Buying Info

Pictured: Cassandra/owner il Drago w/ il Drago Muse, daughter of CH il Drago Galiano,

son of Adamo di Lapillo  (3 generations of il Drago)

ildragoneo@aol.com

 

We are one of the most successful Neapolitan Mastiff kennels in the United States, proven in our longevity with an HONEST 14 years in the breed. Many new kennels claim even longer, but there are actually very few Neo breeders that have even 5 years in this breed. Recently, there has been an increase in "embellishers" in this breed as the breed gains popularity and there are more people breeding. We produce and actively show our Neapolitan Mastiffs. We do not CLAIM to show, we actually do show, therefore we know what show quality pups look like and are working with many generations of Mastini that WE have been showing and breeding. Refer to the AKC Top 25 list for proof. Why buy a show dog from someone who has never shown a Neo? We do not falsely represent our dogs, ALL of the dogs that you see on our site are ours, we do not use pics of other peoples dogs 6 generations back to sell our pups. All of our dogs are advertised with their full registered name, hence telling you who bred the dog, and giving that kennel the credit they deserve. We do not use a one word name for our dogs as to confuse the buyer into believing that we produced that dog, Neapolitans DO NOT have one word names. If the dog has an Il Drago name, it's a dog we bred. We do not lie about or embellish the sizes & weights of our dogs. Neapolitans are not meant to be 200 lbs. The average Neapolitan Mastiff male is 120-160 lbs. The average female is 110-130 lbs. Numbers greater than that are VERY rare & will be obvious in a dog with EXTREME type, mass, wrinkle & bone. We offer a 12 month to 36 month hip & heart guarantee. Many breeders offer a 1 year guarantee if any at all. A one year guarantee is usually inadequate since often Neos' major health issues are not evident until after the first year of their growth. The average life span of a Neapolitan Mastiff is 6-8 years, giant breeds are not long-lived. Do the research, ask the right questions, if a breeder is being honest and has nothing to hide they will have NO issue with these questions...How long have you been breeding Neapolitan Mastiffs, what year did you produce your first litter of Neos & can you prove it with paperwork? How many litters have you produced? How many champions or National Specialty Winners have you produced, and again can you provide proof of this? Have you ever shown any of your Neapolitan Mastiffs? How many of your dogs have you had to replace? If a breeder tells you they have been breeding for 20 years, the sire and dam are 180 lbs each, they have never had to replace a dog and the average life of a Neo is 10 years, these are red flags, so Buyers Beware. The price of our pups start at $2500 and can go up to $3500. $2500 is the price of a pet quality puppy with limited registration & a spay/neuter contract. $3500 is the price of most of our show quality puppies with full registration & no strings attached.   We offer 3 variations of pup "qualities", show, breeding & pet quality, our sales contracts define these terms. Please contact us about our sales contract/guarantee for more info, we have the best guarantee in Neos. The following info applies to the different qualities of pups.... All pet quality pups are sold with limited registration and spay/neuter contracts. All show quality pups are sold with full registration and a 50% rebate if you show and finish (champion) your dog We do have a $200 rebate with proof of spay/neuter, except on pet quality pups Please do not contact us about placing a deposit until you have read the Neo Info page of our site. There is lots of valuable information on this link and some of it can be rather daunting to a buyer that has not researched the breed. Of course questions are welcome and encouraged. Intact males (males that are not being neutered) will not be sold to households with kids under the age of 10. Understand even if a breeding just took place there is a 2 month gestation period and another 2 months before the pups are ready to go. Often we will have a waiting list 6 months in advance of a litter being born. Deposits are accepted once approved, in the amount of $500, this places a hold on the specific pup you are requesting and is refundable ONLY if Il Drago cannot provide you your pup within 1 year. If a puppy is not reserved until after it's birth, the deposit is $1000. The average wait can be 6 months to a year for the specified puppy that a buyer has requested, Neapolitan Mastiffs can be incredibly hard to breed compared to other breeds, and some breedings do not result in a litter immediately. Il Drago Kennels does not accept personal checks, the recommended form of payment is wire transfer or postal money orders. Upon receipt of your deposit (within 10 days) you will be sent via mail a deposit receipt, a neo-info packet, & a sample copy of our standard sales contract. When you place a deposit on a pup and a litter is born we will not know which puppy is yours until they are ready to go. Unless you have placed a deposit on a "specific pick" you will not be picking out your pup. We at Il Drago will use our years of experience to pick out the the best pup for you according to the specifications you gave when you sent the deposit. All of our pups and adults are microchipped and their health is guaranteed. We offer a 12-36 month heart & hip guarantee. Each pup is named according to it's litter "letter", the litters are named in alphabetical order, which means if you are purchasing a pup from the "I" litter your pups registration will come pre-named with the kennel name "Il Drago" and then an Italian name that starts with an I. This helps us associate dogs from litters. You are welcome to pick your pups call name. We do not crop ears for customers, we can possibly recommend a vet in your area that is experienced with neo-crops, but we DO NOT crop prior to sale. This is up to each individual buyer to decide, please read Ear Cropping Pros & Cons. We do however dock ALL of our pups tails before they are sold, 1/4 off, according to the Italian & the AKC standard. Full payment for pups including shipping fees are due by the time the pups are 6 weeks old. This allows us time to to prepare the pups for their new homes, in most cases pups are ready at 8 weeks old, NO EARLIER. Shipping costs for 8 week old pups is $350 in the 48 states, this includes your health certificate, crate & the cost of the flight. When Il Drago Kennels has pups we are very busy, please allow us time to return calls or answer emails, we do care about getting back to you, but these big lugs keep us very busy. Please email us at ildragoneo@aol.com for further info

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