Great Danes, known as the Apollo of dogs and beloved by anyone who has had a chance to get to know one were originally from Germany. The origin of the Dane name is unknown but nonetheless inappropriate. Despite that fact weather they hail from Germany or a Scandinavian country they seem oddly maladept for the cold that these countries have to offer. Short haired dogs such as the Rhodesian ridgeback are from scorched hot areas of Africa.

Short haired dogs do have one thing in common, they are hunters. The adaption of short hair seems to have something to with the hunting aspect of their existence. Running through thick bush and bramble are much easier if your are not snagging every branch and tree you pass. The sleek aerodynamics of many of these breeds can be observed, especially in greyhounds which have also been used to hunt in the past.

Modern Great Danes are not used to hunt very often and many can be found in homes in warmer climates these days but winter happens every year in most of the world and Great danes shiver at the thought.

We take a couple of steps to make our Danes comfortable for the winter. First, we make sure that they have something to lay on besides the cold hard wood floor. The Dogs would prefer that we let them on the furniture, but as I have previously discussed, furniture, if you want it to last is not great dane approved. We get the dogs some nice fluffy beds that will insulate them from the floor.

Next, we put out a couple of space heaters. Danes, may be tall, but when they lay on the floor they are in the coldest area of the house. The air below your waist can be 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the air above. They huddle by the heaters on especially cold days.

We also feed them a little more during the cold periods, giving them more calories than usual to keep warm. They don't mind this one bit, it just means don't forget to let them out a little more often. The Dane's quick metabolism usually prevents them from putting on much weight but a little extra insulation never hurt.

Dane clothing can be hard to find as well as expensive if you do find it so when we put a sweater or something on them it is usually a hand me down. This looks kind of funny but they appreciate the extra warmth.

There are many other things you can do that I do not routinely do because I live in a fairly warm area but, just to list a quick few. Cover them up with a blanket, get some dog booties, use a heated blanket, and warm their food and water.

Once outside in the cold Great Danes don't seem to have much problem, they have a very high pain tolerance but it is pretty forlorn to see them shivering on the floor in your home. I can easily envision a pack of Danes huddled around a great fire in a medieval German castle.