Have you ever wondered how big was the largest dog in history? And what was his name? Was it Zorba? Hercules? Or Kell? Read this article to find out more about the biggest dogs in canine history.
When we talk about the biggest pet dog in history, we often confuse the actual criteria by which a dog is considered the biggest. Are we talking about the heaviest dog or are we talking about the tallest one? What would large actually refer to? Of course, the answer will differ depending on what measurement we’re talking about. We actually have different categories for each of these measurements in The Guinness Book of World Records.
The Largest Dog
As an example of what was considered the largest dog in the world, in 1989 this title was given to Zorba, an English Mastiff having a record-breaking weight of 343 pounds. Unfortunately, he didn’t have such a long life, passing away at just eight years of age, which is why this dog isn’t included in the Guinness Book. It is pretty clear that if Zorba were to have lived more, he would have been not only the largest but also the longest dog ever recorded in canine history.
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According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest official living dog in the world is an English Mastiff by the name Hercules. This dog has a 38-inch neck and weighs roughly 282 pounds. This dog is raised in Peabody, Massachusetts by an individual called John Flynn. This dog’s addition to the Guinness Book was thanks to a nine-year-old called David DeLauri of Lynn, MAl. The child saw a large Mastiff looking just like Hercules but said that Hercules is surely bigger. Flinn managed to get in touch with the organization, only to find out that the old Mastiff was deceased, so the title was ready to be given to another dog. He was later told that Hercules became the winner of the world record for the largest dog.
The heaviest dog
Another English Mastiff by the name of Kell, from The United Kingdom, was awarded the world’s heaviest dog title. This Mastiff received the world’s heaviest dog award and not the title for the world’s largest one because he had a neck that only measured 32 inches. While giving an interview for the Guinness Book, the owner, Tom Scott, proudly said that his dog needed several gallons of goat’s milk and 100 pounds of beef per week. There was yet another big English Mastiff, called Moose, who lived in Vernon, New Jersey, who was the heaviest dog, with an impressive weight of 291 pounds. This dog died shortly, leaving Kell the undisputed winner of the title of the heaviest dog in the world.
The Tallest dog
A Harlequin Great Dane, by the name of Gibson, is known as the world’s tallest dog, with a height of seven feet. This dog can be found in Grass Valley, California, and its proud owner is Sandy hall. When standing on all its fours, Gibson is 42.2 inches tall. Before this dog, the previous record-holder was Harvey, a dog with a height of 41.5 inches. Gibson is not only considered the world’s tallest dog but, of course, the world’s tallest therapy dog and the world’s tallest Great Dane,
These are the most popular, huge dogs in history. As these dogs are bound to perish at some point, they will inevitably be replaced by others, and I’ll make sure I update this list as soon as I notice any changes in these world records.
