Danes - The "Old Greats"
Great Danes and Dachshunds.... our homes have always resembled the one featured in the Disney movie "The Ugly Dachshund", does anyone remember it?
Dachshunds were our first love, Great Danes our second - and we have been passionate about both breeds - which we've owned for about 30 years. We no longer have Great Danes, though we still love the breed. What a wonderful history they have!
These "Old Greats” were incredible. In Germany, the IDEAL of the breed has not changed since the beginning of the Deutscher Doggen Club in 1888, and their STANDARD has stood the test of time. The “Hansa” and the “von der Saalburg” lines of the 1920’s, in particular, produced Great Danes whose qualities have never been excelled. Many of these “Greats” were very linebred and often inbred – which was done knowledgeably and produced superb lines of Great Danes who passed on their incredible traits to their offspring.
The majority of the danes in the following pages are of the “old German lines”, there are a few from the 1950’s, 60’s & 70’s – and those are mainly the “newer” dane lines I was particularly interested in – Honey Hollow & Dinro.
There are a few contradictions (they will be noted).
The origin of the Great Dane, like that of a great many other varieties of dogs is so obscure that all researchers have only resulted in speculative theories, but the undoubted antiquity of this dog is proved by the fact that representatives of a breed sufficiently similar to be considered his ancestors are found on some of the oldest Egyptian monuments. How the Great Dane came by his present name is also uncertain. If Denmark was the country from which these dogs spread over the Continent, and were on that account called Great Danes, they must have greatly deteriorated in their fatherland, because what is now known as the Dansk Hound (Danish Dog) is at the best only a sorry caricature of the Great Dane. However there might have been several TYPES of the “Danish “Dog”. An illustration in 1912 Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary has a drawing of a substantial dog titled “’Danish Dog’ (Chase Dog Type).” And there is an article in the DDSB double-volume IV/V entitled “Vom germanischen Hetzrueden [or Hatzrueden] bis zur deutschen Dogge” which translates to “From European Chase Dogs to Great Danes.” Former names for the Great Dane were, Ulmer Dogge, Grosse Dogge, Boarhound, Chase Dog (Hatzruede), etc.
There is a story of a French naturalist, Compte de Buffon who was the first to label "Le Grande Denois" (The Great Dane), however the copper plate engraving he made for his, "classic Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière, 1767; bears little resemblance to the huge ancestors of the boarhound of Germany. I, personally, am of the opinion that the "Great Dane" he spoke of and copied in his engravings are not the same dogs as the ones in Germany who were used to develop the breed as we know it. In Germany, the dog had NEVER been known by the name “Great Dane.”
The Great Dane has been native to European lands since before the use of gunpowder, as one can see from steel engravingsand copperplates and in paintings of old Europeans armed with bows, spears and clubs, accompanied by one or two of these large Boarhounds to fend off the dangerous beasts of prey and wild boars. Several hundred years ago Prince Ulrich of Wurttemburg provided large Chase Dogs (Hatzrueden) for his overseers to breed and hunt with. The Grossen Doggen were used for more than 100 years in the Rhineland on large farms, as protection against the dangerous French insurgents. Until 1886, Wurttemburg was the stronghold of the Great Dane; then Berlin took over with the founding of the Deutschen Doggen-Club in 1888 in Berlin. For about 30 years, about 15 – 20 danes a week were sent from Berlin to Hamburg, mainly to supply the steamers for South America.
Not only in its stature, but also in general appearance, has the Great Dane experienced transformation. Earlier, their chief importance lay in their usefulness for hunting. Body weight, courage and strength were necessary for Chase Dogs. At that time they had to be coarse and rough in body shape, and coarse and rough in coat. When such a dog encountered the harsh quills of the boar’s ruff, this coat could resist better; the same thing when it went through swamps and the thorniest underbrush. So one needed a fearless, heavy, rough-coated and yet agile dog with mighty head and cheek muscles, and a powerful neck. But when the bear and wolves had been exterminated for a long time, and the wild boar is killed with guns, no one needed the Chase Dog. The Great Dane turned into a protector of his owner’s family. So the breeders gave the Dane a finer and squarer shape with shorter backs.
Controversy arose on the breed’s proper designation, when the Germans claimed for it the title “Deutsche Dogge.” Germany had several varieties of big dogs, such as the Hatzrude, Saufanger, Ulmer Dogge, and Rottweiler Metzerghund; but contemporaneously with these there existed, as in other countries in Europe, another very big breed, but much nobler and more thoroughbred, known as the Great Dane. When after the war of 1870 national feeling was pulsating very strongly in the veins of re-united Germany, the German cynologists were on the lookout for a national dog, and for that purpose their German dog was christened “Deutsche Dogge,” and elected as the champion of German Dogdom. For a long time all these breeds had, no doubt, been indiscriminately crossed, and a proof of this may be found in the fact that the powerful influence in dog breeding of “black and tan” which is the color of the Rottweiler Hund, shows itself even now by the occasional appearance of a puppy with tan marking, and particularly the tan spots above the eyes.
