American vs. European Great Danes

A few years ago I read an article found on another breeders website titled The Romance of the Boarhound & the Reality of the Great Dane. Reading this article infuriated me and was the main drive behind adding this new section on our website as a rebuttal of sorts but primarily to allow others to hear the other viewpoint on this heated topic.             

 I don't feel the either the European style or the American style Dane is better than the other. Rather they are different and each has its positive and negative points to add to the overall Great Dane gene pool. I want to touch on topics involving the AKC vs European kennel clubs and their hands on approach to breed standard regulations and also the backyard breeder selling "imports" topic and possibly a few others as well.....

Many European breeders follow a structured breeding technique used  to achieve consistency in their dogs. The following article,  Constitutionalism Applied To Selection, taken from the magazine L'Apollo written by Salvatore Facella describes the basis of the breeding types and techniques. Once we learn the concept of why/how many Europeans are choosing their breeding stock we can understand why/how the Danes in Europe are very different from the Danes here in the USA.

 The typical AKC  Championed Great Dane is much sleeker and elegant than the heavier, blockier European counterparts. The evidence of the greyhound ancestry is apparent in the US danes while the mastiff influence is obvious in the European Danes.  If the two Dane types continue to grow in opposite directions eventually the breed as a whole will suffer. We have to understand how to take the best of both worlds and form a united front to save our breed from self destruction.  

Look at the actual photos taken from the written breed standards over the past 100 years and you can see how the illustration has changed although the written standard has remained the same. Our personal interpretations of the written standard have caused our mental image to change over the years as well.

The dog pictured above labeled 1945 has an arched muscular neck, a very deep chest and a slightly sloping topline. The FCI illustration shows a heavily muscled dog with a shorter neck and a broad front. The 1995 illustration shows an elongated neck, shorter limb length, and a longer torso. When all these images are placed close together we can easily see the illustrations are as different as the actual dogs have become over the years..

Lets move on to the backyard breeder subject as it was discussed first in the boarhound article. A backyard breeder who imports Danes to sell for quick profit is do better or different than a BYBer who sells American danes for profit. The European imports have become more popular in the recent years because American breeders have become stricter in who they choose to sell puppies to and implement limited registrations and non-breeding contracts. All the red tape has pushed BYBers overseas where they can import dogs inexpensively without any restrictions. Its that simple.

European breeders need to learn how they can weed out these American BYBers and become more selective in choosing puppy buyers. There are ways for European breeders to network with American breeders to help get references on potential buyers and also on withholding kennel club papers until health testing is completed. There is currently no time limit on when an imported dog is registered with the AKC. But sadly, many of the American breeders are just too self absorbed to network or help our European friends.

Another interesting read is this article on Mme Marie Josee  LaBrousse of the famed Terres de la Rairie Kennel in France.  She has been involved with Danes her entire life as her parents before her. She is a renowned breeder and show judge in all of Europe. She carries the wisdom and knowledge of over 100 years of breeding Great Danes with the combined efforts of her parents and then from her own lifes work.

I remember the first time I saw a French style Great Dane. I was in love! That is what I had been searching for all these years-my Dream Dane! To each his own-right? Why can't we have choices on which style Dane we prefer? All breeds have different types and styles within their parameters. I just prefer the French and Italian style Danes. I also prefer draft horses, Himilayan cats, and XL size muscular body builder type men. I like big I guess. Its my personal opinion. I am naturally drawn to the concave body style.  Although I know this Dane body type is not show worthy I feel it still plays a very significant role in modern breeding programs.

The standard for Danes all over the world is the same but for tiny details. This is true. The allowable interpretation is what divides us all. What is deemed undesirable but is more acceptable here in the AKC ring (pigeon breast, gay tail, giraffe necks for example) and what is deemed undesirable but is more acceptable in European kennel clubs (coarseness, heavy head, sloping croup etc) sets us apart. No dog alive today or ever is an exact 100% accurate representation of the breed standard. Every dogs has its faults-some minor some major. But show judges are able to overlook their 'regional faults' with ease. This makes it difficult for imports to be competitive worldwide.

In order to have continuity worldwide and the respect of our peers we should create a new kind of dog show similar to the Olympics. Where entries from all over the world compete together and are judged by a panel of judges. The dogs should be compared to the written and illustrated standards and rated individually in a numbered system. The winner is determined by the score tallied at the end of the show. This would be the fairest most objective way for all dogs to be truly competitive.

I have personally seen too much politics and favoritism at AKC shows to last me a lifetime. So and so went to lunch with this judge last weekend so guess who is took home the WB title this weekend? No surprise. It happens more than you think.

I feel almost any decent dog can become a finished AKC champion if the money was not an issue. If we were all independently wealthy, travel expenses, show entries, building majors etc would no longer be an obstacle. If one put the time in their dog it could finish. But as it stands money plays a great role in how many shows the hobby person can attend.

Most times the top dogs in any breed are owned by private parties or corporations even who are usually very wealthy and pay their dog handler well to travel the country and show their dog. How does Average Joe compete with that? Average Joe who has to work 40 hours a week to make a living then in his spare time has to train, groom, and show his dog as compared to the professional handler whose job is to groom, show and train his dog. The professionally handled dogs are trained like robots and groomed to perfection.

Here is another interesting article The Breeders Code of Silence

(To Be continued...)