Thoughts on the Notorious B.I.G.
What is it about Americans? We have to have everything big. Our cars are big, our food is big, and correspondingly, our butts are big. So of course, our dogs have to be big too. Most Dane breeders have had macho guys who inquire about male puppies and want to know if they’ll grow up to be 200 lbs. Well people, it’s a "Great" Dane. Not a Minor Dane or a Mun Dane. The dog will be big. He’ll be the biggest dog on the block, okay? You’ll have to buy an SUV to haul him around in. Pedestrians will cross the street to avoid him. You will gather crowds when you go to the park.
What the macho guy who wants the enormous Dane doesn’t realize is his dog will probably live a shorter life. In my first litter, there were two Danes that had to be put down because they could no longer stand up on their own at age 8 and age 9. Sadly, owners must realize there is no choice in that situation, a dog the size of a Dane must be put down if it can’t get up. Sadder still, many older Danes are put down for this reason. It is by no means a rare occurance, though rarely talked about. One could argue that age 8 or 9 is within the average lifespan for our breed, but still I find this unacceptable. To paraphrase Dylan Thomas, ‘I will not go gently into that good night; but rage, rage against the fading of the light." In other words, I refuse to accept that a dog living to age 8 who is otherwise healthy has to be put down because it can’t get up. Something is wrong in the state of Denmark. (Pun quite intended.)
Its not just people who want big pets that are to blame. Big Danes also WIN in the show ring. Too many judges reward a Dane for size and penalize for a smaller Dane. Consequently, breeders continue to breed for size. When Envy took her first points, the judge complimented her on her working type but commented that he would "have liked more of her". This means, he’d have liked her better if she were taller and heavier. Envy is just over 32 inches tall and weighs 115 lbs. Our breed standard says,
"The female shall not be less than 28 inches at the shoulders, but it is preferable that she be 30 inches or more, providing she is well proportioned to her height."
Still, this is the feedback I get from conformation judges. And it’s not the first time, either. Envy’s father and grandmother often elicited the same reaction, successful show dogs though they were.
But what the judge didn’t see was Envy easily learning to go through the 24 inch diameter tunnel at agility class. I think if he did, he would have realized the inherent conflict between his comments. Envy is the 5th Dane I have trained in agility and without a doubt the most gifted athletically. With her compact (yet to breed standard) size and correct structure, she has tremendous promise. As for the conformation ring, there may be times in the next months when I am showing Envy that we will walk away without wins because there was not "more" of her. But when we fly around that agility course, the idea of there being more of her will just seem silly.
As breeders we must ask ourselves, do we want true working dogs with health and longevity or do we want huge dogs that look good standing still but fall apart as they age? I’m continually disappointed by the lack of owners and breeders who participate in performance sports with their Danes. If the majority of breeders don’t care about working ability or type, the Great Dane should probably be moved to the Non-Sporting group. What a sad day that would be for our intelligent, athletic, and versatile breed.
My grandmother used to say, (and still does at age 99) "In all things, moderation". So yes, the Great Dane is a giant breed and should be the heights specified in our breed standard, but let’s not sacrifice the athleticism and longevity of our dogs for a winning show career or the ability brag to our friends about having a big dog.
