Hamptor- That's very interesting and makes sense. Did you use the same crate for all these dogs?
btg - Here's an interesting tidbit about danes, I rememebered that danes were used for hunting but I didn't know to what extent.
Brandenburg (Germany), 1705
In the middle of the 16th Century, the nobility in many countries of Europe imported strong, long-legged dogs from England, which were descended from crossbreeds between the English Mastiff and the Irish Wolfhound. They were dog hybrids in different sizes and phenotypes with no formal breed.[26] These dogs were called Englische Docke or Englische Tocke - later written and spelled: Dogge - or Englischer Hund in Germany. The name simply meant "English dog". After time, the English word "dog" came to be the term for a molossoid dog in Germany[27] and in France.[28]
Since the beginning of the 17th Century, these dogs were bred in the courts of German nobility, independently of England.[29][30]
The dogs were used for hunting bear, boar and deer at princely courts, with the favorites staying at night in the bedchambers of their lords. These Kammerhunde (chamber dogs) were outfitted with gilded collars, and helped protect the sleeping princes against assassins.[31][32]
During the hunt for boar or bears, the Englische Dogge was used after the other hunting dogs to seize the bear or boar and hold the animal in place until the huntsman killed it. When the hunting customs changed, particularly because of the use of firearms, many of the involved dog types disappeared. The Englische Dogge became rare, and was kept only as a dog of hobby or luxury.
