To all those that have been lost



I attended a genetics seminar where one of the geneticists made the following statement about disease in dogs,

"Breeders don't cause disease, linebreeding and inbreeding just make disease already present, obvious".

Please keep these words in mind when you read and hear about dogs with health problems. Take what educational value you can from what you're exposed to and resist any temptation to make any judgements about anyone involved. If people are not "persecuted" for having a dog that had some problem, they will be much more likely to share the information that is available from their experience in dealing with that problem. Read and keep and open mind. We, and this breed we love, will all benefit as a result.






Affaire's Primary Progression, AKA "Lilli"


Ch Rockingdane's Nvr A Dull Moment x Blanton's Country Affaire

February 23, 2003 - October 14, 2007



Lilli died of neurological complications triggered by aspiration pneumonia. Her mom and dad were with her at the end, and she was ready to go. But we are broken hearted. She was an elegant and silly dog, with the biggest heart. She started each day with wiggles of pure joy. She loved to cuddle and play--and adored her Mason and her family. The house is so empty without our gentle giant. The joy she brought into our lives in the all too short four and a half years she shared our lives is immeasurable. We will miss her always and be so very grateful for the time we had together. She was simple and beautiful. She loved people and considered everyone she met to be her good friend and playmate.










BISS Ch Equus Diamonds Are Forever CGC, AKA "Conner"


Ch Danemark's Trace of Tiger, CD, TT, CGC x Can Ch Equus Midsummers Titania, TT

October 14, 1994 - October 9, 2006


Conner was owner handled to his US Championship taking his last major at the Great Dane Club of Northern California Specialty show in August 1997. He was shown in Canada on a limited basis. His first weekend in Canada he won 3 consecutive All-Breed shows and Reserve Winners Dog at the Great Dane Club of Canada National Specialty show. The following year he returned to Canada to win the Western Regional Specialty. The photo above is the GDCC Reserve win photo taken in June, 1998.

Conner was a healthy dog. He came from a line of healthy dogs with alot of longevity. He had a cardiac ultrasound done in April of 2006 and received a OFA Cardiac clearance at the age of 11 1/2. He had a full mouth and correct scissors bite. His hips were OFA excellent and elbows normal.

The one problem that Conner had was with his anal glands. He had problems with expressing them normally and had 3 infections in 3 years, so I had the anal glands removed when he was 3. He has a son that had some problems with expressing his anal glands, but appears to have improved with a change in diet. Conner was also prone to "skin-tag-like" warts, a condition I see in the son and daughter I have from him. Other than that, I have seen no hereditary issues I can link to this dog in any of his 19 puppies and 13 grandpuppies.

This line did not have heart issues. His thyroid tested normal throughout his youth, but I did not know about TgAA that long ago, so he was not tested for that. When he was about 8, he went low thyroid. I don't know if this was idiopathic or hereditary, but none of his children or grandchildren have come up with definitive thyroid issues. One son has an equivocal thyroid result. After repeated testing, it was still inconclusive.

Somewhere around the age of 9, Conner started having episodes of fecal incontinence. I'd find a little "nugget" every now and then. As he advanced in age, the episodes became more frequent and the amount increased in volume. I started a regimine of stimulating him to defecate on a regular basis so that the incidents in the house were less frequent.

At 10 1/2, Conner had an episode of bloat, but it turned out to be due to a cauliflower sized growth on one lobe of his liver. The growth was removed and he had a gastropexy. Fortunately, it turned out to be benign and he recovered from the surgery amazingly well for a dog of his age. About that same time, he developed a chronic case of folliculitis. His thyroid was tested and it was determined that his medication was at the right level. He was put on a low dose of antibiotics to keep it under control. Various holistic methods were tried, but none worked.

When he was about 11, he developed food allergies. After trying several different diets, I found he did well on venison and rice.

His body was getting so old and arthritic, I was concerned about how he would fare the coming winter of 2006. In October, he started to show signs of urinary incontinence. It went from a few dribbles to complete loss of bladder control in a few days. There was no infection present. I made the decision to give him his dignity.

