We all know Scooby-Doo and his mystery-solving gang, but have you ever stopped and wondered what kind of dog is Scooby-Doo? Well, we are here to help.
Scooby dooby doo, where are you? This theme song really brings back some nostalgic memories of Saturday morning cartoons as a child. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? is an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired on CBS in the late 60s to the 70s during Saturday morning cartoons. The original cartoon series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? revolves around a gang of amateur crime-solving teenage cartoon characters — Velma, Daphne, Fred, and of course, Shaggy Rogers, alongside Shaggy's pooch, the goofy yet lovable Scooby-Doo (and sometimes that rascal Scrappy-Doo), as they travel in the Mystery Machine (a colorful blue and green van with orange flowers) solving mysteries, often involving ghosts (g-g-g-ghosts!) and other supernatural beings.
Surprisingly, Scooby-Doo started off with a different name. The widely-beloved cartoon character was originally given the name "Too Much" and it was first drawn as a Sheepdog, but thanks to CBS' director of daytime programming at the time, Fred Silverman, Shaggy's furry best friend was renamed to Scooby-Doo, named after Frank Sinatra's scat in his album Strangers in the Night. Scooby-Doo was also changed to be drawn as a Great Dane dog instead of a Sheepdog before the original series aired.
What Kind of Dog Is Scooby Doo?
So, here's the short answer: Scooby-Doo is a Great Dane.
Of course, without us having to tell you, many of you might have already suspected Scooby-Doo is, in fact, a Great Dane. However, you dog lovers might notice that our Scooby Snack-loving member of Mystery Inc. doesn't exactly look like (or act like) a real-life Great Dane. Scooby-Doo's creator, Iwao Takamoto, drew Scooby-Doo based on the ideal features of the Great Dane, but then to create the endearing canine, he went the opposite direction to give us the Scooby-Doo we know and love today.
The Scoob-unique features of this male Great Dane are no accident. After speaking to a Great Dane breeder and learning the ideal features in this breed of dog, Takamoto decided to give Scooby-Doo all opposite features to make it more comical.
"I decided to go the opposite and gave him a humpback, bowed legs, small chin and such. Even his color is wrong," Takamoto explained.
Fun fact: Scooby-Doo's full name is actually Scoobert-Doo, and the animated tv franchise was originally titled "Mysteries Five."
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This article was originally published November 20, 202o.
