What you need to know before you

Yes. If you get a $500.00 dane you get just that. Most breeders that sell dogs for under $1000.00 will not guarantee the dane for more then two years. To me if the price of the dog is too good to be true then it probably is. Our first dane cost $350.00 and in six years we had over $6000.00 tied up into a dog that has a genetically deformed bladder, a failing liver, and had started having seizers. I would have rather bought or made payments to a reputable breeder and bought a higher priced dane that I knew would look like a dane and be guaranteed to be free of any genetic problems then to go through the pain and heart ship of having to put my dog down because I was cheap. But like most people looking for that first dane, we thought we would buy local so we could see both parents and do it the right way (or what we thought was the right way at the time).

The price difference will generally weed out some of your puppy mills. Puppy mills generally produce large numbers of puppies and have to move them quickly so they price them to sell. Don't be afraid to ask for references from the breeder or find out what dane related clubs they belong to. Most backyard breeders will not belong to a club. Contact your local dane club for more information on a breeder. Most states have a Great Dane Club. Rescue groups are also a good way to find out about a breeder. If a rescue has seen their fair share of one persons danes come through then you know that the breeder will not take the puppy back and will not fulfill a contract.

The best way to weed out bad breeders is if they don't compete in conformation (AKC Shows). I would not recommend buying from someone that gives you the old song and dance on why they don't show. Most backyard breeders will not spend the money to show their dogs not to mention their dogs would not win and they would be out money and that's what they are solely after. I have heard a million excuses of why someone would not show. Example: the show people are too political or because I have kids and I don't have the time. Well I'll tell you what, the dane show community is full of different people, some are down to earth people and some retired people do this as a hobby and yes some are even political. It's a melting pot just like our country, people of all types and I'm one of the very few that don't have kids. When visiting a dog show please feel free to look around at all the kids and families that use this time as a family outing. When you get right down to it, the backyard breeder's dane can not compete with the others and they won't waste their money trying.

A lot of your reputable breeders will use an out side stud dog to better the breed. Why use the dog you have in the backyard when a better suitable male can be used via AI frozen, fresh chilled, or natural. Don't get me wrong, some reputable breeders might breed a male that they own to their bitch because that was the best choice. Don't be afraid to ask questions about the parents. Any reputable breeder can tell you why they bred that particular sire to their dam.

Many of the backyard breeders will advertise (Champion Pedigree). But what does this mean? You buy a puppy, send in your puppy papers and spend the extra couple of dollars on the AKC five generation pedigree and then you see one or two CH. in the last lines of the fifth generation back. This is technically a champion pedigree but not a very good one. If the breeder is advertising this kind of a pedigree then they are probably not showing their dogs (see#3). Breeders have kennel names for a reason. When you see a dane that has that Ch. in front of their name that means that this dog was good enough to finish and someone spent the time and money to make sure everyone knows that. Many of your backyard breeders will throw bigger named kennels at you to impress you with their pedigree. For example the breeder would say this puppy goes back to the Stuhr pedigree or lines. Ask if they know who Stuhr even is, if they can't tell you the people's name behind the kennel name then they have not researched the pedigree well enough to be breeding puppies. Most of the time a reputable breeder can tell you the names of the people behind a kennel name in their pedigree and will know them personally. A good Champion pedigree to me means that there is more champions in the pedigree that not. Make sure if the breeder is showing you a pedigree that it is that puppy's pedigree and not the grandfathers and the great-great grandmothers. Some backyard breeders will show you a pedigree of dogs in the second or third generation to skip newer links in their pedigree making the puppy seem more then what it is.

The more champions in the pedigree generally will help you purchase a dane that structurally look like a dane. Don't be afraid to see pictures or visit danes that are in the pedigree or that are related to the puppy you are looking to buy.

American Kennel Club is the number one kennel club in the United States. An AKC championship is harder to receive then a United Kennel Club Championship by far. Most top breeders will have an AKC Champion on their dogs before even attempting to receive a UKC title. Some backyard breeders will buy a limited registered AKC dog from a reputable breeder and then switch the dog to UKC to breed. That is why we will not allow any of our dane to be registered by UKC. In my opinion if the puppy's parents are only UKC registered then it's not worth buying.

Some breeders will only guarantee a puppy for one year. In the first year of the puppy's life it is very important that he/she is fed and cared for properly. Many times if the puppy is not fed correctly you can encounter HOD, Pano, etc. These are generally not covered by a breeders contract because it is the owners responsibility to make sure the puppy is fed correctly, but any reputable breeder is going to give you advise on what food works better on that particular line. Then the next year you might start to see some genetic faults and it might take a while for your local vet to figure out what exactly you're dealing with and by that time your contract is up. Not to mention if a breeder only guarantees the dane for two years how are you guaranteed on the hips. It is crucial that your breeder will guarantees the puppy's hips. You have to wait until the puppy is 24 months or (2 years) to do an OFA. What happens if the puppy's birthday fails on a Sunday or you can't get the dane into the vet until he/she is 2 years and 3 days old and then you find out he/she has severe hip dysplasia, now that breeder's contract is null in void.

