| Last week's DaDane featured Rosa, a very pretty Mantle Great Dane. Several people wrote to tell me how pleased they were to see the Mantle coat featured on this Web site. A few mentioned that they have never seen a Mantle in person. No wonder. Up until recently the Mantle, which appears in the Harlequin gene pool, was not part of the Great Dane Color Standard; therefore Mantles could not be shown in the Conformation Ring.  In 1999 the Great Dane Club of America finally added the Mantle pattern to the Standard. The GDCA Standard now lists Fawn, Brindle, Black, Blue, Harlequin and Mantle as the only acceptable color strains. (A very interesting article about the logic behind the Mantle's acceptance appears on the GDCA Web site at this address: http://www.gdca.org/issues.html.)Why aren't they still called Bostons? I happen to own a Mantle, so I am very partial to them. When we acquired our Mantle five years ago, he was referred to as a Boston Great Dane. Personally, I prefer the Boston designation, which is derived from the pattern's similarity to that of the Boston Terrier (pictured above.) Why the name change? The American Kennel Club prohibited the GDCA from using the term "Boston" in the Official Standard. Apparently the Boston Terrier crowd didn't like the idea of a Boston Great Dane. The AKC recommended using the term "Mantle" or "Blanket" to define the Boston. The GDCA selected "Mantle" because it was considered more descriptive of the pattern. About this week's Dane This week's featured Mantle belongs to breeders Jack and Cheryl Godwin of California. "Tux" (Patchwork's White Tie 'n Tails) had a big win at the 1999 GDCA National Specialty this October, where he was awarded the top prize in the Open Mantle Dog competition. This was the first National Specialty where Mantles were allowed to compete, so Tux's win was of historical significance. Congratulations, Tux!
Just in time for Christmas, DaDane of DaWeek t-shirts & sweatshirts !
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