I have a blue GD bitgh who has had one litter of pups, which were fine. She is in season now, and I would like to get another litter from her.
If I use a black dog, will I get blue and blacks? What happens if I use a fawn?
Advice and suggestions please.
I live in mid Wales, but will travel!
Thanks
Bertie Ellis

I'm having trouble working out what a GD is. Also you have left it very late to find a suitable stud dog if the bitch is already in season now. Your best bet is to  wait until her next season, and in the meantime, research colour genetics as they apply to you breed, and then find the best possible dog.You do not mention KC/BVA health screening, what tests are neccessary in the GD?

Dawn R.

I think the poster is talking about Danes

You should not use a fawn on a blue bitch.

Ahh thankyou Chloe, I hate abbreviations, what's wrong with saying Great Dane. It's a noble title and one to be proud of !!
Dawn R.

Exactly :)

In season now and looking to breed second litter - sounds to me this guest has started breeding without any research whatsoever

If you have to ask that question, you should not be breeding. Reputable breeders would already know about color genetics before getting into breeding. They also do all genetic health testing on their TITLED dogs before breeding. Is your dog prooven? Please don't add to more population of dogs who are not positively going to better the breed.

Carrie

It may well be different in other countries, but if we in the UK limited breeding to only 'titled' dogs, the gene pools would be severely limited, with maybe only 4 new champions in a popular breed each year.

Hi Carrie

I think I did an email a few days ago regarding titles in the UK and US and how much more difficult it is to get a title here (UK).  Although titles are important it is not as frowned upon here as it is in the US to breed untitled dogs.  If we have a top winning Dobe for instance they can take most of the CC's on offer - we had one last year who took 14 of the 38 available and he was proving difficult to get "past" so that others could obtain their Championships :D

Many of us do frown on those who don't research their breed or do any, or insufficient, health testing though.

Hello Guest

Are you by chance the Bertie Ellis who is a vet that treated our horses in Pembrokeshire some years ago?

Jo and the Csblaidd Flatcoats

Bertie,

Taking aside the questions of health testing, reasonable length of time between seasons etc. - all this may be in order, although not stated in your query - the answer to your question .......

Black to blue will produce blue and black only if the dog carries the blue gene.  If not, all puppies will be black.  Please bear in mind that black Dane pups are not the easiest to sell, so ensure that if you follow this route you have the facilities to keep pups long beyond 8 weeks to find suitable homes.

Fawn to blue will ONLY produce black puppies.  Nothing else.  As well as mucking up the recommended colour groups, bear in mind the above comments re. selling pups.

If all else is in order, best to speak to someone who knows about Danes re. a suitable stud - hopefully you have a good relationship with your bitch's breeder and they should be able to help?  Feel free to join and PM me (click on my user name once you have joined) for more info and I can try to assist.

Marina

I know someone who mated his blue bitch to a blue dog(champion as well & got er half a litter of blues & half a litter of blue/fawns(marked like dobermanns) & very pretty they were too

Someone somwhere had been crossing the colours(& we do know where as we did an extended pedigree for the puppies for him)

Marina.......Are you a genetist by any chance.  I really dont know how you could possibly know what colours you will get by breeding different colours to different colours.  Colour genes are a very specialised subject.  Multiple birth animals are very hard to determine colours.  I have known breeders breed two blacks of a breed together and get the odd white. 

experience.

Hi Molly,

No, not a genetecist by any stretch of the imagination, just like to delve into breeds in which I have an interest.

As Carla (ChloeH) says, people know through years of experience, although Mother Nature can always throw in the odd curve ball :D

Obviously don't know which breed you're referring to, but black to black in Danes could throw up all manner of puppy colours - black is the most dominant colour in Danes (taking out the harlequin 'pattern'), so can mask all manner of recessives in many generations of a pedigree.

M.