The latest update from Liverpool University to the Great Dane Breed Council on the current status of the research into DCM in Great Danes can be found by following this link
Category: General
STUD BOOK BANDING
WHAT THE CHANGES ACTUALLY MEAN
The recent change to the Great Dane Stud Book Banding from “D” to “C” is fully understood as it should reduce the number of “inferior quality” exhibits obtaining their Stud Book Numbers, i.e.:- only 1st and 2nd in Open and 1st in Limit qualify for SB entry. However, with this change, comes the recommendation that the number of “hands on” (h/o) dogs required to be judged in order that a judge may be placed on the A3 List is 110, with the B List 20% of that number i.e. 22.
Until the end of 2013, Great Danes had been in Band “E” for over 20 years, with the number of h/o at 250. The B List therefore 50. The BC/Clubs had collectively agreed some years ago that the A3/B List numbers should be 200/60 respectively and the criteria reflects that. The change to Band “C” took effect in January 2014 when the recommended h/o number became 160. The B List therefore 32.
As noted above, January 2015 saw the recommended h/o reduced yet again, which effectively equates to a reduction in the experience required to be considered to award CC’s for the first time of 56%. All in the space of 1 year!!!
Aligned to this is, that in order to judge more than 3 classes of the breed at Open Shows, a judge must be situate on a Breed Club B List. Breed Councils/ Breed Clubs will still be able to retain their current criteria, although the KC have previously recommended “that the Breed Council give due consideration in reviewing its A3 & B criteria numbers in the future.”
February 2015
Great Dane Breed Council AGM 2015
New Constitution
The revised constitution approved at the last AGM and Ratified by KC November 2014 can be accessed from the menu above.
BC Special General Meeting – 13 November 2014
The summary report on the Special General Meeting held in Stafford on Thursday 13th November 2014 can be found here
Great Dane Get-together organised by Sheena Booth & Gary Gough
Great Dane Get-together organised by Sheena Booth & Gary Gough
at Ty Mawr Holiday Park, North Wales on Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th March
Having received permission from the majority of our member clubs to accept the invitation to give a short talk on the Great Dane Breed Council at this event I am pleased to be able to report that over 50 Great Dane owners attended. These ranged from very new, under 1 year, to the longer standing, up to 60 years, in our breed.
I started with a short talk about why the Breed Council was set up, how it is made up & more importantly what it does. I briefly pointed out the day to day running of the BC and some of the work that goes on dealing with the KC and other societies, most importantly I pointed out that it was their BC and we could only make recommendations and decisions on items of agenda that had come from them through their Breed Clubs. The Q & A session went on for far longer than the 20minutes I had allocated and I was very pleased with the response, at the time and later, in one to one conversations, I was told that they now realised that the BC was there to act on their behalf and not a group of people trying to impose their own views upon them as they had been led to believe from the untruths spoken of and printed on some media sites. I pointed out that where the BC was given a mandate to request changes of the KC it can take a very long time for the KC to decide on and then implement these changes, so should they change their minds in the meantime they must keep their clubs and therefore the BC informed because it can only act on the last instruction received.
I attended the event with the premise that if I could convince one person that the BC was a useful organisation acting on their behalf I would feel it was worthwhile, so I am very happy that I left many more with that knowledge. I therefore would like to thank the member clubs for their permission to attend, Sheena and Gary for allowing me the opportunity and those who attended for listening and I hope that they will pass on the information they gained to other members of the Great Dane family as they make new friends and progress in their careers in our Majestic Breed.
Tim Lewis
GREAT DANE BREED COUNCIL AGM
THE GREAT DANE BREED COUNCIL
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
WILL BE HELD AT
THE HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS
STAFFORD ST18 9AP (Jct 13 of M6)
ON
THURSDAY 10th APRIL 2014
2PM TALK BY MR BILL LAMBERT ON THE ASSURED BREEDER SCHEME – Questions and Answers Session
3PM START OF AGM
Paid up Members of the 8 participating Breed Clubs are
invited to attend
Enquiries to Mrs Olivia Bates, Secretary
01606 737444
email:
Mystery illness killing dogs
The BBC has been reporting on a mystery illness that is killing dogs. Signs are to be put up in the New Forest warning dog owners about a mysterious disease that has killed 13 dogs across Britain in recent months. Believed by vets to be similar to “Alabama Rot” and could ultimately lead to kidney failure should your dog develop lesions on its legs, paws or face you are advised to seek immediate veterinary advice. To read the full story follow this link
What’s New – Archive
17 June 2013
Breed Health Day – SUNDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER 2013
List of Speakers
BEN WALTON, “BVSc CertSAS MRCVS”
(Ben will be giving a presentation on HD). Since qualifying in 2002 Ben has spent 2 years in mixed practice and 6 years in small animal practice. In 2009 Ben started a mobile surgical referral service, which continues to operate.
