The short answer is: If you are a good home, and we have an extra pup, chances are, you'll get a pup from us, money is not the main issue - within reason. I am not your typical breeder. Please take the time to read this chat.
Although $1500 has been the average pet price, there has been exceptions when a great home had a pup for less, and more than once at the breeding cost per pup. Sometimes we even get someone who had sent a confirmed application with a nonrefundable deposit, then he decides on a small breed or moves away ... etc and thus he changes his mind about a pup. We apply this deposit towards the next pup to the good homes that needs it.
And, generally if we have an extra pup, we don't sell him to the highest paying applicant; we look for a good home; please believe us. So, if you are good home, don't be shy to tell us what you can afford, no harm. If there is no other just as good home that has already offered us a more fair price so to speak, or if your offer is close enough to reasonable - considering our breeding costs for that litter, the pup is yours, even if a good home later offers us more. As I repeatedly stated, we breed only after confirming a minimum number of good homes.
We have given away a few pet pups for $850 to $1200. We have also given away more than a pup at exact breeding cost for that litter and in one case it was only $750. But, then again we were also offered $2000 & $2500 by others for similar pups; which balances out things for us as far as the total litter cost. And, some pups were even given away for free or for partial cost only to friends. It's really not a typical operation and I suggest you would be patient and take the time to read the lengthy chat below. Do not let price be your obstacle for now. We may be able to help you.
If it's a family pet, the average price is $1500, yet it could be any where from $800 to $1800 depending on the cost of that litter and how good the applicant home is and their situation. If it is for show-breeding, the same pup will be $3500 and up.
Now the long chat answer:
First off, I must comment, all my friends, including a breeder, advised me not to do or say this and to just say $1500 firm, don't accept more and refuse any lower offer. Some may not understand and would just attempt to bargain despite their financial capability. Well, something to think about.
One more comment. I usually edit these pages with a glass of wine at midnight in bed and as you may have noticed with this site, short & sweet is a foreign concept to me; so relax and take the time to read my chats throughout the site. With decades of Dane experience and special qualifications I utilized in this area, it's worth the time.
Having a Dane is an important decision. Price is one of the aspects that may influence your decision on whether you'll get the right Dane or will regret it when it's too late. This material including in particular the page linked at end of this page - will clarify several facts. Please spend a few minutes to read this entire page carefully before you buy a pup from any breeder, especially if it's an online typical commercial operation.
We had many emails from people who regretted rushing to get a pup from a breeder just because his pup was very expensive (in fact there are pet Dane pups sold for well over $4000 and are by no means exceptional) - but the buyer assumed that the pup must be great; and, in other cases the person wrote us about getting a very cheap pup assuming all pups are the almost same. Both buyers had the wrong pup and regretted it when it's too late. This page, and the pages explaining the difference between breeding approaches and program costs make a useful educational material.
... Perhaps let this page be a test to your patience! Danes will require a lot of patience and time.
I am currently investigating other breeders to see who is educated, caring and does or will adopt the supplementary diet I have used - which will soon be available commercially. This will help me answer the question I am often asked: who else (what other breeder) do I recommend when I don't have a pup for someone or not planning to breed that year?
Please read the cost of breeding page. Cheap puppy mills do not spend money in a very important area related to nutrition and preventative supplement which requires a certain diet for the mother before and during pregnancy. This is very important otherwise the Danes will have the risk of shoulder problems later. Many breeders don't bother with such expense and they give you only a year - some even 3 months guarantee. This is an important fact and factor in deciding what breeder to choose. I explained this issue in the cost of breeding page.
Here is a quick tour:
1- Many people have no idea and seem to think it's a profit oriented operation. This can be true only in one
of 2 cases: those who sell the pet pups for $3500+ or, if it's a cheap puppy mills with no health care expenses and low breeding costs.
You must read the page "how much a pup costs us".
2- Take last litter for example: the initial promised 3 free pups to friends & family members suddenly
became 5 pups. So I sold only 3 pups out of the litter, and believe me, I did not even recovering half the basic breeding costs.
3- If you see how we feed and care for our Danes you would understand. Our Dane programme is
associated with a great deal of personal pride. We didn't breed the female when she came into heat recently - despite the fact that we had several names on a waiting list, because we believed that we had only 3 good homes.
If you read our detailed report, you'll see how our cost (measured very conservatively) is often over $1000 a pup without taking into account weeks of almost full time supervision and minimum 3 weeks of part-time supervision, usually rotation between my son & I and hired help, and yet, to several great people on pension with a heart of gold, I gave away pups at or below cost, around $1000.
