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Choosing Your Puppy
We have a lot of people ask how operate when it comes to choosing your puppy. We have a few main ways of doing this, and it's always up to you as the customer to decide what the best method is for you. Everyone is welcome to come visit us and the puppies by appointment.
1. A lot of people will place a deposit on a puppy based on the info thats on the website and they call and verify some info as well before placing the deposit. After all, the puppies are on a first come first served basis. First person with the deposit, gets the puppy.
2. Other people prefer to Facetime with us and the puppy to verify that we do in fact exist. There are a lot of scammers out there, and we have helped a lot of people who have been scammed in the past and are skeptical. We understand what thats like and do our best to be open, honest and upfront about everything.
3. Other people who are semi local, come visit us and the puppies and pick out the exact puppy they want.
4. And then we have others who want a puppy thats in high demand and place a deposit to get a certain pick of the litter once the pups are born and 4-5 weeks old. There's no wrong way to choose your puppy, just do what you're comfortable doing.
And when you have successfully chosen your puppy, if it's not ready to go home yet, you can secure that exact puppy with a nonrefundable $200 deposit. If the puppy is ready to go home and you're here in person, you can pay in full and take the puppy home with you that day. The deposit always goes towards the total price and we will get the puppy marked adopted ASAP for you.
All the puppies are microchipped and have names on the website for identification. We have records on our end with the chip numbers and corresponding names so that we can guarantee the right puppy for you. We are human tho, and have messed up in the past, but hopefully we can maintain our sanity and keep everything straight. The microchips can fail as they are a tiny electronic device, but at one point, they did work for us. If for some reason the chip doesn't work when you pick up the pup, we'll place another microchip in. If you get the pup delivered and the chip has failed, just have your vet replace the microchip.
Pickup/Delivery
After the deposit is made, you have a few things to prepare on your end to get ready for the puppy. You are welcome to come pick up the puppy here at our office in Atwood, IL by appointment and we can also arrange delivery to your door for an extra fee. The fee will be determined by the distance you live from us, and we can also arrange for a pet nanny to deliver the puppy to your nearest airport. In the meantime, you can ask us what food we're feeding, and get some so that the puppy will stay on the same food for awhile. We always send a small bag of food along with the puppy, but depending on the puppy, it will only last a couple days. When you come to pick up or if the puppy is delivered, you will receive a folder or envelope with a lot of information. Below is what you can expect.
1. Vaccine and deworming records
2. Vet report
3. Microchip info
4. Health Guarantee
5. Registration papers (if applicable and available)
6. USDA form
7. Training tips and What to Expect with a new Puppy
8. A copy of our referral program
9. And a printed receipt (if you pay in person with a card)
For more info on payment options, you can visit the Financing page to see all the options.
We primarily use All Star Family Pets for our delivery service, and we have been using them for a long time and never had any issues. There are a lot of delivery services out there, but we have had the best luck with All Star and they are great people to work with. We trust them with our pups and they do a great job.
When it comes time to schedule your puppy pickup, keep in mind that no puppies can leave until they are 8 weeks old. There are absolutely no exceptions to this, as this is a state and federal regulation that we have to follow in order to maintain our licensing. We can hold them up to 2 weeks after that, but it's a great idea to have the puppy in your home by 10 weeks old if possible because thats when the training really starts to catch on. If we need to hold the puppy for a longer period, we have a couple options. We do offer house training as a service and have several trainers here locally who do a great job. Its generally $500 for 4-5 weeks of training and we have great success with this. The other option is we will charge a boarding fee of $75 a week to cover expenses etc. The puppies do not come house trained unless otherwise specified. There is science that proves that a puppy's brain is only 70% developed at 8 weeks old and can't handle the extra stress of training as they have just gone thru the weaning process and leaving mom and are trying to cope with all the change. By the time they are 10-12 weeks old, the brain has developed to 90% and the training really starts to take hold.
We have also had a lot of people ask for something with the scent of the mom, (since Google says its a great idea) but we have found that it actually hinders the puppy from bonding with the family. Because of that, we will not provide anything for that. The best thing you can do, is bring along an old shirt and let the puppy lay on it for the ride home.
Things to Get
We also have a lot people ask what they need for a new puppy. Below is a list of suggestions that we recommend you either have when you come pickup or have the puppy delivered. We do have leashes and collars here as well as a few other supplies that you can purchase if you'd like.
1. Crate
2. Bed
3. Food & Water bowls
4. Collar/Harness & Leash
5. Toys
6. Treats (Stay away from rawhide)
7. Food (Contact us to make sure you get the same kind)
Once you have the puppy at home, it's up to you to keep it safe and most of all, have fun and enjoy the puppy. After all, you have just added another member to your family.