Frequently Asked Questions

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Should I get a Male or a Female?

Unless you have plans to breed, there is virtually no difference between a male and a female as far as temperament, trainability, hunting instincts, etc. providing you get the male neutered before it goes through puberty. A male neutered before puberty will not lift his leg on everything, mount other dogs, and the other things intact males are noted for. A neutered male is pretty much identical to a spayed female in most respects….they get along better with other dogs when neutered (there are no “turf issues”) and are just an easy dog to own. Males tend to be slightly larger than females and not as soft… If you have no plans to breed, we strongly recommend getting a male pup neutered and a female spayed… It makes life a lot easier!! I’m often asked if I had just one dog and wasn’t interested in breeding would I have a male or a female. All things being equal (the right lineage, etc.), I’d have a neutered male.
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Are your dogs regsitered?

Yes, our dogs are registered with AKC. We provide an AKC registration application form with each pup we place.
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What color are your Springers?

We usually have both liver/white and black/white pups in our litters. Our dogs are usually more white than liver or black and usually have light to moderate ticking. Our dogs have the relatively short, flat type of coat. We do not breed for color and markings. Our primary concern is temperament, brains, hunting/retrieving desire, conformation, etc. Like they say, “A good horse can’t be a bad color”……the same applies to dogs.

How large are your Springers?

Males are usually between 40 and 50 pounds and females run between 35 and 45 pounds. Our dogs tend to be somewhat “leggy”, but not overly so. We do not have the shorter legged, heavy set type of Springer.

Do you remove dewclaws and how long do you dock the tails on your Springers?

Dewclaws are removed when they are just a couple days old. We dock the tails on our Springers “Field Bred Length” (we leave approximately 1/2 of the tail when we dock…we do not leave just a 2” stub like you see on Springers from Show lines).

Do you charge more for “Pick of the Litter”?

First of all, I don’t believe in “Pick of the Litter”. I do not believe anyone can pick out the best pup in a litter when pups are 2 or 3 months old. In a well bred litter, pups should be very uniform. All should be relatively the same size and exhibit similar traits. Pups change from week to week….what might appear to be the most precocious pup, the largest pup, the pup with the strongest retrieving desire..etc..may not exhibit those same traits the next day or the next week. Pups go through stages. Many times, the largest pup will develop early and not be the biggest dog in the litter when mature.

When I am looking for a pup, I first look at the parents and grandparents. In my opinion (and in the opinion of many long time breeders) those 6 dogs are by far the best indication of what to expect from a pup when mature. I then do some reference checks on the breeder. Is he/she reputable? Will the pups be well socialized before they go to their new homes? If everything checks out….if I like everything I see and hear from the breeder and people who have done buisness with the breeder, if the dogs close up in the pedigree exhibit the traits I’m looking for, I get a pup and I don’t really care what pick I have….

Many people think if they are 6th on the on the list of people who have reserved a pup, that they will be getting the 6th best pup. I can’t emphasize enough that this is absolutely not true…if you’ve done your homework as I’ve described above, it makes no difference whatsoever where you might be on a list. Also, my policy is that I will not place a pup with anyone that I would not want to have as my own. If I have a pup that I feel is not a representative of the type of dog that I am trying to produce, I will not sell that pup to you. The bottom line is, do your homework and don’t get hung up on where you are on a list.

At what age can I pick up my pup?

I prefer that pups do not go to their new homes until they are at least 7 weeks old. If we ship pups via airfreight, the airlines require that a pup be a minimum of 8 weeks old.

Do you ship pups and if so how much does it cost?

