Raising show-winning Great Danes a passion for NLV residents

When he’s not out strutting around and looking his best at competitions across the nation, 4-year-old Great Dane Niko enjoys lying on the couch at his home in North Las Vegas.

After competing for four years in national dog shows, Niko is set to participate in the cream of the crop of all dog shows — the Westminster American Kennel Club Dog Show. His owners are beyond proud.

“He’s going to be competing against the top 25 Great Danes in the entire country,” said owner Tuesday James, the former assistant to Ward 6 Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross. “Dog showing is not as popular as it used to be because of the cost. It’s so expensive to drive everywhere, stay in hotels and pay a handler, but we just fell in love with it, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Their journey started out when the couple moved to Las Vegas in 1988. They acquired their first purebred Great Dane, Princess, and joined a local kennel club. After taking Princess to a puppy match and winning a ribbon, they were hooked.

They soon turned in their Honda Civic for a Chevy van to transport their Great Danes and spent thousands of dollars on the competitions.

Tuesday and her husband Hadley have also begun breeding Great Danes to produce dogs with specific physical attributes and health benefits.

In a dog conformation show, judges compare each dog to see which one fits the “perfect” version of its breed, Tuesday said.

Niko is the result of their decision to breed their bitch dog Ziba with another dog in Arizona.

“I’m a competitor at heart, but it took me a while to get used to the dog shows because it’s basically a beauty contest, and every judge has their own opinion on how a Great Dane should look,” Hadley said.

The American Kennel Club first recognized Great Danes in 1887. They are categorized in the working group, bred to be boar hunters and estate guard dogs, which means that the dogs must have broad shoulders, a strong jaw bone and a finely chiseled head, among other attributes.

Niko has won the best in breed in nine of his first 11 shows and has acquired more breed points already than he had in any month in 2014, when he finished as the No. 1 Great Dane in all categories, according to Hadley.

Hadley said 78 different judges have awarded him wins over the last year and the beginning of 2015.

The journey hasn’t been all roses.

During the middle of a competition last October, Tuesday found out she had leukemia.

She spent seven weeks in the hospital receiving chemotherapy and other treatments. Bone marrow biopsies showed she was clear of leukemia; however, her blood counts weren’t coming up as quickly as anticipated.

Within the last two weeks, her blood counts have increased enough so that her doctor gave her the OK to travel to New York to cheer on her dog.

“Going to these events has helped take my mind off things,” Tuesday said. “Right now, we just feel so blessed to have made it this far.”

The Westminster Kennel Club 139th Annual Dog Show is scheduled for Feb. 16 and 17 in New York.

Niko is slated to compete around 6 a.m. on Feb. 16. View the live stream at westminsterkennelclub.org/2015/show/info.html.

“It has been challenging, exhilarating and expensive, but we wouldn’t change a minute of it,” Tuesday said.

*Editor’s note: Niko won Best of Breed Feb. 17 at the Westminster American Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. He was set to represent Great Danes in the working group competition Feb. 18. Here’s a video of the competition when he was awarded the best breed: http://bit.ly/17gv7Pw.

Contact North View reporter Sandy Lopez at slopez@viewnews.com or 702-383-4686. Find her on Twitter: @JournalismSandy.