I bought a puppy from this kennel a couple of years ago. My husband and I had always wanted a Dane, and the opportunity presented itself. When we showed up, I saw several red flags. I should have listened to my gut, but didn't.
Her dogs are kept outside in runs or in a heated shed when there's puppies. Danes require a lot of attention for training and health purposes. Her dogs do not get this, and have several behavioral problems to show. The puppies are not raised in her home and get very little human interaction except to feed them. She also sells them at 6 weeks of age which is far too young! The puppies lack socialization and miss out on important lessons taught by the mother dog.
The health of the dogs and full disclosure of health problems are what concern me the most. My dog had growth issues as a puppy that were caused by lack of knowledge. Luckily, I was able to correct before it caused permanent problems. He is "easty westy", meaning his feet don't point straight ahead. Her excuse was "all danes are like this." This is a classic sign of poor conformation, and will result in severe joint problems and pain later in life as his body cannot support his weight (and he is kept lean for this reason). They also have poor hip conformation, and this is very noticeable when they walk. She has several female danes. At last count 6. She also has two males. The main male is a Harlequin (the one with bad feet, hips, etc.). He also has haws. AKA entropian (this is a genetic trait passed down). It is not only a risk factor for cherry eye development, but also traps dust and allergins. This can lead to frequent eye infections and irritation making your dog miserable and costing you $70 a month on eye ointment (at least). He also has terrible dog acne. This is also genetic and looks just awful. We have been battling horrible acne outbreaks since we got him. If left untreated, this can lead to staff infections requiring several rounds of antibotics to get under control. We clean bowls multiple times a day, wash with an antibacterial soap every night, and treat outbreaks to prevent staff infections. The acne is painful and when they burst open get nasty, gunk everywhere!
My dog's mother died at 3 years old because she was bred at every heat. She (supposedly) suffered complications from heat and pregnancy. I received absolutely no contact on this, and had to find out through her web page that she even died. It took over a year to get a response as to what happened. Another one of her females died at a very early age from cancer. Cancers have a genetic link and therefore all puppies she produced have a high chance of dying from cancer. Unfortunately, since she doesn't contact her buyers, they have no idea what they are about to deal with.
She also breeds malti-poos and dachsaunds (for now. But this seems to be expanding). She produces 60 puppies a year, and whelps them in her heated barn in the same stall where she had a "rescue" dog with parvo. This happened less than two years ago. The puppies are exposed to parvo (at it can live dormant for several years) right at birth. I frequently see her puppies for resale/rehome on Craigslist. Her contract states that these dogs are to be returned to her, but she could care less. She just puts this costs on rescues and shelters to float the bill. She claims to foster and rescue dogs, but she just uses them to produce puppies for however long she can. When the dogs don't produce money, she just sends them on their way. She also breeds multiple colors together significantly increasing the risk for producing a puppy with the "lethal white" gene. The puppy (if not born dead) will have hearing and/or vision problems. With the way her breeding practices are, I would not put it past her to just kill them at birth. She also charges more for papers (which is considered selling papers, and is frowned upon by AKC), and the price of her puppies is often far greater than show breeder who guarantee health and quality through genetic testing (which is also documented and provided to potential buyers before they even ask).
This woman clearly breeds for money and could care less what happens to the puppies. She doesn't care if they live long, healthy lives. Her dogs do not come with breeder support. Only hefty Vet bills and hours of worrying about your dog's health and future. Please save yourself the money and heartache and find a reputable breeder!
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