Dogs, even though most have the same traits, come in different shapes, sizes, and heights. For thousands of years, dogs scattered across many regions on Earth have been bred by humans for a lot of reasons. These include hunting, companionship, guardian, and herding.
For many of these breeds, their size has been a key factor for reasons such as hunting bigger animals and guarding a home. Some were just bred to have enough body mass to survive very cold conditions.
In this list, we will be focusing on height, as we will be listing out some of the tallest dog breeds in the world.
Before we get into the full list, let’s first discuss the tallest of them all – that’s the Great Dane!
The American Kennel Club recognizes the Great Dane as the tallest dog breed in the world. It has its origins from Germany, and it is called “Deutsche Dogge”, which means German Mastiff.
Long before the Great Dane was birthed in Germany, its parent dogs had their roots from Ireland and England. It was a cross between the English Mastiff and the Irish wolfhound that led to the birth of the Great Dane breed.
On average, a Great Dane is about 30 inches tall and it weighs about 120 pounds. If you’re a fan of the cartoon series “Scooby-Doo” then you should have an idea of how tall a Great Dane is.
Zeus, who is the tallest Great Dane reached a mature height of 44 inches tall. It still remains the world record for the tallest dog on Earth.
If you’re interested in owning a tall dog breed, then we have to let you know that they usually live between 6 to 8 years old. Sadly, their long-life is traded for their height, so you may have to say goodbye to your buddy earlier than you would like to.
Zeus, the world record holder for the tallest dog on Earth died of old age, at just 5 years old.
Tall dog breeds are not the most active or agile, so if those are the traits you were hoping to get from your tall breed then forget it. Many of them actually tend to be lazy so you have to place them on daily exercise routines to ensure they remain healthy and prevent them from putting on too much weight.
Now that you have a fair idea about what you’re in for, let us list out the tallest dog breeds in the world.