Buying a Great Dane Puppy??

Buying a puppy? Or thinking of buying a puppy? How exciting! This page is intended to provide some general information for the potential Great Dane owner. We could not possibly cover every aspect of this wonderful breed so specific details are best discussed with the breeder with whom you are considering the purchase of a puppy. There are however, some important points we would like to share with you.

 • Great Danes are giants in the dog world. That means more food, more exercise and more expensive veterinary costs. Be sure you can afford to keep a Dane in good health!

• As with any dog, regular exercise and training is important - with large or giant dogs it is essential. These dogs grow very quickly and investing the time to socialize and train your puppy while they are young cannot be overstressed An uncontrollable, unruly or poorly trained 150 lb dog is a disaster waiting to happen.
Some excellent books on puppy rearing are available:
- How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With (Rutherford & Neil), Alpine Publications, 1992.

• Like many other purebred dogs, Danes come with their own set of health risks. One of the most common (and most dangerous) is bloat. Bloat is also known as gastric torsion, a condition in which the stomach fills with gas, twists and is unable to escape. This is a life-threatening condition and every Dane owner should be aware of the signs of bloat, as well as the precautions that can be taken to reduce the risk of this happening. Not all danes bloat, but it can happen with any bloodline if the conditions are right. Please see these links for valuable bloat information that every Dane owner should have:
Bloat in Large Dogs  and Gastric Torsion in Dogs ( both highly recommended reading)

• Danes have critical growing periods. These are stages in their lives, usually within their first year, where their nutritional needs must be met if the dog is to achieve his full potential. Skimping here will result in a poorly matured dog.

Not frightened away yet? GREAT! Because Great Danes are one of the most people oriented dogs around. They make excellent companions! They have a gentle and pleasing nature with a proud dignified bearing. You should know up front that Danes thoroughly enjoy their creature comforts and will happily take over the couch if permitted!

The Great Dane is known as the "Apollo of all dogs." Incised on some Greek money dating back to 36 B.C. is the image of a dog very similar to the Great Dane of today. An illustration dating back to approximately 600 B.C. shows Assyrian huntsmen with Dane-like dogs. In 407 A.D. German Gaul and part of Italy and Spain were invaded by an Asiatic people who brought with them powerful mastiff-like dogs. In Germany especially, where these magnificent animals capable of overcoming bears and wild boars were much admired, a process of selective breeding was begun. The dogs were crossed with Irish Greyhounds, and the result was the beautiful, large dog known today as the Great Dane.
From the middle to the late 1800s, breeders both in Germany and England became very interested in the breed and more or less developed it to the standards, which are recognised today. It has been claimed that the Great Dane is German in origin, which is not certain. However, what is evident, is that German breeders contributed largely to bringing the Great Dane to its glory of today.
Why the breed is called under different names is uncertain. The breed did not originate in Denmark, yet in most English speaking countries the breed is called 'Great Dane', in most of central Europe it is recognised as 'Deutsche Dogge', though in France, it is recognised as both 'Dogue Allemand' and 'Danois'. In Holland, 'Duitse Dogge' and 'Deense Dogge' and in Italy it is called 'Alano'. In 1880, Germany adopted the Great Dane as its national dog and was called the Deutsche Dogge and in England the breed was recognised by the Kennel Club in 1884 as the Great Dane.

 It is strongly recommended that buyers wishing a purebred puppy purchase ONLY a registered Great Dane. It is only in this way that you will be guaranteed a purebred puppy and it reflects the committment and sincerity of the breeder.

Purchasing an unregistered Great Dane is unwise on many fronts. Will this 'breeder' stand behind the puppy? What if inherited health issues arise - are they prepared to replace the puppy or refund your money? Have the parents been tested clear of eye, thyroid or hip problems? Can you call them for advice on your puppy or with any problems you may encounter? Likely not.

We recommend that you begin your search with reputable breeders who are members of the Great Dane Club of Canada. Should one not be able to supply you with the type of puppy you are looking for, they can refer you to other known reputable breeders.

Factors to Consider When Purchasing a Great Dane Puppy
In choosing a purebred puppy you assure yourself of many characteristics, which your adult dog will have. A healthy puppy is round and robust. It should be friendly and outgoing-a bundle of kisses and tail wags. At the puppy stage, they should be playful. The coat should be shiny and the eyes bright. A mentally sound puppy should not be shy or reserved. This may be the sign of an unsteady or nervous temperament.

You should inquire about the health of the Great Danes in the breeder's line and the temperament of the dogs. Although it is not always possible to meet the sire of the puppies it should usually be possible to meet the dam. Her manner will provide you with a good indication of the temperament of the line. A good breeder knows the background of the puppies and should be a good source of information to the to the purchaser. They should be available for support throughout your dog's life.  All breeders with years of experience will have encountered some health issues. Any long time breeder who claims to have never had health issues should be avoided.

