Zora's puppies will be placed in approved homes only. Without intending to offend, it is critical that prospective owners read the article entitled Reasons Not to Get a Giant on our home page before proceeding with purchasing a Giant. I also suggest that you visit the Giant Schnauzer Club of America's website and read the articles posted there so you can be an informed puppy buyer. Giant Schnauzers are not for everyone. Before committing to make one of these puppies a member of your family, much consideration should be given to what it really costs to own a Giant: vet care, food and treats, dog crate, obedience training, etc. I go through two 40-pound bags of Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice Large Breed Formula at about $35.00 per bag each month. Add to that various treats and toys, and my monthly bill to Petco/Petsmart averages about $125.00-150.00 per month. While my dog food/treat bill is for three dogs, you are probably looking at a dog food/treat bill of about $50.00 per month for one Giant. (An adult Giant will go through about one 40-pound bag of food per month.) A dog crate of sufficient size to accommodate your Giant (you will ultimately need at least a 48" crate) retails for about $125-150.00 (I do have a source from which I can get 48" crates for about $50.00). Crate-training your pup will be one of the best things your can ever do for you and your pup. Basic obedience training classes (highly recommended) average $100.00 for a six-week course. (Although persons experienced with working breed dogs -- Giants in particular -- may be able to perform their own training, I would still recommend a basic obedience class because the Giant is a large, powerful, intelligent and dominant breed.) Annual vaccines/examinations may cost anyhwere from $50.00-$100.00, and that cost doesn't include emergency vet visits. (For example, one visit resulted from Zora body-slamming Zig on a concrete subfloor, which caused me to be concerned that his leg may be broken or fractured. It turned out that he literally just "hurt his leg." The tab for this little boo-boo? $250.00 for an examination, x-rays and a bottle of seven anti-inflammatory tablets. Of course, as soon as we got home, he ran over and started wrestling with Zora as if nothing had happened. On another unscheduled visit, it cost $280.00 to have a series of testing performed because I was concerned that Zig might have diabetes insipidus because he was releasing copious amounts of urine. The diagnosis? Just a six-month old puppy who played so hard he forget to stop and pee.) Obie, Zora and Zig are all enrolled in a pet wellness plan (at a cost of about $60.00 per month for all three). The wellness plan covers examinations and vaccinations on an annual basis. This option may be better suited for some of you, but my experience has been that there are pros and cons to using a pet wellness plan versus visiting a vet as needed. I will happily explain upon request. All in all, the cute little pup that you bring home at eight to 10 weeks old weighing 10-25 pounds will quickly grow into an 60-100+ pound little monster. Yes, a monster (albeit a very cute one!). Giants do not begin to mature until about two years of age. So, while your Giant baby may be 80 pounds at two years old, you will still be dealing with a puppy. And puppies can be mischievous, destructive and endearing, all at the same time. (Oh, did I mention that Giants are thieves? Things which "disappear" from my house can be usually found in the backyard . . . destroyed.) Another consideration should be the members of your household. It is probably best that Giants be placed in homes with children at least 10 years of age simply because of the Giant's size and high level of activity. I am 5'8" tall and 155 pounds; Zig just loves to run up behind me and knock me to the ground if I'm not paying attention when we're out in the back yard. In his mind, he's just having fun. Place a small child in that same scenario and the potential exists for the child to be inadvertenly harmed. That is not to say that a Giant cannot peacefully coexist with small children, but it is imperative that the Giant be taught from day one how to interact with, and respect, the child. The same holds true for children: they must be taught how to interact with, and respect, the Giant. Most importantly, a Giant should never be left unsupervised with any child. Some people will tell you that Giants are dog aggressive and cannot be placed with same-sexed dogs. I do not believe in absolutes, as there are always exceptions to a rule. I hesitate to jump onto that bandwagon for the simple reason that I have two males and a female peacfully coexisting under the same roof. But that is me, and all of my dogs know that I am pack leader. Each situation is different, but I do recommend an opposite-sexed Giant if another dog is already a member of your familly unless you are extremely adept at handling dogs. Giants are very headstrong and will take over as pack leader if he or she believes that the owner is not up to the task.
