Our health guarantee.

What we promise

We promise that your puppy leaves here healthy, that both of its parents were fully health screened before they were paired, and that if something hereditary goes wrong within two years we carry the cost — not you.

That is unusual. Most guarantees in this breed run one year, which is not long enough for the orthopaedic and cardiac problems Great Danes actually get. Two years is still not forever, and we will not pretend otherwise, but it covers the window in which a genuine congenital defect will declare itself.

What the guarantee covers

Two years — congenital and hereditary defects

If your puppy is diagnosed by a licensed veterinarian with a life-limiting congenital or hereditary defect before its second birthday, you choose between a full refund of the purchase price, or a replacement puppy of equivalent value from a future litter. We ask for a written diagnosis and, for an orthopaedic or cardiac claim, a second opinion from a board-certified specialist — which we pay for.

Specifically covered:

• Hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia, where graded by a veterinary radiologist as moderate or severe
• Dilated cardiomyopathy and congenital heart defects including subaortic stenosis and persistent right aortic arch
• Wobbler syndrome (cervical vertebral instability) where radiographically confirmed
• Congenital deafness confirmed by BAER testing
• Inherited coagulopathies, including von Willebrand disease
• Congenital eye defects including entropion requiring surgery and progressive retinal atrophy
• Hereditary hypothyroidism diagnosed on a full panel

You keep the dog. We have never asked a family to return a sick animal to collect a refund and we never will — by the time any of this comes up, he is yours.

Fourteen days — communicable illness

If your puppy is diagnosed with parvovirus, distemper, coronavirus or canine infectious hepatitis within 14 days of pickup, we reimburse your reasonable veterinary costs up to the purchase price. Giardia, coccidia and kennel cough are common in all puppies and are treated as routine rather than as a defect, but tell us and we will help with the cost.

Forever — we take him back

If at any point in his life you cannot keep your dog — a death, a divorce, an illness, a move, anything at all — he comes back here. No fee, no judgement, no questions. We would rather have him on our sofa than in a shelter. This applies for his whole life, not two years.

What you have to do to keep it active

Four things. None of them are difficult, and all four are in the signed agreement.

1. A veterinary exam within 7 days of pickup. This is the one that catches people out. Book it before your puppy comes home. If an exam does not happen in that window the guarantee lapses, because after a week we cannot tell what happened here from what happened at your house.
2. Feed a large-breed puppy food. Overfeeding a Great Dane puppy, or feeding an adult or all-life-stages food with the wrong calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, causes developmental orthopaedic disease. We will not cover a joint problem caused by diet. See Feeding & Nutrition.
3. Keep vaccinations and worming current on your vet's schedule, and keep the records.
4. No forced exercise before 18 months. No running alongside a bicycle, no long hikes, no repetitive jumping, no agility. Growth plates in this breed close late and damage done in the first year is permanent.

What is not covered

We would rather be plain about this than have you find out at the worst moment.

• Bloat and gastric torsion. It is not hereditary in a way anyone can screen for, and it is heavily influenced by feeding and management after the puppy leaves. Read Bloat & GDV — it may save his life.
• Anything caused by injury, accident, neglect or poor diet.
• Cosmetic or non-life-limiting faults — a crooked tooth, an undescended testicle, markings you did not expect, ears that never quite match, size that disappoints you.
• Temperament, which is shaped more by what happens after nine weeks than before it. We will help you with a problem; we will not refund one.
• Parasites, kennel cough and the usual puppy stomach upsets beyond the 14-day window.
• Mild (Grade 1) hip or elbow findings that do not affect the dog's life.

How to make a claim

1. Call us first. Before anything else. Often we can help immediately, and we may know something about the line that is relevant.
2. Send the written diagnosis from your licensed veterinarian, with the imaging or lab work it rests on.
3. A specialist second opinion for orthopaedic and cardiac claims, arranged and paid for by us.
4. We respond within 7 days of receiving the complete file, in writing, with the remedy.
5. Refunds are processed within 10 business days of agreement, by the same method you paid.

How we reduce the risk in the first place

A guarantee is a backstop. It does not make a puppy healthy — it just means somebody else pays when one is not. The real work happens before the pairing.

1. Every adult screened before breeding — OFA hips, elbows, thyroid, and an advanced cardiac echocardiogram read by a board-certified cardiologist. See the results.
2. Cardiac re-screened annually for as long as a dog is in the program.
3. Full DNA panel on every adult, so we know what each pairing can produce.
4. Never merle to merle. Double-merle pairings produce deaf and blind puppies. Every merle puppy we raise is BAER tested before it leaves.
5. Pairings chosen for structure and temperament, not for colour or for what is selling.
6. Raised lean. Fat Great Dane puppies grow too fast and pay for it in their joints. Ours leave at a correct weight with a feeding plan that keeps them there.

He can always come back

It is worth repeating, because it is the part most breeders leave out. Every dog we breed has a place here for the whole of his life. If you ever need to give him up, call +1 (619) 781-6400. He comes home. That is the deal, and it does not expire.