A documentary about some of UK's biggest dogs - aptly named, Big Dog Britain - starts tonight. And it got us thinking how big is big when it comes to our four-legged friends.
The Channel 4 show, which starts tonight at 10pm, features breeds including Irish Wolfhounds, Great Danes, Newfoundlands and St Bernards, as well as a 6ft tall Pyrenean Mountain Dog who eats at the dinner table.
In the run up to the show, TeamDogs has done the maths and found out the very biggest, tallest and heaviest pups from around the world.
According to Guinness World Records, the tallest dog ever was a Great Dane named Zeus, who lived in Michigan in the US. He measured 111.8cm (44in) from foot to withers (the area above the shoulder) in 2011. This is the standard measurement for dog height.
However, on average, the tallest dog breed is considered to be the Irish Wolfhound, which typically measures 76 to 89cm (30 to 35in) from foot to withers – with males being larger than females. They typically weigh 47 to 54kg (up to 8st 7lb).
Great Danes typically have standing heights of around 112cm (44in) with males having a shoulder height of 76 to 81cm (30 to 32in). On average, they weigh 50 to 79kg (up to 12st 6lb).
St Bernards aren’t as tall, typically measuring 66 to 76cm (26 to 30in), but on average they weigh 63 to 83kg (up to 13st 1lb).
But if you think that’s heavy for a dog, a typical male English Mastiff – which can measure up to 91cm (36in) tall – tips the scales at a whopping 68 to 113kg (up to 17st 11lb).
Guinness World Records no longer monitors individual heaviest domestic animals, but in 1989, an English Mastiff called Zorba weighed in at a mighty 149.7kg (343lb or 24.5st). Zorba stood 94cm (37in) at the shoulder.
For contrast, an average Chihuahua is 15 to 23cm (6 to 9in) tall and weighs 1 to 4kg (2.2 to 8.8lb).
That means an Irish Wolfhound is four to six times taller than a Chihuahua and approximately 25 times as heavy… but an average male English Mastiff weighs the same as around 36 Chihuahuas!
Big Dog Britain is on Channel 4 on Thursday, July 1, at 9pm.
