For all things Great Dane
The Breed Council AGM will be held on Sunday, 12th April 2026 at 3:00pm by Zoom
Only paid up members of the clubs may attend. Please contact your club secretary to register and obtain the Zoom meeting link which will be available closer to the meeting date.
The Great Dane Breed Council would like to remind all visitors to it’s site that much of the material especial that on DCM from the University of Liverpool Small Animal Teaching Hospital is Copyright and should not be copied or otherwise used without written permission of the Great Dane Breed Council. The Secretary can be contacted by email .
Anyone not currently on the Breed Councils judging list but wishes to be included please complete the attached form and send to the Secretary.
Please note that it is a Kennel Club ruling that classes with less than 2 dogs cannot be counted in the overall total number of classes.
Dear Breed Education Coordinators and Club Secretaries,
You will doubtlessly be aware that Judges Education Programme (JEP) has sparked lots of feedback from the dog showing community. In response to this feedback, the Judges Committee recommended to the Kennel Club Board that four changes to the transition from the traditional route to the Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows) be implemented.
These adjustments address the concerns raised by our community and improve the overall experience for judges as they progress.
The Judges Education team is in the process of updating our website to reflect the following changes, which are effective immediately:
Group and Best in Show judges
Existing Group and Best in Show judges will not be required to take and pass Eye for a Dog assessment for further breed nominations via the traditional questionnaire route, within the Groups they are already approved to judge.
Transition to JEP via traditional nominations – extended by 12 months The Kennel Club judges department will now accept nominations via the traditional questionnaire route until 31 December 2026 for shows up to 31 December 2028.
Judges progressing via a questionnaire for a breed are not required to have taken and passed Eye for a Dog while the traditional route remains open until 31 December 2026.
Grandfathering/A2 route
The cut-off date for grandfathering and A2 applications for breeds will remain 31 December 2025, as previously announced. No grandfathering or A2 applications will be accepted after this date. The previously agreed changes to Grandfathering remain in place*.
Ongoing review
The Kennel Club Board also agreed to carry out a wider educational review of the Judges Education Programme to ensure it meets its objectives of improving judging standards for all exhibitors and meets the demand for capable judges in the future.
Further information
More information about the Judges Education Programme can be found on our website. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Helen Kerfoot, Chief Canine Officer at The Kennel Club.
Judges are to note that there will be no further extensions to any JEP deadlines.
Yours faithfully,
Helen Kerfoot
Chief Canine Officer
*Grandfathering is not allowed for Groups and Best in Show (JEP criteria apply for those categories). Judges must be on at least 50% of breed clubs’ A3 lists. Judges must complete Eye for a Dog assessment for 4th or subsequent breed.
The GDBC would like to confirm that Sheena Booth has agreed to continue in her role as Breed Education Co-ordinator for a further term of three years
And
Candice Dyson will become (with ratification from the RKC) the new Breed Health Co-ordinator
“At the Breed Council Meeting on Sunday 30th May ’21 the results of the Members poll, carried out by the Breed Clubs, were announced. The Club polls resulted in the required Club majority NOT being reached in order for the colour Merle to eventually in the future, being put before the Kennel Club for consideration for inclusion as a Recognised Colour within the Kennel Club’s Great Dane Breed Standard”.
Following the announcement in July 2020 of the closure of the Animal Health Trust, The Kennel Club is delighted to confirm that The Kennel Club Canine Genetics Centre will officially re-open and be located at the University of Cambridge. Here, the centre’s vital research into dog genetics and inherited canine conditions can continue. To read more…………..
The Kennel Club has announced that a meeting between the Independent Review Panel and the Kennel Club Board is to take place to discuss the way forward for the JCF.
Full details of the announcement can be found here
After approval by The Kennel Club the Breed Council has updated the Judges Criteria full details can be found here
An update on the DCM project has been received from the University of Liverpool a copy of which can be downloaded here. Further details can be obtained from the Breed Health Coordinator. A reminder that this is copyright material and written permission to use this report must be obtained through the Secretary
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