Registration
Registration of your new Great Dane is the responsibility of the breeder of your dog. The Canadian Kennel Club is the registration body for puppies born in Canada while the American Kennel Club is the registration body in the United States of America. In Canada, the Canadian Kennel Club under the jurisdiction of the Federal Department of Agriculture's Animal Pedigree Act administers the conditions of registration. This Act states that registration papers must be provided for any animal sold as purebred, at no additional cost to the purchaser within six months of the date of sale. The Act provides for stiff penalties for those persons not adhering to these conditions.

Terms of Sale
The terms of sale of your Great Dane puppy should be in writing between you and the breeder. This agreement should contain information about the expectation that the breeder has of the purchaser such as the signing of a non-breeding contract, the diet to be fed, the immunization protocol to be followed. For example, there it may be wise to discuss the matter of ear cropping. Although many breeders !crop the ears on the puppies they sell, they are others who refuse to allow any of their puppies to be cropped. Most breeders tend to be more flexible. If you are uncertain about any of the terms of sale it is important that they be clarified prior to the sale. If you cannot accept the terms it is best not to proceed with the purchase until both you and the breeder are in agreement over the terms of the sale. Details may become very important if a problem does arise in the future. Even the with most conscientious breeders problems may arise. Some breeders feel that if any part of the agreement is violated that the whole agreement is invalid.

Colors of Great Danes:
  Danes come in six acceptable colors: Fawn, Brindle, Black, Blue, Boston (Mantle), and Harlequin.

Fawn: a golden yellow with a black mask on the face.
Brindle: Golden base coat with defined black striped laid over as chevrons..almost tiger striped appearance.
Black: Solid black colored dog..
Blue: a steel gray solid color
Boston/Mantle: this pattern is best described as marked like a penguin, must have a white tail tip or is not considered a true Boston.
Harlequin: A white dane with torn black patches distributed over the body.
For more details please go to the breed standard.

These colors are acceptable to show in conformation for a Canadian championship. Although a mismarked dane can be born in a litter, they are registerable as they are purebred, from registered parents. A mismark is a colour not acceptable for competition in comformation (ie. merle, harls with too much black, blacks with large white spots on their body, brindles with little or no fawn base color, etc) Aside from the colour, mismarked colored danes still can preform in functions scantioned by the Canadian kennel club, just not in conformation. They are as equally wonderful a pet as a conformation-marked dane.

Caveat: Don't be fooled - there are no 'rare' coloured Great Danes. Don't walk, run from any breeder claiming to have a 'rare' coloured dane.

 Great Danes, as a giant breed grow very quickly, but do not fully mature until they are about two years of age or older. Some breeders do not feel that they are fully mature until 3 or 4 years of age. In this growing process they do pass through some very awkward stages. Growth plates are changing, bones are moving, cartilage is forming. Injuries during a puppy's first year may become permanent problems for the dog. Too much exercise at an early age is detrimental to good development. Forced exercise is not recommended for this breed - puppies should be allowed to play until they are tired.

The following weight chart gives an overview of the growth pattern of Great Danes.

 Immunization and vaccination:
Traditionally all dogs received their first immunization at six weeks of age, followed by a 2nd vaccine four weeks later and a 3rd four weeks after that. At six months of age there was to be another dose and a usually a rabies vaccine as well. This was to be followed by yearly vaccines.

Many veterinarians and breeders no longer believe that it is beneficial or wise to subject the immune system of a young puppy to this number of vaccines. The protocol for the reduced numbers of vaccines is still being developed. Most breeders are immunizing their puppies in some form and will be able to share information regarding the vaccines they are recommending with the new owner.

There are breeders who feel that vaccination in any form is detrimental to the health of your puppy and recommend a homeopathic or holistic approach. The experience breeders have had with their dogs will determine the advice they provide.
Much work is still being done by veterinarian research centers to determine what vaccines are beneficial and necessary for the optimum health of your puppy.

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this page are intended for educational use and we cannot take responsibility for their content. Nothing should take the place of seeking veterinary attention. If in doubt we strongly recommend you contact your breeder or veterinarian.

Great Dane Color

There is quite a bit  of controversy about cross color breeding  great danes and I need to make it CLEAR that there are no RARE colors of great danes. . . only correct and incorrect colors and markings.  There  are simple explanations of why other  colors  are produced and there  are MANY "breeders" that will try to pass off certain colors as "rare", "Hard to find" or some how "special"--EVEN "Designer"  ----remember--- correct or incorrect.  Period.

