Important Information About My Puppies
My puppies at Southern Sunset Kennels are loved unconditionally and cared for with all the love we (my family and I) can give. The mother (dam) and father (sire) are breed with someone there with them at ALL times. They are never left allow. Once the breeding takes place the dam is started on Purina Puppy Chow. This is so that she received the vitamins that are good for her and also good for the puppies. This will allow the puppies to be use to the food that they will be placed on once they are born and old enough to eat solid food. This will help their bodies to accept the food without any food issues. Their bodies are use to it and they start out eating the Purina Puppy Chow food moistened with water. As they develop teeth and are able to eat dry food we no longer add the water and they eat the dry food. This is good for their teeth to help to keep the plaque off their teeth.
The mother is setup in my basement in an area that she has her whelping box and can settle in and have her puppies. I sleep beside of the area that she is in so that I can monitor her as she gets closer so that someone can be with her as she has her babies and someone monitors her during the day so that if she has them during the daylight hours someone can be with her to make sure that she is okay and that there are no probelms during the delivery of the babies. At any given time she could have problems with the delivery of a baby. You could lose the mother or a puppy in a matter of time. You may need to get her to the vet should she develop problems. So you want to make sure that you monitor her. After a pup is born the date and time of birth is written down. The pup is cleaned and weighed. Shortly after delivery if there are rear dew claws they are removed. By removing the dew claws at this time it will heal fast and not cause the dog the pain of having to have it done as it gets older and at that time possibly having to have stitches. Removing the rear dew claws now will prevent the dog from possibly hooking the dew claws on something later and tearing it off causing alot of pain and having to take them to the vet to have it stitched close.
The puppies are given time to bond with the mother and each day for several days their are weighed to make sure that they are gaining weight as they should.
WORMINGS:
After the puppies are born a drop of wormer is placed on their tongue to rid their bodies of any worms that they maybe have possibly picked up from the mother if she had any. The mother is wormed but could be a carrier of some that I am unaware of and the pups could have one and that one can develop into many worms which can cause problems as their bodies develop. By placing one drop of the wormer it can take care of ridding their little bodies something that can take the nutrient from the bodies. After this worming the puppies are wormed on a regular basis to take and prevent it from getting any worms.
VACCINES/VISITS WITH PUPS AND PICKING UP PUPPIES:
Some breedng will allow the people to come and visit with the puppies shortly after they are born and handle them and decide which pup they want to place on hold. Not my puppies. I do not allow anyone to come and visit with them, handle them or pick them up to go to their new families until they have their first puppy vaccine (at the age of six weeks) and after they are seven weeks old. No one is allowed to visit with them or take them home after their first puppy vaccine until they are seven weeks old because if the puppy is stressed out after receiving the puppy vaccine it can develop what we are trying to protect it from gettig (parvo, distemper, etc.). I do not want the new family to start with having to take a sick puppy to the visit and possibly even losing the pup to death if it gets parvo. I want the puppy to have a wonderful and healthy life with its new family and for the family to be able to start with a healthy pup. It is not fair to the pup or the family for the pup to not be healthy. I do my best to see that the pup is healthy.
Each puppy is sent home with a Purina Puppy Care packet, sample of the food that the puppy is eating (Purina Puppy Chow) and sample of the treats that the pup has been eating, one or two new toys, a towel that has been rubbed on the mother and the littermates. This is to help the puppy feel at home with its new family. Also, sometimes if the puppy starts whining (crying) you can lay the towel over a two liter bottle of warm water. Sometimes the pup will feel it is laying beside of a littermate because of the scent of its mother and littermate on the towel and the warmth from the bottle.
