Just over two weeks ago, I posed the question: what breed is this five-week-old puppy? Most people, not surprisingly, thought she was a Neapolitan Mastiff.
The answer? This pup is a Great Dane of the extreme type now favoured in some parts of Europe, particularly France.
For comparison, here's a 'normal' 5-wk-old Dane pupster.
So how will the first pup grow up?
Well here's her sire.
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Compare those two with what Great Danes used to look like.
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| German Champion Bosco Von Der Saalburg (b: 8/8/1921) |
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| German Champion Dolf Von Der Saalburg (b: 2/7/1924) |
Want to see the rest of the 'hypertype' litter? (Source)
The mastiffication of the Great Dane in Europe is one of dog-breeding's true horrors. Today in the French show-ring we're seeing dogs like this, bred by people who have completely lost the plot.
Interested in learning more about this issue? Check out Maria Gkinala's fantastic - if deeply depressing - Great Dane Gnosis blog. Her most recent blog entry features this hypertype Italian-bred dog.
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He's an international champion, no less, approved for breeding by the European Union of Great Dane Clubs.
We see some bloody awful Danes in the UK show-ring here, too - generally lighter in build, but with some truly dreadful eyes.
Astonishingly the owner of this UK dog chose to take her to an open show last summer, instead of to a vet.
She didn't win, but to even think this is OK to exhibit..?
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