Frequently Asked Questions

It is very difficult to tell what kind of personality a puppy will have when he is older. Sometimes a shy-acting puppy will actually end up being a more dominate adult, or that really energetic live wire ends up being a pretty sedate older dog. Since most of our puppies go to their new homes before they are 3 months old, the time you spend with your puppy early on will make a big difference in the way he or she acts as an adult. We are convinced that giving your puppy lessons in basic obedience will be an investment that will benefit both your puppy and you, no matter what his personality type is.

We ship a number of puppies each year and --Thank the Lord!-- all the puppies have arrived safe and sound. Our method of shipping works like this: We make arrangements with a major airline and let you know what the date and time of arrival will be at a city near you. We take the puppy and his or her necessary papers to the airport (airlines usually require the puppy be checked in 90 minutes before departure time). Your puppy will be shipped to you in a pet carrier with a collar and leash. He will have food and water during the trip, and usually we attach a small amount of food to the top of the carrier. He will ride in the cargo area of the plane; if a live animal is aboard the plane, USDA requires that the cargo area be pressurized and remain between 45 and 85 degrees at all times. We will try to call you and let you know after the puppy is checked in at the airport. You will need to bring your confirmation numbers and a photo ID with you to the airport. Each airline and each city is different, so in some places you will need to go to a cargo facility to pick up your puppy and in others you will pick up your puppy in the baggage claim area of the airport. We always appreciate hearing that your puppy has arrived safely; so after you have picked up your puppy, please let us know! It is difficult to make flight arrangements during very hot or cold weather in some cities. We will try to let you know as soon as we can if there is a weather restriction that could delay shipping your puppy to you.

We are glad to hold puppies for families till they are old enough to go to your home. We ask for a deposit of $100 to hold a puppy. Some families choose to pay for their puppy in full, while others like to pay half at the beginning and then the last half when they pick him or her up, and others prefer to make small payments every week or so till the puppy is paid for in full. We do require that the puppy be paid for in full before he or she leaves our farm. We are glad to accept a check or money order; or if you prefer to use a credit card, we can accept credit cards and echecks with Paypal. Please let us know that you are sending us a deposit before you send it, so we can let others know that we are expecting a deposit. We will send you a receipt after we receive your deposit via email.

When you purchase a puppy from us, he or she will be weaned and eating Life's Abundance Large Breed Puppy food. He will have food offered all the time at our home, so if you want to put him on a schedule, you will want to offer food about 4 to 5 times a day for the first few days till he realizes that he needs to eat when food is offered! Feedings can quickly be reduced to 2 or 3 per day. A puppy grows so rapidly for the first year that you don't need to worry about feeding him too much--just make sure it is a good puppy food or treats and not "people food!" Your puppy will be used to going through a dog door to go outside to go potty. He will need a couple of weeks to get used to your schedule and "where the bathroom" is at your home. Plan to take him outside every 4 hours or so for the first couple of weeks till he is used to using the "bathroom" at your house and till his little bladder is big enough to "hold it " longer!

Co-Ownership with an AKC registered dog means that the dog is owned by more than one person and each owner is listed on the dog's registration papers as an owner. This is often done when a husband and wife, for example, list both of their names on the dog's registration papers. Sometimes a dog is Co-Owned when a breeder sells a dog to another person but retains some interest in the dog. Limited registration means simply that the breeder is selling this dog with limitations on his registration. Offspring from a dog with limited registration cannot be registered with AKC and the dog is unable to compete in AKC conformation shows. (He is eligible to compete in other AKC sanctioned events, such as Agility, Obedience, etc). In the past we have sold most of our puppies with Full AKC registration unless they had an obvious conformation fault or other issue that would make them unsuitable for showing in AKC conformation shows or for breeding. However, over the past few years we have had an evergrowing number of inquiries from people wanting a puppy for breeding purposes. While we are certainly not opposed to responsible dog breeding, we have been contacted by some folks that don't seem to really care very much for the dogs at all. Since our primary goal is to provide a happy, healthy puppy to a family that will love and care for him or her, we have decided to offer our puppies with limited AKC registration in hopes that those only interested in breeding will go elsewhere. We will continue to sell a few puppies with full AKC registration but are just trying to be more discriminating. If you are looking for a puppy with full AKC registration, let us know and we will be glad to talk to you about our puppies.