Broholmer

Friendly with people it knows, watchful with others.
A Broholmer
Photo: Pleple2000
Adult male
50–70 kg
110–154 lb
Adult female
40–60 kg
88–132 lb
Lifespan
8–11 yrs
Class · Watchdog
also Companion, Family

What it's like

The breed is calm and good-natured, friendly with people it knows but watchful and self-assured with strangers, and it keeps a guarding instinct. Unlike the Great Dane, which despite its English name was developed in Germany, the Broholmer is a native Danish mastiff, and it is regarded in Denmark as a national breed.

Day to day
Activity
Happy with modest walks
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Hardy, takes a busy home in its stride
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Broholmer right for you?
Take the breed matcher

Living with one

It has a short coat. Most of the shedding comes when the seasons change. Plan on a brush once a week, plus daily brushing through the seasonal moult. It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Broholmer is a large dog, heavier than a Rottweiler and lighter than a Great Dane. Males end up clearly heavier than females. It is one of the heaviest large breeds.

It is a heavy, powerful mastiff, slightly longer than it is tall, with a broad, massive head, a fairly short muzzle and loose skin at the throat. The coat is short and close with a dense undercoat. Recognised colours are light or dark yellowish gold, usually with a black mask, or solid black. Small white markings on the chest and feet are permitted.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Broholmer puppy is already as heavy as a grown Labrador. They grow fastest between 4 and 5 months old. They keep growing past their first birthday, longer than a Beagle does. Most males grow into the size large-breed puppy foods are made for.
Fully grown
13 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight5
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
0204060802m4m6m9m12m18m
0204060802m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
8.7–12.2 kg 19.2–26.9 lb
7.0–10.5 kg 15.4–23.1 lb
3 months
14.0–19.6 kg 30.9–43.2 lb
11.2–16.8 kg 24.7–37.0 lb
4 months
20.8–29.0 kg 45.9–63.9 lb
16.6–24.9 kg 36.6–54.9 lb
5 months
28.1–39.4 kg 61.9–86.9 lb
22.5–33.8 kg 49.6–74.5 lb
6 months
34.9–48.9 kg 76.9–107.8 lb
27.9–41.9 kg 61.5–92.4 lb
7 months
40.2–56.3 kg 88.6–124.1 lb
32.2–48.2 kg 71.0–106.3 lb
8 months
43.9–61.5 kg 96.8–135.6 lb
35.1–52.7 kg 77.4–116.2 lb
9 months
46.3–64.8 kg 102.1–142.9 lb
37.0–55.6 kg 81.6–122.6 lb
10 months
47.8–66.9 kg 105.4–147.5 lb
38.2–57.4 kg 84.2–126.5 lb
11 months
48.7–68.2 kg 107.4–150.4 lb
39.0–58.4 kg 86.0–128.7 lb
12 months
49.3–69.0 kg 108.7–152.1 lb
39.4–59.1 kg 86.9–130.3 lb
15 months
49.8–69.8 kg 109.8–153.9 lb
39.9–59.8 kg 88.0–131.8 lb
18 months
50.0–69.9 kg 110.2–154.1 lb
40.0–59.9 kg 88.2–132.1 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Broholmers live yet. The 8–11 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Broholmer is a Danish mastiff named after Broholm, home of Chamberlain Sehested, whose breeding in the late 18th century made the dogs breed true and grew their numbers. Dogs of this kind hunted stag in the Middle Ages; later they mainly guarded big farms and manors. It all but vanished after the Second World War, and from around 1975 enthusiasts backed by the Danish Kennel Club began rebuilding it4.

The Broholmer's later history is one of decline and careful rebuilding. Away from the great estates, dogs of this type were kept in the nineteenth century by butchers and cattle dealers in Danish towns, who used them to guard their premises and to help handle livestock, and they became known as butchers' dogs. As this work disappeared, the dogs grew scarce. The modern revival worked from the few surviving dogs of the old type and bred to a standard drawn from old descriptions and pictures.

Breed standard

The Broholmer is judged against standard no. 315, in group 2, Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossoid and Swiss Mountain Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Broholmer figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a large breed is most likely at the later end.

Compare with related

Rhodesian Ridgeback
Scent hounds · Large
Caucasian Shepherd Dog
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Dogue de Bordeaux
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Newfoundland
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Or compare the Broholmer with any breed you choose
Track your own Broholmer
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
Something wrong on this page?
Parts of this page were written by AI ·