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Great Dane Bloodhound Mix: Easy-Going Gentle Giant

Great Dane Bloodhound Mix

While a Great Dane Bloodhound mix may seem improbable to you, it is not too far of a reach. Although different in appearance, both dogs were originally used to help hunters in their pursuit of various game animals.

You might reasonably ask if the Dane Bloodhound is very common, and the answer is that it makes an infrequent mix.

A Great Dane Bloodhound mix, or Great Hound, is a large, long-legged designer dog with a rectangular expressive face and hanging ears.

Most dogs are over 100 pounds and sport long, moderately curved tails, soulful eyes, and black-and-tan, solid black, or merle coats.

This hybrid’s personality is loyal, affectionate, friendly, and somewhat on the lazy side. Dane-Bloodhounds tend to be suitable for older children and less active families.

They cope well with other dogs in the household and during meet-and-greets and playdate scenarios.

Should You Get a Great Dane Bloodhound?

Assuming you can find one, is the Great Dane Bloodhound a good dog to get? Like any breed, purebred or otherwise, a dog’s suitability depends on what you are looking for. For example, you will not acquire a French Bulldog if you want to do dock diving with your dog.

Traits of the Great Dane Bloodhound Mix

Great Danes were once well-respected guard dogs, but the goal of most 21st-century breeders is a gentle giant and excellent family companion. The mix of Bloodhound lines will likely further dampen any guarding potential.

You should consider other traits of the mix before deciding whether you should undergo the effort to find one.

  • Great watchdog
  • May tend to bay
  • Can become distracted by both the sight of fast-moving objects and interesting smells
  • Gangly and clumsy as puppies
  • Not effusive with strangers but friendly
  • Laidback, moderate activity level – both contributing breeds have a working background, but modern specimens tend to be lazy
  • High potential to drool profusely

Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Get a Great Dane Bloodhound Mix

  • Can be giant-sized
  • Some lines of Great Danes are fearful and skittish – need extensive socialization
  • The tail can be at the same time fragile and destructive
  • Maybe exceedingly short-lived
  • Some individuals bay which many people do not find charming
  • Rather sensitive to both the heat and cold
  • Shed a lot

Reasons Why You Should Get a Great Dane Bloodhound Mix

  • Unique appearance
  • Intimidating to intruders – tend to be good watchdogs
  • Laidback – large dog that can do well in an apartment or condo
  • Loving and devoted
  • Easy to groom
  • Low exercise needs for size
  • Sociable

Appearance of Great Dane Bloodhound Mix

Your Great Dane Bloodhound mix will be a large to giant-sized breed from 24 to 29 inches tall at the shoulders and weighing from 120 to 175 pounds. Some individuals may end up weighing close to 200 pounds.

Your dog’s head will be rectangular with a long angular muzzle, loose flews, and a moderate stop. The brows will be prominent and the eyes deep-set with a steady gaze.

You will notice your dog is slightly longer than tall but almost square with a level topline and a moderate uptick of the abdomen from ribs to hips.

Great Dane mixes have a broad and deep chest and a rather long tail that may curve upward at the level of the back when they are alert or excited. The legs are long and slender but exhibit great power and elegance during movement.

Your dog’s ears will have a medium set and hang long and close to the head. They should be velvety to the touch.

You will be able to see the parent breeds in most mixes.

  • Loose folds on the neck and body from the Bloodhound but not as extreme
  • Appear leggier than a Bloodhound
  • Squarer than a Bloodhound in the body
  • Longer more graceful neck than a Bloodhound
  • Taller and heavier than a purebred Bloodhound
  • Noble dignified expression common to both the Dane and Bloodhound
  • Elegant and powerful but deliberate gait

Coat

The Dane has a flat single coat of fur that lies smoothly. Bloodhounds have a denser and harder coat.

Your Great Dane Bloodhound cross will have short, smooth fur with little to no undercoat. The mix is particularly sensitive to cold conditions but may also lack the best protection against high summer temperatures.

Your pet will have moderate year-round shedding with increases most likely in the spring but possibly also in the fall.

Colors

Great Danes come in seven major colors.

