Great Dane Breeders' & Owners' Association
The Great Dane
The Gentle Giant
The Great Dane has earned his reputation as a great family pet.
Devoted to his family with his well to do with temperament. He is gentle with children and recognised as an animal of great intelligence making him easy to train.
His great size makes him the best of deterrents to all intruders.
With the correct rearing he will give a decade of love and affection to his owners.
As is the case with most breeds of dogs the males are generally bigger and stronger than the females.
Photo courtesy of Maria Kroyer Reese
The Breed Standard Explained
A typical breed standard includes a brief description of general traits in the breed, like temperament and intelligence, followed by specific “points of conformation,” or physical characteristics to look for. The Great Dane breed standard also outlines which colours and coat patterns are acceptable in the breed. As a whole, the breed standard describes a specimen which is believed to be the epitome of the breed. Some breed standards including ours also include a note about acceptable variations and mutations, while others adhere to a stricter standard.
When an animal is judged against a breed standard, the judge is looking at a variety of categories and how that animal fairs in each of these. Animals the judge believes has the closest fit to the standard will win. It is very rare for an animal to perfectly match the standard, largely because the animal described in the breed standard is a fictional ideal, rather than a real animal and what breeders aim for.
There are only 6 colours in the breed standard
Although there are only 6 recognised colours in the breed standard and thus eligibility to be shown; there are however other colours possible, 30 other colours infact. Some of the additional colours are produced by crossing some of the above recognised colours within the accepted colour combinations such as Merles being produced from Harlequin combinations. Whilst these can still make fantastic pets they cannot be shown. We have included both the Black Harlequine and the Blue Harlequine under the heading of Harlequien.
All serious breeders breed for the accepted colours and do not breed to get so called designer colours. If you would like to see some example of the 30 other colours. Use the link below
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