The Great Dane in his noble appearance combines a large, powerful well constructed body with pride, strength and elegance. By substance together with nobility, harmonious appearance, well proportioned outlines, as well as an especially expressive head, the Great Dane strikes the onlooker as a noble statue, never coarse or with refined elegance. Perfect in balance and always with clearly defined sexual dimorphism. He is the Apollo amongst all breeds.

Very short, dense, smooth and close lying, glossy. Must never be coarse, dull or a double coat.

The Great Dane is bred in three separate colour varieties Fawn and brindle, harlequin and black, and blue.

Fawn: Light gold fawn to deep gold fawn. Black mask desired. Never to be grey fawn, blue fawn or a sooty fawn colour No white markings.

Brindle: Basic colour, light to deep gold fawn with black stripes as regular and clearly defined as possible, running with the direction of the ribs. Black mask desired. Never with washed-out streaks. No white markings.

Harlequin: (white with black splashed patches): Basic colour pure white, preferably with no ticking. Pure black patches well distributed all over the body, having the appearance of being torn. Grey or brownish patches or nuances of those colours in the black are undesirable as well as blue-grey ticking in the white. So called “Grautiger” occur, they are neither desirable nor to be disqualified.

Black: Jet black, white markings on chest and feet permitted. Included here are “Manteltiger” in which the black covers the body like a coat (“mantel”) or blanket and muzzle, throat, chest, belly, legs and tip of tail may be white. Also dogs with basic white colour and large black patches so called “Plattenhunde”. The black colour must never have nuances of fawn or brown or bluish black colour.

Blue: Pure steel blue, white markings on chest and feet permitted. Never with a fawn nuance or blackish blue colour.