225 Gunns Rd, Ellenboro, North Carolina 28040, United States
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to the family
Congratulations! After you have made your choice, there are so many questions. I thought it would be great to answer some of those here so you will feel prepared when time gets close for your new baby to come home!
Frequently asked questions
Please send me your contact information.
Let's talk about dates to come home, early (vs last min).
Let's talk about dates to come home, early (vs last min).
Please send me your full address, email address and contact numbers for your paperwork. Please include a cell phone that can receive photos and videos.
Let's talk about dates to come home, early (vs last min).
Let's talk about dates to come home, early (vs last min).
Let's talk about dates to come home, early (vs last min).
Your time is valuable and so is ours. Let's set up pickup/delivery dates early. If you are having us deliver your baby, please book dates early to get the best dates for you, and to save money on flights. Please confirm all dates BEFORE booking.
What are we eating?
Let's talk about dates to come home, early (vs last min).
What are we eating?
They eat 3 meals per day of Purina Pro Plan Puppy Food, hard kibble, chicken and rice flavor with shredded chicken (orange/brown bag).
They do great on the Pro Plan, it was recommended by our vet. I encourage you to try it.
You can get it at PetSmart, Amazon and Chewy.
Deworming
Wait to Spay/Neuter for Major Health Benefits
What are we eating?
Your puppy has been dewormed at 2, 4, 6 and (will be) 8 weeks with Strongid Dewormer. At 6 weeks we have fecals done at the vet on all puppies.
It is not unusual for puppies to pickup parasites in their environment. If we see soft poop, we zip to the vet and get it tested. By checking right away, the fix is usually just a few days of inexpensive oral meds.
Registration
Wait to Spay/Neuter for Major Health Benefits
Wait to Spay/Neuter for Major Health Benefits
Not all of our puppies come with AKC Registration. Some that don't have AKC pedigree parents/grandparents, but for some reason mom wasn't registered. Others may be our crosses.
Ask about AKC registration if AKC registration is important to you. All puppies, upon spay/neuter, are eligible for the AKC Canine Partners Registration to participate in all AKC events except Conformation classes.
All AKC registered puppies are sold with Limited AKC Registration, which means no breeding.
Wait to Spay/Neuter for Major Health Benefits
Wait to Spay/Neuter for Major Health Benefits
Wait to Spay/Neuter for Major Health Benefits
The AKC (and we) recommend waiting 12 months min to spay/neuter your puppy. Many studies have proven mature Sex hormones actually provide protection from cancer, heart and joint issues.
Your puppy will also be smaller at maturity, bc it will stop growing to prepare to reproduce. The smallest Shelties have been fixed late. When fixed early (before 12 months), their body has no indication to stop growing taller/bigger. This causes their bones to continue to grow, be longer and less dense, putting it at risk for fractures.
Since most clients choose our puppies for their small size and enhanced health, waiting to spay/neuter is a big part of that.
Dewclaws
Dewclaws
Dewclaws
Dewclaws are one of those things that can send clients into orbit, but once you understand all the things we must consider, it’s easier to understand why some babies still have dewclaws.
Removing dewclaws can be simple, or removing dewclaws can be life-threatening, depending upon the size of your puppy.
Dewclaws must be removed at 3-5 days old. Vets believe the nerves aren’t completely functional yet, so the pain of removing them without pain meds or sedation is ok. Once a puppy is 7-10 days old, they feel the pain and trauma can have mental and emotional effects if done without pain meds or sedation.
For many tiny puppies, 3-5 days they are still struggling to nurse and get physically stable. To add stress of removing dews could potentially be too much, and tip them the wrong way. The risk of tiny babies not surviving the first week is already high. If we have concerns, we wait, and can miss this window of time.
If puppies are doing well, if they are strong, gaining weight and nursing, then we are happy to remove hind dewclaws.
In 30+ years of living on a farm with dogs with single and double dewclaws behind, with them running through fields, racing down trails through the underbrush, we have NEVER had or seen an injury to a dewclaw. We are told dogs can catch and tear dewclaws that are loose and dangling. In all my years, with the vast majority of our dogs having hind dews, again, never have we had a single incident.
I do agree they look cleaner if they are removed. But I don‘t feel the risk is worth the ‘look’ for the tiny fragile puppies.
Many say just wait until later to do them, like 5-7 days old. I’ve tried that and seen puppies that started out normal, confident even, get hypersensitive to touch, sounds and strangers. If not done at the beginning of the window of time, I see significant mental and emotional issues as they mature and into adult life.
We don’t ever remove front dewclaws. The reason for this has to do with front limb stability and balance. We have many of our puppies that move on to celebrated agility careers. It has been shown that the front dewclaw acts as a thumb or big toe when it comes to balance and grip. The loss of that toe can weaken their structure to the point their legs can become crooked and painful. For these reasons, balance, grip and bone stability, we don’t remove front dewclaws from any of our puppies.
If you really want to remove the dewclaws on your puppy after you have gotten it, it’s possible. Most vets recommend removing them, if necessary, at the same time you have their spay/neuter done under general anesthesia. Pain meds will be on board afterwards. They will have bandages and stitches to care for if removed at that time.