He left me with a wonderful memory of him chowing down on biscuits - food he'd been forbidden to have for a year. First he had a couple and was looking for more. So we gave him a handful and he chowed those down and still wanted more. We brought in a full basket of biscuits and let him stuff himself. There he was going crazy on this basket of biscuits. Slobber was flying everywhere and you could see how happy he was to be able to eat with reckless abandon. It was a time of sadness, but we all were smiling to see him enjoying himself so much. He got to the point where he just could not eat anymore, but everytime we went to put the basket down, he'd look after it. He couldn't eat another biscuit, but he didn't want them to go away. So we set them down on the bed and he went to sleep with the precious biscuits beside him. After he was gone, we tucked a couple of those biscuits between his paws for his journey. As much as I miss him, I think back on that day and I can't help but smile.




This is Conner with a big smile, out in the yard on September 25, 2006.

Blanton's Country Affaire, AKA "Cody"


Ch Sheleea's Country Boy Von Raseac x Jericho's Lady Michayla


February 11, 1998 - July 24, 2006



The picture above is of Cody taking her first major under breeder judge J. Council Parker.

This girl gave me sound bodies, health, intelligence, a tremendous spirit and superb temperament - traits which live on in her children and grandchildren.

Cody was OFA excellent, elbows normal, thyroid and TgAA normal through age 5. She was echo'd in March of 2006 (age 8) and her heart was in great shape. She was spayed at age 5 after having 2 litters; one by BISS Ch Equus Diamonds Are Forever, CGC and another by Am/Can Ch Rockingdane's Nvr A Dull Moment. After her spay, I found a mammary mass, which was removed and found to be benign. Other than that and a bout with kennel cough, she was never sick a day in her life.

On March 22, 2006, Cody suddenly yelped in pain and was lame in her right front leg. On March 23rd, she went to the vet and was xrayed. The vet suspected osteosarcoma, but said it was so "early" in the development of the disease, she could not be 100% certain. A week later, the films were reviewed by a board certified radiologist. He reported that he suspected osteosarcoma, but wanted to see another set of xrays in 10 days. At this point, Cody was on Rimadyl and needed additional pain medications, so she was given Tramadol as well. This didn't seem to help for the first few days, so my vet prescribed Amantadine, which is a human drug prescribed for Parkinson's Disease. Amantadine has the effect of "potentizing" the effects of the pain medications. I don't know how well it works because I never filled the prescription. The pain medications she had been on finally were keeping her comfortable, so I didn't want to change anything.

The next set of xrays was done and the radiologist confirmed osteosarcoma and I was referred to an Oncologist. During this time, I had done due diligence on researching this disease and had joined two email groups, bonecancerdogs and caninebonecancer, on yahoogroups. These folks were amazingly supportive which was wonderful. The file section on both these lists proved to be a goldmine of information on various treatment protocols, drugs, case studies, etc. By the time I got Cody to the oncologist, I had already decided that for her, radiation was the best treatment. After talking with the oncologist about the various options, he was recommending that as a course of treatment for her as well.

From my research prior to the first oncology visit, I had put Cody on a "cancer-starving" diet, which consisted of raw meaty chicken & beef parts ground with bone into a puree, mixed with about 1/2 cup of minced fresh veggies and a variety of supplements. The list of supplements, what they contained and the dosages she was getting can be seen here:

Cody's Supplements

Cody had 6 radiation treatments over the period of April 24 through May12. She showed improvement after the first treatment and continued to improve with each treatment. The radiation takes about 2-3 weeks to continue to work after the treatment is done and at week 3, I had a playful, happy, puppy-like 8 year old running around the yard. She had recheck appointments on May 12 & June 14 and was doing great.

The week of the 4th of July, Cody seemed to lose a little bit of her exhuberance. She wasn't painful or off her food, but she was just a bit less enthusiastic. I found the glands in her neck were quite swollen and hard and scheduled her for an oncology appointment on July 11. My regular oncologist was abroad on vacation and Cody saw his resident. They aspirated the glands and did not find any abnormal cells. Her other labwork was unremarkable, so they put her on a dose of doxycycline thinking that she may have a tick borne or other infection. I didn't think this was the case or the cause of the swollen glands, but since doxycycline is one of the drugs given to dogs with osteosarcoma, I didn't think it could hurt.