Although I have not specified champions by country (merely indicating by “CH” if the dane was a champion) there has been some confusion over the highest German award – which is sometimes called “Reichssieger” and other times (more recently) called “Bundessieger”. It is because before the war it was the German “Reich” and the country is now known as the German “Bundes Republik.” So therefore it was “Reichs-sieger” and now it’s “Bundes-sieger”. By whatever name, the importance of the award has not changed, and it is still the most coveted title in all Europe. The Bundessieger title is awarded once a year (towards the end of the year). It is awarded to one male and one bitch in each of the five color groups. All dogs are judged by SCORING so that any dog can win this title more than once provided there is none that scores any higher. But, also, this title can be withheld altogether provided there is no dog with sufficient quality to merit this award. Although this has not happened for a long time since entries in recent years are always well over 300. Many of the Bundessieger winners were not champions. I have not always indicated if the Dane had the Bundessieger (or Reichssieger), but this information should be readily available on the internet.
Not many other breeds have such a thorough record of how they were developed.
In volume I of the DDSB, you ‘ll see Cyrus-Hansa 407 was whelped in 1888, whereas Era Hansa 281 didn’t arrive until 1890 although her number is lower. This is because that first volume was divided by colors and not chronology, and alphabetically within the colors with males first. So volume I numbers 1 through 221 are brindles, 222 through 303 are fawns, 304 through 365 are blues, 366 through 391 are blacks and 392 through 538 are harlequins.
[ I usually included the registration number with dogs whose registration numbers were less than 1000 – it seemed that they were the most easily confused as many had only one name. If the dog was unregistered, I tried to indicate that.]
It was hoped that everyone would use a registration number along with the Dane’s name. The wish was expressed in the introduction of Volume II that breeders and other interested parties might yet come to the realization that it’s not only important to the breeder, but to the whole sport, that all purebred danes are registered. Many breeders would not allow their danes to be registered – even when they bred the dogs and bitches themselves. It was a rather new-fangled idea in 1908. The descent was given for 4 generations, which was satisfactory for judging the value of the bloodline.
An unregistered name did not mean that the dog was inferior, on the contrary – unregistered dogs contributed to the best Great Danes of Germany. An unregistered dog just meant that the breeder was a nonmember of the DDSB. According to the history of the DDSB, many breeders (especially independent-thinking ones) were loathe to join the DDSB, and even the ones who did join were often reluctant to submit pictures of their dogs. It reminds me of later “independent thinkers”….Honey Hollow, Dinro & BMW, who defied convention and bred the way they believed – and produced superlative Great Danes.
In the early 1920’s Danes were not only registered as litters of at least four weeks old, but often were registered singly as adults, a leftover from Fritz Kirschbaum’s struggle to get all worthy Danes into the Studbook. For an adult to be registered it had to be at least six months old, have registered parents and have won at least a “Commended” at a recognized show or be considered worthy by an official judge, but these were to change at the end of 1923 when the prizewinning and judging was to be eliminated. Also, rules stated that all pups in a litter should have names starting with the same letter. There were obviously some exceptions to this (as when CH Ceres v Freigericht was linebred twice to CH Dolf vd Saalburg , producing the B/C and F litters for Hexengold in 1926 and 1927.
The rules in force for 1930 were as follows:
Only such Danes may be registered whose parents are both registered.
There are two kinds of registration a) litter registration b) Individual registration.
The simplest and cheapest way of registering is litter registration. The breeder must own a kennel name protected by the DDSB
The kennel name may not conflict with one already protected. Once it is protected it is unchangeable and not transferable except from father to son and to the widow (only so long, however as she does not remarry.)
The application for registration must be made in duplicate on the litter forms provided, and pedigree tables filled in singly, both signed by the breeder in his own hand. The stud certification is to be enclosed, signed by the stud dog owner in his own hand and particularly including the date in which the bitch was mated.
All puppies in a litter should be named with one and the same initial, in the manner that a breeder’s first litter begins with “A”, the second with “B” and so on.
There should be no two dogs existing with the same name. For instance, the disignations for “Hans II”, “Rex II”, “Wanda III” are not permitted.
All puppies in a litter should be registered simultaneously at no older than six months.
Later applications need not be granted by the studbook office.
