breeding/behavior

Question
Hi, I have a 5 year old female Great Dane. She is very loving to me and my family, but absolutely does not tolerate other people or dogs. She is a blue merle and would make beautiful puppies and I would very much love to breed her. My question is can I breed her without her attacking her mate. And would her puppies have her horrible behavior problems. Also, is there anything you would recommend for trying to fix her issues. Thank you so much.

Answer
Mark,

First of all there is no color as Blue Merle, it is just Merle. Second, if she does not tolerate other dogs or people, this is something that will be genetically inherited by her puppies, and no, it would not be a good idea to breed her. Temperament is inherited and if she has issues like that, it is not a good idea to breed her. Besides her temperament, the merle color should not be bred at all...It is not a desirable color and in any litter from a reputable breeder this color is placed out as a pet and spayed or neutered at 6-7 months. This color has also breed linked to severe genetic defects. I rescued a litter of 13 Great Dane puppies that came from a Merle breeding. Of the 13 Puppies, 6 were deaf, two were partially deaf, 3 of the 6 deaf ones were also partially visually impaired, one had persistent right aortic arch disease that required a $5,400 surgery, one is going to need eye lid surgery and one has to have a vulva surgery. As you can see, that is 9 our of 13 Puppies that have health problems, that is not something that you want to see when breeding a litter.

My suggestion to you is to get her spayed first, and then contact a Behavior Modification Specialist in your area to get her started on training.

If she has not been through any formal training, the first step is a beginner obedience course.