AKC Breed Standard
The AKC (American Kenel Club) delagates the management of the breed standard for each breed to a national (breed) club. For Great Danes, the AKC breed club is the Great Dane Club of America (GDCA).
AKC Great Dane Breed Description
The GDCA also maintains an Illustrated Standard that describes all aspects of the GDCA Breed Standard.
The breed standard describes the characteristics of Great Danes that are desirable or undesirable. Breeders are responsible for preserving and improving the characteristics of the breed. Many of those characteristics are judged in a conformation dog show - it is the reason we have dog shows (for conformation).
Show judges are the experts. Judges in conformation shows evaluate the characteristics of each dog, following the breed standard, with each judge deciding how to balance the breed characteristics to rate each dog, given the characteristics that they can observe quickly in the show ring. Different judges balance those breed characteristics slightly differently - it is the way the breed experts express their opinions about which characteristics are most important.
But after all the judging, shows, wins and titles, breeders still have the final responsibility of achieving the best balance between characteristics in each breeding. Breeders, having many years (often generations) of experience evaluating their breed, try to choose breeding pairs that will produce the best balance of physical characteristics, temperament and health in their litters. The breed standard is the negotiated agreement from breeders and breed experts describing the characteristics that define the breed.
The GDCA publishes and occasionally updates the Great Dane Breed Standard. The Great Dane Official Standard was updated in 2018 (effective January 1, 2019) to now accept the merle color and minor changes in the descriptions of back length, minimum height, dentition, eye color, nose color, bite, and nail color.
Our club, the Great Dane Club of Central North Carolina, follows, endorses and promotes the GDCA Breed Standard. As an affiliate club to the GDCA, we are involved in the process of all updates, including proposal, debate, review and voting.