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Black, Blue, Harlequin, Mantle, Fawn and Brindle. There are many other colors that danes CAN come in. Some are commonly found in conventional breedings
( Merle, Piebald and white) and others are caused through accident or intentionally crossing color families.
Dane breeding should be thought of as "families" of colors. There is the Fawn/ Brindle family, The Black/ Blue family and the Harlequin/ Mantle family. With in these families it is acceptable to breed to each other ( Fawn to Fawn, Mantle to Mantle, Blue to Blue. . . ) It is less acceptable to cross the family colors in to what is refereed to as "cross color breeding".
Below are picture examples of the colors that are produced in normal great dane breeding, along with the GREAT DANE BREED STANDARD description of these colors. Here is a link to the Breed standard: http://www.gdca.org/standard.htm
Black Great Dane
The color shall be a glossy black. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.
Blue Great Dane
The color shall be a pure steel blue. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.
Mantle Great Dane
The color shall be black and white with a solid black blanket extending over the body; black skull with white muzzle; white blaze is optional; whole white collar preferred; a white chest; white on part or whole of forelegs and hind legs; white tipped black tail. A small white marking in the black blanket is acceptable, as is a break in the white collar.
Harlequin Great Dane
Base color shall be pure white with black torn patches irregularly and well distributed over the entire body; a pure white neck is preferred. The black patches should never be large enough to give the appearance of a blanket, nor so small as to give a stippled or dappled effect. Eligible, but less desirable, are a few small gray patches, or a white base with single black hairs showing through, which tend to give a salt and pepper or dirty effect. Any variance in color or markings described above shall be faulted to the extent of the deviation. Any Great Dane which does not fall within the above color classifications must be disqualified.
Picture by: Solomon Photography
Fawn Great Dane
The color shall be yellow gold with a black mask. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The deep yellow gold must always be given the preference. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted dirty colored fawns are not desirable.
Brindle Great Dane
The base color shall be yellow gold and always brindled with strong black cross stripes in a chevron pattern. A black mask is preferred. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The more intensive the base color and the more distinct and even the brindling, the more preferred will be the color. Too much or too little brindling are equally undesirable. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted, dirty colored brindles are not desirable.
Any variance in color or markings as described above shall be faulted to the extent of the deviation. Any Great Dane which does not fall within the above color classifications must be disqualified. (Note: This paragraph refers to all the color/pattern descriptions, not just mantle). Below are several examples of dane colors found in Harlequin and Mantle breeding, though common they are not eligible for competition in conformation events. There ARE health problems that CAN be associated with these color patterns. After their description is a list of links discussing color related problems.
Merle
Merle is at the "base" of harlequin breeding. It is NOT the same as a Harlequin and should not be treated like one in a breeding program. Though you can have different degrees of white ( usually the mantle pattern on a merle or Irish Gene) it lacks the Harl gene ( clearing gene) and this makes them not the same. Merles by them selves ( as a single gene merle) have no greater chance at health problems then any other color. When a merle puppy caries 2 copies of the merle gene you can have color related problems that DO effect the dogs health.
White
Picture coming soon!
Piebald
Picture coming soon!
The color shall be a glossy black. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.
Blue Great Dane
The color shall be a pure steel blue. White markings at the chest and toes are not desirable.
Mantle Great Dane
The color shall be black and white with a solid black blanket extending over the body; black skull with white muzzle; white blaze is optional; whole white collar preferred; a white chest; white on part or whole of forelegs and hind legs; white tipped black tail. A small white marking in the black blanket is acceptable, as is a break in the white collar.
Harlequin Great Dane
Base color shall be pure white with black torn patches irregularly and well distributed over the entire body; a pure white neck is preferred. The black patches should never be large enough to give the appearance of a blanket, nor so small as to give a stippled or dappled effect. Eligible, but less desirable, are a few small gray patches, or a white base with single black hairs showing through, which tend to give a salt and pepper or dirty effect. Any variance in color or markings described above shall be faulted to the extent of the deviation. Any Great Dane which does not fall within the above color classifications must be disqualified.
Picture by: Solomon Photography
Fawn Great Dane
The color shall be yellow gold with a black mask. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The deep yellow gold must always be given the preference. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted dirty colored fawns are not desirable.
Brindle Great Dane
The base color shall be yellow gold and always brindled with strong black cross stripes in a chevron pattern. A black mask is preferred. Black should appear on the eye rims and eyebrows, and may appear on the ears and tail tip. The more intensive the base color and the more distinct and even the brindling, the more preferred will be the color. Too much or too little brindling are equally undesirable. White markings at the chest and toes, black-fronted, dirty colored brindles are not desirable.