In 2010 he returned to the University to run a large research project on the treatment of (osteo) arthritis in dogs.
Since October 2011 Ben has been a lecturer in orthopedic surgery which involves mostly seeing clinical cases, plus teaching students and residents.
In September Ben is leaving the University to work in a private referral hospital near Chester. Ben has given numerous lectures on joint disease in dogs, as far a field as Italy, USA and Moscow.
RACHEL LOCKHART “BVM&S Cert VOphthal MRCVS”
(Rachel will be presenting on eye’s) Rachel qualified from Edinburgh in 2001. After a short spell in mixed practice Rachel soon focused her efforts on companion animals alone and over the next eight years worked within first opinion practices in Hampshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire.
Rachel had a particular interest in Ophthalmology since University and gained the post-graduate RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Ophthalmology in 2009.
Rachel has worked as a dedicated Veterinary Ophthalmologist within referral practice ever since.
Rachel currently works between Rutland House Referrals in St. Helens and West Midland Referrals in Lichfield.
HANNAH COPELAND (DCM) Hannah will be providing an update on the DCM project.
Tickets are now on sale £15 (must be pre-paid) and includes buffet lunch, info pack and cert of attendance, tickets can be obtained/reserved through Maria McGuinnes Health Coordinator, via email, post, phone or at shows. Fuller details and a downloadable flyer will be available shortly
| DATE | DETAILS | LINK | |
| 30 October 2013 | Breed Clubs had recently been asked by the Kennel Club to suggest which shows should lose CCs for their breed, but it seems that there was so much resistance to the cuts that the 2015 allocation will be used for the following year, with additional CCs allocated to eight breeds but no reductions. The Kennel Club’s General Committee discussed the matter at its recent meeting and agreed that reducing the number ‘could be considered detrimental to the current show scene’. |
To read an extract on the meeting by Dog World please click on the attached link | Link to Extract |
| 28 October 2013 | Report on the Breed Council Meeting held on Thursday 03 October 2013. | Details | |
| 30 September 2013 | At a recent meeting of the Breed Council it was agreed “That the Breed Council recommends to breeders that they microchip and DNA profile their puppies before they leave for their new homes. The DNA will then be available to identify problems in the future”. | ||
| 21 September 2013 | The Breed Council Health Day will be held Sunday 22nd September 2013 at The Small Animal Teaching Hospital The University of Liverpool Leahurst Chester High Road Neston Cheshire CH64 7TE Arrival time 10:00 for refreshments and the seminar to start 10:30 prompt. Direction can be downloaded from the University website here. Any problems on the day please contact Maria on 07932 532220 |
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| 17 June 2013 | The Kennel Club has recently written to all of the Breed Clubs with a proposal to reduce the number of CCs on offer to the Breed as from 2016. Copies of the letters from the KC and the response of the Breed Council can be found by following the attached link. | Details | |
| 17 June 2013 | Hannah’s update April 2013
We have fitted 45 Holter monitors to dogs we have seen through screening, as well as a few dogs where we have not seen them previously. About 50% of the Holters are abnormal, but remember that often these dogs are related so the number of affected is probably high because we think that ventricular arrhythmias are inherited and therefore occur more commonly in affected families. |
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| 22 April 2013 | The Breed Council held a meeting on Thursday 18th April at the Holiday Inn, Stafford. Apologies were received from The Great Dane Club & the Scottish Great Dane Club. The position of Chairman was up for election and Peter King stated that due to increasing business commitments he wished to withdraw his nomination thus allowing the delegates present to accept myself as the new Chairman. For those who do not know me I am Tim Lewis and along with my wife Sally have owned, bred and exhibited for some 23 years and been very actively involved with The South Western Great Dane Club for over 15 years where I am vice chairman. I am lucky to be of an age when I can reduce my workload and devote more time to the things that are important to me, Great Danes, the SWGDC and the B.C are very high priorities to me. Peter has worked hard for the past 9 years to get the B. C. where it is today and I thank him for all that hard work and leaving me with a very strong team to work with.
