1) Tell us about your first Great Dane and why you chose this breed.

Actually it was not my choice to have a Great Dane. My family had a boxer first when I was a child and when we had to place him my Dad wanted a Great Dane. You know; a man’s dog! She quickly became “MY” dog and I started training her in obedience from reading a book. I never got to do anything with her as she developed mange early on and we treated it and it kept coming back. We didn’t have the same ways of treating this disease back then that we have today. It was a real mess to say the least. Anyway we had her put down at 10 months old but I was hooked. Then my parents would not let me get another Dane. For some reason we could not housebreak her and you can imagine how that was. So my second choice was a collie because of “Lassie” of course. Still too big so I choose a Shetland sheepdog. She was my real beginning into the sport of showing dogs. It was not until I met my husband Bernie that I became interested in Danes again. He had a Dane boy when I met him. After that boy was gone and Bernie was ready for another dog I told him I would find him a good dog that would be his pet and hopefully one that I could show. So my search began for a “show quality” puppy. We were not married yet at that time. Anyway that is when I met Bev Swinford of Danemark Great Danes in Illinois. Bev and I quickly because best of friends. We got our first Danes, both brindles, “Tracer” and “Lacey” from Bev. First Tracer came for Bernie. Then I was supposed to co-own Lacey with Bev and she was to live with Bev and I was going to show her. Well, that lasted until I took Lacey to her first training class followed by her first fun match. Lacey never went home to Bev’s house after that!

2) Did you get into Great Danes knowing you wanted to train them for performance?

Before we got Tracer and Lacey I had done obedience, tracking and/or field with a sheltie, Rottweiler and many Labrador retrievers. The only thing I had not done with the dogs at that time was to show in conformation. So for me that was the next step. I wanted to do everything. Obedience was not the top of my things to do with a Great Dane but it was definitely there. I had enough training experience that I felt that I could pick the right dog for conformation and be able to work with whatever I got for doing anything else.

3) Tell us about your first multi-titled Great Dane.

My first Great Dane (when I was an adult) was AM CAN INT Ch Danemark’s Trace of Lace CDX TDX AM CAN CD TD CGC ROM. She earned her Tracking Dog title at the tender age of exactly six months old. That made her the youngest ever titled Great Dane. Lacey went on to be the first conformation Champion Tracking Dog Excellent Great Dane. Unfortunately someone beat us to being the first TDX. Lacey was a great dog and I actually started her in agility way before agility was something AKC was doing. Agility was just a thought way back then. I got very turned off at our first trial as I was told by the judge that agility was a sport which was not made for all breeds and I should do something else with my dog. Lacey was also the start of our breeding program and we have produced Danes who have the intelligence to do all those other things. I never realized that Great Danes/Dane owners are not all that way; able to do performance. I got very lucky. I remember one of my first Great Dane club meetings here in St. Louis. I had just gotten Lacey’s TD at six months old and I stood up at the end to do my “brag”. As I was telling the club members about her getting her TD someone said “Danes don’t track!” I turned to them and said “They do if you train them to!” That was always my philosophy. You can train any dog to do anything if you take the time.

4) Do you do anything in particular when raising a litter of puppies from new born on to stimulate mental and tactile development?

I do actually. I spend a ton of time in the whelping box with puppies from the day they are born. I sleep next to the whelping box for at least 2 – 3 weeks. I hold them quite often and hold them in all kinds of positions, developing trust from the very beginning. As the puppies eyes open and they are starting to try to stand I put in baby toys in the whelping box. I like to give the pups lots of toys which make noise when they bump into them and toys which are very visual for them. Then when they are walking much better and playing I introduce them to things that they can hide under and things that move. I have a board, like a teeter, that is maybe a couple inches off the ground so they get used to having things move under them. I also have these hard, plastic worm-like toys that are like a rocking toy for very young children. The worm toys are sort of hollow so the puppies can hide under them. The pups also climb on this particular toy and it moves under them. As the puppies get older, outside of their whelping box I use a baby agility tunnel going from one room to outdoors. The pups usually start doing the steps to go outside at 6 weeks or so. By 7 weeks of age they are able to come down about eight steps. By the time the little pups go to their new homes I would say that they are pretty confident.

5) What special features and temperament qualities do you look for in a puppy which you plan to show in conformation and performance?

First and foremost I look at structure and temperament. Because like I said before I can work with any type of dog, training-wise. What I prefer is another story. How often are we going to find the structure, temperament and then have the dog with the best trainability in the same dog? Many times I have not had a choice at all. When there is only one girl in a litter I pray that she will be what I am looking for. Plus I think you can shape a lot of things when you start really young with molding them. I prefer to have a middle of the road puppy that is also very curious. A natural retriever is a good asset, but when they have a high prey drive it can also be a downfall. When tracking with a high drive dog, if a rabbit or deer pops up, it is very hard to get the dog back on task to doing their job.

