Testimonials.

We asked a lot of questions and got a lot of straight answers, including a few we did not want to hear. They told us our first choice of puppy was wrong for our house and suggested a different one. They were right. Two years on, Birch is the best-tempered dog I have ever lived with.

The health file that came with Odin was thicker than my mortgage paperwork. Hips, cardiac, thyroid, the whole line going back three generations. Our vet actually said she wished every breeder did this.

The flight nanny texted me photos from the gate, from the plane and from baggage claim. Willa walked off that flight wagging. I had been dreading the travel and it was the easiest part of the whole thing.

I called them at eleven at night in my first week because he would not settle, and someone picked up. That is the part nobody tells you about — the support after the money has changed hands.

We waited fourteen months for the right litter. They never once tried to sell us a puppy from the wrong one, and they never took a deposit to hold our place. When Pearl came up they called us first.

Our Dane came home crate trained, clean overnight and completely unbothered by the toddler. You can tell when a puppy has been raised in a kitchen instead of a kennel.

They talked us out of a Great Dane the first time we enquired, because our flat was too small and we both worked away. Two years later we moved, called back, and they remembered us. That is not how most people sell dogs.

Bruno came with a feeding plan that was specific to large-breed growth, down to the calcium ratio. I had no idea how much of Dane ownership is getting the first year of food right.