Portrait of a Great Dane?

-A Great Dane.
-Where?
-Isn't that a portrait of Stephen and his Great Dane?
-It’s Stephen and his not-so-great Dane.
-You don’t like that kind of dog then?
-I do like that kind of dog.
-So why are you calling it not a Great Dane?
-Because it’s not Great.
-But it’s not subjective; you don’t get to choose whether or not the dog is great.
-Indeed. And I’m not.
-But you’re saying it’s not Great.
-Because it’s not. It just isn’t.

-Are you sure it’s not just a puppy Great Dane?
-That would be a big puppy.
-A great puppy, you might say.
-No, I'd say it's an unnaturally large puppy.
-Well it’s a large breed of dog.
-A fully-grown eight-year old dog.
-That looks like a Great Dane.
-It’s a good Dane, not a Great Dane.
-So that’s a painting of Stephen and his Good Dane?
-As Danes go it strikes me as good.
-Brian Boru was a good Dane.
-No, Brian Boru fought Danes.
-Well, Hans Christian Andersen is a Great Dane.
-But not a very good dog.
-He’s a great dog.
-Isn’t he dead?
-No. Peter got him last year when he got his Spinone.
-Peter has a dog that he calls Hans Christian Andersen?
-Yes, he’s a Great Dane.
-A Deutsche Dogge.
-He’s a German dog?
-Well he’s not Danish.
-Aren't Great Danes Danish?
-Even less than they're great.
-I think Peter got him from Arkansas.
-And what does Peter call his Spinone?
-Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Paul Dorrell says

"The tougher aspects of this life are what cull the good from the mediocre, and the great from the good."