6) Do you do any formal temperament testing with young pups and if so at what age and what behaviors do you test/look for?

I did in the very beginning as I did not know Great Danes as well as I did Labradors. Things are very different from breed to breed. At the time I was not sure exactly what qualities in a Dane puppy would to be like as an adult. However now, with all the things I do with them as young puppies, I get to know them pretty well and I have been pretty accurate in predicting how they MAY turn out if given the right guidance. Things can always change under different circumstances.

7) Do you train for conformation first or performance first or both together?

Well, training starts at a very young age, if you want to call it that. “Training” starts very early in the form of exposures. I start stacking the puppies on a table at about 4 weeks of age and taking pictures and getting hands on them so I know what they are structurally. Before that, I already have an idea what their personalities are starting out like. As far as formal training, I have done it both ways in the past. I have had several that I did everything all at once. Tracking, obedience to a small extent, agility in a precursory way and then stacking and free baiting. Sometimes on the same days and sometimes not. It just depends on the time I have to work with the pups and what we feel like doing with them. Tracking I usually start in the winter. If the puppy is young in the summer we wait till it is a tad older and start tracking training when it is cool outside.

8) Do you compete in conformation first or performance first or both at the same time?

I start training puppies very young to stand on a table. So in essence I guess that is what I start first. I like to start tracking at a very young age, even before I start obedience training. It is easier to teach a dog to pull on the tracking harness before they have been taught that pulling is unacceptable while heeling in obedience. When I also did agility I would start pups around age 9-10 weeks or so. That way they were small enough to pick up and put on the down side of the dog walk. By the time they dogs are old enough to compete in anything it does not really matter what ring I compete in on any given day. One activity does not influence the other. However, I have gotten to the point where I do not like to do more than one activity at all-breed shows. The reason has nothing to do with the dogs not being able to do multiple activities at the same show. It is that a lot of times conformation and performance competitions are held in different buildings and it can be quite difficult to get from one ring to the other. In addition to that often both rings will run at the same time. At specialties, where most of the activities are held in the same area and rarely over-lap in ring time, I will do anything on the same day with no problem.

9) Have you ever had any difficulty showing a competition trained obedience dog in conformation?

Are you kidding?! How could a trained dog give you problems in the conformation ring?! I think it is much easier to take a trained dog in the ring and if you have done any work with them at all before six months old then they should be well enough along so as not to confuse what you are doing at the moment. Danes are smart enough to be able to tell what it is they are going to be asked to do by what kind of collar and lead or training equipment that is being used. I have always felt that taking a trained dog in the conformation ring has been an advantage to me and NEVER a disadvantage.

10) Can you share some of the benefits of obedience training a conformation show dog?

As I said before, I think it is a definite advantage to have a trained and experienced dog in the ring. I think they gain confidence in themselves and so are much easier to handle in the ring.

11) Give an example of a typical day at a show where you are competing in both conformation and performance. How do you handle the two venues together?

I will only do the two at a specialty now. It is too difficult to try to maneuver between the two at an all breed shows. So first I go in and look at the rings and pick up the rally sheets or check times and check orders and how many are in my class. I pick up armbands and then go out and potty dogs. Then I may take them out and do a very small practice session to get them warmed up. Then we go into the building a short time ahead of scheduled show time to get used to the building and the noises etc. I do nothing unique; just the typical things to get ready for any ring. I do about the same thing for conformation. Depending on which dog I have depends on how long we go into the building before they go in the ring. Some dogs go in right before and some dogs go in hours before.

12) You are leaving your dogs uncropped. Do you also leave whiskers in tact? Have you noticed any difference in performance with uncropped and/or untrimmed dogs?

Natural means Natural! I do leave whiskers on and I have never had a conformation judge ever say anything about whiskers. I have had them make comments about the ears though. Sometimes positive comments and sometimes negative. One good thing about natural is that there is less grooming to be done before a conformation show! You do not have to face trim whiskers and also do not have to trim the inside of the ears. I do still remove the front the dewclaws. As far as performance events go I have found no difference in having whiskers on or natural ears to make any change in the dog’s performance. Except in tracking; there is difference, believe it or not. While out tracking there is often a lot of wind blowing. Tracking with cropped ears causes the dogs to shake their heads because of wind blowing into the ears. Head shaking can be very distracting. With natural ears the wind is never an issue with blowing into the ears. It makes a HUGE difference.

13) Tell us about the Great Danes you have successfully shown in conformation and performance; your titled-on-both-ends Danes.

