We do not allow visitors to see the puppies that have not committed and shared sufficient identifying information with us -and even if so, not until the puppies are past time for their first set of shots to settle into their systems (so not until 7 or 8 weeks old).  

Why?   Summer of 2015, we allowed visitors when we had some young puppies - and 2 ended up getting very sick.   Over $5k in emergency vet and round the clock care, 1 died and 1 survived with long term kidney issues.   When new people or dogs come in, they bring in "new" germs.  Puppies basically have little to no immunity.   New germs can give them a cold or serious bacterial infection.   Your hands, shoes, feet, arms, everything, has germs on it - your own ecology.   

The 2nd reason is that our friend, a poodle breeder in another state, was recently robbed and murdered in her kennel.   

We have also received very shady inquiries - and several counterfeit checks.   

We know that our Instagram account makes this look like a puppy heaven and a place to come hang out at - but, it is not.   Our homes are our homes.  We take care of the puppies, and we have lives - we also value our safety and more than that, value that our puppies' health is going to be stable while with us.   

Your puppy or dog having parasites is like a human having a cold in that everyone wants to find a source 'to blame'.....oh, so and so gave me his cold, or gee, that kid sneezed on me and now I have a cold.  

Just like cold viruses, parasites and opportunists like fleas and ticks, are everywhere.  They are on the ground, on blades of grass, on people's hands and shoes that come into your home, on the vet floors and tables, etc.  

Why are puppies more likely to have them?  Because puppies are together in a bunch.  One will pee or poo, another will step in it (no matter how clean a breeder is, this is definitely going to happen with a litter), then the pup decides to clean his paws off with his mouth - bam, passed on a little friendly.  Or, they'll step in something good outside on the ground, then come in to their pen and play and wrestle and step in their water bowl.  That branch or leaf your cute puppy has in her mouth?  Yep, has coccidia on it.  That mulch your puppy keeps digging up and chewing on?  Yep, has roundworms in it.  That puddle or stream that your pup took a drink of while out on a hike?  Yep, has giardia in it.  

It's going to happen!  And, they will pass it on to your other pets and maybe even you or your kids.  

Sometimes, you will not see symptoms AND fecal analysis will return a false negative.  So, they could live with an opportunist forever, and you might never know. 

If that is the case, why should we try to control it?  Because some can get quite sick from having parasites.  Also, it could give them a sore tummy and make it hard for potty training.  They also can pass things along to kids - and vice versa.  Plus, treatment is relatively easy - so why not just try and control it.  

In addition to treatment, clean all toys and bedding and bowls with soap and bleach - frequently.  Whether you think your dog has any fun critters or not, you should do this every week at least to negate the chances of harboring opportunists.  

Also, use monthly heartwormer that your vet prescribes.  It not only protects against heartworm, it also has dewormer for parasites baked into it.  Also, use a flea and tick med that covers your dog BEFORE a tick bites (right now, the current product to use is Advantix, not Advantage or Frontline); and consider the Seresto collar during the summer months for additional protection.

And - yes, I am biased here - it does not mean that your puppy came from a "bad" or dirty breeder.  Not at all.  I would like to know if there has ever been a breeder that has never had any parasites within their pups because I would say it's impossible.  Puppies are just silly - they love getting into things, chewing on dirt or grass, and then stepping in bowls and mouthing at their siblings.  Unless you want your puppy to be in a bubble, it's going to happen.   And, as a breeder, I don't think you're a bad owner if your dog gets a parasites - no, not at all - because I know it's going to happen.  

It is a fact and an expense you have to account for if you want a dog in your life.  

For those of you interested in learning more about hip dysplasia, we recently reviewed some research and pulled some insights for you.  From what we gathered, it is important to keep your dog 'on the lean side' and not overweight. 

Facts from the source:  http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/saortho/chapter_83/83mast.htm

- Hip dysplasia is a complex range of environmental and body conformation and hereditary factors.  Hip dysplasia in dogs has no clear-cut pattern of inheritance (although it can be greatly reduced by attempting to control it with breeding stock without HD). Environmental factors must be considered with body conformation as causes.

- Heritability (in a study) has been shown at a rate of 25%.

- Most dogs will be between the ages of 5 months - 12 months at first presentation.

- Hip dysplasia affects humans and other domestic animals.  1.3 human children out of 1000 are affected.

- In humans, females are 4 to 8 times more likely to have hip dysplasia.  In dogs, it is equal by gender.

- In a study, pups that overate and ate 'aggressively' (pushing hard with back legs to latch to the mother) - the majority (63%) were dysplastic at 1 year of age.

- The body conformation of breeds with the lowest prevalence is slender and trim.  Overweight and giant dogs have the highest.

- Hip dysplasia has not been reported in wild animals such as wolves and foxes.  The pups are slow growing and of late maturity.

- Past pedigree history is of little relevance, since many generations may be normal and still produce dysplastic progeny.

Facts from source:
http://www.4germanshepherds.com/Dysplasia.htm

- The rate of growth in a puppy is a primary factor in the development of hip dysplasia.

- No breeder can eliminate ALL risk of hip dysplasia.  The average 'german' German Shepherd will show 10 to 15 generations of clean hips before 1 shows with hip dysplasia.


NOTE:  We are not veterinarians and the above information was pulled from the cited sources.  Check with your vet for advice if you are concerned about your dog's movement.

