In the middle of the 16th century, the nobility in many countries of Europe imported strong, long-legged dogs from England, which were descended from crossbreeds between English Mastiffs and Irish Wolfhounds. They were dog hybrids in different sizes and phenotypes with no formal breed. Since then, the English word 'dog' has come to be associated with a molossoid dog in Germany and France. During the 19th century, the dog was known as a 'German boarhound' in English-speaking countries. Some German breeders tried to introduce the names 'German Dogge' and 'German Mastiff' on the English market, because they believed the breed should be marketed as a dog of luxury and not as a working dog. However, due to the increasing tensions between Germany and other countries, the dog later became referred to as a 'Great Dane', after the grand danois in Buffon's Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière in 1755.
'German boarhound'|'German Dogge'|'German Mastiff' 'German Dogge'
'German boarhound'|'German Dogge'|'German Mastiff' 'German Dogge'