No, not Danish. These gentle giants are actually German. They're the result of German royals breeding ever-larger hunting companions in the 17th century. Great Danes are the world's largest dog breed — pictured above is the world's tallest dog from 2013. Germans today call them "Deutsche Dogge," a linguistic reference to the canine's British ancestors from the 16th century.

This dog suddenly became "American" after World War I, when the US dropped all references to its German origin. A territorial yapper, it became famous as a comic sidekick in US circus acts. Though the American Kennel Club calls this dog a unique breed, the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) in Belgium disagrees. They say it remains what it has always been: a German Spitz.

In the 1800s, three men in Munich bred a bulldog with a breed of unknown origin, and continued that experiment for a few more generations. The result is a dog with one of the most instantly recognizable faces in the canine world, one still defined by German guidelines written in 1902. The origin of the name "boxer" remains a mystery, though.

"Dachs" means badger, while dachshund dogs were bred to hunt. Even today, these canines, often called wiener dogs in English, still enjoy burrowing — but also biting. A 2008 study showed 20 percent of domesticated dachshunds have bitten strangers. German Emperor Wilhelm II owned one, and when he visited Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand, it attacked and killed the archduke's golden pheasant.

Small Munsterlanders (pictured) owe their revival in 1902 to a German named Edmund Löns, who saw in the neglected breed a fine-tuned hunting ability and a beautiful coat. They're the smallest of the German pointer/setter dogs, but, confusingly, are not at all related to large Munsterlanders. Small Munsterlanders are hard to come by, as high breeding standards keep them relatively scarce.

With their silver coats, piercing eyes and biological need for human affection, what's not to love about Weimaraners? They were first bred in Weimar, the city of thinkers and poets, as a gun dog that was also family-friendly — a rarity. So beloved was the breed that, prior to shipping them abroad, they were sterilized in the hope that they'd remain exclusive to the German empire. But they didn't.

A half-day's walk from Weimar, in the town of Apolda, a court clerk named Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann had a problem. It was the late 1800s, and as a tax collector and officer, he needed protection during his night duties. Fortunately, he also ran the local pound. Through the crossbreeding of Weimaraners, pinschers and pointer dogs, he created the guard dog we now call the Doberman pinscher.

Schnauzers are so closely related to pinschers that the two are considered a single group by the international dog authority, the FCI. In southern Germany, schnauzers served primarily as stall dogs, catching rats and mice. Since rodents have sharp teeth, the dogs' ears and tails were trimmed to protect them from bites. Today, "cropping" and "docking" are illegal in much of the EU and in Australia.

They protected cattle and wagons carrying meat, scared away thieves and wild animals — rottweilers were a medieval trader's fiercely loyal companion. And they were fierce. They were bred in Rottweil, Germany, a former trade center, to protect goods at all cost. Their jaws are the strongest of any dog, with 328 pounds of bite pressure (149 kilograms).

A dog named "Horand von Grafrath" is the pretentious first entry in the Breed Registry of the Club of German Shepherds in 1899. After World War I, the English rechristened them Alsatians, the US dropped the word German altogether, and for decades Australia banned them on fears they'd breed with dingoes. Their use by the Nazis further darkened their reputation: Over his lifetime, Hitler owned six.

"Man's best friend" lives in about seven million German households. The arts have provided more than a few iconic canines to remember. This smartly dressed blue dog in the painting "Wendy and Me," created by George Rodrique, is so popular that it was once stolen from an art gallery.

Humans' ties to dogs dates all the way back to ancient Greece. However, they weren't man's best friend back then. With his three heads, the mythological Cerberus was a horrific sight. He guarded the entrance to the underworld. Heroic Heracles, pictured here, managed to overcome the beast.

Nipper, the mascot of the music label EMI Electrola, became famous at the end of the 19th century. He loved the gramophone that belonged to his owner, Francis Barraud. He was a painter and captured the moment in which Nipper got caught up in the music and simply forgot the world around him.

Painter Franz Marc loved his Siberian husky, Russi. He painted him in 1911, as he was getting up close as personal with the freezing landscape around him. It became one of his most famous works and can now be seen in Frankfurt's Städelmuseum.

This faithful dog Hachikō was not a piece of fiction. In the 1920s in Japan, he waited everyday for his master to come pick him up at the end of the day. When his owner passed away, the dog continued to wait - for nearly a decade. In 1934, a memorial was built to Hachikō and in 2009, his story was turned into a movied starring Richard Gere.

Lassie first appeared in a short story in 1938, but her big break came five years later with the film "Lassie Come Home." It was the beginning of unparalleled stardom, even culminating in a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Her star can be found right next to those of the famed German Shepherd Strongheart and comic dog Rantanplan.

Schmaltzy violin music, spaghetti on checkered table cloths and romantic love scenes – "The Lady and the Tramp" (1955) stars two of the most famous animated dogs of all time. They're not the only hounds that Disney has catapulted to stardom, however. In "101 Dalmatians" (1961), just as many spotted puppies take to the screen and "The Fox and the Hound" (1981) features an unusual animal friendship.

In the 1989 Hollywood comedy, Hooch the dog turns police offer Scott Turner's life upside down. The slobbering Dogue de Bordeaux is the only witness in a murder and the cop, played by Tom Hanks, has to give him refuge in his own apartment. It takes a while for the two to get used to each other, which is evident in the film's most famous line: "This is not your room."

Dogmatix is Obelix's loyal companion in the "Asterix" comic series. He follows his beloved obese Obelix around wherever he goes. He doesn't need any magic potions; his canine instincts are enough to save his master from a variety of tricky situations. Just the thought of a dog bone once helped the whole troop out of an Egyptian tomb.

In the world of comic dogs, size isn't a measure of intelligence. Snowy is the clever fox terrier who accompanies reporter Tintin on his exciting journeys around the world. The duo was first created by Belgian illustrator Georges Remi, alias Hergé, in 1929.

French artist Thierry Poncelet portrayed people, but with a catch: He gave them dogs' heads. He came up with the idea while painting a wealthy lady whose face was so ugly that Poncelet thought he'd rather paint his dog. While she likely wasn't thrilled, it was the beginning of his artistic trademark.

A spooky hound kills one person after another in the Baskerville family. Is it a curse? Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are on the case in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel. A relative is after the family's inheritance and has a motive for getting rid of the whole clan. He starved and tortured the poor dog, which made his appearance so eerie. The book was named one of the best-loved novels in the UK.

"Otto's Pug" was created by Austrian poet Ernst Jandl in 1963. He wrote a short poem about master Otto who sends his pug away, only to miss him terribly. The dog returns and does what dogs do: He pukes. The poem is required reading in many German schools and has entertained children for decades.

A noble dog needs a noble environment. Photographer William Wegman is famous for capturing his Weimaraners in the most luxurious of poses. His images are sold as books and posters.