BUYING A PUPPY FROM SHADOW-WOODWhat is involved with getting a puppy from us? Well, to start with we want to be assured that it is a good home. People who have had a Sam before that lived to a ripe old age always go to the top of the list. In addition, we will want to know what your plans are for the dog (show it in conformation? in obedience? in agility? take it camping? sled pulling? breed it?), how much time do you have to spend with the dog (people who |
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| leave for work at 7 AM and return at 7 PM tired and harassed go to the bottom of the list), where will you be keeping it? fenced yard? etc. These are all things we need to know to help us make good decisions about homes. Because we like to see our dogs spend time with their families, and because Sams are working dogs that are happier when working than not, we like to see homes in which the dog is going to be doing something. Sams can trained for obedience showing, agility trials, herding tests, sled pulling, weight pulling, pack hiking, therapy dogs, and of course, couch potatoing! | ||
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What is not an acceptable home? Someone who plans to get a dog and bitch of no particular parentage and breed them regularly to have puppies to sell. A home in which the dog will be alone most of the day. A household that is so busy that the dog will be neglected more often than not. Someone who thinks dogs need "to run free" to be fulfilled (these people have dead dogs). Someone who wants a Sam because it is "pretty" and has no idea what owning a dog is about. | |
| An important point to remember is that we are hobby breeders of show dogs, so we do not release our puppies until they are old enough for us to make good decisions about their quality. Sometimes that means we keep two puppies from a litter until they are several months old before we decide which one to keep. Because we are breeding for show dogs, we obviously would prefer that the puppies we think will be really hot stuff in the show ring go to homes where the owners want to show the dog or have it shown. If we turn you down as a home for one of these it doesn't mean we think you aren't worthy of one of our dogs, it just means we think that puppy is going to be too good a show dog to stay hidden in someone's backyard. |  |
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It is important to us as a show kennel that our better puppies get out into the show world where they can be seen. The more of our dogs that are shown to championships, the easier it is to find show homes for the next litter. The other part of being hobby breeders as opposed to someone in it for the money, is that we can and do turn people down if we don't think it is the right situation for one of our "children". I would rather keep a puppy myself until I get a good home than sell it at 8 weeks to someone I don't think is going to care for it properly or where I don't feel there will be a good fit. Many times people assume we are running a business and cannot understand our turning down a sale. |
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When ranking our litters we tend to divide the puppies into three categories: pet only, maybe, and show quality. |
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| Our pet puppies are those we feel have faults of one sort or another that would preclude them from being successful in the conformation ring and from being bred. The faults may be in basic structure, in "cosmetic" things like pigment, ear size, etc. or it may be that we fear they would reproduce some genetic problem. They go with contracts that call for spaying/neutering and are sold on limited registrations. Dogs with limited registrations cannot be shown in AKC conformation shows and cannot be bred. |  |
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| They are eligible for all AKC performance events and are completely registered purebred dogs. As a general rule they will be just as healthy and good natured as any other puppy. Usually the things that make them "pets" are not visible to the untrained eye and do not interfere with their ability to provide you with years of companionship. Pet puppies are often very pretty dogs. | ||
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Our "maybe" puppies usually go with limited registrations also. A maybe puppy is one that appears to have some potential in the show ring, but we don't feel strongly enough about it to hold out for a show home. Since the limited registration is reversible (by us), we can change it at a future date if the buyer wants to show or breed the dog. We would, of course, need to see the dog first to see if it has grown up to have the right quality to do that. Since we are breeding good dogs to good dogs, more of our puppies fall into this category than into the "pet" category. However, since we are not selling them to people interested in showing and/or breeding, we place them on the same registration as a pet puppy. They are suitable for doing anything that a show quality puppy is, except maybe winning lots of points at conformation dog shows. | |
| Our show puppies go with contracts that require the owner to show the dog until it finishes its AKC championship, or until we both agree it is a waste of time and money. Many breeders require that their dogs be finished no matter what. Our feeling is that a good quality dog will finish fairly easily and quickly (most of the time) and that one that is having trouble winning points probably isn't quite as good as we hoped it would be. We don't feel it is fair to ask the owners to continue to put money into showing a dog that is not doing well. Sometimes it is a question of changing handlers, taking weight off the dog, better grooming, or something fixable like that and we will work with the new owner to resolve the problem. |  |
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| A dog that can win should be given that opportunity, so buying a show quality puppy is quite a commitment in time and money and not to be done without thought. You don't want us nagging you about doing something you promised to do when you bought the dog, and we don't want to be having to nag you. Show puppies are often sold on co-ownerships which can mean anything from just retaining our names on the papers to a true co-ownership with expenses and income being split . There are many different co-ownership options. | ||
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We try to keep our prices on the low end of what puppies are going for in our area. If you have not purchased a dog in many years you may be in for a "sticker shock". Veterinary fees, dog food, stud fees, supplies, etc. have all risen tremendously in the last 10 years or so and our prices must reflect that. Negotiations are sometimes in order if the home is right for the dog. Co-ownerships on show dogs, puppy-back agreements on bitches, etc. can lower prices on show puppies. Payments can sometimes be made on puppies, although we will keep the papers until the final payment is made. | |
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| COPYRIGHT 2007, STIRLING AND PATTI RASMUSSEN-ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | ||
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