I
am a breeder, an exhibitor and a rescue person.
I believe that if you breed Great Danes you must really like the breed in
general. Therefore all Great Danes are Great Danes and the only difference
is conformation. Oh yes, my goal would be that only reputable breeders
breed Great Danes but that is something that will never happen. What I
mean by reputable breeders is that they would be careful about how they
place their pet puppies and be responsible to take back the Danes they
have bred.
Because I love this breed I feel it is my job to educate the public. In
doing rescue I have found that a lot of people can be turned around.
When people call show breeders for a pet they are told prices that are very
attractive to people that want to make an added income. They think that they
can also sell puppies for $1500.00 and up. It comes as a shock to them when
I tell them that they will be lucky if they can find good homes for them.
And also that there can be added expense if something goes wrong.
A woman once called me looking for a stud service, and while talking to her
she told me that she had traded her living room furniture for two Harl
females so she could make some money since they go for $2000.00. After I
explained all the problems that can occur breeding Harls and the
disappointment of only having one
in a litter she had them both spayed. I know that the general-public's calls
and questions are sometimes a nuisance, especially at dog shows but please
educate them, please do not cut them off so instead they go and get a puppy
from a backyard breeder. These people see our Danes at dog shows and
think that theirs will behave
like that because Danes are laid back once they get over puppy hood and that
they make great family pets.
Of course with no training when they are 150 lbs. and out of control they
call the rescue programs.
We mentor our show people, please mentor your pet people. One of the most
important things to insist on is obedience classes. I believe that
these would cut down our rescue dogs by half or more. When someone calls for
a pet puppy explain why the price is so high. Breeding, if done right,
is expensive and there are lots of possible
problems. Please just do not give them a price, listen to their gasp and
then pass them off to someone else.
This is my observation after doing rescue for 10 years. I know that some
show breeders are against rescue and others just do not have time to listen
to rescue owners.
If you did listen, you would realize that the rescue home could be your show
home of the future.
I have heard show people watching a rescue owner compete in companion events
say that the dog is so ugly that it should have been put to sleep. These
Danes are loved and cared for sometimes much better than the show dogs.
Remember these people and treat them well at your club meetings; they can be
your next show home.
Yes, we do have the people that want puppies to breed and make money. We
also have people that want a pet Dane and will only rescue because it is a
moral thing when so many of them need homes. Some people will not spend more
than $500.00 to $600.00 on a pet. Take these things into consideration when
you give your prices for pets, you might be passing up great homes. By
selling pets for $1500.00 you are just pushing these people into buying a
$300.00 Dane from these backyard breeders who do not care and give no advice
to the buyer.
Over a 10 year period I have only had to put three Danes down due to
temperament. Ninety five per cent of these so called ugly Danes have great
temperament and it does seem that they have fewer health issues. It is
common for them to live to be 12 years old. Something we all should think
about. Several of my adoptees are therapy dogs. One of them, a deaf Dane is
a therapy dog for disabled children and another deaf one is our public
relations Dane because she is so well behaved and totally trained to hand
signals. One of the Merle Danes has saved, on innumerable occasions, the
life of the daughter in the family who has epileptic seizures; he senses
them and goes for help to the other family members. His owner said that
there is no amount of money in the world that could buy him.
Please help the rescue groups in your area.
We are not asking for you to get involved with fostering or placing these
Danes.
Just help in these ways:
1. Insist on obedience classes
2. Be a mentor to pet owners and encourage them to join a club.
3. Treat rescue owners the same way you treat show owners at your clubıs
meetings.
4. EDUCATE - EDUCATE - EDUCATE
Not all the dogs we breed are show dogs or breeding quality, make sure your
pet puppy buyers know this.
I have just helped place a show puppy with a family that adopted a rescue
from me last year.
They are already set up with a handler and we are all excited to see her out
in the ring.
Without the rescue people in our Club we could not put on a National.
As you can tell, I am very passionate about what I do.
Janet Quick
Rochford Great Danes
Great Dane Club of Greater Kansas City Rescue, Inc.
http://www.geocities.com/gdcgkc/rescue.html
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