Avian Plains Great Danes

Jenny Johnson

970-402-4050

Congratulates you on your new Great Dane!

#1. The purchaser(s) agree to take good and reasonable care of the puppy. Feed and house the puppy properly. Puppy will be given appropriate, necessary and timely medical attention. Puppy/dog will not be chained. If at any time the puppy/dog is found to be abused or neglected, the seller will "reclaim" said animal. Any and all legal fees required to "reclaim" dog/puppy will be the responsibility of the purchaser.

#2. If at any time the purchaser is unable or unwilling to keep and properly care for the puppy/dog, for ANY reason, Avian Plains, Jenny Johnson, must be contacted immediately.

#3. ANY and ALL costs associated with return of the dog/puppy are the sole responsibility of the purchaser.

 #4. IF the purchaser sells, transfers or gives away, turns into a shelter, or turns over to ANY rescue organization, it is considered breach of contract and will result in legal action being filed against the purchaser. ANY and ALL legal fees associated with such action will be the responsibility of the purchaser.

#5. Your puppy has received at least one set of shots, (see health record) it is extremely important to finish the shots! A puppy is not protected until the full series is given. Check with your Veterinarian for details. You should keep your puppy away from public places, like parks and pet stores where other pets have been until they are fully vaccinated, usually at or after 16 weeks of age.

#6. his puppy is guaranteed to be in good health, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the sale. The purchaser has 72 hours to have the puppy examined by a licensed Veterinarian. If the Vet finds anything seriously wrong and this was a pre-existing condition, the puppy will be exchanged for another of equal value immediately, or from the next available litter. Replacement only, no cash refunds. A letter must be provided from the examining Vet as evidence of the puppy’s condition. All paperwork must be returned with the puppy.

#7. Your puppy is guaranteed to be free of any "genetic" defects for two years from date of birth. If a permanent visible, crippling or life threatening genetic defect is found, the dog will be replaced only if a Veterinarian of breeder’s choice finds the facts to be so the buyer did not contribute to the condition of the dog by; negligence, inappropriate or untimely vet care, or environmental factors that contribute to problems in dogs such as inadequate exercise, improper food, injury. If the dog dies as a result of a genetic condition prior to two years of age, it must be verified by a Necropsy report, copies supplied to breeder. INITIAL_______

Puppy will be replaced with another of equal value immediately or from the next available litter. Replacement only, no cash refunds. This guarantee is valid only to the original purchaser.

#8. ALL guarantees are null and void if the purchaser does not follow recommended care guidelines.

#9. The seller is not responsible for medical expenses once the puppy has left the premises.

#10. Nonrefundable deposit $200.00  (deposit refundable ONLY if puppy becomes unavailable (health, injury etc.)

#11. Balance due and final payments must be cash or cashiers check, no exceptions.

By signing this contract I agree to abide by the contents in it’s entirety. If any of these mutually agreed to conditions are not met, this contract is considered breached, a fee of no less than $5000.00 plus all court costs will be due the breeder. Return of dog with the AKC registration signed over to breeder, for NO compensation, is immediately required. ANY litigation will occur in the state of Colorado, City of residence for the breeder.

This is a legal, binding contract, do not sign unless you agree to conform to ALL of the terms and conditions.

Purchaser’s Signature _________________________Date______

Purchaser’s Name:  

Address :

Phone #:  Sale Price $:                    Puppy registration #

Litter#:                        Sex:        Color:

Breeder’s Signature ______________________________Date_______

Avian Plains

970-402-4050

Great Dane Puppy Care Sheet

(Feeding:

The first thing to remember is that Great Danes are not a Large Breed, they are a Giant Breed, and have very different nutritional requirements than Large Breeds. Giant Breed puppies require a special diet. Your puppy should only be fed a high quality Large Breed Puppy Food. NEVER feed your puppy a regular puppy food. Doing so can cause serious bone, joint and hip problems which can be very costly and painful for your dog. These foods are also lower in fat and protein, which allow your puppy to grow at a slower rate, lessening the likelihood that he will develop hip, bone and