My first Dane to have multiple titles was “Lacey”, Am Can Int Ch Danemark’s Trace of Lace CDX TDX Can CD TD. This was way before rally or agility were AKC events which is too bad because Lacey would have loved agility. I started Lacey in tracking actually because she started training/tracking at about 10 weeks old. I was also doing basic obedience training with her and some stacking practice. We really did everything at the same time. With each of those activities I used different equipment so it did not take much for her to figure out what we were doing just by what leash or collar we were using; or in Lacey’s case, the harness she had on. She learned she could pull on the harness but not on a collar and leash.

A funny story about Lacey and her Tracking Dog training is that it all went so perfectly that I thought that was how it was always supposed to happen. We were at a point in tracking training where we were doing what is called “L’s”. That is a straight line with a turn and usually to start, a very short leg to the glove. “L’s” are the basis for all tracking since a real track is just a combination of a bunch of L’s of varying lengths. Anyway we were at a test laying track for the next day and I did a practice track for Lacey. A friend asked me if I was trying to get her ready for the tracking test coming up in Champaign. “When is that?” I asked. I was told the date of the test and realized that it was being held the day Lacey would turn six months old. That motivated me to try to get her ready for that test. A few days later I called a tracking judge friend of mine to set up a time in the future to do a certification track. The judge friend only had the next day available to go out tracking with me. At that point it was really too soon for me and Lacey. We had not done a blind track (which is where I have no idea where the track is) or never had done the 30 minutes minimum required for the age of the track. Nor had we done the full length required for a real track! But I thought we had to try or we would not be able to meet our goal. So my friend laid us a track and Lacey flew over that track as if she had always been tracking and was a pro at it. She was only five months old at that time. The next day I sent in Lacey’s entries for the test in Champaign. I also sent in my entries for my Labrador who already had a TDX, which is allowed if the test does not fill up with untitled dogs trying to get a TD. I used my Lab, Ebony as a way to get Lacey to want to be out there even more because she would be jealous and want her turn. Anyway, by the grace of God, the test did not fill with untitled dogs so my Lab also got into the test. It was a full twelve dog test. When we drew for our track order I got Ebony first. We were followed by another dog and just after that was Lacey. It was perfect in that respect. However we had not had rain in about two months and the day of the test was very cold and VERY windy. (moist ground holds scent better than dry) Ebony passed the test fine. I hoped she would since she had her TDX already! Then we did Lacey. She also passed which made her the youngest titled Great Dane ever. It was quite exciting. What made it even more exciting was that at the end of the test we found out that out of twelve dogs entered my two were the only ones who passed at all that day! So our six month old puppy passed when older dogs did not. It was one of the most memorable experiences I have had. Later on it was quite exciting when Lacey got her TDX in Kansas City. That in itself is another whole story. But it was exciting because it made her the first CH-TDX Great Dane. At the same test on the same day another Great Dane was entered in the test and she passed also! It was Joanne Blair’s girl who also became a champion later. That made number 2 and number 3 Great Danes to even have a TDX. Quite exciting! So Lacey was my first Dane to do multiple things and title in all. After that, her daughter “Grace” also did multiple venues. Am Can Int Ch Diamond Danes Amazing Grace CD TD Can TD. Grace also got her TD on her six month birthday. That made her and her mother both the youngest AKC titled Great Danes ever. Grace’s daughter was next in line. Am Can Int Ch Diamond Danes Victorious Winner CD TD RN NA NAJ NJP VCD1. “Tori” finished her Championship at thirteen months old winning Group First from the Bred By Exhibitor class. Tori made it into the Top 20 before she was two years old. She earned her TD at eight years old. She was a very good all-around dog. Tori loved every aspect of everything we did with her.
Am Can Int Ch Diamond Danes Stars N Stripes CD TD RN RA, “Glory”. Glory is a dog that I think everyone knows. She is the first dog that I finished with natural ears. Everyone loves Glory. She is one you cannot forget. She does not do agility. She was too wild in the ring. But she did love it. She does have her CD, TD and two Rally titles. The last title which she just got this last year after she turned 8 years old.
Currently I have a daughter of Glory’s named “Cameo”. Her name is Danemark’s Princess Cameo RN. She is currently working toward her advanced rally titles and I have started her in tracking. Cameo just needs a major to finish her Championship. She is well on her way to becoming multi- titled. Currently I also have a Glory grand-daughter named “Reese”, Danemark N Jaya Sweet Expectation. She is our youngest and has both majors and a total of 9 points right now. She is working toward her rally novice title and has also been started in tracking. Right now I have my hands full working with two dogs. But it is fun and challenging.

(Look below for slideshow of Danemark Danes)