If you're looking for Great Dane show dogs, you are looking for the best of the best in this breed. Show dogs need to meet certain requirements in order to participate in a show. There are six acceptable colors for a Great Dane, which are:
- fawn with a black mask
- brindle, which is sometimes referred to as the tiger stripe pattern
- blue, which is a deep gray with a bluish tinge
- pure black
- harlequin, which has black patches on white
- mantle.
When Great Dane show dogs step into the ring of a dog show, they are working on becoming champion of that breed. Each time a dog wins at some level of the show, it will earn points to work its way towards the next level and eventually the Championship. This depends on what level your Great Dane can succeed in winning and how many dogs are in the show at that time. Another factor would be whether it is a major show or a minor one.
When Great Dane show dogs enter a show, they compete in such a fashion that winners at the lower levels are eventually combined with the higher ones to narrow down the choices for the best in the show. At the lower level, 
the dogs are categorized by breed. The breeds are further divided by sex and age. Male dogs are judged first according to their age class. Then there are the puppy breeds. When the dogs are categorized by age, they fall into the junior, intermediate and open divisions. Female dogs have the same classes. The winners of these classes move up to the next challenge, selection of the best dog of the breed. This is a part of what Great Danes are up against when they step into the show ring.
The judges keep judging the dogs until they are down to two finalists from each breed. This is where the challenge dog and the challenge bitch are selected best of the breed and this is what the owners of Great Dane show dogs work towards, to have the best dog in the breed. There are other factors involved in judging Great Dane show dogs. A judge must put his or her own personal preference aside and decide objectively which dog best represents the breed. For example, if the female better represents the female breed than the male does at representing the male breed, then the female wins the trophy.
A dog show is not really a comparison of one dog against another. It is a comparison of each dog with what the breed best represents. Judges are looking for the ideal dog of that breed and they have to have a vast amount of knowledge about all breeds of dogs. Most importantly when you take Great Dane show dogs into the ring, you should feel that you have done your best by way of nurturing and training him to be the best representative of his class, for then he will surely be champion and make any owner proud.
