Willowrun Great Danes

Willowrun History

My name is Phyllis A. Lockwood ~ PAL (aka Phyllis Bronson).
Willowrun Great Danes was established in 1965 and is named for the
weeping willow trees which surrounded my dog runs in Stony Point, NY. Willowrun is
presently situated in Wilmington, NC.

My first Dane was an uncropped harlequin bitch who I obtained
from a pet shop. With her began a captivating journey and a
passion for the breed which endures to present day.

Early in my involvement with Danes, my husband
and I became members of the Great Dane Club of America.
This was the turning point in my Dane education .
My decades long involvement with the breed has been and
remains an ongoing learning process. My biggest pleasure
is mentoring, helping tomorrow's breeder get a head start.
Sharing is self educating!

During the early years, I was fortunate to find competent mentors who helped satiate my appetite for knowledge about the Great Dane breed. These were noteworthy breeders of the time who generously shared their knowledge and experience with me, among them was Rose Roberts of Dinro fame. These dedicated individuals helped me understand the very important role breeders undertake; today's breeders are the guardians of the future of the Great Dane breed. Although I was advantaged by my associations with these “keepers of the breed”, I sometimes stumbled along the way as I worked to breed competitive Great Danes. During those early years, the blue colored Danes in particular often lacked desirable breed type and frequently had less than pleasing conformation. Consequently, they were less competitive in AKC conformation competitions. At times, fellow breeders encouraged me to abandon the blues in favor of colors which were more likely to earn their championships. This input only fueled my desire to produce blue Danes of excellent quality; don’t tell me I “can’t”, the word "can't" is not in my dictionary! Determined, I embraced the added challenge of producing not just excellent Danes but excellence in blue Danes. This was to be a complicated endeavor!

My foundation blue bitch came to me from Riverwood Ranch Great Danes in California. Ch Willowrun’s Blue v Rvwd (aka Mouse) was all I’d dreamed of in a Great Dane bitch, and more. All of her many records still stand today.
Ch. Mouse was out of Joqui, a female sired by a German import from the Schwartzwald kennels. One of her grand pups became the first and ONLY blue Dane to win the Great Dane Club of America’s coveted Best in Futurity Bitch award , this was Willowrun's My Blue Heaven. Later, a young blue male who was another descendent won Best in Futurity.

During my early involvement with the breed, the gene pool for blue Danes in the US was small. Examples of good quality blues were rare here. As I pursued my goal to improve upon the quality of blue Danes (and keep my line color pure), I set my sights on Europe to locate sound breeding stock to serve the breed. Carolyn Thomas of Harmony Hills Great Danes acquainted me with Linda vd Vijver of Buitengebeuren Kennels in Holland. As the cliché goes, the rest is history. Working with Linda, I came to appreciate her as a generous person and honest breeder. By combining our separate lines of Danes we increased the diversity of the blue gene pool available to both of us on each side of the Atlantic. My foundation bitch Mouse was bred to a Buitengebeuren dog and so began my deep, enduring friendship with Linda which I continue to enjoy today. Together, Linda and I went through ups and downs as our breeding programs progressed. We held fast to our mutual goal of producing excellence in Great Danes.

Additionally, I used blacks from black/blue lines to further broaden the blue gene pool. While breeding black Danes to blue Danes is accepted in the USA, it is not permitted in Holland except with special dispensation from their Kennel Club. A carefully planned inbreeding of my blue foundation bitch, Ch. " Mouse", bred to her black brother Am/Can. Ch Willowrun’s Tomterifc v Rvwd (aka Tommy), produced Willowrun’s Candidate who was my foundation blue male. Candidate was bred to my imported black bitch Cartouche v 't Buitengebeuren. Cartouche was also the result of an inbreeding, a pairing between
Ch.Impton Apache and his litter sister Impton Oneida. These Danes came to
v 't Buitengebeuren when Margaret Everton of Impton Great Dane fame stopped breeding -- they were two outstanding blacks. Candidate bred to Cartouche produced Willowrun's Spike, a blue. Spike was bred to
Willowrun's Zena v Sharcon. That breeding produced my world famous
Int. Ch. Rachel's Ravon Pal v Willowrun, an enormous and sound black male who was an excellent example of how crossing American Danes with European Danes can produce excellent representatives of the breed.

As I worked toward improving my blue line in the US I also benefited from friendships and camaraderie with many wonderful breeders including the Grays’ (Owlwatch Great Danes) and Linda Arndt (Blackwatch Great Danes). All of the many associations I’ve enjoyed with fellow fanciers over the years have each contributed to what the Willowrun kennel is today.

Life moves on and it’s not always about dogs… I’ve returned my attention to the breed after a 10 year hiatus. During those years, my life saw many changes. I divorced, disbanded my kennel and put myself through college while on sabbatical from the world of breeding Danes. I used this time away to step back and study where I had been with the Danes and where I wished to go. My pause from Danes didn’t last long. I took on a wonderful black great-grandson of my Int. Ch Ravon. Also named Ravon, he is the sire of two champions out of just two litters.

I remain committed to the pursuit of my original goal ~ to breed excellent quality blue Great Danes. My long time Holland friend Linda aided my effort to reestablish the Willowrun kennel when she coordinated shipping a beautiful blue bitch sired by her Dutch Ch. Blue Balou and out of a vom Römersee bitch, Gina, a daughter of Ninja v 't Buitengebeuren from the Romersee kennel in Germany; this produced Neala.

Two years later Linda sent me three more import Dane pups. This time I was delighted to receive two blacks from her own kennel, and another blue female from the Römersee Kennel. All of these lovely imports go back to Willowrun.

I plan to continue to immerse myself in the world of this breed which I love so much. I wish to extend my appreciation to the special people who keep Danes in their homes and hearts and to those breeders who thoughtfully shape the future of the breed. For your assistance and support, I thank you.

I couldn't have done it all alone... it took generous breeders who imparted their knowledge, patience and time. It took friends of incredible loyalty. It took a family who worked together, beside me, behind me. It took trust and respect between breeders and owners alike to help Willowrun evolve into what it is today.. This is where I am today, enjoying my Danes, many of my old friends and all of you “out there”. Thank you all! PAL

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Web page by Sharlait Danes.

© 2006-2007 This site is owned by and designed for Willowrun Great Danes.