A superb companion and guard dog, the Great Dane is one of the most elegant and distinguished of the giant breeds. Dubbed the " Apollo of Dogs," the Great Dane is doubtless a product of the old English Mastiff and the Irish Wolfhound. The present-day dog was developed by German breeders during the nineteenth century. Germans use the name Deutsche Dogge (German Mastiff), notwithstanding, that 'Great Dane' has stuck in the English-speaking world.