Most reputable breeders do what they call an OFA test on the parents hips to ensure that the parents do not have hip dysplasia at the time of breeding. They will have something in their contract that will state when the dog is 2 years of age that you need to do the OFA test and if the dog has severe hip dysplasia they will compensate for the fault in the dog. Make sure that in the contract that there is something to the fact of the breeder will cover all genetic faults in the dog. This means for example if the dog has a genetically deformed bladder the breeder will compensate you on this dog. This doesn't mean the breeder will pay the medical bills but that they will replace the puppy or some kind of money back is generally the common practice. Make sure the breeder will take back a neutered or spayed dog, this will also help you avoid bad breeders (if they can't breed it they don't want it). Make sure all of the puppy's information is on the contract. If the dogs AKC number, date of birth, full name, etc.. is missing, then you don't really have a contract. If your purchasing a pet puppy the common practice with reputable breeders is to stay on the puppy's papers as owner or co-owner with the new owner/s. If this dog is only a pet then this will not have any effect on the buyer, but it will ensure the breeder that this puppy being sold will never end up in a puppy mill environment. If you're going to co-own a puppy along with the breeder for breeding or show purposes, please have every detail made out with a breeding or show contract. Lack of communication and written agreements is why most people have a bad experience with co-ownership when breeding or showing is involved.

This is really simple, the contract is only as good as the people that sign it. Most contracts will hold as a signed legal contract in a court of law but let's face it who really wants to go there? Finding a good breeder is the same as finding a good buyer. If there is something that just doesn't fit into the puzzle then don't buy the dog. If you're having doubts about the breeder upholding their part of the contract then don't buy the puppy.

I felt compelled to ad this after another puppy mill was shut down today for fraud and animal cruelty. 38 dogs were found in her home at the time of her arrest. The lady was selling show and companion puppies via internet and telling people they were AKC registered. But they were listed with the continental kennel club as most of her breeding stock was not registered with AKC but by the time the new puppy owners got the puppy and figured this out it was too late. You ask why does this affect me? I don't care about registration on my dane puppy. The puppies got deathly ill and some even died and if that wasn't bad enough, the people didn't know who to talk to as the breeder used several different aliases. This was not just one of her litters, this has been over several years and hundreds of puppies. Don't get fooled by bad breeders. ( Anyone can make selling a puppy sound good)

Most backyard breeders will not post their danes full registered name on their site. If you don't see full registered names don't buy the puppy. I know this doesn't seem like that big of deal for the pet buyer but it is a big sign.

Look past the danes in the pictures and see what else is in the background. Some of these people will slip up and give you a little look at the real thing. Pay attention for: hay/straw, dirty dog bowls and water dishes. The type of kennel or panels used for fencing. what is on the ground around the danes? If you see anything that is questionable, Don't buy the puppy.

A reputable breeder will not have adults or puppies in old buildings (barns/hog hunts) No reputable breeder would leave an adult dane in a building like this, let alone a puppy.

Look for pictures with the puppies in straw or wood chips. No reputable breeder would use these materials as bedding as urine soaks into them and can give your puppy an infection and/or heat sores.

Just because they have testimonials on their sites doesn't mean that they are not a puppy mill. This is their information that they are giving you. You are not hearing it from the people that bought the dane.

Just because they link health and information to their site doesn't mean that they are not a puppy mill. It's just another scam. How ironic is this, a local puppy mill here in Iowa links rescue on her website but not any of the local rescue groups.( because they all know her and have to place her puppies) She puts tons of health information on her site but doesn't even do as much as an OFA on her danes. Think before you buy, educate yourself before you buy. Don't forget it's your right to ask questions.

1) Ask to see a copy of the sire and dam's OFA and thyroid testing. (This is your right) If they can not provide you with this, do not buy the puppy.

2) Ask for dane related references. ( Clubs/Local Rescues/other reputable breeders) If they can not provide you with this, do not buy the puppy.

3) Contact the local dane club/rescue about the breeder. Here in Iowa: www.gdcdm.org or Nebraska: www.gdcgo.org If you can't find the local dane club/rescue in that state, e-mail me and I'll look it up for you.

5) Ask other local breeders about one another. I have no problem helping people find a forever puppy from another reputable breeder. If the breeder refers to other breeders as jealous, snobby, poor sport or refers to placing puppies as a competition or money thing: RUN DON'T WALK. There are too many reputable breeders out there. TAKE YOUR TIME AND DON'T BE IN A HURRY. The right breeder and the right puppy is waiting for you.

What do those newspaper ads really mean?