Vol 01 Edition 01

After the tragic loss of three Great Danes I had bred from only two litters my sorrow turned quite literally into anger. We appear to know so little about the state of health in this breed. It seems to me that breeding Great Danes is a lottery. Studying pedigrees and taking advantage of current health testing provides no guarantees. In my case it is heart problems. When you heart test your Danes at three and a half years old and the results are normal why do two of those Danes die suddenly the following year. I mated and bred from another Dane in my first litter a few months after the heart test on the basis she was healthy with a heart described as normal, an eye test that was normal and a hip score of 11. A male from her litter had a fatal heart attack just after his first birthday. The heartache and pain from losing these beautiful creatures is horrendous for their owners. I can verify it was as devastating for myself as the breeder, if not more painful.

I always found that if you talked about health in the breed it was met with much negativity. A feeling of ‘well what can you do about it?’ Or comments like, ‘Who is going to tell anyone what their Danes died of? They won’t be able to sell puppies if it is bad!’ Another very common remark, ‘if they die young they will say it is bloat!’ I looked at what the Breed clubs and Breed Council were doing and I felt there was very little information coming down to the members if anything. Health kind of reared its head occasionally but apart from the LUPA project, nothing seemed to be ongoing or productive.

After losing my Danes I began to think about what I wanted from the breed in terms of health and commitment to improve the health of Great Danes. I came up with the idea of an informal group of Great Dane owners who were breeders, exhibitors, those involved in rescue organisations and pet owners. The health of Great Danes affects nearly everyone who owns a Great Dane. There are many breeders and owners who have a wealth of experience with health problems in Danes and it would be such a brilliant idea if they could share their knowledge with those of us with less experience.

The Group could be a platform for dialogue and ideas and who knows where it could take us. At the very least it would be a Group who could turn around health surveys for the Breed Council very quickly on the internet. No more anonymity when filling out health questionnaires. At the very best we could help to start new health projects to find solutions for health problems in Great Danes. So with this tall order in mind I have created this Group and website with the help of like minded friends. It’s not my Group it’s for everyone with an interest in Great Danes and their health. Hopefully some of you will make contributions but I am hoping all of you will learn something that will affect the wellbeing of the Great Dane

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The overall aim of the Great Dane Health Group is to promote the health and welfare of the Great Dane breed.

On the website you can read the Aims and Objectives of the Great Dane Health Group. Read More. They are not set in concrete and they may be revised in the future. But it’s a start. When a group like this comes together we need a structure and framework to guide us and keep us on track regarding what we are trying to achieve.

 Looking back and pointing fingers and laying blame at peoples’ doors. It is not going to help our danes now or in the future. It’s subjective and probably rarely based on fact. It’s not helpful and we want to move forward.Being negative and conflicting with others if we don’t feel their contributions are worthwhile.Anonymity

The Great Dane Health Group has not been set up as a platform for a handful of people to tell others in the breed what they should be doing. On the contrary, we want as many experienced Dane Owners and Breeders to contribute and share their knowledge and observations for everyone’s benefit. Initially we are asking for ideas and suggestions on moving forward from the state of the Breed’s health today. What do you think of health testing? In your experience, what are the problems breeding healthy stock? What health problems should we be exploring? What do you want to see on our website? In fact anything you can think of, even if it doesn't sound directly relevant. In months or years to come it could be important.

To send your ideas and suggestions please click on the link below and write as much detail as you can. If you don’t want to write very much then put the idea down and ask us to contact you and we can develop it with you and write it down in more detail.

What's your ideas?

There are many important issues on health in our breed. Hopefully we will build and develop these issues in the coming months with your help.

 Encouraging everyone with an interest in Great Danes in participating in improving the health of this wonderful breed.Supporting our Breed Council to take our concerns to the Kennel Club.Sharing information that can be relevant and helpful to every Dane Owner.Breeding healthier stock and being responsible for the future of Great Dane puppies.Educating prospective puppy purchasers. Being open and honest.

Our first Health Day for some years presented by The Great Dane Breed Council on Saturday 22nd October 2011 at the Holiday Inn, Crick was a great success. It was well attended with over 100 tickets sold.

Our guest speakers were Hannah Stephenson BVMS (Hons) MRCVS, Sarah Mason BSc BVSc PhD MRCVS and Rachel Burrow BVetMed CERTSAS CERT VRE DIPL ECVSS MRCVS.

Hannah covered two topics. They were ‘The Genetics of Disease – What does a breeder need to know?’ and ‘Can we fix a broken heart? Dilated Cardiomyopathy in the Great Dane.’ Sarah covered ‘Bone Cancer – Treatment Options’ and Rachel covered ‘Great Danes and Gastric Dilation and Volvulus.’ Read More