On the litter form the dogs should be listed fist and then the bitches.
Double names are not permitted and will not be registered, e.g. “Astor called Caesar.”
A protected kennel name, in contrast to litter registration, is not necessary for this purpose. The call names in these cases will be followed by the breeder’s own name in ( ) [which I changed for clarity to brackets]
There were new breeding and registration regulations in 1931 an 1932, some of which were:
It is desirable that all Danes to be used for breeding be evaluated. The evaluations (Koerung) should be done at the annual regional shows by an evaluator (Koermeister) selected at one of the regional meetings; however, they can be done at other times provided the cost of travel is reimbursed.
The stud dog must be at least 18 months old, the brood bitch at least 15 months old, before they may be used for breeding. The age at the time of mating is decisive. For bitches a leeway of 4 weeks is allowed.
At the most, six puppies in a litter may be kept for further raising. In exceptional cases, determined each time by the Breeding Warden or judge, with the approval of the Studbook Chairman, more than six puppies may be permitted. [This culling the litter down to six went on for a long, long time; until the veterinary association stepped in and objected.]
Authorization of registration for such Danes is given only if both parents are already registered in the Studbook of the DDV or another association in treaty with the DKH. As a whole Danes bred according to the studbook are authorized for registration without regard to color. Crowning fawn and brindle Danes with harlequin and black is forbidden.
All litters are to be registered together by the age of four months, using the aforementioned form. Not including an individual puppy is forbidden.
Each puppy in a litter must bear a different name with the same initial letter. One may not give two dogs the same name (even with the addition I, II, etc., like for instance “Dolf I vd Saalburg” and “Dolf II vd Saalburg.”)
Individual registration of older Danes will only be allowed up to December 31, 1932. From then on only litters will be registered.
Protected kennel names are unchangeable and not transferable with the exception of from father to son. Widows may continue to use them unless they remarry.
The breeder is obliged to have each litter registered in the studbook and to hand over the pedigree to the buyer of the dog.
Each breeder is obliged to notify the Breed Warden of this region or his district immediately a litter is whelped.
The Breed Warden is responsible for inspecting each litter he is notified about within the first eight days of life if possible, and in agreement with the breeder to determine which animals will be kept for further raising.
In every case the following are to be killed: all puppies over the number of six; all physically weak puppies and those afflicted with faults; those congenitally misshapen in any way.
It seems Pankgraf was a popular name for harlequin studs in the 1920’s, and 3 of them were champions. Quite often the whole lot appear in pedigrees. (see information below on the individual names)
As a side note, (ie Countess Cordelia Hexengold, AKC #A481452), the “Hexengold” part of Countess Cordelia’s name was really just an honorary part – she was not bred by Gemany’s famed Hexengold kennels, but her sire was a well-known import from there. This practice of endowing an American bred Dane with a famous German kennel name seems fairly common in the thirties, when so many imports were taking place – rather like the Chinese manner of using a previous dynasty-mark on porcelains to indicate reverence for that period. So just because a US dane has a famous German kennel name – it doesn’t mean that he came from there – or that he has any of those bloodlines at all.
Colors
The first show reported was 1886 in Leipzig, with the colors divided as “solid,” “striped,” and “spotted.”
Danes of many beautiful colors and patterns have been seen; brindle with a red-gold base coat and blue stripes, mask and nose; a famous 1971 chocolate brindle called Butterscotch; pups (from pure-color fawn-bridle breeding) starting out looking chocolate, then got a bluish tinge, and as an adult looked like an exotic shade of mink; blacks with horizontal stripes (“eel-striped” – “Aalstrich”); Blues with a dark mask; whites with blue and fawn spots; whites with brindle spots, etc.
In 1911 Mendel’s theory of genetics was just being paid attention to although he worked on it around 1865. Dr. Little’s work on coat color in dogs was just starting. The DDC had officially defined the 5 colors, but there were quite a few unorthodox colors around and even registered in Volume I (published 1897) of the stud book – such as blue-brindle or blue-striped (“blaugestromt”). Hans Friedrich a judge of the Deutsches Doggen-Clubs,and long time breeder of “Teutonia” danes (and who wrote an article on coat color) said that he liked to consider the appearance of especially noteworthy although faulty-colored Danes. They were, amongst the brindles, blue-striped ones, and silver-striped ones – which were becoming rare even back then in 1911. Among the spotted, from time to time appeared some with the white base-coat and yellow (“gelb”) or red (“rot”) or sometimes golden brindle (“goldgestromt”) spots. He mentioned that he once saw in Vienna a good dane specimen in front of a cart, which had pure yellow and blue spots on a white base. (Which sounds like one in the AKC Studbook, volume 5, for 1888 – 8782 Nora, J.L. Winehall, Fair Haven, VT; whelped July 25, 1887 – Lemon yellow, blue and white; by imported Hector, out of imported Minerva.) Hans Friedrich also saw Harlequins (“Tigerdogge”) which had blue base and black or smutty-colored patches. He also mentioned a “very good bitch with a lustrous deep red color” at the 1907 Vienna show. She was supposed to have come from a top-winning fawn (yellow) dog, Champion Meteor-Haider, bred to a well-known blue bitch, Champion Donau.
