specific health prevalence data. Annual veterinary screening, weight management, and knowledge of bloat symptoms are critical. Cystinuria carriers should have periodic urinalysis.

Temperament

What Great Danes tend toward

Tendencies from owner surveys of purebred Great Danes — a leaning across the breed, not a prediction for any one dog. A bar’s strength shows how much of that behavior breed actually explains: for most it’s faint, because the rest is your dog, their training, and the life you give them.

Dog Sociabilitybreed ~8%
less sociablehighly sociable
Biddabilitybreed ~18%
biddableindependent
n = 26 dogs · Morrill et al. 2022, Science, Darwin's Ark (CC0)
Owner-reported purebreds; each factor n ≥ 25. "Breed ~%" is the share of this behavior explained by breed.
Names & origins

Other names

The Great Dane is also recorded as Apollo of Dogs, Deutsche Dogge, Gentle Giant, and German Mastiff.

Identified as Great Dane (VBO:0200623) in the Vertebrate Breed Ontology (Mullen et al. 2025, CC-BY 4.0) · registry IDs FCI 235 · iDog 119 · VeNom 14037.

For researchers Population genetics, disease models and every recorded condition Open the research detail for the Great Dane
What the atlas says about Great Dane

In the atlas, the Great Dane clusters consistently as Great Dane (100% of the 30 dogs here). Dogs here sit in a relatively sparse region of the atlas, fewer close neighbors than typical.

Genetic dimensions · CanVAS atlas

What the atlas genotypes say about Great Dane

Computed from the 14,478 CanVAS dogs in the Atlas, on an imputed genotype backbone: 77,215 directly typed sites per dog, imputed to 9.67 million variants.

The confidence below counts dogs, not reads: it is the size of the sample, and it is separate from how the genotypes were measured.

Dogs in the Atlas
30Founders
19 from Hayward2016, 10 from Spatola, 1 from JenkinsWGS
Genetic diversity
0.31Moderate
Mean heterozygosity across the breed. 52nd most diverse of 107 ranked populations.
What does genetic diversity mean?

How varied a breed's gene pool is — the share of gene spots where a typical dog of the breed carries two different versions rather than two identical ones.

How to read it: Higher = more diverse. Among well-sampled breeds it ranges roughly 0.22 (least diverse) to 0.33 (most diverse).

Diversity is a strength, not a verdict on any individual dog. Lower diversity means it's worth paying attention to recessive-risk testing — not that a dog is doomed.

Cluster structure
Splits into two genetic sub-populations
Intra-breed RMS distance: 27.01 · likely working/show-line, regional, or kennel lineage split.
What does within-breed variation mean?

How much individual dogs within the breed differ from each other genetically.

How to read it: Higher = more internal variety among individuals of the breed.

Sensitive to how many dogs of the breed we've sampled.

Related breeds
Gave rise to
In the Working group
Explore the full lineage map →
VBO foundation stock (breeding records) · AKC breed group
Relatedness is documented lineage + kennel family. Genetic-ancestry distance measures diversity, not kinship, so it isn't used here.
How long they live
10.6years (life expectancy)
95% CI 10.4–11 · VetCompass, McMillan 2024, n=1,986. source
What does typical lifespan mean?

The median age dogs of the breed tend to reach.

How to read it: Higher = longer-lived. Compare to longevity-for-size to see whether it's just a size effect.

Drawn from population lifespan records; individual dogs vary widely with care, genetics, and luck.

n = 30 dogs · moderate sample · CanVAS (Brundage 2026) · Sniff Atlas
Comparative oncology

Great Danes are a natural model for human cancer.

Some cancers appear in Great Danes and in people driven by the same somatically-altered genes, cohort by cohort and cited on both sides. That makes this breed part of how we understand, and one day treat, the human disease. This is not a prediction about your dog, it is a window into the biology we share.

The dog and human osteosarcoma model →
A gift to human medicine

Great Danes are a natural model for human disease

Because the same genes cause the same conditions across species, the inherited conditions documented in Great Danes help researchers understand, and work toward treating, the human diseases they model. This is the dog advancing human medicine. The breed models the human disease; it does not have it, and this is not a prediction for your dog.

Human equivalents via OMIA → Mondo / OMIM. Model-of, not identity. The named gene is the canine locus, not a claim that a pet has the human disease.
Documented in OMIA

Every condition recorded in the Great Dane

Beyond the testable carriers above, OMIA's literature catalogue records 17 genetic conditions in the Great Dane, 10 of which have a known human equivalent. This is the documented landscape across all Great Danes ever studied, not a prediction for any one dog.

Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA); Nicholas, Tammen & Sydney Informatics Hub, DOI 10.25910/2AMR-PV70
Documented in the breed's literature is not carrier status and not a forecast for an individual dog. Human equivalents are mapped via Mondo/OMIM. Carrier frequencies (above) are the separately-measured testable subset (Donner 2023).
The data behind this page

Where every number on this page came from.

This page draws on three primary data sources. Carrier frequencies for the Mendelian section come from Donner et al. 2023 (CC-BY-4.0). We grade these data at evidence Limited because the cohort is a direct-to-consumer ascertainment, which biases toward owners who chose to test their dogs. The panel also uses tag-SNP proxies for some variants rather than direct causal-variant assays. Limited is a study-design grade, not a quality grade: the Donner cohort is the largest open canine-genotype dataset in existence and we are grateful for it. We rate the confounding MEDIUM.

Population-genetic dimensions (heterozygosity, intra-breed PCA distance, nearest neighbors, trait-locus frequencies) come from CanVAS (Brundage 2026), harmonized through the Sniff Atlas. The exact release date and verification commit are pinned at the bottom of the page so a researcher can trace a number back to a specific snapshot. The disease-gene-variant graph comes from OMIA (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals; Nicholas, Tammen, and the Sydney Informatics Hub at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney; retrieved April 2026, DOI 10.25910/2AMR-PV70).

What this page does not yet have. Inheritance modes and per-disease penetrance evidence from Donner 2023 are in the structured data for every variant the panel covers. Mondo, OMIM, Ensembl, and HGNC cross-references live on the gene and disease pages this page links to, rather than being repeated here. What is still absent from this breed page is anything not in the cited panel, and each such gap carries its cause where it appears.

How to cite this page. The computed dimensions on this page are derived from the open Sniff Atlas v1.0.1 (Gehring 2026, doi:10.5281/zenodo.20566358, CC-BY 4.0). Full citation formats including BibTeX, RIS, and CITATION.cff at sniff.world/cite.

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References
  1. Donner J, Freyer J, Davison S, Anderson H, Blades M, Honkanen L, et al. (2023). Genetic prevalence and clinical relevance of canine Mendelian disease variants in over one million dogs. PLOS Genetics 19(2):e1010651. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1010651
  2. Brundage DM (2026). CanVAS: A Harmonized and Imputed Canine Variant Atlas. bioRxiv. doi:10.64898/2026.04.13.718238
  3. Nicholas, F.W., Tammen, I., & Sydney Informatics Hub. (2026). Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) [dataset]. The University of Sydney. https://omia.org. doi:10.25910/2AMR-PV70 (retrieved April 2026).
Last updated
Sources: CanVAS (Brundage 2026) · Donner 2023 · OMIA