Dewclaws are probably the least controversial of cosmetic amputation options - from tail docking, ear cutting, and even nipple grind downs - they are all traumatizing to the puppy (and you, if you're there during the procedure).  Some dogs have ripped their dewclaws while they were adults and that has made 'dewclaw removal' a procedure that many breeders do to the pups when they are just a few days old.  Personally, we have not seen too many dewclaw snags to justify cutting a piece of our puppies' bodies.  Some people say, 'oh, it's just a minute or two of pain...' and we reply, 'bullsh1^'.  Watch the above YouTube video and perhaps you'll decide to not support this procedure. The owner in this video went to a vet to have the procedure done (some owners skip paying a vet and do it themselves at home - true information)!  When I worked at a vet's office, I saw all sorts of poor puppies suffering from homemade amputations. Puppies that were sick from infection because their owner decided to have their tail docks by putting a tight rubber band on it for months; ears that were ragged and infected from being cut by a dirty box cutter; and, other things that would make most people sick and enraged.

We do not have the dewclaws of our puppies removed.  We have never had an issue with dewclaws getting snagged during our lifetime of dozens of dogs over the past almost 40 years.  Could a dewclaw snag still happen?  YES!  But, we'd rather not risk our puppies mobility and emotional stability for a procedure that if you really want done, you can have done while they are fully under anesthesia and being spayed/neutered.  

We also tried doing microchipping on our puppies, but once we saw how enormously thick the needles were, we decided if you want it done, it's a procedure that you can ask your vet to do during spay/neuter while they are under anesthesia. We are pro-microchipping - we are just too wussy to do it to our little puppies.  We are not vets - so please consult your vet on any procedures and medications.

Starting a few weeks before a dog is going to have puppies, you can see her puppies moving inside her belly.  As she gets closer to having her puppies, the puppies get very active.  They are getting in "position" to come out into the world. We enjoy feeling them and thought you would enjoy watching them moving around.

Here is a quick video of the puppies moving in our Jada's belly:

I took a call from someone that had puppy questions that tipped me off that she had a bad puppy experience.  At first, I thought she was worried about the puppy being bad to her kids, then, I realized she was concerned about how her KIDS were going to be with the puppy.  I finally got out of her that they had a puppy this past summer and the kids squished it and it died.  Her kids didn't know any better (very young), and were, unfortunately, unsupervised - it only took a few minutes for the disaster to happen.  Yes.  Wow.  My stomach hurts thinking about it.  

I looked on the internet for stories of kids accidentally killing puppies.  I was shocked how many stories there were.  While I don't have kids, I know a ton of kids and, yes, I know most little kids are not naturally gentle with puppies or cats or little animals.  They need taught to be gentle.  My sweet 3 yr old niece is an example.  She tries to carry mom's huge cat around (much to his dismay), she wants to help feed the fish and will dump the whole container of flakes in the aquarium, and while she was very good with the puppies when they were tiny, as they got bigger she would try to carry them.  She's just a bitty thing, so carrying anything more than a few pounds is way too much for her to do safely.  She just doesn't understand that an accident can happen - it does not mean that she's a mean kid.  She's a sweetie.  So, we don't let her off a chair or the couch when she is puppy playing - and she is NEVER unsupervised.  

You all might be wondering what I said to the woman that called me.  Well, perhaps a surprise due to my love for puppies and dogs, but I was nice to this woman because I felt it was a sad, bad accident and she wanted to make it right.  Of course, I had to lecture her that puppies are babies - they are not resilient and able to handle kids' rough housing.  They haven't seen anything of the world yet.  Everything is brand new.  The first things they learn of humans shouldn't be rough handling.  They are fragile, they have tendons and bones that are growing, and they also need gentle handling so they don't think kids are toys and learn rough habits that are dangerous for all (and not fair for the puppy who is being hurt and defending itself by snapping).  Their mouths are their hands.  They don't know what is toxic and they shouldn't eat.  They don't automatically know to stay off roads away from traffic.  They don't know the kitty is not a toy, or that not all humans are nice (and some are just outright dangerous).  They don't understand why we put a collar on them and why we keep them tied with a leash.  It is our responsibility to introduce them to the world, to show them how to walk and run on a leash without pulling, one step at a time - and give them the same consideration and gentleness and patience that we would our human kids.  Puppies are babies!

So when people call me and ask, "are your puppies good with kids?" - I'm going to ask them, "are your kids good with puppies?".  All of my puppy owners are so good with their puppies - but no matter how good everyone's intentions are - Accidents do happen to good people and good kids (and good puppies)!  

I don't judge good people on accidents (but, that doesn't mean I won't lecture and if you've made a mistake - like I have many times - be big enough to stand for the lecture and learn from it).  When I was in college, my stepdad accidentally ran over a puppy as he was backing out of the driveway.  He's been tortured about that forever.  

Of course, this doesn't mean we're going to allow one of our puppies go to a home that has questionable supervision and consideration.  This woman is going to take awhile to heal and she knows that she's not going to be able to get the dog of her life that she's been waiting forever for until her home and kids and life are 'puppy safe'.  She's taking the right steps and having a dog trainer come over and teach them about animal care BEFORE they ever consider getting another, and she's going to wait until they are older and get an older puppy/dog (probably one over 3 years old).  A very hard lesson to learn, but the horizon is bright for her and her family!