Hans Friedrich said (in 1911) “25 to 30 years ago” was the high point for blues in Austria. Once in Vienna a “Draprude” appeared in a litter of blues. This color was popular here at that time, and that dog enjoyed much success in competitions. He described “Drap” as probably not a different pigment, but a paling of the blue. Along with the coat color, the dark color of the nose disappears, it becomes leather brown and likewise the nails become light. He said (in 1911) that the “glorious blue Dane is nearly extinct now in Austria,” and that this color variety, almost exclusively Viennese, could be revived today if one were to use “Drap” danes and the bluestriped ones which carry blood from good blues and are worthy of breeding. An example is the blue dog “Golo” who came from bluestriped. Mated with a blue bitch he gave very good blue progeny. His son proved it at the Vienna show of 1908. There was the glorious bitch “Fricka” (renamed “Blaue Donau” – Blue Danube in English) who travelled at that time from Herr Lill in Vienna to the well-known Vom Schwalbennest kennels of Herr E. Aichele in Berlin, and after further negotiation was passed on to Fred Becker in London. There was also the well-known “Triller” of E. Dungl.
One innovation Robert Wetz had instituted in Vol. VIII of the DDSB (post WWI) was most likely a result of his experience with color. Previously, the studbooks had been divided into the 5 accepted colors only – brindles, fawns, blacks, blues and “spotted” (“gefleckt” or what we call harlequins, although the spots may have been of various hues). Nothing else was registered, other than the occasional blue-brindle in the brindle section. But in Vol. VIII he specified that the harlequin section be for black-and-white harls only, and provided a separate section for “andersfarbig gefleckt und Weisse” (“Other-color spotted and whites). This included quite a few blue-and-white harls, whites, and merles; “grey-black spotted,” “porzellantiger,” etc. In Vol. IX, which he had nearly finished organizing before his untimely death, the section became simply “Other Colors”, and included the following besides blue-and-white harls, etc.: Isabella, white-and-brown, silver brindle, brown-spotted, blue with fawn, blue-brindle, and “drappfarben.” Volume X continued the “Other Colors” section with many of the same descriptions, plus a couple of fawn-white-spotteds. From then on registrations were no longer divided by color, but by litters, and there were many different colors and patterns. It wasn’t until after World War II that the DDC reverted to refusing to register any but the 5 accepted colors.
Even in Germany, cross color breedings between fawn or brindle and other colors have been sanctioned in the interest of type and “betterment of the breed.” The commonly held belief that cross-color breeding (black to fawn) can result in smutty blacks and rusty blacks is incorrect. In fact, some of the cleanest fawns have resulted from black/fawn matings; whereas smutty color on fawns and brindles is another genetic factor often inherent in conventionally bred lines. Rusty blacks have been been no more of a problem than in blacks bred any other way. Remember that blacks and blues can turn hues when changing coat. And Blacks, Blues and the black patches on harls often get a rusty tinge in the summer or when they are shedding. This results form the tips of the hairs being more or less red-colored, and is not from their breeding but from the bleaching action of the sun.
Just what was this “Isabella” color like? We can only guess, based on the Isabella Doberman, which is a pinkish-fawnish shade genetically a dilute chocolate (or dilute liver, or dilute red, if you prefer). It would seem to be a different shade from “Drapp”, since both terms are used in the studbook.
“Drappfarben” was used to describe a dog with brown nose and light nails, and a coat somewhere between pale blue and fawn – as described by Hans Friedrich. Hans Friedrich suggested to Robert Wetz that the “Drapps” might be useful as an ingredient in a blue renaissance – but there is no record of any of them having been bred.
