"unusual" colors?

[pinky4289]

I recently saw on the post "When not to buy from a breeder" which detailed that you shouldn't buy from breeders who declare they breed unusual colors.

So my question what if you want unusual colors? And what ARE the unusual colors?
Fawniquinn?Chocolate?Scooby Doo colors?Any others? Pics?

Does anyone have a dog like this? How do you get these colors?(I'm guessing the genes for these colors are recessive an thus hard to get?)

[Harlequin Dane]

I recently saw on the post "When not to buy from a breeder" which detailed that you shouldn't buy from breeders who declare they breed unusual colors.

So my question what if you want unusual colors? And what ARE the unusual colors?
Fawniquinn?Chocolate?Scooby Doo colors?Any others? Pics?

Does anyone have a dog like this? How do you get these colors?(I'm guessing the genes for these colors are recessive an thus hard to get?)

If you want unusual colors, look at dane rescues. Otherwise, you are supporting and encouraging less than responsible breeders

SOMETIMES, off colors can occur in a responsible breeders litter, but they are not breeding FOR them - big difference.

Look under the DOL photo section, some miscellaneous colors from members are shared. I used to do a Danes of a Different Color, but just haven't kept it updated or fixed the picture/link breaks.

ETA - wanted to provide JPs current website with her Chroma Linx that have great links, especially on genetics, dane colors, etc - http://www.chromadane.com/chlinx.htm

[samantha63]

a lot of times the "unusual" colors come from breeding two colors that are not supposed to be bred. this is a HUGE red flag due to the fact that if it were a responsible breeder, they would not be crossing colors against the GDCA's color code.

like harlequin dane said, there are times when an unusual color pops up. its not that often, and the breeder always sells on a s/n contract if they are a reputable breeder. its "breeders" who are purposefully trying to produce the odd/mismarks to market them as rare, (which they arent), and sell them for more money.

[pinky4289]

If you want unusual colors, look at dane rescues. Otherwise, you are supporting and encouraging less than responsible breeders

SOMETIMES, off colors can occur in a responsible breeders litter, but they are not breeding FOR them - big difference.

Look under the DOL photo section, some miscellaneous colors from members are shared. I used to do a Danes of a Different Color, but just haven't kept it updated or fixed the picture/link breaks.

ETA - wanted to provide JPs current website with her Chroma Linx that have great links, especially on genetics, dane colors, etc - http://www.chromadane.com/chlinx.htm

The website has all broken images and broken pages

[pinky4289]

a lot of times the "unusual" colors come from breeding two colors that are not supposed to be bred. this is a HUGE red flag due to the fact that if it were a responsible breeder, they would not be crossing colors against the GDCA's color code.

like harlequin dane said, there are times when an unusual color pops up. its not that often, and the breeder always sells on a s/n contract if they are a reputable breeder. its "breeders" who are purposefully trying to produce the odd/mismarks to market them as rare, (which they arent), and sell them for more money.

Maybe I am dumb but WHY is it bad to bred two colors that are against the GDCA color code? Is it healthwise bad?

[Jade75]

Yes it can have serious health implications. I know of many blind and/or deaf Danes from BYBs breeding merle to merle for example. It also has a big effect on temperament which is every bit as much of the breed standard as looks.

Time was up until not too long ago here in the UK that mismarks were culled because they couldn't be shown and couldn't be bred from. Problem is that now many BYBs deliberatley produce and breed mismarks, often with tragic consequences.

[angeldane]

Maybe I am dumb but WHY is it bad to bred two colors that are against the GDCA color code? Is it healthwise bad?

nothing wrong with color crossing, people do it all the time, black to fawn is against GDCA code but one of the best ways to improve a blue black line. color crossing is not the same as breeding for color. In color crossing people can produce show marked dogs and with genetic color testing you can color cross and only get what you want.
Only breeding non show colors is bad as every single breeder I have found to be doing this does not produce nice looking dogs and I have seen health contracts and they are no good, and not accountable just out for cash.
Special colors do happen in good breeding and if you are willing to travel or ship you will find one, if someone is dead set on a weird super off color then maybe they don't really want a dane, because part of what makes a dane a dane is what color they are suppose to come in and a person really shouldn't focus everything on color unless they want something that looks nothing like a dane. So I am saying its possible to find a cool off color, but some of the colors can not be found readily you may have to wait years

[HaYdEnNmE]

The main reason to me (there are many but this is the main) why I would not purposely buy a dog from a breeder like this just to have an off color...Is that you know 100% that the dogs they are starting out with are very poor quality danes....as no good breeder would ever contribute breeding stock to a breeder like the ones you are asking about.