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joint problems. (Don’t worry, your dog will still grow to be the same size!) The food that we stand by and recommend is: Premium Edge or Innova Large breed puppy for at least the first 2 years of life. Do NOT feed Pedigree, Science Diet, Purina, Beneful, Iams or other ‘commercial’ dog food. Doing so will Nullify the contract. Puppies need to eat at least 3 times a day for the first 4 months. It’s OK to switch to twice a day at around 5-6 months. Some people recommend free-feeding; leaving a bowl of food out for your puppy all the time. This is a HUGE mistake and can lead to bloat (see "common illnesses" below) Feed your puppy small meals, gradually working up to 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening by the age of 12 months. Make sure to add some water to their food. With a Great Dane it is possible to feed your dog to death.

2. Environment:

Great Danes overheat and chill easily. Do not leave your puppy outside for more than ½ hour at a time during the hot summer months or he may get heatstroke. Do not leave him outside in the winter for more than ½ hour at a time – since they have no undercoat (no hair on the stomach area) or double coat (the denser layer of hair that some breeds have under their first coat), they freeze easily. Provide your dog with a soft place to lie: blankets, dog beds and crib mattresses work well. Never leave on a tie out or chain unattended!

3. Growth:

Since your puppy will grow quickly, some precautions must be taken to ensure proper bone development:

Do not allow your puppy to run for long periods of time. This can cause painful multiple hairline fractures in their developing bones, and can result in lifelong arthritis or other damage. Wait to run or play long games of fetch until your dog is at least 18 months old. Do not allow your puppy to play on slippery surfaces. Puppies are naturally clumsy, and the larger the puppy, the greater the damage they can incur by slipping and sliding on slick surfaces. Even small slips that do not seem to cause injury can result in hip dysplasia or other bone and joint problems later in life.

Keep your puppy’s food and water dishes raised up off of the floor

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(about chest level is the proper height) so your pup doesn’t have to bend over to eat or drink. This will help with proper digestion as well as allowing for proper growth of bones.

4. Vaccinations:

Vaccinations are very important! There are many deadly diseases such as Parvo that are spreading rapidly. These diseases can be easily prevented by simply vaccinating your dog. Vaccinations typically cost around $10.00 each, while treating your dog once he has caught Parvo will cost hundreds, even thousands, and many dogs will still die. Other diseases such as distemper are almost always deadly, but can be prevented with a vaccine. Your puppy needs a rabies vaccine at 4 months and 1 year, and then every 1-3 years after that. Check with your local Animal Control office for specific legal requirements. This shot can be obtained at your vet, at vaccination clinics, or at the rabies/animal control/ pound. Your puppy should be started on a heartworm/worm prevention pill at 4 months. This can be obtained from your vet. Heartworm prevention is easy (a chewable tablet given once a month), and treatment is extremely expensive and not very reliable. Heartworms are prevalent in states with any degree of mosquito problems, which rapidly transmit the disease in any type of weather, warm or cold. Areas that have lots of standing water, such as Oklahoma, experience greater Heartworm problems.

If you plan to do a lot of hiking or camping with your dog, you should also consider a Lyme disease vaccination as this disease is transmitted by ticks.

5. Obedience Training:

Your dog will be very large and powerful, and will be very strong willed! Your puppy will also soon outweigh many members of your family, so it is important (and easier!) to teach him manners earlier instead of later. This does not mean that an adult Dane cannot be taught manners, but rather that it is simply easier to convince a dog that weighs 60 pounds to sit than a dog that weighs 150 pounds. Large dogs without manners tend to be exiled from the house and family which causes them to be lonely, and since they’re lonely, the make more trouble, which makes you more angry.

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It’s a vicious cycle! We recommend early obedience training to prevent this from happening. Many obedience schools offer a course on puppy training that can be started at 4 months - 6 months. The classes help with potty training, chew training, sit, stay, come, heel, etc.