Robert Wetz (Kochbrunnen kennels) decided to take up the challenge of producing good blues for his Kochbrunnen kennels. He acquired a fawn bitch, Festa Moguntia 3517, of impeccable bloodlines – she was the sister to the famous brindle Fauna Moguntia, who had yet to produce the great CH Dolf vd Saalburg. He bred Festa to a handsome blue dog he had bought named Caesar v Blauthal 5158, and then the fun began. This von Kochbrunnen “G” litter was whelped in September 1923; Graf and Grossfuerst were Drappfarben; Goldprinz, Gerd and Gottlinde were fawn; and Guntram, Gundula and Giesela were blue. He repeated this breeding in 1924 and on April 27 had his “K” litter – one blue, one black and 4 fawns. The blue, Kismet v Kochbrunnen 7788, was the sire later of a litter of 15 blues, one of whom became CH Bina v Iffland. One of the fawns in that “K” litter, a bitch called Kamilla v Kochbrunnen 7793, was bred to a blue and curiously enough produced 4 blacks and a brindle; no blues at all.
Check out the fawn Arabella vd Siegerburg – she was bred to a blue, and produced one blue and four “blue-yellow striped” pups.
Among a few of the inter-color breedings of note, we have to mention “Dolf vd Saalburg” who was bred to all colors “for betterment of the breed.” The very famous Dolf vd Saalburg (brindle) was bred to harl female “Ute Orplid”. From this mating came Jagla Moguntia – harl dog. Jagla was judged the best Great Dane at the Seiger show in 1932 but the award was withheld because of the mixed color breeding. There is a parallel male harlequin – Bsg Karus von der Rotburg. Karus is also the product of a mixed color mating fawn x harlequin – however the Seiger title has not been withheld from Karus.
Betty vd Rheinau-Halbinsel was bred to the famous CH Bosko vd Saalburg and 6 pups (vd Gilbach) : Brunhilde & Bill (black and white harls), Bluecher (black), Bosko (fawn), Betty (black and white and red harl), and Burga (red and white harl). By studying her pedigree you can see why she carried a fawn – with CH Ciska-Moguntia (harl) in her 4th generation and his brindle sire, CH Zeus v Ohligs in her 5th. But she was also a blue carrier, mostly because of her sire, Ador-Viktoria – an oddly-colored dog (see Ador-Viktoria). With the desirability of a pedigree containing CH Bosko plus a firmament of harlequin stars, it’s no great surprise that some of that vd Gilbach litter would be used for breeding. What is suprising is which one was used the most. It was Burga vd Gilbach, the red and white harlequin.
Burga’s first breeding was to Rurik v Flamberg, a “silbertiger” (silver harlequin, euphemism for merle) and produced Freude (black-and-white harl), Falter and Flamnme (brindles) and Funckchen (blue). Fom their descendants stem many famous Danes of today and yesterday, such as AM CH Herold v St. Magn-Obertraubling and the many blue descendants of Harald v Gadheim as well as the brindle Am CH Eaglevalley Kilimanjaro and the fawn AM CH Big Kim of Bella Dane; as well as lots of others, too.
In 1942 there appeared an incredible litter: Gerda von St. Anna (harl) was bred to another harl, Greif von St. Anna (Marko von der Kreuzschanze x Ilse vom Schloss Mindelburg) and produced an amazing litter of four. All four were carefully registered in DDSB Volume XXIV, each listed individually so that the color description is printed out each time – it’s not a misprint. The four were: Kiebitz v Isishof, registered as “Schwarz-weiss Geflect” (black and white harl); and the other three, Kinjal, Kidai and King were registered as “Schwarz-Weiss Gestreift” (black and white striped). The Germans were meticulous in their description of color, for instance differentiating the color of pups in a litter by Afra v Stolzenburg as: two merles, a black, a harl, a “grey-brown spotted” and a “grey with brown spots”. They also differentiated “spots” or “patches” with “plates” – large patches of color with smooth edges (versus the usual irregular edges of the normal harl “spots” or “patches”). They called these “plated” dogs – plattenhunds. Dogs such as Alex von Borsigwalde were described as “weiss mit braun Platten” (white with brown plates). The “Brown” that is mentioned is precisely that – “braun”; perhaps chocolate, perhaps liver – but never fawn. They used the word “Gelb” which means yellow (for what we call fawn).
Another phenomenon that occurred surprisingly often in the German stud books is the registration of a “black” dog out of 2 blue parents – odd because blue is recessive to black and supposedly unable to produce it - according to genetics as we understand them today. However, could they have been very dark blues in which the dilution is not working strongly? Did the “black” pups get lighter and clearer with age as many fawn pups do? Or were they born blue and darkened to blackish before registration?
The 1944 American color descriptions seem to have been taken directly from the German standard (quite naturally, since several of the members of the American Standard committee at that time were German expatriates) and that under the faults listed for fawns in the German are “isabellfarbige and schmutziggelbe Farbe (Drapfarbe)….” which seem to correspond to the US’ grayish-blue, dirty yellow color (drab color)…” although as translations they are not exact, when compared to Hans Friedrich’s 1912 descriptions. Also, the German word for “drab” is “trueb,” not “drap,” according to the dictionary.
