A great Dane show breeding program is not meant to be a lucrative endeavor. More so the preservation of the Great Dane breed.However, it is not as simple as putting two dogs together and hoping for puppies. There are many things to consider when starting a Great Dane breeding program, including genetics, health and temperament. In this blog post, we discuss the basics of Great Dane show breeding and how one breeder started a breeding program that has been successful for many years. great dane show breeding

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This article was generously written for us by Jackie van Delft of Van Delft Great Danes. Jackie specializes in **Great Dane show breeding**, focusing on producing black and fawn AKC Great Danes of exceptional quality. Located in Ohio, Jackie is passionate about breeding Danes that excel in both conformation and temperament. You can visit her website by clicking here to learn more about her dedication to Great Dane show breeding and her amazing dogs. You can visit her website by clicking here. great dane show breeding

How to start an ethical breeding practice

I don’t believe you should go into showing Great Danes with the intention “I have to breed and be a breeder right away.” It should start with a passion for the breed and gaining knowledge before the next step of breeding. My first show Dane did not turn out to be a breeding prospect, but I learned a lot from him. I recommend joining an affiliate club of the Great Dane Club of America or a kennel club. Joining a Great Dane club is a good way to start getting involved with the breed, and meeting other breeders and Great Dane lovers. 

Finding a mentor is a huge help. A mentor will help guide you and point you on the right path of learning and making good breeding decisions for your Great Dane. A mentor usually is who you get your Great Dane from, so they will have a good idea of what is best for the bloodline and what doesn’t compliment them. If you live close to your mentor and are able to go to shows with them, it is a valuable experience for you. Developing a close relationship and friendship with your mentor is also valuable when you become a breeder. They will be there for you during the good times and bad times. If there is something you need help with, your mentor should have a network of other Great Dane breeders they too can reach out to help you.

But what does it mean when someone says “ethical” and “reputable”? Here are my two cents on what it means to me as a newer Great Dane breeder. 

To me, it is what goes into breeding a quality Great Dane?

It’s like a pyramid. I learned about foundation pyramids when I rode horses in Dressage. It would help establish where a horse was in training to move up a level and to achieve collection. So with Great Danes, I like to have structure, movement, health, and temperament in my pyramid.  Temperament is a big deal. A Great Dane is a giant dog that needs to maintain a solid mind. Followed by health. That’s where being an ethical breeder really kicks in.

What is a breeder doing to help the betterment and preservation of the breed? A breeding Great Dane should be health tested through the OFA. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is a database to help a breeder try to make good choices for the health of the breed. It is a valuable tool a breeder can use. 

Does it guarantee the dogs tested will never develop a problem? No, you cannot guarantee the health on any living animal. But this will help a breeder try to strengthen the health of their future dogs to lessen the chances. 

In present time, we have so many options for helping the improvement of the breed’s health. There aren’t many reasons for a breeder to not have a full health test done on their breeding dogs. You are starting to see more breeders keeping up with health testing too. An example being repeating Echocardiograms once to every other year.  

Structure and movement go hand in hand. If your Great Dane is built correctly, he will move correctly. A Great Dane is a working dog. They need to have the structure and soundness to perform their job and be an athlete. They should look like the Apollo of dogs. Signifying power, coordination, and suppleness. Back to my pyramid example, a Great Dane needs structure and movement to achieve the overall function of its breed standard.  

Before any breeding is considered, we actively show our Danes to their championship (and/or Grand Championship). Not just because it is a hobby we enjoy doing, but we do it to prove our Danes. A breeder should have an active history of proving their dogs in conformation, and/or in performance sports. When we have a bitch that has proven herself in the ring, we will start to look at some possible stud dogs. Knowing our bitch’s conformation is acknowledging her good and bad and prioritizing what is important to us about her and what we would like to see an improvement on. I look at a stud dog that has what I’m hoping to improve (you are always looking to improve something. Strive for betterment). If a stud has offspring on the ground, I look to see how he’s producing as well. What are the stud dog’s traits, health history, temperament and qualities seen in his offspring?  If he hasn’t completed all of his OFA health testing, I would like to know why as well. If the stud dog is in the region and alive, it’s very helpful to see the dog in person.  

A nice resource we have to help us in choosing a stud dog is Glen Beech’s pedigree database, Quintessa. You have the ability to make mock breeding pedigrees to look at how well a stud dog’s pedigree compliments your bitch. It also calculates the CoI (coefficient of inbreeding) percentage. Once a stud checks off all my likes, I will reach out to the stud owner. Asking what his personality is like, does the owner know of any health issues that may have come up behind him or with his littermates? If he is available, ask to see a contract. I like to look at his OFA and not just on the stud dog, but his relatives as well.  I’ll reach out to my mentors, see if they know the dog or any dogs in the pedigree. Pick their brains on what they know. The best part about having mentors, is that they might (or do) know more Dane breeders who have been in the breed for a long time who they can always reach out to for information as well.  

Once you have your stud dog picked out, there is usually shipping of the semen to the reproduction facility you will be using. You will do progesterone testing to find the best time to breed your bitch once she is in season. There are different options to impregnating your bitch that you will discuss with your veterinarian on what everyone is comfortable with doing and what would be best for the bitch

The gestation period of a Great Dane is 58-64 days (about 2 months).  Breeding isn’t for the faint of heart. There is always a risk of complications for the bitch or puppies. An ethical breeder will be ready for worse-case scenarios. They should have an emergency C-section plan, for if your bitch stops labor or a puppy is stuck in the birth canal. There is a possibility that there could be nursing problems. A bitch might not produce enough milk for puppies, so a breeder might have to supplement the babies to help them thrive. Fading Puppy syndrome is another heartache breeders may face. A breeder will do what they can to help every puppy thrive, but sometimes nature may have other plans. And some bitches are natural mothers, and others just have no maternal instinct. So a breeder will be wiping puppy butts too! 

An ethical breeder will try their best to start a puppy off right in life. Some may follow a strict program like Puppy Culture. Introducing puppies to fear and recovery, ENS, brain stimulation, potty and crate training to name a few. Breeders want their puppies to thrive in their new homes when they leave the nest.

When puppies are 6 weeks, breeders will start to focus more on each individual puppy’s structure and temperament. 

Which puppy is really standing out when they are running around?  Who is the bravest/shyest?

A breeder will start to stack the puppies as a way to keep notes as they grow to see how consistent they are growing. Around 8 weeks old, a breeder will usually have mentors, stud owner, and other breeders help evaluate puppies to determine which puppy has show potential and which one might be best in a companion home. For us, we call them a show potential puppy and not show quality. Great Dane puppies grow fast and change so much. A show potential puppy might look fantastic at 8-10 weeks, but might grow to be too tall and lose some of his angles. It happens. But a breeder will try to place their puppies in a home that will love that dog no matter what, but if something should happen, that breeder will take that dog back at any time in his lifespan.  Just because a puppy might be labeled as a companion puppy, doesn’t make that puppy lesser than a show potential puppy. Each puppy is a quality puppy and raised the same way and loved just as much.  

I feel like I was able to start on the right track as a responsible breeder.  When I was little, our dogs all came from show homes (plus one rescue).  When I got my first Golden Retriever, I was able to develop a friendship with his breeder.  I feel like she had a huge impact on me on what kind of breeder I wanted to be. So I already had that train of thought and goal when I got started in the Dane world. 

I am thankful for my mentors Tootie Longo and Lorraine Matherly for their friendship, guidance and support.

-Jackie van Delft @vandelftdanes