It was agreed that Peter should chair the meeting, as it was to be his last in charge, which he did in his usual manner. The KCLC report was deferred until the AGM, which was to follow, to save Tony Schaanning-Ling giving the same report twice within a couple of hours. The Health Co-ordinator gave her report with an update on the DCM project, this year’s Health Day, and details of both can also be found on the website or obtained directly from Maria McGuinness who is also in charge of the tickets. Numbers are limited so please contact Maria a.s.a.p. The decision by the K.C to reduce the number of Special Awards classes from 6 to 3 (mixed sex classes) was discussed and it was agreed that the B.C. should write to the K.C. requesting that they reconsider. The A.G.M. followed at 3.00 pm. with Peter again taking the chair, there were an extra 7 club members present the same as last year and it would have been nice if there could be a few more. There were a number of topical discussions and reports given by the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Health Co-ordinator and KCLC Officer. The ratification of the new constitution, agreed at the September 2012 meeting, was postponed until the 2014 A.G.M; I was pleased with this as it will give the clubs that missed the last couple of meetings a chance to make comments. The B.C. website is improving all the time thanks to the hard work & commitment of Phil Bates so please use it as it belongs to you the owners & members. |
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| 12 May 2013 | For your information, please find attached a seminar flyer for “Genes and Thermals”, a set of lectures for all breeds, to be held on the 12th May. The event has been organised by the Wheaton Health Initiative and if you wish to book a place, or make further enquiries, please click here. | ||
| 18 April 2013 | The Great Dane Breed Council will hold its AGM at the Holiday Inn Express just off Junc 13 of the M6 at 3:00pm. | MAP | |
| 12 March 2013 | DCM RESEARCH
Volunteers are still needed for our research in the dilated cardiomyopathy in Great Danes. We have seen over 150 Danes for screening at the University of Liverpool – but we need more! Contact Joan Toohey or Hannah Stephenson for more information on 0151 795 6100 or email Hannah on |
Details | |
| 07 February 2013 | Health Day – 22 September 2013
The Breed Council’s next Health Day will be held at The University of Liverpool Small Animal Teaching Hospital, Leahurst, Neston Cheshire on Sunday 22nd September 2013. Full details on Agenda, Speakers, ticket prices etc. will be published shortly |
Details | |
| 16 December 2012 | The Great Dane Breed Council is very pleased to be able to announce that the University of Liverpool has accepted its submission to extend the DCM project for a further 2 years. The original closing date was 31st December 2012 and they have now agreed to a new finish date of 1st January 2015 | ||
| 16 December 2012 | An update on the DCM Research Project has been received from Hannah Stevenson | Details | |
| 14 October 2012 | The Kennel Club and the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association are pleased to present a Breeders’ Symposium at the Royal Veterinary College, on Saturday 24th November 2012. This symposium is specifically designed for all dog lovers and dog breeders. | ||
| 08 October 2012 | The Great Dane Breed Council would like to thank Maxine Abbott for very kindly allowing us to use one of her photographs for our header | ||
| 27 September 2012 | New Website Published | ||
| 13 September 2012 | The Kennel Club held a Breed Health Co-ordinators Symposium and along with Ian Seath, the Chairman of the Dachshund Breed Council, produced two of the first in an on-going series of toolkits. These documents, the Breed Health Toolkit and the Health Strategy Guide, are designed to be resources which can help you develop and promote the health of your breed. The Breed Health Survey Toolkit is a step by step guide to developing health surveys, while the Health Strategy Guide is a practical approach to developing, assessing and monitoring a health plan specific to your breed. Links to the presentations can be found from the menu under KC Publications. | ||
| 14 June 2012 | Press Release on Hip Scoring | ||
| 31 May 2012 | BC Statement on the Kennel Club’s update to the Hip Scoring requirements for the “Assured Breeder Scheme”. | ||
| 29 May 2012 | Kennel Club update to the Hip Scoring requirements for the “Assured Breeder Scheme”. Our breed has had an adjustment made to its requirement and/or recommendations which is as follows:- Change from a REQUIREMENT to a RECOMMENDATION on HIP SCORING which comes into effect on July 1st 2012 |
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| 01 May 2012 | Details of the Holter Harness for heart monitors & a request from Hannah for more recruits Thanks to Ken & Joan Toohey for these two articles |
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| 28 April 2012 | Shows & Judges for 2012 complete. Shows & Judges for 2013 started |
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| 12 April 2012 | The Great Dane Breed Council will hold its AGM at the Holiday Inn Express just off Junc 13 of the M6 at 3:00pm. | MAP | |
| 06 April 2012 | New Website Published |