The head shall be rectangular, long, distinguished, expressive and finely chiseled, especially below the eyes. Seen from the side, the Dane’s forehead must be sharply set off from the bridge of the nose, (a strongly pronounced stop). The plane of the skull and the plane of the muzzle must be straight and parallel to one another. The skull plane under and to the inner point of the eye must slope without any bony protuberance in a smooth line to a full square jaw with a deep muzzle (fluttering lips are undesirable). The masculinity of the male is very pronounced in structural appearance of the head. The bitch’s head is more delicately formed. Seen from the top, the skull should have parallel sides and the bridge of the nose should be as broad as possible. The cheek muscles should not be prominent. The length from the tip of the nose to the center of the stop should be equal to the length from the center of the stop to the rear of the slightly developed occiput. The head should be angular from all sides and should have flat planes with dimensions in proportion to the size of the Dane. Whiskers may be trimmed or left natural. Eyes shall be medium size, deep set and dark, with a lively intelligent expression. The eyelids are almond shaped and relatively tight, with well-developed brows. Haws and Mongolian eye(s) are very serious faults. In Harlequins and Merles, the eyes should be dark, but blue eye(s) and eyes of different colors are permitted. Ears shall be high set, medium in size and of moderate thickness, folded forward close to the cheek. The top line of the folded ear should be level with the skull. If cropped, the ear length is in proportion to the size of the head and the ears are carried uniformly erect. Nose shall be black, except in the blue Dane, where it is a dark blue-black. A black spotted nose is permitted on the Harlequins and Merles; a solid pink color nose is not desirable. A split nose is a disqualification. Teeth shall be strong, well-developed, clean and with full dentition preferred. The incisors of the lower jaw touch very lightly the bottoms of the inner surface of the upper incisors (scissors bite). An overshot bite is a serious fault. Undershot and wry mouths are very serious faults. Even bites, misaligned or crowded incisors are minor faults.