Brittany Davis has always wanted to own a Great Dane ever since she was young. And as luck would have it, her brother Garrett gifted her with an 8-week-old Great Dane pup, whom she named Zeus.
Brittany, 36, knew she was getting a big dog, but she had no idea she would be the lucky owner of the world’s tallest dog living (male), as confirmed by Guinness World Records!
Zeus, who’s now a 2-and-a-half-year-old adult, was the biggest puppy in a litter of five.
“He’s been a big dog since we got him, even for a puppy,” recalled the Bedford, Texas, resident. “He had huge paws.”
The giant pup stands 3 feet and 5.18 inches and stretches over 7 feet on his hind legs, his enormous size earning him the title of tallest living male dog in the world.
Zeus is a gentle giant incapable of hurting anybody despite his colossal proportions. He’s also a pretty laid-back dog who loves spending time with his mom, Brittany, her husband, their sons Jamison, 15, and Kingston, 7 months, his feline sister, Penelope, and his dog siblings, three Australian shepherds named Zeb, Ellie, and Finn.
However, the record-holding dog prefers to be the only dog during walks.
“Zeus requires one person to handle him,” Brittany said. “He actually will stay right with you and he walks really well, but he’s human-sized. He’s huge. The Australian shepherds have a lot more energy. They’re faster; they’re zippy. They keep up with him OK, but they get tangled under his feet and then it’s chaos.”
Zeus is a fixture at the Dallas Farmers Market, where he gets extra treats and lots of attention. Brittany would always hear the same comments about her dog when they take him outside, including “Is he a horse?” and “Can I ride him?”
And the answer to both questions is, of course, a hard “no.”
“He’s not a horse,” she said. “He’s a dog. And he would not appreciate being ridden at all. Most people obviously say it jokingly, but it’s definitely something we hear multiple times every time we bring him out.”
Zeus is well-behaved and easy to care for, but he requires large amounts of food to keep him running. Every day, he eats 12 cups of dog food and takes glucosamine supplements to protect his joints.
“When he gets the zoomies, he runs around for 30 seconds and jumps up on his chair once he gets tired,” Brittany said.
The dog is also known for “cleaning up” any messes that baby Kingston makes and being a pacifier thief.
“He loves stealing the pacifiers off the counter,” Brittany said. “He won’t even chew them. He just puts them in his mouth and then when he gets in trouble, he spits them out.”
“His water bowl is a sink, and he loves to jump onto the fence and talk to the neighbour’s dogs next door,” she added.
Zeus is also utterly unaware of how big he is and behaves as a small dog would.
“He has no idea how big he is. He thinks he’s a lap dog and can sit in your lap or lean on you and not knock you over. But I just love his personality. He’s a good boy,” Brittany said.
Great Danes usually have shorter life spans than other dogs because of their massive size, but Zeus is, fortunately, in excellent health.
“When we take Zeus to the vet, they’re always in amazement,” his owner said.
The idea of submitting Zeus to Guinness came when someone told them at a family gathering that the dog was likely taller than the previous tallest dog in the world.
The family didn’t think it was possible, but they realized Zeus was probably taller after measuring him.
And to celebrate his being named the world’s tallest living male dog, Brittany gave Zeus extra treats and attention.
Check out the video below to learn more about Zeus. And be sure to follow his Instagram page.
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