So while you might not think anything is wrong with crossing the colors think about the very poor quality of danes used to get those off colors. Very rarely do the danes on a off color breeders website actually truly resemble a good dane.

jmo

[Meatos]

If you look at the breed standard on the GDCA website, you'll see that there are six acceptable colours - harlequin, mantle, black, blue, fawn, brindle. Anything else would be considered an "unusual" colour. Merle, which is not accepted by the standard, is a slippery slope since it pops up so often in harl lines and is bred sometimes since harls are genetically the same as merles except with a "whitening" gene. There are a zillion merles on DOL so they are pretty common. But anything else is considered unusual.

[maggiemay98]

If you want funky colors, look at rescue websites. You'll find a rainbow of mismarks thanks to all the BYBs who don't care about anything but money.

[Harlequin Dane]

Maybe I am dumb but WHY is it bad to bred two colors that are against the GDCA color code?

While some KNOWLEDGEABLE breeders will give careful consideration to stepping outside of the recommended color code, it is always with a specific goal in mind. It isn't done merely to produce 'off colors'.

Think of it this way, if a breeder can't be bothered with following one of the simplest aspects of the breed (color), just what else are they side-stepping ? How many websites of of breeders that are specifically breeding off colors are posting health screening results ? If you take pictures of their danes and place them next to danes listed at the GDCA that are past winners - how close do they resemble each other ? How many off color breeders consistently find other venues to evaluate temperament ?

[kcornel4]

Here's my perspective: If you are looking across all of dogdom, an incredibly broad spectrum of colours is represented: Chocolate, brown,blue, wheaten, blonde, red, silver, black, sable, grey, yellow, fawn, white, Blenheim, calico, tricolour, agouti, stripes, spots, points, etc etc etc. Hence if someone is enamoured with a particular colour, they are most likely going to be able to find a breed in which it is 'correct' according to the breed standards.

If someone is looking specifically for a Dane with an 'unusual' colour, I think the person should reflect on their motivations. 'Rare" = not conforming to standard. Why is a non-standard colour so important to them in selecting their Dane? So they have something 'unique' that they can show off, or create attention with?...A status symbol?

As people have said, 'designer colours' (aka mismarks) such as chocolate and lilac do occasionally occur in reputable breeders litters, but to consistently produce them requires a great deal of inbreeding within a small genetic pool -- which results in other recessive (and generally undesirable) traits affecting conformation, health, longevity and temperament to be expressed.

[mp]

So my question what if you want unusual colors?

Harl and merle are pretty unusual colors (pun intentional).

If these colors aren't unusual enough, you might want to consider your choice of breed and instead of a Great Dane, investigate breeds that have unusual colors (i.e., not black or some shade of brown) as part of their standard.

mp

[DaneFolly]

I just want to distill the information some of the other (very knowledgeable) members have said in another way, if I may:

The issue is not really that a breeder color crosses; an experienced breeder who is an EXPERT on the breed and color genetics might do so with excellent results. The issue is a breeder who uses the "unusual" (aka non-showable) colors as a SELLING point. Only a byb targeting buyers who know nothing about the breed standard or the color code would proudly proclaim their abundance of un-showable dogs. The responsible breeder will sell the resulting "mis-marks" on a spay/neuter contract to pet homes, but they won't crow about them because they are more interested in the puppies that can be shown and have the potential to improve the breed, which is their main focus.

[autumnroyal]

any breeder breeding for just 1 trait, reguardless if it is temperament, confo, or color, is completely missing the point of breeding all together and should be avoided at all costs.

Color is only skin deep. It does not effect temperament, health (excluding merle and blu), or conformation and breed type. A dane is a dane because of its genetic make up that makes it look like a dane and act like a dane. In otherwords, it is the dog UNDER the coat color that makes the dog beautiful, not the coat color itself. A mismark that is wonderfully conformed, healthy, and well tempered is just as striking as a correctly marked one. At the same time, no amount or configuration of pigment will improve a trainwreck of a dog. Theres an old horse saying...'there is no bad color for a good horse'. Conversely, the same is true: there is no good color for a bad one.

find urself a pup that is healthy, well tempered, and well conformed from a breeder who breeds for ALL of these things. these r the things that matter and make a good dog a good dog.