The Great Dane breed of dog is often called King of the Dogs because of his magnificent size and striking elegance. He has a friendly, energetic personality and makes an excellent guardian and companion. His smoothly muscular body is wrapped in a short glossy coat that can be brindle, fawn, blue, black, harlequin and mantle. The head of the Great Dane breed of dog is rectangular, long, distinguished, expressive, and finely chiseled below the eyes. His head is angular from all sides. The medium-sized, deep-set and dark eyes have a lively intelligent expression. His ears are high set, medium size and folded forward close to the cheek. If cropped, the ear length is in proportion to the size of the head and the ears are carried uniformly erect. His nose is black, except in a blue Dane, where it is dark blue-black, or the harlequin, where it may be black spotted. The teeth are strong, well developed, clean and with full dentition, closing in a scissors bite. The neck of the Great Dane breed of dog must be well arched, long and muscular. His withers slope smoothly into a short level back with a broad loin. The chest is broad, deep and well muscled, with a pronounced sternum, and the brisket reaches to the elbow. The Great Dane has a well-defined tuck-up. His croup is broad and very slightly sloping. The tail is set high, but not quite level with the back, a continuation of the spine. It is broad at the base, tapering uniformly down to the hock joint. At rest, the tail should fall straight. When excited or running, it may curve slightly, but never above the level of the back. The tail is not docked. The forequarters and hindquarters of the Great Dane breed of dog are both strong and muscular. The feet are round and compact with well-arched toes. His nails should be short, strong and as dark as possible, except that they may be lighter in harlequins. Dewclaws may or may not be removed. The coat of the Great Dane breed of dog is short and thick, with a smooth glossy appearance. It may be brindle, fawn, blue, black, harlequin or mantle, These are described as follows: Brindle--Yellow gold base color brindled with strong black cross stripes in a chevron pattern. A black mask is preferred. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. Intensive base color and distinct, even brindling are preferred. Fawn--Yellow gold with a black mask. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. Blue--A pure steel blue. Black--A glossy black. Harlequin--The base color is pure white, with black torn patches irregularly but well distributed over the entire body; a pure white neck is preferred. The black patches should never be large enough to give the appearance of a blanket, nor so small as to give a dappled effect. Eligible, but less desirable, are a few small gray patches, or a white base with single black hairs showing through, which tend to give a salt and pepper or dirty effect. Mantle--Black and white with a solid black blanket extending over the body; black skull with white muzzle; white blaze is optional; whole white collar is preferred; a white chest; white on part or whole of forelegs and hind legs; white tipped black tail. The gait of the Great Dane breed of dog should denote strength and power with long, easy strides resulting in no tossing, rolling or bouncing of the topline or body. The long reach should strike the ground below the nose while the head is carried forward. The powerful rear drive should be balanced to the reach. As speed increases, there is a natural tendency for the legs to converge toward the centerline of balance beneath the body.