Greater Swiss Mountain Dane

The hybrid called the Greater Swiss Mountain Dane is a new breed of dog that does not have a detailed history. The two breeds that combine to create the breed each have long histories of their own. Thought to be one of the oldest breeds of dogs in Switzerland, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog was discovered around 2000 years ago. There are several theories of how the breed came into existence. Most popular is that the breed descended from dogs similar to the Mastiff that were brought to the Alps by Roman Legions and used for herding, guarding and as draft dogs. The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog was one of the most popular breeds of farm dogs in Switzerland, though as machinery became available to handle the farm responsibilities of the breed, its popularity decreased. A canine researcher named Albert Heim noticed two Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs at a Swiss Kennel Club Jubilee and sought to have them recognized as their own breed. In 1990 the breed was listed in the Swiss Stud book of the Swiss Kennel Club. Today the breed works in guarding and tracking and makes an excellent watchdog. It is thought that the origin of the Great Dane was around 3000 B.C., as drawings of dogs that look like the breed were found in the Babylonian Temples which were built around 2000 B.C. It is thought that there may have been similar dogs in Tibet as evidenced in reports found in Chinese literature around 1121 B.C. It is believed that the Great Dane was spread throughout the world by Assyrians during trades to the Romans and Greeks. The Romans and Greeks would then breed the dogs with other breeds. It is thought that ancestors of the Great Dane include the Irish Wolfhound, English Mastiff and Irish Greyhound. These dogs were first called Boar Hounds due to the dogs being bred to hunt them. The name of the breed was then changed to English Dogges during the 16th century. Next, the breed was known as Kammerhunde which means Chamber Dogs, as a result of German nobles wanting to keep these large dogs in their homes. During the 1700’s, while traveling to Denmark, a French naturalist came across a different version of the Boar Hound that appeared slimmer and had a resemblance to the Greyhound. The naturalist called the breed Grand Danois, which was later changed to Great Danish Dog. German breeders refined the dogs, creating a compliant, gentle dog; in 1880 breeders and judges met and decided that the breed would be separate from the English Mastiff and called him the Deutsche Dogge or German Dog. The breed then became known as the Great Dane.