World Record Canines

Ever wonder if you might have the heaviest, oldest or fastest dog? Maybe your pooch is a contender for the highest jump. We love breaking records and have been keeping track of officially broken records for more than 50 years.

Guinness Book of World Records

Sir Hugh, the managing director of Arthur Guinness, Son and Co., Ltd. created the Guinness book of world records in 1954 when he couldn't find the answer to the question, "what is the fastest bird?" He decided that what modern Britain needed was a book that would tell people quickly and concisely just what was biggest, smallest, fastest, slowest, shortest, longest, etc., about as many things as possible. It could be distributed to the many British pubs where Guinness stout was sold and where it would be useful in settling all those arguments that are peculiar to pubs.

Today we use the Guinness Book of World Records to keep track of record-breaking moments all over the world. We are so enamored with record-breaking that there are many unofficial sources as well.

Record-breaking Dogs

It's no surprise that there would be a few world record dogs out there. After all, they've been sharing our homes for thousands of years. Here are a few official and unofficial record breakers for all you dog trivia lovers.

Tallest Dog

The tallest dog living is Gibson, a harlequin great Dane, who measured 107 cm (42.2 in) tall on August 31, 2004 and is owned by Sandy Hall of Grass Valley, California, USA.

Biggest Dog

In 1989, an English Mastiff named "Zorba" weighed in at a whopping 343 lbs at the age of 8.

Smallest Dog overall

"Danka", a long-haired Chihuahua from Revuca, Slovakia, weighed in at just 27 oz (7.4" long) in 2004.

Smallest Dog in length

The smallest dog in terms of length is Heaven Sent Brandy, a female chihuahua who measured 15.2 cm (6 in) from the nose to the tip of the tail on January 31, 2005. Brandy lives with her owner, Paulette Keller in Largo, Florida, USA.

Fastest opening of car window by dog

The fastest time a dog has unwound a non-electric car window is 11.34 seconds and was achieved by Striker, a border collie owned and trained by Francis V. Gadassi (Hungary). The record was set on September 1, 2004 in Quebéc City, Canada.

Highest Jump by a Dog

The world record for the highest jump cleared by a dog is 167.6 cm (66 in), achieved by Cinderella May a Holly Grey, a greyhound owned by Kathleen Conroy and Kate Long (both USA) of Miami, Florida, USA at the Purina Dog Chow Incredible Dog Challenge show, Gray Summit, Missouri, USA on October 3, 2003.

Most Tennis Balls in Mouth

The world record for the most tennis balls held in the mouth by a dog at one time is five. Augie, a golden retriever owned by the Miller family in Dallas, Texas, USA, successfully gathered and held all five regulation-sized tennis balls on July 6, 2003

Longest Ears

Mr. Jeffries is a Basset hound from West Sussex, England. His ears measure 29.2 cm. He is also the grandson of the famous dog from the Hush Puppies shoe ads.

Oldest Dog

An Australian Cattle-dog named Bluey, owned by Les hall of Rochester, Victoria, Australia, was obtained as a puppy in 1910 and worked among cattle and sheep for nearly 20 years. He was put to sleep on November 14, 1939 at the age of 29 years, 5 months.