Harlequin Great Danes

Question
Yes i just picked up a Harlequin great Dane from a rescue, and they were telling me that the breeders were breeding 2 Harlequin Danes together and did not care. She is 5 months old and has blue eyes . what is wrong with having a Dane with blue eyes ? She is deaf due to the breeders dumbness. No i don't have papers on her and she is spayed witch i don't care , but i was wondering can i get blood work done on her to find out the parents history or any info that would help me in the long run?  

Answer
First of all, thank you for rescuing...There is nothing wrong with having a pet Great Dane that has blue eyes, but the deafness comes from irresponsible breeders, who bred possibly two lightly marked Harlequins together. This causes less color in the puppies and in turn makes less pigment on the puppies specifically around the ears and inside the ears, which causes deafness is Great Danes. As far as eye color, it is not a preference for show puppies, they do not want blue eyes, but this is not really an issue with a rescue Great Dane that is a pet. Unfortunately there is no blood work that you can do to find out her parents history, this should have been the breeders responsibility to make sure that their breeding stock is breeding worthy...In the long run to ensure that your Dane puppy does have a healthy life, you can x-ray hips when she turns 24 months old, that would just be for your own reference to know if you are looking at hip problems such as dysplasia. I hope that the rescue you worked with told you not to feed puppy food as this can cause HOD and Wobblers. You can also test later on for heart problems and thyroid problems, but all of this at a later age because usually this will not appear until age two or older. I would also make sure to limit any type of strenuous exercise that can cause too much tension on the bones until about 18 months, if you have anything planned as far as agility or any type of working obedience. Socialization is also very important especially when you have no access to know what the temperament of the parents was. And of course, rescuing a great breed like this makes other people very interested so try to educate anyone anywhere you go out the importance of proper breeding and to go through rescue for a GREAT dog! There are many well known great breeders that genuinely care about the well being of all of their dogs, and these breeders would NEVER allow their dogs to end up in a shelter or in a rescue, so just keep that in mind if you ever look into a dog from a breeder. Anyone that is breeding to make money, is just adding to the overwhelming pet population in the United States. You want to look for a breeder that only breeds once a year or every other year. Most of these breeders are looking to keep a puppy for themselves to show in AKC sanctioned events like conformation, obedience, performance, working, therapy and agility. These breeders always have pet puppies available to homes, but they also health test their breeding stock for hips, elbows, thyroid, heart, eyes and hearing. These tests are done through the OFA for hips and elbows, CERF for eyes, CARDIAC for heart, BAER for hearing and a thyroid test is a blood panel done on the sire(father) and dam(mother) of the litter of puppies.

Once again, thank you for rescuing and if you have any other questions, be it about health or behavior, I am here to help!

Have a good one!