Blog
Puppy Contract
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This is my puppy contract. This is typical and what to expect from a breeder offering any kind of guarantee and concerned about their puppies. Be weary of a breeder that offers a guarantee but nothing written to back it up. A contract like this not only lays out what all the guarantee and purchase entails of, but is protection for not only the breeder, but majorly for the buyer!
I always send two copies to my buyers with their puppy packets once a deposit is received, one signed by myself for their records, and one to fill out and return to me prior to shipping out the puppy.
Buyer/BreederContract
I, KatHigdon, do pledge that to my full knowledge that this Shih Tzu puppy is ___ weeks old at time of arrival. The parents of this puppy are cared for in my own home and are up to date on their shots and are healthy, with no congenital, or other ailments, to my full knowledge.
I guarantee the health of this puppy for 72 hours after arrival. It is up to you to have a vet appointment within this time. After this time, I, the breeder,accept no responsibility for any non-congenital health issues regarding thispuppy. The health guarantee does not cover ear mites, fleas, worms, or ticks since these can be picked up during shipping and/or out of my home, however myvet does check for these and they must be cleared of these for the health certificate. The guarantee also does involve that this puppy will be sold parvo-free, but does not cover parvo, since shots are incomplete at time of sale.
I do offer a 1 year, life-threatening congenital defect guarantee. This must be determined and have a signed/notarized letter by a vet. In the unlikely event this would occur,(as it has yet to) the puppy must be shipped back or brought back to me. (Both parties share shipping costs) The puppy will then be taken to our vet. If congenital defect is dually determined, a replacement of equal value would be offered. No Cash Refund.
This puppy has had shots at 4, 6 and 9 weeks using Vanguard +7 shots. (see included health records as this may be different) The puppies willneed 1 more set of shots to complete the boosters, plus another set at 6 months and rabies at 6 months. The puppy was dewormed 3 times, with fenbendazole under vet recommendation/supervision.
The puppy will have it’s vet clearance/healthcheck prior to shipping.
I, thebreeder, will accept the puppy back with no notice for any reason. (No refund)
This puppy is AKC registered/able with full registration.
I, thebreeder, do believe and imply this puppy to be of excellent pet quality with Show Potential.
____________ ________ ________________ ___________
(Breeder) (date) (Buyer) (date)
Buyer: Please fill out the following and return to me.
Buyer Information:
Buyer Name:
Buyer Address:
Buyer Email:
Buyer Phone:
I, the buyer, do allow Kat Higdon, the breeder, to contact me at a further date by
___ Email ___ Phone
For:
___ Checking up on the puppy (typically at 4-6mo and again at 1yr)
__ Asking to be a reference for future buyers
__ Letting me know about any imperative littermate details
_________________ __________
Buyer Signature Date
Shipping a Puppy via Airlines
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I get asked a lot of questions of how I ship, who I use, etc. So I figured it was time to put something down in writing, because I know a lot of my customers view my page prior to contacting me.
I much prefer a buyer to come to my home and see the puppies in person, meet me in person, and see the home that I raise my dogs in. A lot of people can be word savy and make it sound like they are a wonderful home when in reality, they are running their own version of a puppy mill. It wasn’t more than a week ago when I read about the triple wide trailer that had over 700 dogs confiscated out of it!!
But, let’s face it, when your word, reputation, and your advertising spans across many states, sometimes it’s just not logical for someone to drive on down. So that is why I ship dogs. The flights are VERY regulated and are also highly safe in my opinion; If I thought otherwise, I wouldn’t fathom the thought of sending one of my babies through something that I’d consider traumatizing or unfit.
Before I ship a dog, I go through my usual questions. I send the buyer updated photos, information, and ask questions/screen them to not only make the buyer comfortable, but to know my dogs are going to a good home. I MUST speak with the buyer on the phone atleast once before sealing the deal.
Once payment is recieved (or downpayment, depending on how old the puppies
are and if one is being bought outright or on hold), I ship via USPS Priority mail, the puppy basket. Usually consists of a 3lb bag of food, 1 can/wet food, 2 toys, treats, and the puppy packet with the photos, innoculation records, health papers, AKC papers, and the buyer contract and information.
The buyer must send back the contract/information papers prior to me shipping off the dog.
Once that is done and the dog is ready to go, I contact Springfield National Airport (SGF) and prepare a flight through North West Airlines.
NW Airlines are very accommodating to live animals and haven’t let me down. From there, they give me a few flight options that will vary from the connections made, and arrival times. I then use that information and confer with the buyer to see what time and date is best for them to pick up.
Once an agreement is made, I book the flight about 6 days in advance through NW airlines. I use small carriers, usually 19x12x10 to ship. The smaller the better so that the puppy isn’t bouncing around. I take a water bottle and bag of food to the top, just in case a flight gets delayed.
