breeding my merle great dane

Question
I have a male merle great dane and am shopping for a female for him.  I am looking at a female her mom is a blue and the father is a black and white mantle, she looks to be a solid chocolate with white paws would this be ok to breed with, and can you tell me what colors are ok to breed with my merle so we can look elsewhere?

Thank you for your time,
Amy

Answer
Do you mean the bitch is chocolate ie brown?  If so do not mate.

Merles are not used in mating because we are trying to produce harlequins.

Fawns and brindles can be mated, either FxF or FxBr.

Blacks and blues ditto.

Harlequin and mantle and black are OK.

If you were an experienced breeder and understood the genetics of dane colours and knew what cololurs where behind the dogs you could try blue to harlequin.

Why do you want to mate him?  It will could turn him into a stud dog who is always looking for the next bitch and willing to see off any other males.

There is no reason why he should be mated and lots of reasons why not.  You could buy another puppy without all the hassle the bitch owner has to go through and expect the same loving and affectionate attitude you get from your current dog.

There are far too many danes going through Dane Rescue at the moment without encouraging more people to breed.  Remember, finding homes for a litter of ten puppies is hard work if you vet the homes and people to ensure they have suitable space for them to live and exercise.  And even then, after taking all that care, they still get passed around finishing up in Rescue.

My advice is don't.

Ken