Any variance in color or markings as described above shall be faulted to the extent of the deviation. Any Great Dane which does not fall within the above color classifications must be disqualified. (Note: This paragraph refers to all the color/pattern descriptions, not just mantle). Below are several examples of dane colors found in Harlequin and Mantle breeding, though common they are not eligible for competition in conformation events. There ARE health problems that CAN be associated with these color patterns. After their description is a list of links discussing color related problems.
Merle
Merle is at the "base" of harlequin breeding. It is NOT the same as a Harlequin and should not be treated like one in a breeding program. Though you can have different degrees of white ( usually the mantle pattern on a merle or Irish Gene) it lacks the Harl gene ( clearing gene) and this makes them not the same. Merles by them selves ( as a single gene merle) have no greater chance at health problems then any other color. When a merle puppy caries 2 copies of the merle gene you can have color related problems that DO effect the dogs health.
White
Picture coming soon!
Piebald
Picture coming soon!
| Color
and Pattern associated disorders in the great dane |
WHITES: IS IT
WORTH THE RISKS? |
| Color Coat Research |
|
There is allot of controversy about cross color breeding and I need to make it CLEAR that there are no RARE colors of great danes. . . only correct and incorrect colors and markings. Their are simple explanations of why they are produced and their are MANY "breeders" that will try to pass off certain colors as "rare", "Hard to find" or some how "special" ----remember--- correct or incorrect. Period. It is our belief that breeders should not PURPOSELY produce incorrect colors: and they should NOT be ostracized when they do it through intentionally trying to improve the breed or through recessive genes lurking from the past.
There is a move to improve some of the color families by intentionally breeding to colors out side of the family in order to bring qualities that are hard to find in to the color group. This is commonly done with Fawn sires bred to Blue or black bitches. This is not for the faint of heart and you need to realize that you have now introduced a color in to the family that will be there for generations to come. This is how you get Fawn and Brindle danes with dilute masking ( from the blue gene) and brindles that are dilute in general ( chevrons being a blue color instead of the acceptable black) In Harlequin family breeding you can have even more variation. Instead of having harlequins with black spots (correct) you can have them with blue, fawn or brindle spots-- same rings true of Mantle color pattern, instead of the black and white "classic" boston marked dog you can produce fawn, blue and brindle blanketed dogs with white markings.
Fawn and Brindle breeding:
This is the strongest color group and most popular. They do very well in conformation ring and breading is fairly simple. Fawn can be bred to fawn, brindle can be bred to brindle and collectively they can be bred to each other. In the past the only concern (other then health related ones of course) was the amount of Shading on fawns, the chevron patterning on brindles and the presence of the masking gene. Both Brindles and Fawns can be born with or with out a mask and can have different variations in shading and pattern. It is possible to now test for the masking gene and identify weather or not a dog truly has a mask ( with brindles it CAN be hard to differentiate the difference in pattern and masking). A simple swab test now lets you know at a genetic level.
Blue and Black Breeding:
There is a VERY small breeding group of "quality" blue and black great danes. This is why so many of the top breeders have used fawn and brindles in there pedigree's to increase gene diversity and to add qualities that are hard to find. As a whole the quality of this color group is increasing with time and we are seeing more and more quality blues and blacks in the ring today. It is also possible to check for the presence of the "blue" gene ( which is a dilution gene that dilutes all pigment including nose and eye color) this is also a check swap.
Harlequin breeding is not a "true" color breeding. This means that if you breed a harlequin to another harlequin you will not get a litter of all harlequins. Harlequin genetics is complicated to say the least and most times only 50% of the PARENT colors will be represented in a litter and of that there is a great deal of variance. The more correct the parent dogs are the greater the chance for correct colors in a litter ( or so the thought is. . .not always the truth) The preferred breeding is Mantle to Harlequin but it is also acceptable to breed to black danes that do not carry for other colors and harlequin to harlequin or mantle to mantle. Harlequin to harlequin breeding comes with a double negative. You can produce double merle puppies ( puppies that carry 2 copies of the merle gene) and enutero you can have double harl puppies ( puppies that carry 2 copies of the harl gene) these puppies will never be born because the harlequin gene in a double form is a lethal gene, causing the puppies to die enutero . Some breeders also breed harlequins to merles, but again, you are increasing the chances for double merle puppies.
I have intentional left out piebald and white in the possible breeding pairs. There are even MORE reasons to not breed to these color patterns.
Here are some more links to Great Dane specific color :
| The PIED Dane |
Standard Accepted Coat Color Genetics in Dogs |
| Another opinion |
Coat Color Alleles in Dogs |
| Canine Color
Coat Genetics |
|
| SITE MAP |
|
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