A Great Dane with gray and white markings stands in a suburban backyard, surrounded by lush greenery and a wooden playhouse. Trees provide shade under overcast conditions. 2:04
Guinness World Records channel icon Guinness World RecordsOriginal creator 11M views Save

A Great Dane so tall his water bowl is the sink

Guinness World Records named Zeus the tallest male dog in the world. At home, he's a gray and white giant who does exactly what he wants, and nothing else. more

Brittany Davis had wanted a Great Dane since she was a little girl. Her brother was working with someone who bred them, and he finally made it happen with an 8-week-old puppy, the biggest one in the litter, with huge paws even then. She had her doubts about a dog that size loose in the house. The doubts didn't last long.

A large gray and white Great Dane stands outdoors among green trees, mouth open and tongue out. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Zeus was the biggest puppy in his litter, and he grew into the tallest male dog on record.

Two years later, his water bowl is the sink. He is only really naughty about two things, Brittany says. He takes food off the counter, and he steals the baby's pacifier. At his height, the counter is right there.

He likes a walk around the neighborhood, and the neighborhood likes to watch him go by. People stop and stare. The line the family hears most is "Wow, that's a horse," followed by "Can I ride him?" and "Does he have a saddle?" The answer to all of it is no. He wouldn't enjoy being ridden.

A woman walks beside a large gray Great Dane past a stone building with an arched window. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Brittany takes Zeus around the neighborhood, where people stop to look.

He is stubborn, too, and he has the size to back it up. He does nothing unless he wants to. He's also very laid back and loves everybody. When something does get him excited, he runs around for about ten minutes, and then he's tired.

Brittany says Zeus has changed the family. He brings them a lot of joy, and he and her teenage son love being together. "You don't find one without the other," she says.

A Great Dane with gray and white markings stands in a suburban backyard, surrounded by lush greenery and a wooden playhouse. Trees provide shade under overcast conditions. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Guinness World Records named Zeus the tallest male dog in the world.

She never thought they would own the largest living dog. People often tell her he is the tallest dog they have ever seen, and now she gets to say yes, he is. He loves the attention, and a phone pointed his way doesn't bother him at all.

A person holds up a phone to film a large gray dog standing on grass beside a house with a tiled roof. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Zeus loves the attention, so he holds still for one more picture.

The comments are full of people who have known a Great Dane and want to tell you about him. The most-liked one points out that every big dog is named Zeus, Bruce or Thor, and another would have gone with Tinker Bell. A third imagines a burglar meeting Zeus at the door, and Zeus deciding the burglar came over to play.

Brittany got the dog she dreamed of as a girl. He just came out bigger than the dream.