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Why Purchase From Us?

Why buy from us?

ENVIRONMENT

Our puppies are raised as pets, in our home, around our Golden Retriever, cats and our children, who we homeschool. We are home most of the time, which presents us lots of opportunities for training and interaction throughout each day. It is common for our kids to have at least one puppy on their lap while doing their schoolwork.

When they are old enough and weather permitting, they are allowed to run around and explore outside. Older puppies will be taught to go through a doggie door and up and down stairs.


Update 2023: our children have grown up and our Golden has passed over the rainbow bridge. We still have one homeschooled son left at home and invite young children who visit to hold and pet the puppies.

POTTY TRAINING

We start working on potty training very early, even when their eyes are still closed. Instinct makes them leave their bed and crawl onto the potty pad waiting on the other side, although at this young age, Mama cleans up most of their messes. In addition to pad training, we use a litter box with wood pellets-fuel for a pellet stove, not a BBQ grill. We also try to introduce the crate to them. This gives them a great start to potty training and makes it much easier for their new owners. Many of our puppies are able to stay dry through the night by the time they go to their new homes at 8 weeks old.

HEALTH AND DIET

We are always open to learning new ways to improve the health of our dogs. We use holistic health care and natural remedies whenever possible. Please see our Health page for more information about natural health products we like to use. We use core vaccines for the most serious diseases: Parvo, Distemper and Adenovirus. We use the protocol of Dr. Jean Dodds as our guide, though we do vaccinate by 8 weeks of age, before the puppies leave our home. We encourage you to do your own research on feeding, as well as the issue of over-vaccination.

FOLLOW-UP STUDIES

We conduct follow up studies on our puppies, for our records. We want to know how they turned out as adults. We record information such as: adult weight, bite, conformation, personality, show experiences and results (if applicable), health issues, and any comments the owners would like to tell us. We want to know how our bloodlines are doing.

SOCIALIZATION

In addition to the socialization from our family, we encourage everyone who comes over to hold and pet them. When they are old enough and after they have been vaccinated we try to bring them on "field trips" with us around town, to get extra socialization from strangers. This is usually done after 10-12 weeks of age, if we still have puppies at this age.

WEIGHT/SIZE

We chart the weights of our puppies from day one. We have weekly weigh-ins and provide those records to the new owners, along with their puppy's own weight chart. You will be able to see their growth pattern first hand. This will give you a very good idea on the adult weight your puppy will be. In addition to the weight chart, we know our own bloodlines and the patterns we see. This helps us to have pretty accurate adult weight estimates. We do our best, but never guarantee the adult size, since only God knows what that will be, for sure! 

"TEACUP"

We have heard from so many people who got a pup from a breeder who told them it would be "no bigger than three pounds", only to have it end up 10 pounds! I advise people who care about the size to ask for weight records. Knowing the size of the parents cannot solely predict the adult weights. Two large parents can produce a small pup, two small parents can produce a large pup; any parent can produce any combination of sizes. Don't simply take a breeder's word for it. If they promise you the pup will be small, request some sort of records from their past to show you! On the other hand, some long time breeders know their bloodlines so well that they are comfortable estimating the adult size based on their history. If this is the case, they'll have records of this.


Many people ask: "Are your puppies 'teacups'?" The short answer is "no". There is no official definition of a "tiny," "teacup" or "micro" puppy. These are made-up terms for marketing purposes only. A "teacup" is something to drink out of. : ) Chihuahuas are part of the "toy" breed. We do not attempt to breed for puppies smaller than 3 pounds, as they tend to have more health problems. Our puppies are sturdy and healthy -- not fragile. Our average puppies weigh 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 pounds full grown.

If you are searching for a "teacup," we encourage you to search the terms "teacup myths" on the internet and educate yourself, to learn about the potential health problems these small pups tend to have. It's true they are cute, but we believe it is far better to have a sturdier, healthy puppy than a fragile extra small one.

The following page describes the Chihuahua Breed Standard (what a Chihuahua should look like): http://www.akc.org/breeds/chihuahua

Click here to read the Teacup Statement from the Chihuahua Club of America.

BARKING

Another difference in our puppies (and adults) is that we train them to NOT be "yappy". Unfortunately, Chihuahuas have earned the reputation of being yappy dogs and this does not need to be the case. I firmly believe that this is something that can be trained. People are surprised when they come over and our dogs are not yappy. We allow them to bark to announce the present of someone, but once that is done, that's it. We do not allow them to continue barking. For example, if a neighbor is working outside and if we have a dog that decides to go out and continue barking at him, we don't allow it to continue. We make a noise (cht - cht!), clap our hands, mist them with water, or do something to get their attention and tell them "no bark." They usually stop, but if they don't (or if they come inside and go back out again to bark some more) we remove them from the situation: put them in the other room, distract them, or if necessary, give them a nap in their crate.* It works, and the proof is in our adults that we have raised. We start this training with our puppies when they are old enough to start barking.

COLORS

We don't breed for specific colors, as we focus on health, temperament, and structure. Visit Our Chihuahuas page to see colors that are in our bloodlines. We have merle free lines. Please research the health risks of merle Chihuahuas.

BOTTOM LINE

We spend a lot of time and effort on our puppies, to give them a great start on life. This makes such a difference compared to pups raised in a "kennel." Our customers agree that our puppies are worth waiting for! Feel free to read our Testimonials page to hear it in their own words. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. The more the better!


If you are ready to take the next step, we welcome you to join our Email List and fill out our Puppy Application. If you decide to purchase a puppy elsewhere, we would be happy to answer any questions you might have, and help you choose your precious addition, even if it's from another breeder. We do not consider ourselves to be experts, but have learned a lot over the years by our own experiences.

*Normally, especially for a puppy, going into the crate is not supposed to be used as negative consequence /punishment. However, we only do this on rare occasions when necessary. Our dogs all view their crate as a positive happy place. They don't view this "time out" as a punishment that would cause them to dislike their crate. A positive viewpoint has already been established, so these rare occasions don't overshadow the positive experience they already have of their crate.

Please visit our FAQ page for more information

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