About 1946-47 Carl Daniels, owner of the von der Stadt-Hamburg kennels bred his harlequin female to a fawn male. Favorable results were shown by descendants….three harl males…that great producer in the US CH I.W. Harper vd Stadt-Hamburg, the 1959 Bundessieger Jagla vd Stadt-Hamburg, and one of Germany’s favorite studs Marko vd Kreuzchanze.
Then in 1967-68 a harlequin female bred to a fawn, Cyrus ad Burz produced the two times winner of the Bundessieger title harlequin Kalif vd Rothburg and the black Belgian CH Karim vd Rothburg, and these dogs’ influence is still very noticeable, especially in heads with dark eyes and black noses.
I have to wonder about the abrupt change of accepted colors in Germany, it seems a strange coincidence that so many colors and patterns were accepted until after (or near the end) of WWII. The country was in shambles, with little food for people – let alone dogs. At least one other breed – the harlekin pincer (harlequin pinscher) became extinct during WWII (according to a letter response I received from the German Pinscher Club). Perhaps they wanted to make sure that the German Great Danes with a few “standard” colors survived – at the expense of the other colors. It was not done for any “defect” reason – as some non-white colors were eliminated and the harls kept (which, by nature, produce whites). I can’t help but think that if there had been no WWII – we would see a great many other beautiful colors and patterns.
There is no question that the wars must have influenced the Great Dane breeding program in Germany. Just after the end of World War I, there were several Danes whose progeny were accepted for registration with unknown backgrounds – perhaps they had been found wandering after the war’s devastation and were obviously decent specimens of Great Dane. This happened after World War II as well, resulting in pages and pages of Danes with the suffix “Findling” (foundling) in post-war stud books. Supposedly these dogs, nor their offspring, were not to be bred unless examined by the DDC Committee; but those regulations were not fully enforced after the First World War.
Personally, I am of the opinion that, like a good horse, a good Great Dane cannot be a bad color, and I hope that some day the AKC will describe in the Great Dane standard, as they now do with Whippets – that “color is immaterial.”
The Color Code of Ethics
The “Color Code of Ethics” became a “political football” and snowballed into a veritable glacier when wonderful Great Dane became a top winner: “CH Honey Hollow Stormi Rudio”.
Stormi was shown at not more than 40 shows, winning his championship quickly, by going Best of Breed from the classes, on to group firsts (then the full working group) and BIS’s. Hardly traveling more than a hundred miles or two to shows, he won EIGHT BIS. Compared to the border-to-border, coast-to-coast campaigns in the breed, this was incredible. In 1959 he won the prestigious group at Westminster – a huge breed win under James Case and the group under John Cross who was an “emergency” replacement to the published judge. The crowd went wild over this fairly “unknown” dog – and there were many famous big winners of the day in that group and some of the top big-name handlers in that ring. And it had been years since a Great Dane not only won the group or even placed at Westminster.
Not only was Stormi Rudio a fantastic showman, but he moved magnificently and probably was as near-perfect as any Great Dane that ever lived (up to that time.)
Instead of the Great Dane people of that time rallying to this superb dog – what he could contribute to the breed – and the tremendous respect that those in other breeds felt toward him in his short but dazzling career, many of the Daneites unsheathed their hatchets and hacked him and his Breeder/Handler to pieces.
CH Honey Hollow Stormi Rudio had a fawn father, CH Shalott’s Sir Allistair and his mother was black, Honey Hollow Ruda Kazoota. This was the start of the ridiculous controversy over “mixed color breeding” that suddently blazed into “open warfare” and to this day is still a “bone of contention” amongst self-nominated purists.
Before the advent of Stormi Rudio, there had not been a “peep” about this unorthodox mix of black and fawn. This had not been a planned breeding, but occurred through the carelessness of the kennel man – the mating had been a “love match” between Allistair and Ruda Kazoota, and Stormi was the only fawn male in a huge litter of predominantly blacks – and mighty good ones. Stormi had been sold as a pet, and the breeder did not see him for another 2 years. When she did, she realized immediately that he was about the best Great Dane she’d ever seen and persuaded his owner to allow her to handle him.
Thus, the “code of ethics” became a “political football”; it would never have snowballed into a veritable glacier had Stormi not been such an enormous winning showdog. After continual harassment, the breeder resigned from the GDCA and from then on, bred the best blacks possible and continued to breed also reputable fawns.