4- There are right now posted ads for Great Dane pups advertised for $4000 to $9000 a pup. Yes, no typo here! These pups are priced either to deceive the uneducated buyer who will assume they must be the best and you get what you pay for!!! or ... the breeder wants to make money with fewer breeding, targeting the rich applicants who again will assume the pup must be the best or at least great!
The fact is while all the puppy mills I have seen produce terrible pups, one of the two very expensive pups ($5000+) is also just as bad, and the breeder calls it "European Dane" ... smaller and pointed head like a fox ... doesn't even look like a Dane ... really a poor line!
Then there are also ads for good (not necessarily "GREAT" ) just good pups, for $3000 to $4500 a pup. Again, if you read the article written by a wealthy breeder who sells her pups for $5000+, you'll see how it costs her that much - (and they are good Danes ... again ... very good even, but not great" ... and I say it despite the fact she named 5 or 6 lines or breeders in the world who have the best Danes ... naming us as one of them).
In your shopping tour you'll find puppy mills selling American pups on line in the $500-600 range..
You have to see their Danes. I did. And as I mentioned on another page, some of them are scams
advertising a good picture of a Dane that is not even theirs!!! They claim it was produced by them
and no longer around!! A Canadian lady was smart enough to go to the States to pick up her pup in
person and called me from there in tears. The parents looked nothing like a good Dane and the pup looked like a starving pup found in the wild and when she took it to a vet right there in town, the vet himself could not even tell if it's a Great Dane! That bad!!! I am tempted to post here some of the $2000 to $4000+ poor Danes pictures, but that may be misunderstood and may seem personal - though I never met those breeders! The point is obvious. Any Dane lover would find it frustrating!
And again, we're not trying to get you to buy our pup, we usually have a waiting list. This is just general Dane chat & advice. As I said, short & sweet is not one of my qualities and I dedicated a late night with a cigar a glass of wine to chat here!
I enjoy addressing the Dane topic areas as you can tell by the lengthy site! so please, even if your are not purchasing a Dane now, still, please read all our material for the Dane's sake - and you're welcome to call me with your questions even if you purchased a Dane else-where. As you may know, our site was voted the best and most informative breeder site in the world.
I received a call the other day from an interested shopper who told me about a local breeder whose Danes are known to have a heart condition! Surely such a Dane should never be bred!
This is the problem with puppy mills and inconsiderate - irresponsible breeders.
Do your shopping and your homework carefully.
So, our pup price depends on several factors including you! Of course, first off, is it a pet or registered show/breeding pup?
And I meant it when I said that the price may depend on you. In one case a woman handed me $2500 cash for pup and as we talked I found out that her training technique involves using a broom stick to teach the Dane who the Alfa is, in her own words. She didn't get the pup, and the same pup was given for less than half as much($1200) to a nice couple on pension with lots of love and time to offer the Dane. In other similar cases I sold pups for basically that litter's breeding costs per pup ($850, $1000 & $900) to families with kids and I just didn't have the heart to disappoint them. If you are a good home and are blessed with money, make a generous offer. It'll help you secure a pup. If you are a good hard working home and can only afford so much, again tell us - no promises, but we may - as we did in some cases - we may be able to make your family happy with a pup for less than what others paid us.
However, if you are a breeder, the price is $3,500 to $5,000+ depending on some details. Never less than $3500
If the very same pup I would have sold to a breeder for $3500 is sold as a family pet, the guideline is $1500, and it may be lower in these cases:
1) if we have extra fund from a canceled order. A confirmed order deposit is non refundable if YOU change your mind (we refund it of course if we can't
provide what you wanted). When we have a retained refund, this revenue is applied towards the litter's total cost and it means deducting it from the
price of a pup given to one of the applicants, with priority to first come first reserved, and subject to the applicant's need. Meaning, if we have say $500
deposit kept, we may reduce the price of one pup by $500 or 2 pups by $250 each, starting with the applications first confirmed.
2) Some applicants voluntarily offer us $2000 and more. They offered it voluntarily, which again influences the ratio factor between cost of the litter and the
revenue collected. Last year's litter, we sold 2 pups for under $1000 a pet pup.
3) The number of free pups given away to friends and family; and the number of semi-free pups (often near half price) promised to some pension or single
parent applicants - this total number VS the number of actual sold pups - and in light of that litter's breeding costs which may vary depends on such
elements as unexpectedly high vet costs; this ratio influences my decision on how much I can bring down the price of a pup to help a good applicant.