  • Fawn-fawn Danes have a black or gray facial mask; fawn ranges from almost cream-colored to tan to yellow to golden to deep red
  • Black – the more solid the color, the better; many black Great Danes have white on their chest
  • Harlequin – white with black torn patches, some of which may be merle; Harlequin dogs have a merle and Harlequin gene, both of which are dominant characteristics
  • Blue – steel blue in this breed; blue is a dilution of the black coat, and the preferred pattern is the same (white on the chest and toes is undesirable)
  • Mantle – named because the dog looks like it is wearing a black blanket; mantle dogs have the same coat pattern as Boston Terriers with white on legs, muzzle, a collar around the neck, the tip of the tail, and the legs; white markings vary in their pattern and prominence but do not stray much beyond the stereotypical areas mentioned; can have the main color of black, merle, or Harlequin
  • Brindle – fawn base with black stripes; brindle Great Danes have a black facial mask
  • Merle – in Great Danes, merle is light gray to a dark charcoal with torn black patches; these dogs can have significant white markings

A Bloodhound is much more limited in its acceptable colors than the Great Dane. They can be tan-pointed (black-and-tan or liver-and-tan) or solid red. Red dogs range from tan to a rich brownish-red shade.

Tan-pointed Bloodhounds can sport a saddle like a GSD or show more localized tan points like the Rottweiler or Doberman. A scattering of white markings can be present.

Red dogs may have interspersed badger-colored hairs or a dark overlay across the shoulders and back.

Dane Bloodhound crosses are most commonly black-and-tan, liver-and-tan, fawn, or merle. Fawn and merle are genetically dominant colors. Tan-pointed dogs often have significant white markings, making them tri-colored.

Merle dogs can be charcoal with mottled black patches and spots or Harlequin (white swirls with black or gray patches).

Occasionally, your mix might be solid black or particolored (black-and-white or gray-and-white). Sometimes, you might see a solid red or a brindle Dane Bloodhound.

Personality of Great Dane Bloodhound Mix

Great Danes and Bloodhounds have several temperamental characteristics in common with one another.

  • Affectionate
  • Even-tempered
  • Mild-mannered and gentle
  • Patient
  • Friendly

Bloodhounds tend to be more stubborn and independent than Great Danes, but they often have more of an affinity for young children. Your hybrid will have the above disposition as well as the Great Dane’s playful and goofy mannerisms.

Unfortunately, Bloodhounds have a high likelihood of ingesting foreign objects like clothing and electronic accessories. Your dog may outgrow this tendency at two years old, but a few dogs practice dietary indiscretion throughout their entire lives.

Great Dane Bloodhound mix Puppies for Sale

Great Dane Bloodhound mixes are not particularly rare but finding an ethical breeder can be a challenge. Look for those sellers who do not select specifically for unusual colors or extreme sizes.

Ideally, you will find a breeder who knows their dogs’ family trees a couple of generations back and has performed basic screening tests on the hips, elbows, and eyes of any potential parents.

Visit the facility of your prospective puppy and witness in person the cleanliness of the environment and the apparent health of the pups. Puppies must be active and should approach you. Make sure they do not have any discharge from the eyes or nose, and there is no evidence of diarrhea.

Grooming Your Great Dane Bloodhound Mix

Brushing your Great Dane Bloodhound mix should be easy. Once or twice a week will keep your dog’s skin healthy and minimize the number of loose hairs in the coat. Use a soft brush because the cross does not have much of an undercoat, and its skin is sensitive.

You may have to increase your brushing frequency in the spring and fall when your pet changes out what undercoat she has. Other grooming duties involve the following:

  • Nail trim – nails will be strong, thick, and black; do not be shy about enlisting the help of a professional groomer or your veterinarian
  • Brush teeth – get your pup used to oral hygienic routines at an early age
  • Bath – use a mild canine shampoo
  • Swab ears
  • Wipe face around eyes

Great Dane Bloodhound Mix Lifespan and Health Problems

Great Danes are notoriously short-lived with an average life expectancy of seven to nine years. Far too many live only five or six years while a few make it to 12 years old.

Bloodhounds live ten to twelve years but will not extend your cross’ life expectancy by much. Your Dane Bloodhound mix will live an average of eight to twelve years.

Health problems will be the same as those that frequently plague giant-breed dogs.