POTTY TRAINING (CRATE TRAINING):
The puppy is in an area (play yard) that has newspaper at one end of the area for potting and the other end for sleeping, eating and drinking. It is best for the new family to potty train the pup. They pup will learn the routine of the new family and train to go outside to potty when they work with it. If the puppy is train by my routine and your routine is different then it will have to learn all over again. I would recommend crate training your puppy. This works much better if you have to crate the pup while you are gone for a short period and also prevents your pup from getting into somethine in your house that could hurt the pup or something that you do not want it to tear pup. The pup can also swallow small items so you want to puppy protect your house and if you have children may sure that you have all of their toys up and teach them to keep their toys up so the pup does not chew on them and possibly swallow a piece that would require you to have to have surgery on your pup and possibly the pup die.
WHAT TO DO AFTER YOU PICK UP YOUR PUP?
Once the family picks up the pup it is best to take it straight home and get it settled in. It is very important to not let it be visited by the neighbor as soon as you get home. You don't want to stress it out. Also, you do not want to take the puppy to the pet store, park, etc. until it is fully protected. Our vet requires four puppy vaccine to have it protected. By taking the puppy to the pet store you have not idea how many other dogs or puppies have been on the same floor or in the store (sitting in a buggy, etc.) that may or may not have been sick. You are possibly taking your puppy into an area that could cause your puppy to get sick. Also, if you travel a from another state and need to stop at a rest area be careful where you walk the pup and don't let others handle the pup. You don't know if they possibly have handled a sick dog or exactly where they have been. Remember you have a precious baby and if it was a human baby you would not just let anyone handle it.
VET VISITS:
When taking your puppy to the vet make sure not to put it on the floor or let it be around other dogs of puppies. Make sure that the table they sit your pup on has been disinfected. Remember you are at a doctor's office and the doctor's office are usually where people bring sick dogs. You may come with a healthy dog and leave with one that has picked up something that in days may kill or make your dog very sick. I would recommend keeping your dog in the vehicle with you until the doctor is ready for you to come into have it checked. This way you do not have to wait in the waiting room.
Should a family not find out about my puppies until it has its second vaccine then no one is allowed to visit with the pup(s) until 48 hours after the vaccine and will no be allowed to pick up a pup until 48 hours after the vaccine. You definitely do no want to stress the puppy after any vaccine.
This is all done to protect the puppies. I love each one of the puppies and want the best for each of them and for their families.
SHIPPING:
I do not ship any of my puppies, no matter what their age is. It is possible to deliver or meet part way to certain areas within a certain distance of North Carolina. There is an addition delivery fee if you are interested in delivery of a puppy. My husband and daughters do my delivers for me. My daughters are around the puppies daily and they are familiar with the pups and the puppies are familiar with them, so this helps to redue the stress that the traveling for a distance can cause. They make stops along the way to get them a potty break and a chance to stretch their legs and to get some water. If you are intersted in possibly having a puppy delivered after you are approved then you can get a delivery quote if deliver to you is possibly. Please email me your zip code and the location (City and State) of where you would like to meet. Also, if you would be interested in meeting part way and if so the city and state that you would possibly like to meet in and we will email you a quote to that location and you can then make a decision on the location you would like to meet. If you are approved for a puppy then I will need your information so that we can get your paperwork together and so that when my husband gets your contract together, I can email it to you for your signature. The delivery fee must be paid up front before the puppy leave my home. If you want more info on delivery, please email me and I will be glad to answer any questions you have.
PAYMENT (DEPOSIT OR FULLY PAYMENT) FOR PUPPY:
If you see a puppy on my website that you would like to purchase and have answered my questions and been approved then you can place a deposit on the puppy to hold it until it is old enought to go to its new family. Also, in making the payment for a puppy when you pick it up you will need to make your payment through paying cash or money order. If interested it maybe possible to pay through Paypal (if interested ask about this).
Visitation of the Puppies:
I do not allow anyone to visit with the puppies until they are seven weeks old.
The pups have their first puppy vaccine at the age of six weeks old.
They are wormed with a drop of wormer shortly after birth to make sure that they get a good start and do not have any worms. They are then wormed every two weeks until leaving me.
Pups are ready to leave at seven weeks if there are no problems with them at that time.
