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Sculptors
Bernd Völxen

FCI-Int Ch Farina von der Krahnenburg

Bernd with Margaret Everton at Crufts in 2003.

Some of the Krahnenburg Gang in 2003 - Bernd with Humphrey, Hitch & Falco.

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In our “Sculptors” series we ask blue breeders questions to provide some insight into the various schools of thought found around the world. In this article, we interviewed Bernd Völxen of Kennel von der Krahnenburg in Pommern, Germany. He and his wife, Rita, are longtime members of the Deutscher Doggenclub 1888 e.V. (DDC), the Nederlandse Duitse Doggen Club (NDDC), the Letzeburger Daitschen Doggen Club (LDDC), the Great Dane Club est. 1883, the Midland and West of England Great Dane Club and the SKG - Schwedischer Doggenclub.

BGD:     How did you get started in Danes?

BV:     I inherited the love and passion for this breed from my ancestors. There had been great danes already in 1920 at the house of my granduncle in Hannover- Germany. And I grew up in the neighbourhood of the Kennel “ von der Saalburg” in Bad Homburg v.d.H., where Mr.Ferber had mainly fawn and brindle in those days. I'm talking about the years 1947 – 1955.

BGD:     Who has helped you the most in your time with Danes?

BV:     There have been a number of people, that helped me as an adult to understand more about danes. I’d like to name 2 of them:

1 – Margaret Everton ( Kennel “Impton” in the UK) a breed judge, who judges worldwide about 35 breeds. Her patience for me and her expertise values very high to me.

2 - Dr. Friedemar Krauwurst ( Kennel “ vom Borntal in Germany ) who opened my eyes to genetics .

BGD:     Is there a particular dog or bitch you felt epitomize what you were striving for in your breeding program?

BV:     Yes, there is a dog that caught me on first sight and we needed almost 7 years until we could breed this bloodline into ours. This was AmCh Rachel’s Ravonpal of Willowrun. The first encounter was 1986 in SanRemo, Italy in an Int.All Breed Show.

BGD:     Who was your first champion?

BV:     That was our blue bitch FCI-Int,Ch “Farina von der Krahnenburg” in 1997.

BGD:     What has been your greatest achievement to date? Greatest challenge?

BV:     The greatest achievement for me was to understand genetics and all about it. The greatest challenge for me is to improve the health of our beloved breed.

BGD:     What health testing, if any at all, do you think should be performed on a Dane? Why or why not?

BV:     All health testings serve a purpose. In the course of the past 30 years, I have learned that veterinary science still has a lot of tasks to accomplish and I hope that soon the breeders will be able to do selective breeding based on DNA databases.

Two threats are dominating the health scene of today: Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Cancer.

BGD:     Do you have any advice for someone getting started in the Dane world?

BV:     Yes – I recommend to have a strong passion for this particular breed, intensify the study of it and find a mentor, an ethical breeder that will teach in all honesty the pros and cons of pure-breeding. Be prepared for hard times and at the same for love and compassion shared with our breed.

BGD:     How do you feel about cross-color breeding?

BV:     If my understanding is correct ( any science is a never ending task ) the colours are manifested in the genetic structure of our breed. I would prefer not to continue limiting the gene pool by in-colour-breeding alone. Breed healthy danes only regardless of their colour.

BGD:     At what age do you evaluate a litter to decide a "keeper"?

BV:     From the very first beginning the social structure of a litter forms and it can be seen by constant observations during the first 3 months of the whelps life into what family what puppy may fit in. I prefer to keep a puppy until it is at least 12 weeks old.

Thanks for listening - I feel priviledged to be asked for this interview.

BlueGreatDanes.net would like to thank Mr. Völxen for taking the time to share his perspective.