Great Dane vs Boxer: The Main Differences (With Pictures)

Deciding what dog breed to adopt can be difficult, even when you’ve narrowed down your choices to just a couple. You may find you have two breeds that are quite similar in temperament but vastly different in other areas (and those differences are often what can help you make a determination about a dog).

Take the Great Dane and Boxer; one of these dogs is a literal giant, while the other is much smaller. But both canines are sweet, gentle, affectionate, and loving. So, which should you get?

Here you’ll find all you need to know on how the Great Dane and Boxer compare, so you can make that decision and get your new dog sooner rather than later!

 

Visual Differences

At a Glance

Great Dane Overview

Great Danes are descendants of Mastiff-type canines, but they’ve become more refined than other Mastiff descendants. For one, the Great Dane used to be ferocious and aggressive, as they were bred to hunt down boars and needed to fight. Today, though, the breed is a gentle giant. These pups also have a long, fascinating history, as they’ve been around since at least ancient Egypt, if not longer!

Though the Great Dane is among the largest canines in the world, it’s a sweet, gentle dog that makes an excellent pet.

Personality / Character

It’s entirely possible you may not find a gentler and more loving canine than the Great Dane. These giant pups are sweet, affectionate, and entirely soft-hearted. With a Great Dane around, you can expect a giant cuddle buddy any time of day, as these dogs want attention and affection as often as they enjoy giving it to their people.

The Great Dane is intelligent, as well, and eager to please its people, which aids in making training these dogs an easier task. Despite their history as boar hunters, those traits that made them excellent hunters have been bred out, so the Great Dane will rarely ever be aggressive. That means this breed won’t make the greatest of guard dogs even though it’s large.

Exercise

You’d think that as large as they are, the Great Dane would require lots of exercise. After all, that tends to be the case with large breeds. However, it isn’t the case here. The Great Dane isn’t as energetic as other large canine breeds, so they don’t need tons of exercise.

Your Great Dane will need about 30 minutes of exercise daily—running and walking will give it a chance to stretch muscles and keep joints healthier. So, expect a couple of short walks a day or even a half-hour session of backyard fun. One important thing to keep in mind, though, is that a Great Dane needs to be 18 months or older to go jogging or jump around. Any younger, and joints and bones could be damaged!

Health & Care

Larger breed dogs tend to be less healthy than their smaller breed counterparts, and the Great Dane is no exception. That’s why they don’t typically live over 10 years of age. Below are a few health conditions this dog is prone to, so you know what to expect when adopting one.

Suitable For:

Provided you have enough space to house one of these giants, the Great Dane makes an excellent pet for almost anyone able to care for it properly. They make wonderful family pets in particular, though, as they are sweet, loving, and crave attention and affection. Plus, this breed is amazing with children, despite their size.

The Great Dane also gets along well with other pets, no matter the other animal’s size. Even though this breed was once a hunter, they actually have a fairly low prey drive now. That means you don’t have to worry about them going after smaller dogs and cats.

Boxer Overview

The Boxer is a much smaller dog than the Great Dane, but they have some similarities in that both breeds are gentle and loving. This breed came about in the late 1800s in Germany and was originally a larger breed known as the Bullenbeisser (“Bull Biter”). Like the Great Dane, the Boxer was a hunting dog for boars and other large game. Over time, though, the Bullenbeiser was crossbred with smaller Mastiff types, and the current-day Boxer came about.

As they became smaller and gentler, the Boxer breed became an ever more popular pet.

Personality

The Boxer is an incredibly patient breed. Combining that patience with its gentle, sweet nature means you have one incredibly friendly pup. The breed is also incredibly playful and active, so they make great playmates for all ages. They can be a bit clownish and comical at times, too. But the Boxer also knows when bravery is required and can be untrusting of strangers, a combination that makes them an excellent guard dog.

You also won’t find a more loyal pup than the Boxer, and that loyalty can translate into an eagerness to please, which makes the breed easy to train. In fact, the Boxer has been used in a service animal capability for years due to how well they do with training.

Exercise

Boxers are much more energetic and active than the Great Dane. This breed has tons of energy and stamina, so these dogs need 2 hours of exercise a day (if not more). If these pups don’t get the exercise they require, they can easily become bored and destructive, so if you don’t have the necessary time to devote to exercising and playing with a Boxer, a different breed would be best.

Some excellent ways to exercise the Boxer are long walks, hiking, games of fetch, dog parks, and agility courses.

Health & Care

The Boxer is a healthier breed than the Great Dane, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have certain medical issues it is more likely to develop. Some of these include:

Suitable For:

Boxers are another breed that make wonderful pets for most people (at least those active enough to keep up with them!). Like the Great Dane, they make exceptional pets for families, too. The breed’s patience and gentleness translate well when playing with children; plus, the Boxer is an ideal guard dog. However, this breed is prone to separation anxiety, so they don’t do well on their own for long periods.

And when it comes to other pets, as long as the Boxer has been properly socialized and trained, it should play well with others. This breed does have a higher prey drive than the Great Dane, so you should be particularly careful to train the Boxer not to chase after smaller animals.

Which Breed Is Right for You?

Whether the Great Dane or the Boxer is right for you will come down to a few things. The most significant difference between these breeds is their size; if you want a Great Dane, you’ll need to be sure you have the space to house one! The next largest difference is in how energetic these breeds are—if you lean towards the more relaxed and lazier side of life, you’ll want to go with the Great Dane and not the Boxer. But if you’re constantly on the go and enjoy exercise, you’ll love having a Boxer along for the journey.

Other than that, though, either breed makes an excellent family pet.

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Featured Image Credit: (L) Rana Lokos, Unsplash, (R) Meli1670, Pixabay