As such, we had a litter when the breeding net cost per pup was well under $700 a pup and we had a litter when the cost per pup was over $1200. You
will have to see the page addressing this issue via the link below.
Please use the pup application-agreement form to tell us about you, the Dane's home and parents-to-be, and what you can afford, and we'll tell you, based on the 3 factors explained above whether we can accommodate you and whether we could make your family happy with one of our pups. And when we said "what you can afford" we are not just suggesting an invitation to bargaining.
Keep in mind that our pups that are sold as pets are true top quality, it just means no show or breeding papers / rights. Out of the last litter, we sent a pup to a Hollywood super star, the famous Kennedy family and even the parliament head of Germany. And all the pups that were old as show made the championship title AND BOTH MADE BEST IN SHOW AND BEST IN BREED.
And, it was just brought to my attention that a breeder on the same island sells the pet pup for $3500 and they now have pups and they insist on $1000 "non-refundable deposit". Someone who purchased a pup from them sent me pictures and I had no idea she paid $3,500 when I gave her my honest opinion. They have good blue Danes - but not the impressive elite quality. Besides, personally, to me a Dane is a Brindle or a Fawn, nothing else.
I explained earlier, my main drive to start breeding was frustration with and anger at those arrogant SOB breeders I dealt with in my search for a pup; and I wanted to - not to get back at them as such - but to make good pups available to many families with children - or to good people on pension and to feel good about it, seeing happy children and joyous retired people - while I enjoy the pleasure of a favourie Danes hobby.
The major risk you are taking with your Dane is the potential health issues. In fact I have to mention two cases we personally experienced last year, a lady in Vancouver and a couple in Edmonton both contacted us and were going to get a pup from me for $1500. They ended up finding two pups for $1000 - (they both were good homes and I likely would have given them a pup for $1000 if they indicated that money was an issue). Both applicants contacted me a year later with regret and problems. At just age one year and at 15 months both Danes had several genetic problems and as well the fact that the Dane turned to be nothing like a good looking Dane should. Apparently several breeders use a picture of a good Dane as a symbol implying its their sire. In fact, we found one new breeder in the States using our Cleopatra's picture!!!!).
As one of the indicated two applicants put it "there is a lot of garbage Danes out there".
Ask your breeder, did he administer the glucosamine, chondroitin VM diet to the mother along with protein prior to and during pregnancy? read the cost per pup page please to see how much that would cost. What about the supplementary pup diet? or did he leave the poor dam to feed 8, 9 or 10 pups expecting that her milk would be alone sufficient? Cheap pups could not have had the proper care and they will most likely have the problems they would have in the wild, in nature.
Also stay away from those offering a maximum one year limited warranty.
This is a commitment and obligation of 10 or more years of relationship (one of our Danes died at 14 years old after a happy healthy life and my last Dane to die was over 11). The $500 one of those applicants thought she saved, cost her $2400 vet fees and they ended up with an inferior Dane. Do your home work. Also be careful with over-priced $4000+ pet pups. It doesn't mean they are the best; but the very cheap ones defiantly means they not cared you!!
Also note that all indicated costs or prices do not include shipping "air cargo" (average $150 depending on location), crate (average $80 for a pup at the 6-8 weeks old stage + some accessories) and at times hired labor for the airport trip (average $80).
Again, even if you are not buying a pup at this time or are getting one somewhere else, please read all our library material. It will help you.
Good luck. We can surely say, if you are ready for a Dane, he will be a great source of joy in your life. He'll be a friend and a family member. You won't quite understand until you have a Dane.
This is Zia before and after, or semi-after ..
at age 6 weeks above, and at age just 6 months here. One of our Cleo's pups.
These, above, are advertised by the puppy mill breeders, obviously are their best! They are terrible quality and you can see what to expect by the picture on the bottom left above. If you are in Ontario buying a pup from Texas you probably will go by a picture of a good Dane the breeder posts. I have seen it happen.
In this case, some uneducated buyers may even think this is what a Dane should look like.
a review of breeding costs from a different angle, and, the health related difference between the cheap, the reasonable and the over-priced. I had deleted it and replaced it with this page after a negative response by a backyard breeder. Then I realized, it must be re-posted. It addresses a vital issue, even if some information is repeated, it completes the concept of a library reference covering every angle of every Dane issue.
This page was written 2008 and was deleted and replaced by page-1 however, despite some repetition, I thought I should post it as part of this section as it covers a point or two that were not addressed by the previous page.
