Hi,

I come from India and here Great Danes are rare in the state I live anyways I have a Female Harlequin(LUCKY) 18months old in her second heat periods I would like to get her crossed and I have a Black Stud in the same locality but before getting it done I would like to know if Lucky can be allowed to mate with DON(the black Stud)
and what are the medical care needed to be given before and after Lucky's pregnancy.

Don't know about if you should mate to a black stud or not, but I do think she is too young at 18 months. She is a big dog and will not finnish growing until she is about 2 and half years old, and if she were mine I would not think about mating her until she is on her forth season.

Hi Guest,

Would agree with the previous response that your girl is a little too young yet, far better to leave her at least one more season so she is 2 years old before she's mated. As you know, the Dane is a giant breed, and at 18 months she's not mature yet. Give it a little longer and ensure you have no problems.

Re. colour - it depends entirely on how the black boy is bred as to whether he's appropriate to mate to a harlie. If he is a black from harlequin breeding (i.e. only blacks and harlequins within 5 generations) that's great. However, he could be a black from black/blue breeding, which is not so good and will start introducing mismarks. He could also be a black from fawn or brindle lines, and that's not good at all!! - some very strange combinations possible from that.

So, you need to take the extra time and have more of a look into what's behind him. Hope that helps :D

Marina