Move over Rover, there’s a new dog in town. His name is Zeus and according to the Guinness World Records, he’s the tallest dog on planet earth. Standing at a whopping 7 feet tall (on hind legs), the 2-year-old Great Dane weighs in at an impressive 200 pounds. He earned the world title after a vet measured him with a stick meant for horses.
Yup. Everything is bigger in Texas. And Zeus’ dog mom Brittany Davis, a frequenter of Dallas farmers markets, enjoys the impression her pup makes on the general public.
“We counted 68 times once that we heard people say, ‘Whoa, that’s a horse,'” Davis says. “Either people are super excited and they want to come over and take all the pictures and meet him or they’re super scared and they go to the other side of the street and look at him from very far away.”
That’s what happens when your dog can be seen from space.
Despite his stature, Zeus is a sweet-natured boy who takes life in stride. “The scariest thing about him is his tail — it will whip you. But other than that, he’s a really, really good dog,” Davis says.
Having the world’s tallest dog is pretty sweet. (Who doesn’t want to turn their garage into a doggy door and have the oak trees dug up?) But as awesome as that sounds, there are a handful of drawbacks to owning Canis Giganteus. So before you go out and get yourself a supersized doggo, consider these eight downsides. If after that you still want a dog taller than LeBron James, go wild. Hey, it beats having a robot dog.
Cover Photo: Brittany Davis
Tallest Dog Cons
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Finding a Dog-Sitter
Yeah, Nana may have been able to handle your Shih Tzus. But her shoulder sockets don't stand a chance against the big guns.
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Losing the Use of Your Legs
For some reason, giant dogs always think of themselves as lap dogs. Say goodbye to any feeling you had left in your legs.
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Dog Shit Mountain
Most people carry around a discreetly-sized poop bag. Not you, though. You have to go full-sized Hefty every time out. Then you have to trade your garbage can for a dumpster just to handle the influx of dog chocolate.
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Sharing the Bed
If you thought a relationship was bad for your sleep, wait till you get a 7-foot canine.
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Slobber Buckets
The amount of beach towels you will now have to launder is criminal. Don't even get us started on the discs you will herniate slipping on wet puddles in the middle of the night.
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Leering Strangers
Every time you take him out, people give you dirty looks. As if they've never seen a full-grown man riding a dog on the subway before!
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Meal Time
Get ready to procure a license to operate heavy machinery because from now on you're going to be fork-lifting every meal.
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Eating Babies
Babies keep going missing around your dog. We're not saying we have proof he's for sure eating them. It's just a really big coincidence, right?