It is my belief that breeders should not PURPOSELY produce incorrect colors, every breeders goal should be to produce the most correct great dane possible, this INCLUDES color.  They should NOT be ostracized for unintentionally  producing incorrect colors either , recessive colors are in just about every pedigree.  Great Dane breeders ( that breed Harlequin, Mantle, Blue or Black) that have not produced a recessive color are either LYING or have not been breeding long enough.

There is a move to improve some of the Great Dane color families by intentionally breeding to colors out side of the color family in order to bring  qualities that are hard to find in to the color group.  This is commonly done with Fawn great dane sires bred to Blue or black great dane  bitches.    This is not for the faint of heart and you need to realize that you have now introduced a color in to the family that will be there for generations to come.   This is how you produce ( through recessive genes)  Fawn and Brindle danes with dilute masking ( from the  dilution gene) and brindles that are dilute in general, chevrons being a blue color instead of the acceptable black.

In Harlequin great dane  family breeding you can have even more variation.  Instead of having harlequins with black spots (correct) you can have them with blue, fawn or brindle spots-- same rings true of Mantle color pattern, instead of the black and white "classic" boston marked great dane you can produce fawn, blue and brindle blanketed danes with white markings of various degree's. 

Fawn and Brindle  Great Dane breeding:

This is the strongest color group and most popular.  They do very well in conformation ring and breading is fairly simple.  Fawn can be bred to fawn,  brindle can be bred to brindle and collectively they can be bred to each other.  In the past the only concern (other then health related ones of course) was the amount of Shading on fawns, the chevron patterning on brindles and the presence of the masking gene.   Both Brindles and Fawns can be born with or with out a mask and can have different variations in shading and pattern.  It is possible to now test for the masking gene and identify weather or not a dog truly has a mask ( with brindles it CAN be hard to differentiate the difference in pattern and masking).  A simple swab test now lets you know at a genetic level.

Blue and Black Great Dane  Breeding:

There is a VERY small breeding group of "quality" blue and black great danes.  This is why so many of the top breeders have used fawn and brindles in there pedigree's to increase gene diversity and to add qualities that are hard to find.  As a whole the quality of this color group is increasing with time and we are seeing more and more quality blues and blacks in the ring today.   It is also possible to check for the presence of the "blue" gene ( which is a dilution gene that dilutes all pigment including nose and eye color) this test is a simple check swab.

Mantle and Harlequin Great Dane breeding:

Harlequin breeding is not a "true" color breeding.  This means that if you breed a harlequin great dane  to another harlequin great dane you will not get a litter of all harlequins.  Harlequin genetics is complicated to say the least and most times  only 50% of the PARENT colors will be represented in a litter and of that there is a great deal of variance.  The more correct the parent dogs are the greater the chance for correct colors in a litter ( or so the thought is. . .not always the truth) The preferred breeding is Mantle to Harlequin but it is also acceptable to breed to  black danes that do not carry for other colors, harlequin to harlequin or mantle to mantle.

Harlequin to harlequin breeding comes with a double negative.  You can produce double merle puppies ( puppies that carry 2 copies of the merle gene) and enutero you can have double harl puppies ( puppies that carry 2 copies of the harl gene) these puppies will never be born because the harlequin gene in a double form is a lethal gene, causing the puppies to die enutero .   Some great dane  breeders also breed harlequins to merles, but again, you are increasing the chances for double merle puppies. 

I have intentional left out piebald and white in the possible breeding pairs.  There are even MORE reasons to not breed to these color patterns.

Why do Dogs eat Grass?

Dogs love to munch away on grass, and some even make it part of their daily routine. Fortunately, most experts believe it isn't something you should worry about. So why exactly do they gobble up that green stuff in your yard?

Scavengers 'R Us

Dogs, unlike their catty counterparts, are not carnivores. But they're not like your garden-variety omnivores, either. For tens of thousands of years, these opportunistic scavengers have devoured anything and everything, as long as it fulfilled their basic dietary requirements.

The modern dog, partly because of evolution and domestication, is no longer like its ancestors, which frequently ate their prey entirely, including the stomach contents of plant-eating animals. Instead, dogs today seek out plants as an alternative food source. Most commonly the plant is grass -- since that is what is closest at hand -- but wild canines are known to eat fruits, berries, and other vegetable matter, too.

Clearly, dogs can find their nutrients in a wide range of plant foods, but that doesn't explain why Fido usually throws up after eating grass.

When the Tummy's Grumblin'

A dog will seek out a natural remedy for a gassy or upset stomach, and grass, it seems, may do the trick. When ingested, the grass blade tickles the throat and stomach lining; this sensation, in turn, may cause the dog to vomit, especially if the grass is gulped down rather than chewed.

Although dogs don't typically graze on large amounts of grass like a cow, they may nibble on grass, chew on it for a while, and not throw up (an unwell dog will tend to gulp the grass down in big bites and then throw up). This may be because they find the texture of the grass palatable, or just because they need to add a little roughage to their diet.