Yes, we ship pups regularly. We’ve shipped pups for over 20 years and our experience is that the airlines do a wonderful job of caring for the pups we have shipped. The pups handle the trip very well, so there’s no need to be concerned about your pup if it is being shipped to you. If you need to have your pup shipped to you, we charge a flat $300 for this service Providing we can ship your pup via regular air cargo. If we have to ship your pup via VIP services (such as Delta Dash) due to airline requirements, there will be an additional charge as VIP shipping is more expensive. VIP shipping is usually about $100 more than the standard rate. The shipping rate includes the cost of the air frieght, our travel to and from the airport (270 mile round trip for us), the cost of the crate ($35) used to ship the pup in, and the cost of the health exam and health certificate. We do not make anything on the shipping. It’s a service we provide and the rate we set allows us to break even on the shipping. We do all of the legwork required in making the reservations with the airlines. All we need from you is the name of the airport you would like your pup shipped in to.

The airlines will not accept animals for shipment when the temperature is predicted to be 10 degrees F. or lower or higher than 85 degrees F. So, if you are having your pup shipped to you keep in mind that the temperature restrictions could possibly cause a delay in shipping. We can usually get around the temperature restrictions by shipping early in the morning during the summer months and later in the day in the winter, but not always. It’s uncommon for us to not be able to get a pup shipped due to the weather, but it is a possibility.

How much do you charge for your pups?

We are not a business…..breeding for us is strictly a hobby. We currently charge $750 for a Puppy regardless of color or sex. We feel this is a very fair price for the quality of pups we produce. We are keeping our prices relatively low compared to other pups of similar quality as we know that airfreight charges are increasing regularly. Springer pups from similar lines as ours are currently selling for $800 to $1,500. With the rising cost of dog food, vet bills, etc. we may have to increase our prices somewhat at some point, but our goal is to make our pups affordable while maintaining quality. A $200 deposit will reserve a pup. We ask that the balance due be paid by the time the pups are 5 weeks old.

Do you sell pups with limited or unlimited registration with AKC and do you require the buyer to sign a puppy contract?

All pups are sold with unlimited registration. The limited registration with AKC prevents the owner from breeding their dog. We feel that people that we place pups with should have the right to determine if their dog is of breeding quality and whether or not to breed it. Most puppy contracts we have seen are a bit ridiculous and probably next to impossible to enforce.

What is your guarantee?

We guarantee that any dog we use for breeding will have Hip and Eye (CERF) clearances. In the past we have used OFA to certify hips on dogs we breed. We are now using the Pennhip procedure as we feel it is more accurate than OFA. OFA requires one x-ray of the hips when they do their evaluations. Pennhip requires three x-rays. Pennhip is more expensive, but they are able to evaluated hips at a younger age and the report gives a more accurate picture of a dog’s hips. We guarantee the overall health of your pup at the time of placement. We strongly urge you to have your vet examine your pup and set up a vaccination schedule that is appropriate for your area as soon as possible. Your pup will have received its first shot and will have been wormed twice before you receive it.

How do you determine who gets which pup when you have a litter?

Our policy is that our pups are reserved on a first come, first serve basis. A $200 deposit will reserve a pup, and we go by the postmark on the envelope to determine which pick you have. We require that you tell us whether you want a male or female pup when you send in your deposit and whether you want a black/white or liver/white pup. You can give us a 2nd choice on male or female and color if you wish to. If we do not have a pup for you for some reason (if a breeding doesn’t take, if we have a small litter, etc.) we will refund your deposit, otherwise the deposit is not refundable. If we should not have a pup available and you request to get a pup from another upcoming litter we can certainly do that, but you would be added to the list….that is if you had 2nd pick from a litter and we had a “No take” you wouldn’t be 2nd on the list for the next litter as we would already have some deposits for that litter so you would more than likely be further down the list. We try to email pictures of the pups to the new owners weekly so they can see the pups as they develop. Along with the pictures, we communicate with each buyer regularly about the pups so they can have the information they need to make a decision. We ask that people decide which pup they would like when the pups are between 6 and 7 weeks of age. This way we know who is getting which pup by the time the pups are ready to go.

We occassionally keep a pup from one of our litters for our breeding program. We reserve the right to hold back a pup we would like to keep, although we seldom do this.