Zeus was the father of the gods in Ancient Greece, and his namesake, a 3-year-old Great Dane from Otsego, Michigan, USA, can today be referred to as the "father of the dogs" as he is announced as the Tallest Dog Ever.

Measuring an incredible 111.8 cm (44 in) from foot to withers, Zeus is the same size as an average donkey.

Standing on hind legs, he stretches to 7 ft 4 in and towers over his owner Denise Doorlag.

The humongous hound weighs 70.3 kg (155 pounds or 11 stone) and eats around 12 cups of food a day (equivalent to one whole 30-lb bag of food!).

"Zeus is an awesome dog," says owner Denise.

"The only downside is that everything costs more; the food, medicines, transport. We had to get a van to be able to transport him, oh, and if he steps on your foot - he leaves bruises!"

Denise loves the reaction Zeus gets when the family takes him out: "The most common thing people ask is: 'Is that a dog or a horse?' and 'Where's his saddle?'

Zeus breaks the record of previous record-breaking pooch Giant George, who is 1-inch shorter, which makes Zeus the tallest dog ever recorded in history.

Zeus' record and many, many more feature in the new Guinness World Records 2013 edition - is out now worldwide from all good retailers. Find out more about the book and its incredible augmented reality feature, and where you can buy a copy at www.guinnessworldrecords.com/2013/