  • Bloat (GDV) – both the Great Dane and Bloodhound have a high incidence of GDV whereby their stomach swells with gas or fluid and rotates 45 degrees or more around its axis; it can drag the spleen and disrupt electrolytes responsible for proper heart rhythms
  • Hip dysplasia – genetic and environmental factors like weight, overexertion, and overnutrition
  • Wobbler disease – affects vertebrae in the neck; more frequent in Great Danes and Dobermans
  • Cataracts
  • Von Willebrand’s disease – clotting problem
  • Epilepsy – seizures with unclear cause other than genetics
  • Dilatative cardiomyopathy – enlarged heart due to inefficient pumping because of weakened muscles in the cardiac wall; genetic and possibly dietary contributors
  • Elbow dysplasia
  • Entropion – eyelids roll inward

Great Dane Bloodhound Mix Food Requirements

The Great Dane Bloodhound cross requires about 20 to 23 calories per pound of body weight every day. It works out to approximately six to nine cups of dry kibble.

Raw and fresh diets are usually cost prohibitive as even a modest 125-pound dog would require 20 to 30 pounds of a meat-based balanced diet every week. Your dog should eat at least two meals a day to help prevent bloat.

Great Dane Bloodhound Mix Exercise Requirements

Although a Great Bloodhound may seem content to enjoy a couch potato life with you, they are athletic dogs that require daily exercise to remain physically fit and mentally balanced.

The Great Dane originated as a boar catch hound from Germany and the Bloodhound was a scent hound for deer and wild hogs in Belgium, France, and the UK.

You should plan on exercising your dog in at least two sessions of 20 to 30 minutes each. Use caution not to overexert any dog under two years of age because of potential joint problems in such a large dog when she is growing. You also must consider the fact that the growth plates may still be open and vulnerable to injury.

The general rule is to exercise a pup no more than five minutes per month of age. However, even dogs over six months of age are still undergoing adolescence, and no organized exercises should extend beyond 30 minutes at a time.

Mature dogs continue to warrant moderation of their activities, limiting extensive jumping or any other concussive actions.

Great Dane Bloodhound Mix Training

Your Dane Bloodhound cross will be a challenge to train and probably would rank between No. 100 and 120 of dogs with the most working intelligence (Great Dane is No. 94 and Bloodhound is No. 136 out of 141). Working intelligence is not a comprehensive measurement of how smart a dog is but does involve data about how fast one learns and follows commands.

Your mix will have a similar willingness to learn as a French Bulldog or Skye Terrier, which means she will not be that concerned about pleasing you. She will also have more than her fair share of stubbornness.

The best tools you have to get through to your Great Dane Bloodhound mix are patience, persistence, and a lot of praise.

Start training when your puppy is as young as possible and use plenty of positive reinforcement such as treats. Your mix may not respond to toys and other methods, tending to be very food-oriented.

Expect an obedience rate of around 40% to 50% after numerous repetitions.

Great Dane Bloodhound Mix and Families

A Great Dane Bloodhound mix makes a devoted family companion.

Keep in mind they can be just as large as a purebred Dane, albeit not as tall. This combined with rambunctiousness as puppies and carelessness as adults make them less than ideal for small children and toddlers. Otherwise, they are great playmates for kids over seven years old, not likely to overdo romping sessions.

The Dane Bloodhound cross makes an excellent jogging partner on moderate runs and will enjoy playing in the water and going on camping trips. Long hikes are likely beyond the scope of what a dog his size should do regularly.

Dane mixes can also be sensitive to heat and humidity, although not to the extent that Bulldogs are. You can train your dog to hunt with you as a bonding activity and long steady physical exercise.

Since specialized hunting dogs have largely replaced Great Danes and Bloodhounds, possibly more practical activities include tracking.

Great Dane Bloodhound Mix and Other Pets

Neither Great Danes nor Bloodhounds are aggressive or argumentative. They tend to be open to meeting other dogs and making friends.

They also are companionable with other dogs in the household, although you should avoid having them live with Toy and miniature breeds.

Cats are also questionable as the mix may be driven to chase them. Great Dane Bloodhound crosses are too big to be around smaller pets. They may have a heightened prey drive around livestock and poultry if not socialized.

Example

This video gives a good illustration of a red Bloodhound and a Merle Great Dane with a mantle pattern.

You will note the laidback low activity of both breeds, although the Bloodhound is known for its phenomenal stamina at slow speeds. The Bloodhound gives you an idea of what baying sounds like in this mix.