6. Potty and Chew Training:

Puppies need to potty every hour for each month of age (a 2 month old puppy needs to potty every 2 hours, a 3 month old puppy needs to potty every 3 hours, etc.). They should be able to hold it for about 8 hours by the time they’re 7-8 months old. Puppies will need to potty approx. 5-30 minutes after eating or drinking, and always after a nap or playtime. Keeping this in mind, one way to train your puppy is by combining crate training with doggie door training. Dogs have a natural denning instinct, so they will naturally make a crate their bed, or den. Dogs will not potty in their bed, (unless there are extreme circumstances, such as being locked in there for too long or if the area is too large) so by keeping your dog in a crate when you are not home and then

taking them directly outside when you let them out, they will learn where to go. If you are able to install a doggie door in a patio door, etc., the crate can be bumped up against the doggie door when you are not home so your pup only has access to the outside and his bed. Be sure to cordon off an area in your yard with an x-pen so that the puppy only has limited access to the yard. This is by far the fastest way to potty train. When you are home, your dog will always have access to the yard when he has to go, so there will be no accidents. If you do catch your puppy in the act of piddling in the house, say NO and take your puppy outside. When he piddles outside, praise him excessively and give him treats. He will then associate piddling outside with getting yummy food and love and will do it more often. DO NOT HIT YOUR PUPPY OR RUB HIS NOSE IN HIS ACCIDENT!!! This will only make him fear and dislike you, and will make him more prone to biting in the future. Positive reinforcement works best with dogs. If your puppy leaves you a puddle or a pile and you find it after the fact, don’t bother punishing the dog. Puppies have terminally short memories and won’t even remember that the mess belongs to him. He

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won’t remember why he’s bad, only that you’re mad and he has no idea why. The most effective training is watching your pup constantly when he is in the house so you can catch him before he goes. Better yet, use a leash as an ‘umbilical cord’ and attach it to your belt loop so that you and he are never more than four feet away from one another. Use his crate if you cannot supervise him, even for a short amount of time. Puppies explore and learn by chewing on things and digging in things. Give your pup chew toys in his crate. By providing your pup with plenty of toys to chew on and by taking him to the park to dig in the sand, he will be less likely to dig in your yard and chew up your stuff. Keep all shoes, candles, etc. out of the reach of your pup or he WILL eat them. If you catch your pup chewing on something he shouldn’t, take it away, say NO, and replace the item with a proper chew toy. In time, your dog will learn what’s OK to chew. Do not give your dog stuffed animals or stuffed quilts as the stuffing can choke your dog. Also, your pup can’t tell the difference between a stuffed toy and a stuffed couch cushion… that’s just asking for trouble! Speaking from experience, though it can be so cute to watch a Dane puppy destroy a newspaper or a stuffed toy, you will regret allowing him to do this later. Bad habits are hard to break, and when that 150 pound dog decides to destroy all your household paper products or your couch cushions while you are asleep, it is not so amusing that next morning. Be firm. Allow him to play with TOYS ONLY!

7. Grooming:

Great Danes require relatively little grooming. They should be bathed approximately every other week. Nails should be trimmed and coats should be brushed to remove loose hair weekly. Ears should be cleaned after each bath or weekly if they are dirty. After bathing or brushing your dog, inspect for ticks, fleas, cuts, and ear mites. Your dog’s teeth should be brushed twice a week with enzyme toothpaste for dogs. Danes tend to collect food particles in the back of their cheeks, and if it isn’t cleaned out regularly, you will have expensive tooth decay problems within a few years.