Nutritional Necessity

Whatever the reason may be, most experts see no danger in letting your dog eat grass. In fact, grass contains essential nutrients that a dog might crave, especially if they're on a commercial diet. If you notice that your dog has been munching away on grass or houseplants, then you may want to introduce natural herbs or cooked vegetables into their diet. Dogs aren't finicky like cats, but they're not too fond of raw veggies either. They're kind of like big furry kids that way.

So, when you think about it, grass munching isn’t that bad at all. However, watch out for a sudden increase in grass eating; it could be a sign of a more serious underlying illness that your dog is trying to self treat, and that requires immediate veterinary assistance.

You may also want to buy a small tray of grass just for the dog, or start an herbal home garden. This will give your poor pooch an alternative to the outdoor grass and landscaping, the eating of which could lead to accidental ingestion of pesticides, herbicides, or chemicals that have been used to treat your (or your neighbor's) yard.

*cited from PetMD.com

Every dog Must have a Soul

Every dog must have a soul
Somewhere deep inside
Where all his hurts and grievances
Are buried with his pride.
Where he decides the good and bad,
The wrong way from the right,

And where his judgement carefully
Is hidden from our sight.
A dog must have a secret place
Where every thought abides,
A sort of close acquaintance that
He trusts in and confides.
And when accused unjustly for
Himself, He cannot speak,
Rebuked, He finds within his soul
The comfort he must seek.

He'll love, tho'he is unloved,

And he'll serve tho'badly used,
And one kind word will wipe away
The times when he's abused.
Altho' his heart may break in two
His love will still be whole,
Because God gave to every dog
An understanding Soul!

Happy Halloween

Beautiful Great Danes

Happy halloween Great Dane style

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

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Goliath the Great Dane pup tells you why NOT to neuter too soon

With Great Danes... it IS important to wait until between 10-13 months to neuter...

Its because of growth plates. dogs that are prematurely neutered's growth plates do not close at the appropriate time, causing over lengthening of the long bones in the legs; increasing incidence of orthopedic disorders.

The sex hormones close the growth plates, so the bones of dogs neutered or spayed before puberty continue to grow. This growth frequently results in a dog that does not have the same body proportions as he/she was genetically meant to. if the femur is normal length at 8 months when a dog gets spayed or neutered, but the tibia, which normally stops growing at 12 to 14 months of age continues to grow, then an abnormal angle may develop in the leg. In addition, with the extra growth, the lower leg below the knee becomes heavier (because it is longer), causing increased stress on the skeletal system of the legs.

[cited from a clinical study]

A study by Salmeri et al in 1991 found that bitches spayed at 7 weeks grew significantly taller than those spayed at 7 months, who were taller than those not spayed (or presumably spayed after the growth plates had closed).(1) A study of 1444 Golden Retrievers performed in 1998 and 1999 also found bitches and dogs spayed and neutered at less than a year of age were significantly taller than those spayed or neutered at more than a year of age.(2) The sex hormones, by communicating with a number of other growth-related hormones, promote the closure of the growth plates at puberty (3), so the bones of dogs or bitches neutered or spayed before puberty continue to grow. Dogs that have been spayed or neutered well before puberty can frequently be identified by their longer limbs, lighter bone structure, narrow chests and narrow skulls. This abnormal growth frequently results in significant alterations in body proportions and particularly the lengths (and therefore weights) of certain bones relative to others. For example, if the femur has achieved its genetically determined normal length at 8 months when a dog gets spayed or neutered, but the tibia, which normally stops growing at 12 to 14 months of age continues to grow, then an abnormal angle may develop at the stifle. In addition, with the extra growth, the lower leg below the stifle likely becomes heavier (because it is longer), and may cause increased stresses on the cranial cruciate ligament. In addition, sex hormones are critical for achieving peak bone density.(4) These structural and physiological alterations may be the reason why at least one recent study showed that spayed and neutered dogs had a higher incidence of CCL rupture.(5) Another recent study showed that dogs spayed or neutered before 5 1/2 months had a significantly higher incidence of hip dysplasia than those spayed or neutered after 5 1/2 months of age, although it should be noted that in this study there were no standard criteria for the diagnosis of hip dysplasia.(6) Nonetheless, breeders of purebred dogs should be cognizant of these studies and should consider whether or not pups they bred were spayed or neutered when considering breeding decisions.

[end of cited text]

In Conclusion..basically, neutering before maturity causes the long bones to grow beyond the length they were meant to... and grow much lighter and weaker, so no... it does NOT stunt their growth... many times in fact it actually makes them grow TALLER... but disproportionately and unhealthily... creating a heavy dog atop a very lanky and weak set of legs.