Deaf Great Dane rescue in the running for world’s tallest living dog

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KCRG/Gray News) - A Great Dane in Iowa is in the running to be the tallest living dog in the world.

Jayna Johnson rescued Samsyhn when he was 4 months old.

The Great Dane is deaf and knows sign language.

“I figured he’d be about 120 pounds, tops, and not near as tall as he is with the size I got him when he was a puppy,” Johnson said.

Samsyhn is now 3 and weighs in around 140 pounds. He won’t grow any taller, but he could get heavier as he fills out.

Measuring challenges

The team at Samsyhn’s day care Fast Tracks searched and found the current tallest living dog measures 39 inches at the shoulders. They got to work to measure Samsyhn, but encountered a problem.

“He’s scared of the tape measure,” Johnson said.

Rough measurements put him anywhere between 39 and 42 inches.

“When he started to grow and have growth spurts, we actually joked here about his size, about him becoming the largest dog,” Johnson said.

Advocacy goals

Johnson said earning the title wouldn’t just be to gloat.

“It is to open up, to help people understand how we get dogs like Samsyhn. It’s all about poor breeding with the genes and how to work with special needs dogs,” Johnson said.

Johnson hopes her dog can become an ambassador for others like him.

“This is not an average color for a Dane. It can impact vision, hearing, skin, a lot of health issues later in life. Some of them, their organs won’t develop all the way. They might die at a young age and he’s at higher risk now for a lot of health issues throughout his life,” Johnson added.

Samsyhn is also in the running for the national America’s Favorite Pet competition.

When Johnson and the dog day care get a concrete measurement, the group will contact the Guinness Book of World Records.