Cody continued to decline in spirit and started being picky about her food for the first time in her life. She had another recheck scheduled for July 31, when the oncologist was back from vacation. On the evening of July 23rd, Cody appeared "puffy" in the abdomen and I thought she might be in bloat. I watched her walk around the yard and after a few minutes she seemed fine, but I thought then that this was going to be the thing that made the decision for me. The next morning I gave her breakfast and fed all the other dogs. When I went in to see if I could coax her to eat, she had bloated, thrown up all the froth and slime and was laying in it. I knew it was time.

A Dane Breeder and Veterinarian friend came to the house and Cody went peacefully to sleep with all the people she loved around her. She's resting in a lovely spot under a eucalyptus grove with calla lillies, vines and geraniums, next to her sister Heidi, her mom Kayla, and the rest of her family.
Cody was the epitome of temperament and grace. I'll never get over losing her.




This shot really captures her spirit and personality.







Am/BIS Intl Ch Estate's Affaire De Coeur, AKA "Remi"


Ch Firesides Off And Running x Ch Burke's Divine French Estate

September 3, 1993 - January 8, 2005

Remi finished her Championship at 15 months, owner handled, with back to back majors winning BOW at the Great Dane Club of California Specialty show and then taking Best of Breed from the 12-18 class over 7 Specials the following day. A few months later, she completed her International Championship in one weekend with 3 consecutive Best of Breed wins, a Group 3 and a Best in Show.

While she had a wonderful show career and brought many terrific people and joys of showing into my life, I never got a litter out of her. She was bred on several seasons to three different dogs and never produced a litter. Some were verified as resorbed, but we never found out why she failed to maintain a pregnancy.

When Remi was 5 she bloated and torsed. After she healed up from the bloat episode and gastropexy, I had her spayed.

At about age 9, Remi was diagnosed as low thyroid. She was put on a low dose of soloxine. I do not know if her thyroid condition was hereditary. She was never tested for TgAA, since I did not know about that when she was younger and being health checked. I now test all my dogs for this annually through age 5.

One month after her 11th birthday, Remi was having some gastrointestinal symptoms. The vet was alarmed at her heart rythym and suggested she see a cardiologist. That day we went to UC Davis and she was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. For more information on this disease, please see:

Ginnie Saunders 4-part article on DCM

GDCA Health & Welfare article, Heart Disease in the Great Dane


I"ll be happy to share my experience with you and answer any questions about Remi's condition or her pedigree.

Here's a picture of Remi winning the 6-8 Veteran Bitch class at the 1999 Great Dane Club of America National Specialty under judge Roxanne Berton. She was Best Veteran Bitch in Show at the Great Dane Club of California Specialty that same week.




This is Remi's third consecutive Veteran Class win at the Great Dane Club of Northern California Specialty under breeder judge Don Carmody.




Remi was 9 1/2 in this picture.










Rockingdanes Legendary Affaire, AKA "Lina"!


Ch Lagarada's Timberline Gold x Can Ch Rockingdane's Gone With The Wind

June 24, 1999 - December 25, 2003



Lina had been having digestive troubles for a couple of months. She'd lost a considerable amount of weight. An endoscopy was done on 12/23/03. We expected results on 12/26 or 12/29, but she died before they were available. She was generally healthy and had a good appetite all of her life. She was diagnosed TgAA positive when pre-breeding screening tests were being done in 2001, so she was spayed and never bred.

Lina was shown briefly and had 4 points and several reserves. I think if she would not have grayed so young, she would have finished quickly. She is only 4 in this picture and has as much gray as my 9 year old.

Update: 12/28/03


The results of the endoscopy showed that Lina did have Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
There are several forms of IBD:

1. Lymphocytes and Plasmacytes Lymphocytic-plasmacytic IBD, which is the most common form of IBD
2. Eosinophils Eosinophilic IBD, the second most common form and tends to be more severe than lymphocytic-plasmacytic
3. Fibrous Tissue and Eosinophils Regional Granulomatous, which is rare and similar to Crohn's disease in humans
4. Neutrophils Suppurative or Neutrophilic. With this form there is a need to exclude bacterial infection as a cause of the infiltrate

Lina had a combination of Lymphocytic-plasmacytic and Esonophilic IBD. The presence of the Esoniphils is indicative of a food allergy. Lina would have been treated with a combination of drugs and diet change. Some dogs just don't respond well to treatment for this and it is possible that even if we had gotten Lina's condition diagnosed sooner, we would not have been able to save her. The vet and I both suspect her heart gave out due to her emaciated condition.