The pups are weighed everyday or so for the first little while to make sure that they are gaining weight and developing.
I try to take pictures of the pups once a week (usually on Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and post them to their website page so that people can see them.
Once the possible buyer has completed the answer to my questions on the “Purchase a Pup” button and have been approved they can place a deposit on the pup to hold it. The deposit must be received within 3 days (72 hours) from the date that my holding agreement form is emailed to you. If after the third day I have not received your deposit and the signed holding agreement the pup will be available for another family.
Once the pup is placed on hold and a deposit it received the pup will be held for you until the appointed date on the holding agreement. A time will be scheduled for that date for you to pick up your pup. No one will be allowed to handle your pup or visit with your pup when another family comes to see the pups not on hold at seven weeks of age or if they arrive to get their pup before you. This is done in order to prevent the pup from picking something up or stressing it with allowing others to handle and love all over it.
I do not allow anyone in my kennel area or in the area where I keep my pups in my home. I don't want to take a chance of someone bringing something in from a shelter, pet store or any other place (even their own dog) and give it to a pup and cause it to be sick.
Stress – With a young pup you do not want to stress a pup out within at least 48 hours after receiving a pup vaccine (parvo/distemper). If the pup is stressed within this time frame the pup can develop parvo and this can be deathly and if costly. Not something that I ever want a family to go through or the pup. I know of a family and another breeder that this happened to. So, that is the reason that no pup leaves me shortly after receiving a parvo vaccine.
I strongly recommend that when you get a pup that you take it home and let it start settling in and getting used to it surroundings. Don't take them to the pet store. Do you know how many dogs or puppies have been in the pet store or what sickness they may have had? Your pup is not protected until it has all of its vaccines. Would you take your human baby and put it on the floor and allow it to crawl around and pick up everything on the floor and not knowing what has been on the floor? You need to make sure that your dog is up-to-date on its vaccines.
Vet Visit- Same as the pet store. Don't allow your pet to be on the floor or to let others in the vet office to handle your pup. What are they at the vet's office for? Do they have a sick dog there or at home? Did they just handle a sick pup or dog? Everyone loves a pup and HAS to touch it because it is so cute. It maybe possible to wait in your vehicle for the vet to get a room ready for you. I know when the AKC representative comes to my house he puts on booties or I put disinfectant on his shoes. I don't want to have anything carried into my kennel areas and he is great about trying to protect my dogs. I said he wishes that more people were like that. You can never be too safe. How many times have you taken your child to a doctor's office and came back with a virus or something that you did not have when you went. Sick people are at the doctor's office and at the vet's office there are sick dogs and puppies (far too many). I just don't want you to have to deal with a sick pup and the possibility of a pup dying.
Food - I feed my mother dog Purina Puppy Chow (Complete Balanced Formula) while pups are developing before birth. She continues to eat this food while nursing the puppies. This way mom and babies are receiving the vitamins, etc. from the food. When the pups are old enough to start eating solid food I moistin the Purina Puppy Chow with water and the puppies learn to eat it and then I give them dry Purina Puppy Chow. When the pup is ready to go to its new home it is eating dry Purina Puppy Chow (Complete Balanced Formula). I would recommend that you kept your pup on this food. I do send a sample of the food that the pup is eating so that you can have some of the food. If you decide that you want to change the puppy's food then you can mix some of the new food in with the food it is eating now. I would never change the pup's food without slowly doing it by mixing the two or you may have a puppy with an upset tummy.
Treats – I give the pups Alpo Snaps (breaking them up) as treats. I usually send a few of these with them also
Toys – I usually send two toys with the pup.
I have a holding agreement that will need to be completed to place a pup on hold with a deposit.
There will be a sales agreement when you pick up your pup.
You will get the pups AKC Registration Application when you pick it up. You can then register the pup under the name that you want.
There is a puppy care booklet that comes with the pup from Purina.
I send a copy of the pedigree of the mother and father.