Why should I buy my puppy from you?
We are dedicated to raising the best puppies we know how. This ensures that you, our valued customer, can welcome your puppy into your home as your new family member with a clear mind and joyful heart. We feed our adults the best food, train them, and make sure they are healthy and well-adjusted before we even breed them. When the puppies are born, we offer your puppy the best start we know how to give them: keeping them with their litters until they are old enough to leave for their new homes, offering a comprehensive vaccination and de-worming schedule, feeding the best food available, and offering them all-important early puppy socialization. We are dedicated to the pet industry. We are not a puppy-mill. We show our dogs and all of the dogs we show are from our own breeding program. Those who we choose not to show are then placed for sale as beloved pets. You can be assured that the puppy you purchase from us is loved, treasured and pre-spoiled before you even get your first kiss!
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How much is shipping and handling by air?
Air shipping for a puppy is $275. This includes airfare, an airline approved crate (yours to keep), pre-departure vet check, and transportation to the airport. We usually fly our puppies out of Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport in order to get the most direct flight for your puppy. Generally travel time from when we drop the puppy off to when you pick it up is approximately 6 hours.
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Will air shipping be stressful on my puppy?
Air shipping for a puppy, with the proper precautions, is just like tucking it in for a nice nap. Your puppy is generously bedded in soft, absorbent shredded paper, food, and water to make its trip more comfortable. We freeze water so that the puppy will have ice to lick on without getting its bed damp. The airline cargo cabin is heated, air-conditioned and pressurized to the same comfort as human passenger cabins are. Airline staff will check with your puppy at all stops to make sure their "accommodations" are suitable. Following landing, you may pick your puppy up at the designated area, generally 60-90 minutes following landing at the airport in your area. This varies by airport, but we will confirm travel details with you before shipping.
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When can I get my puppy?
We do not allow any of our puppies to leave our home until a minimum of nine weeks. For smaller and more delicate breeds, we often keep puppies a little longer, often until they are 12 weeks or weigh two pounds. This is for their safety. As soon as we are sure that your puppy is big enough to travel, we will eagerly send it to join your family, but we do reserve the right to hold a puppy for additional time if it has not met the weight or maturity requirements we expect.
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When should I take my puppy to the vet?
Before we send any puppy to their new home, we take them to our vet for what we call a "well baby check." This check ensures that your puppy is shipped to you without visible infirmities at the time they leave our home. With our health and genetic guarantee, we require you to take your puppy to the vet within three (3) business days of receiving your puppy. At this visit you will have the opportunity to get your own vet's check-up as well as review the vaccinations your puppy has already received and the ones it will need in the future. In order for our guarantees to be valid, you MUST take your puppy to your vet within three (3) business days of purchase.
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What shots are included?
We give our puppies the most comprehensive preventive vaccination and de-worming schedule in the nation. We have the guidance of our veterinarian, as well as some of the best canine specialist in the country. We vaccinate with a single-antigen Parvo vaccine two times. This vaccine overrides the maternal antibodies to allow your puppy to make its own antibodies to the Parvo disease, including both Parvo A and Parvo B strains. We also de-worm with two different products to ensure that parasites do not develop resistance to one wormer. We vaccinate against
kennel cough (Bordatella), distemper, measles and adenovirus-2 (an upper respiratory ailment). We have not had any cases of any of the above-mentioned diseases, and our preventive schedule also extends to our adults. We have not, to date, had to treat any of our animals for any communicable diseases, and we constantly strive to control our disease exposure. We take the health of our adult dogs and puppies very seriously so you can confidently bring your new puppy into your home without worry.
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Why do I need a health and genetic guarantee?
Purchasing a puppy is such a big step in your life we recommend that whether you purchase your puppy from Picket Fence Kennel, another private breeder, or from a pet store that there is a health and genetic guarantee. Our guarantee guards against communicable diseases for up to seven (7) days and genetic defects that render the puppy an unfit pet for up to one (1) year. By having a health and genetic guarantee, you as the buyer have a safety net to protect you in case of a problem and us as a breeder so that we may alter our breeding program if problems do arise.
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What is microchipping?
The chip is the size of a grain of rice and contains a unique nine-digit number that will be assigned to your pet. The chip is painlessly inserted under the skin between the shoulder blades (where there are few pain sensors). It cannot be felt by touch, and it can never be removed or lost (like a collar) and will always be able to be traced back to you. You will receive a prepaid application that will register the chip in your name with a national registry. You will be able to update your information if you should move or any of your information changes. Most veterinarians and all shelters automatically scan for this type of identification. No animals are euthanized or placed for adoption by shelters if a microchip is detected, and emergency veterinary care is given while the owners are traced and notified. A microchipped animal will also never be accepted by a research facility without a signed statement by the owner of record. We are often asked if there are any side effects to microchipping. There is a study on the Internet that reports a very low incidence of tumors at the injection site. We feel that the benefits of microchipping FAR out way any risks that may (or may not) be associated with the procedure. All of our own dogs are microchipped, and any puppies that we may acquire from outside breeders are also microchipped immediately after they come home if they weren't chipped prior to our bringing them home.
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What kind of food should we feed? How often?
We feed all of our dogs Royal Canin or Eukenuba brand dog foods. While these brands are more expensive than a lot of "grocery store" brands, the benefits of feeding high quality dog food far outweigh the higher cost. Talk to your vet in your initial visit to see what foods he recommends. There are other high quality brands on the market that your vet will be able to suggest. If you do choose to switch brands of dog foods, be sure to mix the old and new foods together for a gradual change. We enclose a sample bag of Royal Canin Mini 33 or Eukenuba Small Breed Puppy Food with you to allow for this process. We allow our puppies to eat whenever they are hungry, and have food and water offered at all times. You can begin to feed your puppy on a schedule if it fits your lifestyle better. We suggest feeding a small puppy many small meals through the day. From eight weeks to four months, feed your puppy four times a day. From four to six months, feed them three times a day. At six months, begin feeding them twice a day and at a year, switch to adult food and feed once a day. If your veterinarian has other feeding suggestions, make sure you follow their advice and use your common sense. If you puppy is getting pudgy, feed him a bit less. Thin? Feed a bit more at each feeding.
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Why shouldn't I feed my dog table scraps?
Dog food companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars researching the correct make up of their dog food for the optimum health of your puppy and dog. Just like our Drs, your vet and the dog food companies will tell you “feed your puppy a balanced diet, give it plenty of exercise and you will have a happy and HEALTHY dog. When you feed your dog table scraps you unbalance their diet and undermine their potential for good health. So many health issues will never come up if you will just refrain from giving them a little treat. A friend of mine says only feed it to your dog if the word DOG is in the name of the food. It is a good rule to follow.
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