Ruda Kazoota’s brother became the famous CH Honey Hollow Rameses, owned by J. Council Parker, who continued to breed many outstanding blacks – also fawns and brindles despite criticism from the good ole GDCA. Brave man! And the former generation of Great Dane fanciers know that “Counce” Parker was one of the finest judges.
Most of the better blacks of that day sprung from the original Honey Hollow and Jocopa bloodlines. (Jocopa is the kennel prefix of J. Council Parker). Carolyn Mobley of California did a commendable job with blacks from fawn breeding. And despite the GDCA color-code of “honor”, the mixed-color matings go on, sometimes surreptitiously and other times, right out in the open before all the horror-stricken diehards.
Dr. & Mrs. James Childress who owned and adored CH Honey Hollow Great Donner, also owned a charmer, CH Honey Hollow Tall Timber. Too bad that they gave up eventually on breeding or showing Great Danes – like with Stormi’s owner, Cathryn Clarke – they decided that the downright viciousness of some people in the breed were not worth the heartache. It was a great loss to the breed, as Jim was one of the finest veterinarians in the country.
In the words of Stormi’s breeder: “These are rank generalizations, a veritable ‘vice’ that afflicts the human psyche these days. We put people, nationalities, religions, ideologies, races, oldsters and youngsters in a collective narrow box, instead of treating them as individuals which I was taught to believe was the cornerstone of our civilized birthright. There is too much group thinking. Too many organizations taking over our thinking and actions. Perhaps it is colossal conceit, but I always want to be ‘one of a kind’ and not blindly follow the herd.”
Yellow Lab Look [see also Dornburg Great Danes]
There are a few old pictures that hint at the “yellow-Lab” look, and some of the early DDSB registrations describe some Danes as “light fawn” (“hellgelb”) which may have been a pale gold maskless shade, or lighter. There was not a big emphasis on masks in those days. Examples of this “yellow-Lab” look may be “Caesar-Gohlau 770, and perhaps CH 1900 Emma-Harlequin 844 and her sire Holl CH 1898 Bosco-Colonia (both behind CH Ador-Colonia. Also Sektor v Inn 1181, a known blue carrier appears maskless but may have had the sable shadings – it’s hard to tell from the old photos. Dogs with the “light fawn” description in the stud books include Goliath [Schiffler] 236, Halfdan 238, and Meteor 253, but there are no pictures to judge by.
Dornburg Great Danes.
Max Schachtschabel was one of the top breeders in Germany, and one of the longest. His kennel name was Dornburg (DDC registered in 1907), after the village in Saxony where he lived. The first Dornburg Danes on record appeared about 1895 (unregistered), and Max Schachtschabel was still listed as a DDC judge for 1934-35, 40 years later – so he was active through all the highly developmental years of the breed.
Those first Dornburgs were acquired from other breeders and included Lord v Dornburg (unregistered) and Flora I v Dornburg, born 1890. The last Dornburg registered, seemingly was Venus v Dornburg, whelped 1932. Max Schachtschabel worked only with fawns and brindles.
The 2 blacks & a blue pup out of Adda v Wendenburg x Alex v Wendenburg (brother/sister breeding) (who both were of pure Dornburg breeding – their parents were Ador v Dornburg x Edda v Dornburg) [See Alex v Wendenburg, Adda v Wendenburg & Dina v Wendenburg] It’s a lot easier to figure out the passage of the blue dilution gene through a pedigree than it is to account for the appearance of blacks out of two fawns. So if it’s really true that the Lembachthal blacks and blue came from pure colorbreed fawn parents, how come? Well, the geneticists tell us there may be a rare variety of maskless “fawn” in the Dane gene pool which is like the yellow Lab in makeup (As As e e), and probably in appearance, too, lacking the “sable” shadings of the true fawn. If this were bred to a regular masked Dane fawn (ay ay Em Em) the resulting pups would be solid black (As ay Em e), and if they were also given a dd from blue-carrier parents, they would be a solid blue. (Bred to another maskless As As e e, the “yellow-Lab” fawn would only produce more of the same.) for those who are mystified by these A and E things, try Little’s “Inheritance of Coat Color in Dogs.” [See also “Yellow-Lab” Look]
It is frustrating trying to get an overall picture of what the “Dornburg line” looked like. There are few pictures available – and only ONE of them was submitted by Max Schachtschabel, and that was of CH Else – and there seems to have been an emphasis on heads, especially those with parallel planes. Overall, they seem to share short backs, good croups and rears, tight, round feet, long necks and long legs besides those (usually) parallel planes. It is very frustrating that there are no pictures of some of Max Schachtschabel’s most important dogs. He was the one who retired the Montebello Cup (donated by Mr. Cardeza of Philadelphia in 1901) after winning it three times with dogs he owned. The first time he won was in 1910 at Chemnitz with the fawn bitch CH Else v Uellendahl-Dornburg, and there are pictures of her. His second winner, in 1912 at Geissen, was CH Tasso v Elstertal-Dornburg but all we have of this most influential sire is his probable presence in snapshots of an Elstertal litter. There is one, though, of his nonchampion brother, Tyras v Elstertal (no parallel head planes there). Neither was bred by Max Schachtschabel, but their parents were both Dornburgs. Of the last winner in Dresden, 1913, there is no trace. He was Edam v Dornburg, a son of the two previous winners whelped in 1912 and a brother of Eva v Dornburg, who left her mark in many pedigrees via those Wendenburgs. But Edam left no progeny and one wonders if perhaps he was the untimely victim of distemper or some other scourge then rampant. Could it be that the silent Max Schachtschabel in his early years was one of the stubborn targets of the pleadings of his voluble contemporaries, Fritz Kirschbaum and Richard Mews, to register dogs and send in pictures for the stud books?
