When Universal's then biggest cartoon star Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was declining in popularity, Lantz decided to come up with new characters to keep the shorts running.

One of these characters was a great dane which they named Elmer, and was cast as Oswald's pet dog.

The inspiration for character came from the fact that Lantz was a fanatic for great danes.

Although Oswald was drastically remodelled into an all-white character that year, Elmer was not changed in any way.

Fourteen years later, Elmer was pulled out of retirement and made a guest appearance in Wrestling Wrecks (1953).