Health Guarantee
Every puppy is covered by a written 3-year guarantee against life-threatening congenital and hereditary conditions.
Our commitment
We stand behind every puppy we place. Each one leaves us having been examined by a licensed veterinarian, with a health certificate, complete vaccination and deworming records, and a written 3-year guarantee against life-threatening congenital and hereditary defects.
Every puppy also comes with a VitalStart health report, 30 days of MetLife pet insurance, registration papers and a microchip. If anything about a particular puppy differs, ask us and we will confirm exactly what is included.
What's covered
Hereditary spinal defects
Congenital malformations of the spine present from birth. Note that this is not the same thing as IVDD, which is addressed separately below — please read that section.
Hereditary conditions
Life-threatening genetic conditions diagnosed by a licensed veterinarian and confirmed, where required, by a second opinion.
Congenital defects
Conditions present from birth, including cardiac, hepatic and renal defects.
Veterinary certification
Every puppy leaves with a health certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian confirming they were fit to travel on the day they left us.
What you need to do
The guarantee stays valid as long as you hold up your side, which is deliberately simple:
- See a vet within 72 hours. Have your puppy examined by a licensed veterinarian within three days of collection, and keep the record. If you cannot get an appointment in those first three days, tell us and we will extend the window — we will not hold a booked-up vet against you.
- Keep vaccinations and deworming current on the schedule your vet sets.
- Feed an appropriate diet and keep your dog at a healthy weight. In a Dachshund this is not a general wellness point — excess weight directly increases the risk of disc disease, and it is the condition we will ask about first.
- Tell us promptly. Contact us within one week of a qualifying diagnosis, with the vet's written report.
What isn't covered
No guarantee covers everything, and we would rather be plain about the edges than bury them. Not covered:
- Parasites, coccidia, giardia and kennel cough — common, treatable, and largely environmental once a puppy leaves us.
- Injury, accident, neglect or conditions caused by the dog's environment after collection.
- Hypoglycaemia, stress-related illness and digestive upset in the first days home. These are usually the result of the transition itself; feed on schedule and keep things calm.
- Conditions caused or worsened by obesity, by permitted jumping from furniture, by unsupported lifting, or by walking from a collar rather than a harness.
- Cosmetic traits — adult coat colour, coat length and texture, ear set, adult size, or markings. Coat colour in particular changes as a puppy matures and cannot be guaranteed, and final adult weight is an estimate rather than a promise.
- Any condition arising after the guarantee period ends.
Where we stand on IVDD
Intervertebral disc disease is the most common serious health problem in Dachshunds, and it is the question every buyer should ask a Dachshund breeder directly. We would rather answer it here than let you find the answer in the small print.
IVDD is partly genetic and partly the result of how a dog is kept over years — weight, jumping, stairs and lifting. That mixture is exactly why it sits awkwardly against a congenital-defect guarantee: by the time it appears, usually somewhere between three and seven years of age, there is no way to separate what the dog inherited from how it has lived. Any breeder who tells you their line cannot produce it is not being straight with you.
Intervertebral disc disease is not covered by the 3-year guarantee. No Dachshund line is free of it, and by the time it appears there is no way to separate what a dog inherited from how it has lived — which is exactly why we ask about ramps, two-handed lifting and keeping her lean, and why we would rather say this plainly than bury it.
A spinal defect she was born with is a different thing, and that is covered under congenital malformations above.
Our advice follows from that: take out pet insurance in the first days after your puppy comes home, before anything can be called pre-existing. Surgical treatment for a ruptured disc runs into thousands, and no breeder guarantee in this breed is a substitute for cover.
How a claim works
- Your veterinarian diagnoses a covered condition and puts it in writing.
- You contact us within one week with that written diagnosis.
- We may ask for an independent second opinion from a veterinarian of our choosing, at our cost.
- If the claim is upheld, the choice is yours: a full refund on return of the puppy, or a replacement puppy of comparable value from a current or upcoming litter. If you would rather keep her, we will put that money toward her treatment instead.
That choice stands for the whole 3 years, not just the first days. What we can put behind it is capped at what you paid us for the puppy, which is why we still recommend pet insurance strongly: it covers treatment without that ceiling. Take out a policy in the first days after your puppy comes home, while she is still young enough that nothing counts as a pre-existing condition.
We would rather you never need this. The guarantee exists as a backstop. The real work is in the pairing decisions, the veterinary oversight and the first eight weeks — which is where nearly all of our effort actually goes.
This page is a plain-English summary. The binding terms are in the written sales agreement you'll receive before purchase.
Questions about the guarantee?
Ask us anything before you commit. We'd rather answer twenty questions now than one complaint later.