Hansa Great Danes.
No matter what modern pedigree we trace back, we come to the Saalburgs it seems, and behind them (and others), the Hansa line. Confusing it is indeed, because all their names begin with F and there were so many of them. The very first Hansas did not have F names. They were registered in volume I of the DDSB and really have no connection with the Hansa’s we’re concerned with.
First there was Cyrus-Hansa 407……(see Cyrus-Hansa)
The Hansas we owe so much to began with Paul Schneider of Dessau, the same town south of Berlin which was home to former studbook chairman Richard Mews and his Askania kennels. It was no quick-and-easy trip for Paul Schneider in 1908 westward some 250 miles to Dusseldorf on the winding Rhine north of Cologne to get his fawn foundation bitch, Freya-Rhenania from her breeder, Heinrich Koenen, but she was of an outstanding background so Paul Schneider must have felt the trip worthwhile. Maybe he had seen her at shows – she won five first prizes, including one for the “Siegerglasse” for prizewinners only) between 1909 and 1912 – and bought her somewhere along the line. When she was nearly three years old, Freya had her first litter on February 22, 1911. The fawn Freya was bred to the blue Lux v Thuringen and this litter consisted of three pups, Fee-Hansa, Felix-Hansa and Fels-Hansa; the rest, as they say, is history.
Interesting that the Hansa danes were often inbred, and always linebred – only one outcross is on record…and that is to a dane which is not really a total outcross.
Schloss Dellwig Great Danes
The famous Dolf and Dixie came from the first litter for the Schloss Dellwig Kennels, on June 6, 1933, which was proudly owned by Fritz Hirsch in the Rhineland, a graduate agriculturist who announced his arrival on the Dane scene by inundating the studbook with pictures of his property and his Danes. The line continued into the late fifties with 38 litters of fawn/brindle and harl families.
St Magn-Obertraubling & Krebs Great Danes
St. Magn-Obertraubling stemmed from Wilhelm Stehberger’s Obertraubling kennels, whose earliest (unregistered) dog, Rigo v Obertraubling, sired Rigo [Krebs], also unregistered, around 1916. Then Rigo [Krebs] produced some daughters and one produced for Obertraubling, whereas others, who had the even older St. Magn behind them, produced for other breeders. A bit later, Joseph Stehberger took over Obertraubling, and in about 1928 he married the daughter of Hans and Maria Eidelburger of the nearby long-established (circla 1907) St. Magn kennels, and St. Magn-Obertraubling was born, and really solidified the Regensburg connection. Later the young marrieds moved to the Munich area, first to Solln and then to Neubiberg. Joseph Stehberger was another of the active go-betweens who arranged for many US importations of harl foundation stock as did the other Joseph – Eigenbauer – for fawns and brindles.
Krebs was supposedly the brother-in-law of Joseph Stehberger (St. Magn-Obertraubling) of Regensburg, and seems to have helped out a lot in developing his well-known line. Krebs kept on going, but as far as one can tell, never registered his kennel name.
Kadow Great Danes
Holl. CH Zeus v Merscheid/Ohligs was Mr. Hermann Kadow’s first dane of note. Although Zeus’s title was not recognized by the DDC back then (Holland was not part of Germany and only German titles and “affiliates,” like Austrianones, were accepted), he was obviously one of the breed’s most influential sires and was used often by other breeders. Hermann Kadow was a noted photographer and probably took the picture of Zeus that is shown so often. He also had a penchant for perfecting dogs he photographed via the retoucher’s brush, as did others of the time, such as Dauer and Sickel.