Per NW airlines, the carrier must be airlined approved; The puppy must have an interstate health certificate signed by a vet within 10 days from the flight date. Live Animal stickers must be on the carrier, and the dog must not be taller than the carrier. Also, a food/water bowl must be attached to the inside of the carrier.
Weather must not be warmer than 85 degrees per NW airlines otherwise they will not ship an animal.
I personally don’t prefer to ship a dog on the weekend or holidays because of
the higher chance of delayed flights. I prefer to ship Monday through
Thursday. Flights during the weekend/holidays also tend to have a 50% higher flight cost.
Once the flight is booked and paid for, the puppy is then shipped out on the agreed shipping/arrival date and the rest is a happily ever after for the new puppy and it’s human companion
Things you will need for your new Shih Tzu Puppy!
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Food that the breeder has weaned your puppy off on (please see coming blog about food and food quality)
Food/Water bowls
Collar and Tag with your phone number on it. Even if you don’t have a name picked out for the puppy yet-most pet stores will allow you to purchase the tag and put some information on one side, and then come back and engrave the other side at no extra charge.
24" wire/metal crate and fitted pet bed. I can not stress the ease and happiness you will feel if you crate train your puppy. Not only will this help teach the puppy with house breaking, it will also provide a safe enviroment for your puppy to be in while you are away, so that it can not chew on furnature or wires. If you don’t allow your dog to sleep with you in your bed/room, it gives a safe place to sleep. I also usually feed in these crates as well since I have multiple dogs. It makes everything easy and stress free.
Travel Crate for travelling to the vet, friends house, new places, vacations, etc. Although we all do it from time to time, allowing a dog, especially an untrained puppy, to free roam the car while you drive is not a good nor safe idea. They cost little (especially for small dogs) and come in handy in emergency situations. I can’t tell you how much I underestimated the importance of these with the icestorm of 2006!
TOYS! Chew toys, plush toys, small tennis balls, old socks for tug of war, puppies like to play! And this should be enriched and encouraged.
Grooming Supplies. While you should take your Shih Tzu in for grooming every 4-6 months for a professional groom and anal flushing, you should also have a variety of grooming supplies at home since Shih Tzu’s require a lot of grooming. When you get your puppy, it will have a ton of fluffy fur. Once your puppy gets to be a year or so old, it’s fluffy fur will turn into silkie, finer hair, which will tangle easier than the fluffy fur. It is important to accustom your puppy to grooming before it gets to be an adult so that grooming is not a negative, foreign situation. If you are not fond of grooming on a daily, bi daily basis, consider keeping your dog in a "puppy cut", where they trim up the legs and body but keep the face and tail longer.
Supplies you should have on hand are: Detangler comb--usually has four or five blades and go through the fur and cut through the mats. Wire Comb, two sided fine wire/corse hair comb to fluff out fur, grooming shears to trim the feet and anal area, nail trimmers. Cotton balls and Peroxide for cleaning the ears. Whitening or basic shampoo for bathing in case of emergency or if you wish to bathe at home. Creame Rinse.
Flea Repellant (high quality). Shih Tzu’s have sensitive skin, and I do not recommend grocery store flea repellants such as HARTZ, which tends to cause skin infections and a few years ago, even killed some dogs and cats before they recalled and reformulated it. Flea collars do very little but protect the head region. Flea shampoos often dry out the skin.
For my adults, I use Frontline Spray, which is less costly than frontline drops. I can also treat more dogs and my cats with it than I get out of the drops. It is water proof and is quite effective. Advantage/Advantix is really harsh on the skin and I tend to avoid it if possible. DAWN handwashing soap works really well to kill fleas if you have an infestation and is gentle on the skin, as opposed to a flea shampoo. Also, Zema and/or Adams makes good Prytherin dips for protection, although the smell is less than desireable. You can view these and purchase these products through www.petedge.com, or call your local pet stores and/or vets.
Most vets carry Revolution, which kills all fleas and worms as well as heart worms, or Sentenal, which does the same as revolution but comes in a pill and is virtually nonabrasive to the skin, but both you can only get through a vet since they contain a heart guard.
Puppy Pads- Most my puppies are already using these pads before they are placed in a home at 8 weeks old. Puppies are generally easy to train to use these pads, and makes house breaking/training that much easier. Petsores, even Wal-art, carries these.
Vaccination records--a good breeder should give your puppy shots at 6 weeks. Your puppy will then need these shots every 2-3 weeks hence forth until he is 16 weeks old, and then again at 6 months for rabis. Which brings us to our next must have...
