PUPPY INFO

We have a puppy room that gives our pups an indoor "den" and access to the outdoors through a "doggy door".   The  pups sleep in the "den" which is very similar in size to a crate only their door is not closed.  Their "den" is about 3' x 4' and 2.5' high.   If you plan to housebreak them then I highly recommend using a crate at night and for short bits during the day. 

 

Our pups learn quickly that their “den” is not where they want to do their business since they like to sleep and lounge in there.  It helps your process of housebreaking.  Beware that LOTS of breeders raise puppies on ‘grates’ which makes clean up for the breeder a lot easier. However,  housetraining a puppy that has been raised that way is sometimes impossible.  Pups must learn that if they soil their area, they will have to step around it, in it and smell it.  Grates prevent the pup from understanding this since they can just “pee” and “poop” whenever and where ever they choose and never have to step in it. 

Our pups are given vaccinations at 6, 9, 12 & 16 weeks.  Wormings are done every 2 weeks.  Which vaccines and wormings your pup will  have had depends completely on how old the puppy is when you get them.  The pup will get what is required at the age they are whether they are purchased or not.  In other words, if a pup is here at 12 weeks it will have had 3 vaccinations and all required wormings.  It is a good idea to keep a puppy away from strange dogs and puppies (and their droppings) until they have finished their vaccine schedule.  They are not immune to diseases until they have had all shots.  That is why PetsMart and places like that require your pup to be at least 16 weeks old and completely vaccinated to enter dog classes. 

Once puppies are 8 weeks and no longer nursing, we feed them twice per day (morning & evening).  We give them dry kibble at this point.  I suggest you feed your puppy dry food and give them 15 minutes to eat it.  After the 15 minutes, take up his bowl whether he is finished or not.  This will teach him to eat when it's time to eat and not play between bites.  If he cleans it up quickly and goes sniffing for more, you may want to add a little to his portion.  He will need more and more as he quickly grows.  Soon after he eats he will need to "poop" so watch him closely or go ahead and take him outside and walk with him.  You'll be amazed how quickly he can learn to go potty outside.  The "pee-pee" part is not nearly so easy since that urge comes on quickly and is not induced by eating.  Watch his nose and actions to be alarmed at when he might be about to "pee".  His nose is down searching for the right spot (however - his nose is always down so that is hard to figure), once he thinks he's found it he will squat.  Squatting is the tricky part - a basset is already so low that it's hard to tell they are squatting.  Watch his tail.  It will get very straight and stop wagging when he starts to "pee".   The tip may bend over slightly at the tip but most importantly, the tail will be staright and stiff.  This part of training is the most difficult. 

If your pup is flown to you, he will be hungry when he arrives and there will be food for him taped to the kennel he is in.  Give him his food after you get him home.  I will not feed him before he travels that morning to prevent him getting sick and having an accident in the kennel.

 

Shipping Puppies:

We do offer shipping of our puppies.  It is very safe and is done everyday so beware of breeders telling you they won’t ship because it is not good for the puppy.  I’m not sure why some breeders say this, but maybe it is because of all the trouble and red tape that shipping requires.  It takes hours to prepare a pup for air travel and I think some breeders prefer not to bother.  A lot of them will tell you they think it hurts the pups’ ears or causes them extreme stress.  Neither of those is true.  If it did all that - why would millions of people fly with infants, children & pets fly each day?  Of course your pup will be unsure about what is going on...............they’ve never flown before!  Of course he/she will be lonely....................he's never been alone before!  However, they will be perfectly fine - exhausted the first day, but fine otherwise.  All live animals are flown in a pressurized, temperature-controlled cargo space that is equivalent to the space in which humans fly.  So, it is no different than a young child or baby flying somewhere.  It really amuses me that other breeders stake all those crazy claims - I'm assuming they ignorantly believe their own claims or they are trying to impress people by making it seem as though they are protecting their puppies.  Anyone who flies anywhere with a dog (that cannot fit under their seat) has their dog flying in the llive animal cargo space - that includes valuable show dogs competing at shows across the USA and abroad.  You know they wouldn't put a cherished prize pooch on a flight if it was dangerous in any way.  I choose to ship because I want my pups to go to wonderful homes throughout the United States.  If someone is willing to pay the price for one of our pups and have them shipped, then I KNOW that puppy will most likely be treasured and cared for all of it's life the way I hope all of my puppies are.