Puppy Information
Before you contact us about puppies or dogs, here are a few of things that you should know:
1. We don't always have puppies available; frankly it takes a tremendous effort to raise puppies and we have limited vacation time to be home with them during their developmental weeks. We do have co-owners who sometimes have litters of puppies at their homes even if we don't have puppies here at our home. We also have older puppies available at times.
2. All of our puppies are initially registered with limited registration and come with obedience rebates.
3. The average price of our pet puppies is $1,500; this does not include ear cropping.
4. We strongly suggest that if you are looking for a companion dog that you check with your local Dane Rescue. We will be happy to help you contact them; there are many wonderful dogs in need of your loving home. Our local rescue group in Florida has a web page filled with available dogs at http://www.CFGDR.org or you might consider becoming a foster home.
All of our puppies are initially registered with limited registration... yes, even the "show" puppies. It is difficult to find a truly dedicated show home; many will express an interest in showing but in all reality very few follow through. It can take in excess of $10,000 to finish a dog to their AKC championship; it requires time and commitment and training and traveling to shows. If an owner has taken a puppy with the expressed interest in competing in conformation dog shows we will consider changing the papers to full registration IF they prove that they are in fact serious about showing. To us this does not mean that the dog is entered in the first available show at 6 months old to see how the puppy does... hence needing full registration. There are a lot of things that a potential show puppy needs to learn to be prepared for the ring. Unless the owners are serious enough to follow through on them they are not doing the puppy justice, nor in our minds would qualify for a full registration puppy. Just a few things that we consider mandatory are:
(1)
A minimum 8-10 week obedience class.
(2) Regular attendance in a
conformation class.
(3) Frequent outings in public places
for socialization.
(4) At least several matches in which
the puppy has the opportunity to experience and put
to use what he/she has learned.
All of our puppies go to be family members in their homes first... with the
understanding that if they would like show in conformation and complete at
least the above mentioned things we will evaluate the puppy and consider
changing the registration. We do this for the protection of our puppies, our
line and the breed in general.
It is important to us that all our owners understand that their puppies MUST have obedience training. There is no reason a puppy cannot learn basic manners - it will NOT preclude your puppy from being able to show in conformation; however it WILL help your puppy become a better family member. After all, you wouldn't tell your children they didn't need to go to school, would you? Obedience training is simply elementary school for puppies!
With all puppies going with limited registration, we are able to make the bottom line decision as to whether this dog is of possible show/breed quality at a time that will assure a more accurate determination. In all honesty, our dogs mature late. We have gorgeous 8 week old puppies who turn into gangly adolescents who turn into awkward teenagers and later bloom into marvelous adults. They are not usually ready to win in the conformation ring at 6 months of age, and frequently not before they are 18 months to two years of age. We realize others will sell you a "show quality" puppy at 8 weeks with full registration; we won't. We prefer to wait to be sure of each dog's true potential before releasing full registration.
Limited registration does not stop the owner from training, socializing the dog or getting ring experience! All of these things are a must for a dog that will be entering into conformation and anyone who is serious about it WILL follow through with these simple things. Limited registration does guarantee that none of our puppies will be bred without proper training, socialization and a true evaluation of the dogs structure, temperament and owners dedication to both the dog and the breed in general.
We do offer a title rebate; our way of congratulating owners for putting in the effort to earn AKC titles (Champion, Companion Dog, Novice Agility) with their dogs. We will send you a $100 check any time your dog earns an AKC title and you send us a copy of the certificate.
If you are still interested in our of our puppies, please contact us at Sardione@aol.com