The harlequin great dane: a truly unique looking dog

When it comes to rare dog breeds, you don&rsquo-t get much rarer than the Harlequin Great Dane. While these dogs aren&rsquo-t a separate breed from the traditional Great Dane, the Harlequin has a very specific color pattern. A very unique looking dog, these canines color pattern is very hard to produce. This is probably why you don&rsquo-t see many of these dogs around. Many breeders in the past have tried and failed at producing these animals but there are a few that got it right.

These dogs are often confused for Dalmatians when they are young because their black and white spots are very similar to Dalmatians. A quick glance at these dogs can fool you. In fact, you might have already seen one of these rare dogs and didn&rsquo-t even know it. But after they are fully grown there is no mistaken these dogs for any other breed. These huge canines look more like a dairy cow than other dogs. While very slender these dogs are super tall and have very long legs.

While these dogs are very big they are also very sweet. Some may be scared to be around these dogs simply due to their large size. But almost all of these animals are very gentle creatures. They can often be found giving their owner lots of love, and if kept inside they will often try to get into bed with you at night. While some owners might be taken back at the notion of having such a large animal to share their bed, others simply love it.

You probably won&rsquo-t find these dogs easily especially if you live in a small town. So if you want one of your very own you are going to have to shop around. While there are quite a few breeders that specialize in these animals, you are probably going to have to drive many miles to get one. A great option is to purchase your new pet from a breeder that is willing to have the animal shipped to the airport nearest to you. This is a great way to quickly find one of these amazing dogs but the down side is you won&rsquo-t get to view the animal before you purchase it.

Jay Iwasaki at Flickr.com