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8. Spay/Neuter:

Un-neutered male dogs WILL mark or spray (urinate on any and everything they can, including you) to mark territory. Plan on shampooing your furniture and carpet often. To prevent this habit from forming, neuter your dog before he reaches 12 months. Females will go into heat at around 8 months. This is a messy thing (think crime scene photos), and if she gets pregnant, plan on spending AT LEAST $1000.00 and 40 hours a week to raise a healthy litter of her puppies. If you do not intend to breed your dog, the least expensive way to go is to HAVE YOUR DOG SPAYED OR NEUTERED! Spaying before her first heat cycle also reduces her chances of getting breast cancer by up to 80%! Some vets offer discount programs. Call your local no-kill shelter for referrals to vets in your area.

9. Common Illnesses:

The following are signs of common illnesses you should be aware of: When the skin on the back of the neck is pulled up, it should snap back into place quickly. If it doesn’t, your dog is dehydrated. Dehydration can be a sign of serious illness, so if your dog doesn’t become hydrated quickly, take him to your vet.

Great Danes and all deep-chested dogs are susceptible to bloat. Bloat is a condition in which the belly fills up with gas causing the stomach to turn upside down, killing the dog if he is not treated immediately. The main signs of bloat are a bloated looking belly, restlessness, and possible vomiting. If your dog is rushed to the vet, he can be treated and saved. The main causes of bloat appear to be exercising heavily right before or after eating, gulping water after eating, eating food rapidly, stress, and genetics. Ear infections and ear mites are fairly common. Check your dog’s ears often, and if any brown waxy discharge is present in the ear, he has one of the two. See your vet for medication.

Kennel Cough is very easily transmitted between dogs, or through the dirt and air. It is prevalent in Animal Shelters and in areas with large numbers of dogs. If your dog starts coughing (sometimes producing a foamy substance) and sneezing, see your vet for medication before it becomes extremely bad and costly. INITAL______

Live in the Southwest US or Mexico? Several types of nasty fungi live in the dirt, standing water, or dead, decaying plant material and are inhaled by practically every living being. It can be deadly in dogs if not treated. Signs are typically weight loss, loss of appetite, cough, growths on skin, or no symptoms at all.

Seek the advice of your veterinarian if your dog exhibits any strange behavior or just "doesn’t seem like himself." Some canine illnesses are not easily detected by the untrained eye. It is better to be safe and spend a few dollars on an unnecessary vet visit to calm your fears than to spend possibly thousands, or worse, be forced to euthanize your beloved pet, for lack of care.

10. Surgery and Medications

As with any medical procedure, there are always risks. While some risks can be completely eliminated, other risks can be minimized. Your choice of veterinarians has a direct effect on the minimization of the risks involved with medical procedures for your dog. Because Danes have a low metabolism, certain drugs can produce adverse effects and it is easy to overdose a Dane on medications given based on weight alone. Choose your veterinarian carefully and make sure they have experience with Giant Breeds. Ask your potential vet lots of questions and ask for references.

All of us can picture the image of a very noble and majestic looking Great Dane, ears standing, in a beautiful pose. What we did not see is the expense, risks, and time involved in getting those ears to stand so beautifully. The reality is that there is no medical reason to crop a Dane’s ears. It is a purely cosmetic surgery that requires months of medication, dedication, and after-care, and an experienced vet to assist in the months following surgery. "Crop Failures" or less than desirable results are a common occurrence in inexperienced hands. Again, ask for references and ask to see photos of the final result of other dogs.  The best preventative surgery you can provide your Dane is a spay or neuter. Research has shown that these surgeries prevent deadly cancers, as well as prevent common behavior problems. Spaying or neutering your Dane will also prevent you from adding to the horrible statistics of unwanted pets with no homes that are euthanized by the millions every year. INITAL_

DEPOSIT RECEIPT

This is to certify that $ 200.00 was received by

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for a Great Dane puppy from the next available litter of Rocinante Greyrock and Kieyena Cindersky. Preference of puppy is:

#1 choice:

#2 choice:

#3 choice:

Please review the above contract and sign & initial it upon pickup of your puppy.

Thank you very much and please remember that I am always here for any questions and concerns.

Jenny Johnson- Avian Plains Great Danes