Now, if I haven't offended you or scared you off (I happen to believe in full disclosure), I will tell you about the puppies. This litter is the result of an unplanned mating between Zora and Zig. Zora had a silent heat, and we had out-of-town guests over the holidays, which gave those two a chance to "hook up." Both Zora and Zig are AKC registered, purebred Giant Schnauzers; however, the puppies are not registerable with the AKC because Zora has a limited AKC registration. What that essentially means is that although the puppies are purebred Giant Schnauzers, they cannot be entered in AKC-sanctioned dog events unless you obtain an Indefinite Listing Privilege (ILP). With an ILP, your spayed or neutered purebred puppy can participate in the following AKC events: agility trials, herding tests and trials, junior showmanship, obedience trials, rally trials and tracking tests. It is my opinion that a pup's registration status or "papers" have little or no bearing on whether or not these puppies will make good family companions. While all of the pups are being sold on a "pet-quality" basis, all of the puppies are healthy and beautiful, and there are several outstanding pups in the litter who could be shown if they were registerable. If you are simply looking for a loyal and protective family companion, I don't believe registration status should be a factor; if, however, registration is critical to you, the puppies are eligible for registration with several other canine organizations (e.g., CKC, ACA, APRI) If you are looking for a show-quality puppy that you can enter in the conformation ring, Sonnenschein Kennels, Magna Giant Schnauzers and Triple Crown Kennels are a few of the kennels of which I am aware that produce outstanding litters, who provide great support to their customers and who are esteemed within the Giant commuunity. Zora, Zig and Oberon are spoiled and pampered family members who live inside the house. Likewise, the puppies are being raised inside our home, and will be thoroughly socialized prior to placement. Puppies will be up-to-date on all vaccinations and wormings, and will come with natural ears. The puppies' dew claws were removed and tails were docked on March 6, 2007. With respect to ear-cropping, it is my personal opinion that unless you are showing the dog in the conformation ring, cropping the puppies' ears is an expensive cosmetic surgery (about $200.00, plus follow-up care) which is a very painful experience for the puppy, and which requires much diligence and patience during follow-up care on the part of the new owner. Cropped ears must be properly posted and taped for several days; then untaped, cleaned and aired out for a couple of days; and then the process must be repeated on a five-day-on/two-day-off cycle -- and the process could last for several months. And even after proper taping and cleaning, there is still no guarantee that the ears will stand. (See Zora's pics; her ears do not stand.) IF you must have cropped ears, I can refer you to two vets in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who are experienced in cropping Giant Schnauzer ears. Ideally, ears should be cropped between 9 and 12 weeks of age, and only by a vet who is experienced with Giants. I would also recommend using Dr. Scholl's mole foam and surgical glue for posting cropped ears over the tampon/window insulation posting and taping method for posting if you do decide you wish to have the ears cropped -- I'll be happy to demonstrate the process. The puppies will be ready to go to new homes no earlier than May 1, 2007, without exception. They must remain with Zora until they are at least eight weeks old so she may teach them basic doggie manners.
Potential purchasers will be requested to complete the linked questionnaire and a telephone or in-personinterview, as well as enter into a Puppy Purchase Agreement. Once your questionnatire has been approved, a non-refundable $250.00 deposit will be required to hold your puppy until he or she is ready to go to its new home. Please return to our home page and send us an e-mail message for additional information, or if you have any questions. You should receive a response within 24 hours, if not sooner. For purchasers in the DFW area, I am happy to help you with further socialization of your new pup, as well as show you how to groom them, among other things Giant. It is my intent to be available to new owners for support, training and encouragement throughout the life of your new puppy. Individual pictures of the puppies are now uploaded in our photo album, and will be updated as the pups grow. There are also a lot of photos of the O.Z.Z. crew there. Feel freel to browse, and by all means please do not hesistate to contact us if you have any questions in the interim. |
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