The world has a new tallest dog! At four years old, George the Great Dane stands 43 inches high from paw to shoulder, which is the method Guinness World Records uses to determine a dog's official height. The announcement settles a hotly-contested debate that had been brewing since last November when Guinness proclaimed Titan, a Great Dane from San Diego, Calif. who measures 42.25 inches high at the shoulders, the World's Tallest Dog. George's owner, David Nasser of Tucson, Ariz., claimed that his Great Dane was taller, but there were conflicting reports about the dog's actual height. To settle the controversy, Guinness sent a representative to preside over an in-person measurement. The outcome? George had edged out Titan by three-quarters of an inch. (Prior to Titan and George, the previous holder of the World's Tallest Dog title was Gibson, a Great Dane who passed away in 2009.) At 43 inches tall, "Giant George," as Nasser likes to call him, is the tallest dog ever recorded by Guinness World Records. He's already appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and has over 21,000 fans from all over the world on his Facebook page. "It's been amazing," says Nasser. "Fans have written in from the United Kingdom, Germany, Korea and South America."The sable-colored Great Dane weighs a whopping 245 pounds and measures seven feet and three inches from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail -- though he doesn't raise up on his hind legs, he's too big for that. "When George is standing on all fours and lifts his head, the tip of his snout measures 55 inches, or more, off the ground," Nasser tells Paw Nation. "You have to be careful. Nothing is off-limits to him."As a puppy, George had huge paws and already weighed 17 pounds at seven weeks of age. "He looked like a thick fur ball. He was so pudgy and cute," says Nasser. George quickly outgrew his crate. He used to sleep in a king-sized bed with Nasser and his wife, until the arrival of the couple's infant daughter. The massive dog now sleeps on a queen-sized mattress at the foot of the couple's bed."We had no idea he would get this big," says Nasser. "He weighs 100 pounds more than the regular Great Dane." Not surprisingly, George has a fondness for food. "The first thing he does when he wakes up is eat; it's the first thing on his mind," says Nasser. "Then he goes outside to use the bathroom." George goes through 110 pounds of dry dog food each month, but "that's actually not that much," says Nasser. Like many of us, George is forced to watch his weight. "He used to eat a lot more, but he's on a diet right now because he's getting a little heavy," says Nasser. "At 245 pounds, it would be better if we could take about 10 pounds off him."
For most of the day, George naps and keeps an eye on the house. "He's a good watchdog," says Nasser. But come evening, George gets a burst of energy and needs to be walked or taken to the dog park.
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