B & K Cazdanes Gemini, AKA "Gemini"


Ch Fireside's Sierra Landmark x Ch B & K's Elizabeth Regina

June 3, 1991 - April 19, 1999


Gemini was my first show dog. I had lived with Great Danes for a major portion of my life and was doing obedience with a Harlequin Dane when one day I wandered over to the breed ring. I thought it looked like fun and had had blacks in the past, so I started to look for a black show puppy. Instead, I found this wonderful fawn boy and after having blues, blacks and harls, I began my "fawn phase" with Gemini. Gem was a very promising puppy. He took two points and went BOS from the 6-9 class his first time in the ring. It was my first time in the breed ring that day too and that win got me hooked.

Gemini was lost to cancer a few weeks before his 8th birthday. It was an oral/nasal melanoma which grew very rapidly and threatened to cut off his airway. During his life, he had some incidents which were life threatening to varying degrees. I'm going to tell the story of his health history here. The links below are there to share this information in the hopes that it will help us all understand more about the health issues in this breed.

Wobblers
Bloat & Thyroid



This pic of Gemini with his buddy Wasi was taken just a week or so before he died.







Chauffeured's Molly Beamer CGC, AKA "Molly"


Ch BMW Patton x Chauffeured's Cheyenne v Hallmark

April 23, 1988 - January 20, 1997


Although Molly carries the Chauffeured kennel name, she was not bred by Bruce Brown and/or Paul Hardiman of Chauffeured Great Danes. Her mother was a full litter sister to Ch Chauffeured's Dr. Levy Jr. and was bred to BMW Patton by Susan Hussey to produce the litter Molly came from. I acquired Molly from her breeder when she was 18 months old.

Molly worked in obedience, did fairs and parades for the local humane society and was a therapy dog until she was struck with a spinal infection at age 3 - before she could complete her CD title. It was a long recovery, but she came through very well although there were still some very distinct signs of the episode on her spinal xray. There were vertebrae partially eaten away so that the sides facing the disks looked like hooks. There were some partially eaten away with deep pits that hadn't gotten as far to be hook-like yet. Many bone spurs were scattered on vertebrae all through her spinal column. It was remarkable that she could walk at all when looking at these xrays. During this episode, I contacted a local T-Touch trainer who came to my house and taught me this very valuable technique for healing. I used the techniques I learned that day on Molly and several other dogs to benefit a variety of ailments. It truely is a remarkable tool. A year or so later, Molly also participated in a study done by Dr. Eugene Wagner at Ball University using CoEnzyme Q-10 for a period of six months. I noticed a remarkable improvement in her mobility. And continued to give her the Co-Q10 for some time afterward.

The next incident in Molly's life came along one day when I was cleaning her teeth. I noticed one day that although she had a passion for nylabones, her teeth were not as clean as they could be. What was really strange was that on one side of her mouth there was mild tartar but on the other side there was very heavy tartar. I opened her mouth to see what the insides of these teeth looked like and there was a large growth on the lower jaw just behind the right canine. I took her to the vet and had the growth removed. Both the vet and myself feared the worse, but the lab results came back that it was benign and caused by irritation to the ligament that holds the canine in - likely caused by chewing the nylabones! They all went into the garbage that day and I've never used them since. Interestingly though, the vet did xrays of Molly's chest to see if there were any tumors anyplace else and when I saw the xrays, it included part of her dorsal spine where the spondylosis had been. There was NO sign of any damage. Where there were pits, hooks, bone spurs and grey shadows previously, there was now a very normal looking set of vertebra. Did this improvement come from using T-Touch and Co-Enzyme Q10? I have no proof, but I think it did.

Just a few months before her 9th birthday, Molly seemed a little off one Friday afternoon when I arrived home from work. The next day at the vet the bloodwork results were remarkably good for a dane her age. The one symptom that worried us was her accelerated heart rate. She had also lost 16 lbs since her last vet visit some months before. Since I had been out of town on business recently, I noticed a loss in weight over the last week while I had been gone, but was surprised that it was that much. These were the first signs that anything was wrong with her heart and it didn't look good. I had planned to have her into U.C. Davis first thing Monday morning, but she died in her sleep Sunday night, about 48 hours after her first symptoms appeared.


Molly always loved a good fire. Her ashes are kept in an urn on the hearth.