A GOOD VET!--if you dont’ currently have a vet, ask your friends and family that have puts who they recommend, or don’t recommend. If you don’t know anyone who is using a vet, call around to your local pet stores. Stores that have pets should have a vet on call they use in case of emergencies. Managers and employees who have worked at a single location for a while, generally have the ’inside’ scoop as to which vet is good and which one is considered incompetent. Just because the store uses a vet, doesn’t mean they like him/her! Older vets tend to not keep up with the changing and conflicting information that is constantly coming up. Newer vets sometimes aren’t as good with client relations and leave the human feeling left out, confused, or neglected. Some vets are always booked and need atleast a ten day notice before getting you in, and aren’t very good in emergency situations. Vets that charge more, don’t necessarily mean you are paying for better service.
When you consider what you are investing in your puppy, then please set up an appointment for your new puppy as soon as you get it. Never take a breeders word or your own eyes as the final say. There are many things a vet can tell that most people can’t--problems with eyes, discoloration in mouth, if the pup is deaf, hernias, fecal samples for worms/parasites, etc. A vet visit with a fecal exam (atleast here in Missouri area), should cost under $35. It does wonders for peace of mind. Even if you plan on administering most your shots yourself, getting the vet familiar with your dog and on record in case of emergency is very important. Even though I believe I hold myself to a higher standard than most breeders, I still tell my customers NOT to take my word for it and to PLEASE set up a vet appointment!
What's up with Food?
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Food.
Walk into Wal-Mart or Pet Store alike, and you are confronted with a plethora of foods. Most marketed with pictures that appeal to us rather than our pets, and many with advertising that is hard to forget. Just because that 40lb bag of science diet is $40, (and the fact most vets recommend it), doesn’t mean you are paying for quality. Just because Eukanuba sponcers breeder programs and dog shows, doesn’t mean you can’t find better for less. And just because those pedigree commercials are so cute, doesn’t mean your dog can digest most of it.
There are five most popular and different levels of dog food. Check your ingredients to see how yours compare.
1) Corn Meal.
If your first ingredient is corn meal, then you are definitely off the track of what you should be feeding your dog. Although many companies, like Purina with Beneful line, appeal to our sensible side of veggetables are healthy, dogs are carnivores and don’t process the protiens from most veggies and corns. The more corn in your dogs diet, the gassier he will be and the more he will poop as he will have to eat more of it to feel full. His coat will probably suffer as well. Some vets will attempt to claim that puppies need the protiens in corn (carbs) to grow. What they don’t say is you can get this in other foods in other puppy diets with higher quality ingredients. Some Bil-Jac, alot of science diet, and all of Pedigree has this as the first ingredient.
2) Meat and Bone Meal.
What does this mean? Simple. Meat and Bone, from any animal, ground up. Do you really think feeding your dog bone meal is a good idea?
3) ____ by product.
Let’s say "chicken" by product, as that is the most common. This means that it is technically chicken, by product. This generally means no white meat, and includes beak, feet, organs, etc. The same problem as the previous two apply--not as filling, dog has to eat more, and poops more because of it. Companies like Bil-Jac try and convince you that dogs eat this in the wild and therefore must be good. I challenge them to find a wild pack of yorkies. Also, animals in the wild that are and can be domesticated, tend to live longer in captivity because we can meet their nutritional requirements that they can not often meet themselves on their own. Think about children who have to fend for themselves on the streets, versus children who are well cared for at home. The differences are vast in appearance and health.
4) [insert whole product here] ie. Chicken, Lamb, etc.
This is the sign of a good food. This means no by products, just whole product. Your dog will eat less of it, feel full faster, poop less and have less gas. There is only one more stage that is better as a first ingredient than this, and that is...
5) [insert whole product here] meal. ie. Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal, etc.
The difference in a whole product vs. a whole product meal, ie Chicken and Chicken Meal, doesn’t sound like much. By there is a difference.
Chicken is cooked, and processed into the food.
Chicken meal, is dehydrated before being processed. There is roughly 5 lbs of chicken to 1lb of chicken meal.
Dehydration takes out all the water weight, and seals in the nutrients. If you have a 40 bag with Chicken as the 1 ingredient, lets say it has 15lbs of chicken in it, and another bag of 40lb food with 15lbs of chicken meal, your chicken meal bag really has about fivetimes that amount in chicken nutrients and protiens.
Nutro/Natural Choice, Diamond Naturals, Planet Organic, Merrick and Nutri Source are just some of the brands that use meals and little or no by products or corn in their foods. I use and recommend Nutro Max/Natural Choice.
Each bag and formula of Nutro is also guaranteed to help the skin and coat of your pet. Puppy and Senior diets have glucosamine and chondrotin to help with growing or ailing bones/joints. They are also priced very competatively and less than Science Diet and Eukanuba, and have a frequent buyer program where you buy ten bags over the course of 14 months, and you get one free.