Dewclaws are something on which breeders, vets and owners have an opinion. As the one attending birth mom, I will use my best judgement during this 3-5 day window, as to whether your baby is strong enough to endure this stress. Please know my priority is a healthy, happy baby. If that can be maintained, and we can get the ‘look’ too, that’s even better.
Adjusting to my new family
Adjusting to my new family
Adjusting to my new family
As excited and well prepared as you are to be bringing your new baby home, your new baby will likely be feeling tremendous stress leaving his or her litter and birth family. We want to help this be as easy as possible for everyone.
We will send toys that your baby has had playing with its siblings. These may be a little dirty and frayed. Please resist the urge to wash or toss them immediately. They smell like family and will provide some comfort during this transition. Stay home in a quiet, safe environment until your baby bonds to you.
Do give your puppy his/her own crate, at least at first. Cover the crate when its time to nap or go to bed. Put toys into the crate to give appropriate chewing opportunities.
Crate vs No Crate
Adjusting to my new family
Adjusting to my new family
Do USE A CRATE. It provides your puppy with a safe space to learn to self soothe. This is the key to avoiding separtion axiety, incessant crying/barking and destruction.
Cover the crate, move it into a bathroom if you cannot stand to hear your baby cry. Learning to feel safe and fall asleep in his/her crate will give him comfort and a positive option for life.
We do recommend the Potty Training Puppy Apartment bc it has a bedroom and a bathroom. This way if you oversleep, get home later than expected, or the weather is terrible, your puppy has an appropriate place to potty. We recommend Medium size. Coupon code FPF28040 will get you a discount.
Loose poop?
Adjusting to my new family
Potty Training made easy!
Many times the stress of the change will lower your baby's immune system and your baby may pick up parasites in the environment. Wild birds carry coccidia, earthworms carry tapeworms, after a rain grass and everything has giardia. Roundworms, hookworms, whip worms are everywhere.
Usually with regular heartworm meds and a healthy immune system, you puppy/dog just blasts these and you never know they are around. When baby is young and stressed, they can pop up. Loose poop, vomiting, and lethargy are common symptoms. Take a poop sample, or the puppy in to be tested. It's usually a very easy oral med.
Potty Training made easy!
Potty Training made easy!
Potty Training made easy!
Start with only allowing your puppy to stay in a confined area, a crate, bathroom, fenced area in your kitchen, etc.
Do use newspaper, NOT a bed or towel until good potty habits are established. If a puppy potties on a towel or bed, the smell (to the puppy) doesn't wash out, and will trigger him/her to potty again. As sweet as a bed seems at first, it can set you up for failure.
DO NOT USE POTTY PADS IN THE PLACE WHERE YOUR PUPPY SLEEPS!
Potty Pads sound like a step up from newspaper. They seem like the thing to use for puppies in crates. DONT!!! They are SCENTED to TRIGGER puppies to GO POTTY. You will train him/her to potty in the crate if you use potty pads.
You may use Potty Pads or newspaper where you do want him/her to potty. Give a specific area to eat/sleep, and at least a small appropriate area to potty.
Newspaper is a neutral bedding, it neither triggers your puppy to potty nor blocks him/her. We use newspaper here for all puppy and adult crates. Its not sexy or high tech, but its great!
Going Places Safely
Potty Training made easy!
Going Places Safely
Everyone wants to take their puppy out to show their family and friends their adorable, bundle of cuteness. Think and pay attention before you accidentally bring on tragedy.
Your puppy comes home usually with only its first set of shots. They usually get these between 6 and 7 weeks. This round of shots is to protect the small percentage of puppies that didnt get enough antibodies from mom. For those that did, their immune response knocks this vaccine out.
Puppies need additional rounds of shots at 12, 15 and 18wks to have full immunity. They are NOT FULLY IMMUNIZED until all shots are fininshed. This means they could get PARVO if exposed.
- Do Not set your puppy down in a public place to play or Go Potty, bring potty pads to put down safely potty.
- Take your puppy in a crate to the vet. DO NOT set him/her on the floor or chairs (sick puppies have been there).
-Do Not allow strangers to pet or hold your puppy. Ask friends and family to wash hands, and err on the side of caution when allowing others to hold your puppy.
Use Common Sense
Potty Training made easy!
Going Places Safely
We live in a world full of dangerous chemicals we don't even think about bc they 'improve' our quality of life. Often these things are toxic or lethal to puppies and dogs. Lethargy, ataxia, vomiting and seizures are all common symptoms for exposure.
Pay attention to your environment and to your puppy. Here are a few common toxins:
- Weed killer
- Grass and plant fertilizer
- Swiffer floor cleaning products
- Air fresheners, esp automatic spray
- Diffused essential oils
- Chemical cleaning products
- Insect killer/preventative
- Mouse poison/repellant
- Pool chemicals
- Febreeze
- Sugar-free gum
- Toothpaste
- Mouthwash
- Peptobismol