Are you thinking of getting a majestic and beautiful Great Dane as your pet or show dog? However, are you not sure which one to get and also not aware of all the myriads of color in which Great Danes come in?
You will be more than surprised to hear that there are seven standard colored Great Danes available and they can also come in other varieties of mixed colors like the Lilac Great Danes.
What is a Lilac Great Dane?
Nothing can beat the elegant and majestic beauty of Great Danes which are often considered gentle giants due to their sweet demeanor and Lilac Great Danes are one of them that may not be in the seven standard color’s variation but are still in the Great Dane family.
Table of Contents
Lilac Great Danes are a unique variety of Great Danes however, Lilac Great Danes are not from the seven standard colors of Great Danes.
In addition, the brown gene has a vital role in producing the lilac color in Great Danes. Moreover, when the brown gene is mixed with other types of genes then this can weaken the black color and can cause a blueish tinted or grey color in Great Danes thus resulting in lilac color, and the gene causing this type of dilution is called Melanophilin.
Consequently, the prominent colors in Lilac Great Danes are chocolate, grayish, and tinted bluish color.
What colors do great Danes come in?
These majestic Great Danes are so unique in their color and coat and they can come in a different array of colors which set them apart from each other and it is always better to be knowledgeable about the variety of colors a Great Dane may come in.
Black Great Dane:
One of the most common colors of these Great Dane is black. These Great Danes’ color is almost a shiny color meaning they have a glossy black color.
In addition, they seem to have a thin coat and can also have some white spots here and there. They are often used as show dogs.
Blue Great Dane:
Great Danes also come in blue color and the blue can also be called “blue steel” color. Their blue color can range from a light shade of blue to a darker one. This color can also be perceived as a faded version of black color.
Harlequin Great Dane:
These amazing Great Danes known as Harlequin Great Dane are very unique in their color coating and each Harlequin Great Dane is different from the other.
In addition, their primary color is white and upon this white, there are dense black splotches and the patches are in a very irregular pattern.
Fawn Great Dane:
Fawn Great Danes are perhaps the most common out of all the colored Great Danes. These dogs seem to have tan-colored bodies.
In addition, their tan-colored exterior almost extends to the legs and they seem to have darker or black color around their mouth areas.
Brindle Great Dane:
Brindle Great Danes can be considered as a blend of black, grey, brown, and so on. However, the prominent color of their body is golden yellow and they also seem to have long black stripes.
Additionally, their color coating is very unique and the base can also be considered as the fawn color.
Merle Great Dane:
Merle Great Danes are another different shade of Great Danes. Merle Great Danes’ base color is grey and they have a lot of spots on the base grey coat.
Their grey color can be very darker or lighter. In addition, they resemble a lot with Harlequin Great Danes due to their similar coating pattern.
Mantle Great Dane:
Mantle Great Danes come in black and white colors but the black color is more prominent in them and the white color is only seen on the neck or as a white lining on the chest.
What is the rarest Great Dane color?
The rarest Great Dane color is white which is pretty hard to find and Harlequin Great Danes come in this white color which makes them the rarest colored Great Danes out of the other ones.
Additionally, Harlequin Great Danes’ color is one of the most unique and popular ones and this color of them is really hard to breed and can literally take so many generations just to get a perfect Harlequin color.
However, this unique white color of the Harlequin is actually a sign of a defective genetic markup and they can sometimes suffer from skin diseases, deafness, and so on.
In addition, there is another very rare color coating and that is the silver color which happens due to the fading of black fur.
What is the most expensive Great Dane color?
The most expensive Great Dane color is the white one or the Harlequin one. As this color is very difficult to get, it can cost you a fortune to buy Harlequin Great Danes.
This color is very expensive due to the rare breeding. You can not just breed two Harlequin Great Danes together to get this breed rather it is dangerous to breed two Harlequin Great Danes which can result in serious health issues.
In addition, to get the perfect-looking Harlequin Great Danes, it takes several generations. All these make these colored Great Danes the most expensive.
Are Great Danes white?
There are white Great Danes which are considered to be very rare and harder to breed however, there should not be any generalization that all Great Danes are white.
Great Danes can come in seven different types of color coating which are black, blue, merle, mantle, fawn, harlequin, and brindle.
In addition, the Great Danes can be white as a result of the breeding of two Merle Great Danes and often white-colored Great Danes seem to have health issues.
Which Colour Great Dane is best?
Fawn-colored Great Danes are the best and they are the most common colored ones as well. They seem to have a very majestic tanned color as their coating.
This tan-colored coating can extend to their legs and they also seem to have a different color pattern on their month areas because their mouth areas are very darker than the rest of their body.
In addition, their color can also be deemed as golden yellow. Even though Fawn Great Danes are very common, yet they can be pretty hard to breed.
What is a Merle Great Dane?
Merle Great Dane is a type of Great Dane. Merle Great Danes have very unique and defining patterns on them which is very unique to each Merle Great Dane.
Due to their spots on their coats, they always seem to resemble Harlequin Great Dane. Merle Great Danes have a predominant grey or darker grey color that is the base color. In addition, they seem to have spots and splotches all over their bodies which make it look like that they have marble patterns all over their body.
Sometimes, these spots are considered to be a result of some disease. They also seem to suffer from eye problems, health issues, and so on.
Moreover, a Merle Great Dane is very huge in its size and sometimes seems to have different shades of color such as merle blue, harlequin, cryptic merle, and so on.
They are also sometimes referred to as pure breed and if you breed two Merle Great Danes together, chances are the puppy will be of the same pattern and color.
What is the difference between a Harlequin and a Merle Great Dane?
You may confuse yourself while distinguishing between a Harlequin Great Dane and a Merle Great Dane due to their pretty similar way of breeding, color coating, and other bodily structures.
However, they are not similar as they have an array of differences that totally set them apart from each other.
In addition, the most prominent difference between the two is related to their coat color. A Harlequin Great Dane seems to have a very unique pattern of color and their base coat is white.
On the other hand, the base coat of a Merle Great Dane is grey be it lighter or darker grey. A Harlequin Great Dane seems to have only black patches all over its body.
But in the case of a Merle Great Dane, it seems to have black and white marveled patterned patches all over its body.
In addition, in the case of rarity, it is Harlequin Great Danes who are considered rare compared to the Merle Great Danes.
Furthermore, sometimes the black patches of a Harlequin may be turned into tanned color making them fawnequin but this unique feature is absent in the Merle Great Danes.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, Lilac Great Danes are a type of Great Dane and they are often found in chocolate, light brown, or grey color. They are without a doubt the largest dog breed in the world. Lilac Great Danes are very strong, ferocious, and powerful in their demeanor.