Frequently Asked Questions
Every puppy requires routine preventative veterinary care, daily exercise, and a high-quality diet. Establish your family with a local Veterinarian and stay up-to-date on vaccinations.
They are fun and loving companions that can make a wonderful addition to your home. But if you work long hours or are frequently traveling, you’ll have to consider options like a dog walker or doggie daycare. Dogs thrive on exercise and mental stimulation, so it’s important that you don’t bring home a new dog only to have him left alone with no stimulation for 8+ hours every day.
When you adopt a dog, you are making a commitment for the rest of that dog’s life. Many dogs live to be 12 years old or more. You need to be prepared to care for this dog for the rest of its life.
Training in the first weeks and months is essential to having a well behaved and fully housetrained pet. They learn quickly at this age. To neglect proper training at the puppy stage will set bad habits in your dog that will make the experience of owning a dog less than ideal for the rest of his/her life!
After making your appointment, and arriving as close as possible to that time, we will escort you to an area in our home that is set up for families to spend time getting acquainted with the puppy(ies) of your choice. During warmer weather, we have an outside area penned for puppy interactions.
Once you’ve chosen a puppy, we will have you fill out a form that provides us with your information, (name, address and phone number) as well as the method of payment you will be using. We offer various options for payment (see Payment Options) The form will also ask if you would like a Microchip, which will be placed in the puppy before you leave.
All of our puppies will be freshly bathed, and have nails and eyes trimmed before leaving with them.
We print out an Invoice (or Sales Receipt) that contains your health guarantee and other pertinent information. Once signed, payment is made.
Your departing package will include puppy food they are currently on, a microchip pamphlet (if applicable), the puppy’s up-to-date Shot Record, registration papers (if applicable), easily administered probiotics, and blankets if needed.
Go shopping! Minimally, we suggest buying puppy food (we give you some during your visit), food/water bowls, a doggie bed, a collar and leash, crate, and chew toys.
Beyond that, consider poop bags, pee-pads, brushes, puppy shampoo, nail clippers, and vet-approved treats.
For the first few days, your puppy will be homesick. And they will possibly be scared of being left alone. Keep your puppy very close to you for at least the first 48 hours and your puppy will feel secure and confident more quickly
Puppies bite and it hurts. The more hyper they are, the harder they bite. Buy some tough chew toys to keep their little teeth occupied. And stop physical games if they get over-excited
New puppies need to pee more often than you think. More than once an hour at times during the day, and at least once during the night for the first week or two. Puppies do sleep A LOT, so a great time to reinforce potty rules is right after they wake up. I even recommend that you wake a puppy in the early days/weeks of training to take it out. Once it has used the same area a few times it will smell that this is the place I potty.
Some puppies won’t eat much for the first few days. It’s normal, but talk to your vet if the puppy seems unwell. If you have a very tiny puppy (under 3 lbs) You need to be informed and prepared to recognize and treat hypoglycemia. (We have attached an educational sheet addressing this).
All puppies, even from friendly breeds, become wary of new experiences after the first 3 months. You need to deliberately socialize your puppy before this time, in order to raise a friendly dog.
Airlines are well-situated to transport puppies under their strict guidelines. We take care of all the necessary arrangements (health certificate, shipping crate and incidentals) with the major carriers servicing your area. Most airlines have seasonal restrictions for short-nosed breeds such as bulldogs, boxers, Shih Tzu’s, Pug’s, and Boston Terriers. The fee for shipping anywhere in the US is $400.00.
Yes, go to How to Housebreak a Puppy and/or Basic Guidelines for New Puppy Owners
Food and water bowls are left inside the puppies’ penned area (not inside crates) for them to tend as often as they want. However, you may decide to feed them at specific intervals, which is fine. Puppies should be fed at least 3-4 times a day until 4 months, at which time they can go twice a day unless you have a small toy or teacup-sized puppy. Those puppies need to eat 4 times a day until they reach 3 lbs You may want to consult with your Vet.
While the puppies are with us we keep them in a large penned area with plenty of wondering room, where they are provided blankets, toys and a potty area which is a newspaper or puppy pads. You may decide to maintain them in a cage depending upon your specific circumstances.
A good general rule to follow is one hour in the crate for each month of age. A three-month-old puppy should be fine in the crate for three hours. Puppies should sleep in their crates at night, as this helps them learn to sleep through the night.
Some people cut their own puppies nails. However, exercise caution. There is a vein running through the nail and if cut too short it will cause bleeding and discomfort to the puppy. Many opt to seek this service from a Vet or groomer. If needed upon purchase we will provide this service for you.
It means you must meet certain state (and federal) requirements designed to ensure safe and comfortable living quarters for the puppies. We are randomly inspected by a state and federal inspector against these requirements and our license can be revoked should we fail to follow them.
Although we do not keep our parent dogs at our home in Gurnee, many of the puppies we sell come from dogs that we own and keep on a farm in WI. The family who cares for them is both USDA and state licensed and inspected. We do occasionally also work with select reputable breeders whom we have personally inspected and are comfortable with the way they breed and raise the puppies. Our breeders are USDA licensed and must conform to these regulations.
This will be determined by your Vet but in most cases, a female can be spayed after she is over 6 mos old; a male is usually neutered after 6 mos. This gives a male time for his testicles to fully descend.
Again, this can be discussed with your Vet. A female is less likely to develop cancer of the breasts if she is spayed. A male is less likely to mark his territory or to be a runner where they take off in search of female dogs.
We lay out newspapers in a specific area of their pen. By the time puppies leave our home, most can be considered paper-trained. Many past customers have reported to us that being paper-trained has eased the transition for outside training.
Most puppies that are mixed with Poodle or Bichon are the least shedding breeds. Some pure-breeds that do not shed are Shih Tzu’s, Yorkies, Poodles, Maltese, Bichons, Wheatons, Havanese, and Westies.
Technically there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic breed of dog. This is because the three things that trigger allergies in people sensitive to dogs are: saliva, dander, and urine. All dogs have these things. That being said, certain breeds especially the non-shedding ones cause fewer problems. Since the hair or fur is not falling off the dog and leaving dander all over the house, most people with allergies do o.k. with these breeds.
Some people/organizations consider anyone who breeds dogs for profit or passion, and not purely for the betterment of a specific breed, to be puppy mills. We have personally chosen the breeders we work with. We use USDA licensed breeders and have a personal relationship with them. We go personally to their homes to get our puppies and meet the parents of the puppies and inspect the setting the puppies and adult dogs live in.
The puppies are up-to-date on their vaccinations and de-worming when they leave our home to go to yours. You will need to schedule an appointment with your Vet to ensure that the puppy continues to receive his/her vaccines on schedule.
There are many brands available that specialize in puppy shampoos that are gentle and do not sting their eyes. We have even used baby shampoos.
Yes, we can hold the puppy for up to 3 days as a courtesy, after 3 days, and up to a maximum of 7 days, unless agreed upon with the seller, we will hold the puppy for a $20 per day holding fee.
Since weaning, most of our puppies are introduced to dry puppy formula food. The brand we use is Diamond Naturals. There are other many good brands which we discuss with our customers during their visits. We supply a few days’ worths of food at the time of sale so you can transition your puppy to the food you and your Vet choose for your puppy.
Overall, there are not many major differences between male and female dogs. Every dog is unique and your pet’s personality and behaviors are most likely to be influenced by their environment and how you train them, not by their biological sex.