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We try very hard each and everyday to update our website so that you can follow our progress with our shepherds! We enjoy sharing this information, because we feel that it helps you better understand US and our DOGS!! They are not just dogs, they are FAMILY MEMBERS and each and everyone of them has a unique personality and things that we love to share.................. I receive emails that ask about pricing and selection of puppies, about our boys, girls and things that we are known for......... This section of the website should explain most of those things and if it doesn't, PLEASE do not hesitate to email us with any concerns or questions!! MiSheps@embarqmail.com Puppies are whelped both in our home and outside in our kennel. Although the kennel is almost 4 years old, we continue to make lots of improvements and changes, so we do have two pages about OUR KENNEL & KENNEL UPDATES that you can visit also. Those two pages will show you pictures and give you information about the kennel. THE BEGINNING Puppies start their new life with an abundant amount of love and affection from US and from the parents of the litter. It's very important to us to know that not only do the mothers have constant contact with their puppies, but the fathers do as well.......... they have a lot of things to adjust to including noises that we create and noises of the other dogs in the kennel. We have a radio going all the time for background noise, we work with our ATV's and there is an occasional tractor working around and all this is done near the puppies so they do hear many noises before leaving here for their new home. We also have visitors into the kennel weekly and we share the WHOLE kennel with folks, not just the parents and puppies that you have come to see......You will see alot of the extended family : ) Once the puppies start to move around and start investigating their new surroundings, we start feeding them a puppy mush along with Mommy's milk and soon they prefer the food to Mom! They have access to a covered deck, play area and can go from inside to outside with ease. This helps with the Potty Training. They learn to potty outside and sleep and eat on the inside. (Summer being easier of course then Winter months) We also watch the Mom very closely and will pull her away from the pups if she is nursing too much. Pups have sharp teeth and can harm her eventually if not watched over. All our puppies have their weights taken weekly, nails trimmed when needed and all required shots given at the appropriate ages. Puppies are wormed at 2, 4 & 6 weeks of age. We are also handling the puppies a lot during their first couple of weeks to ensure they will like the touching and caring that will be needed as they grow. Handling continues as they mature. RESERVATIONS ON UPCOMING LITTERS PUPPY PACK I send home a Puppy Pack with each puppy that includes information about them, their parents, necessities to start out and a lot more.......... Please read about what is in the Puppy Pack here. Probably the most important part of what we do is how and what we feed our Moms, Dads and youngsters! It's so important that I try to have all the information available to you before taking the puppy home, so that you have time to prepare! I believe in an ALL NATURAL Diet. It's easy to feed and in most cases, easy to find in your area. We also carry the food so that you have access to it all the time. We love the Breeders-Choice Products and we feed their food called PINNACLE and also there is another called HEALTH FOOD FOR DOGS. It's a great food and we have seen the results! We love it! You can read more about the foods here. VISITING THE KENNEL & DEPOSIT INFORMATION We do require that you come to the kennel and visit the parents, puppies and US! We try very hard to accommodate you and your family with dates and times. We do go by Appointments Only because of the time we like to spend with each visitor and of course, keeping up with our chores............ During your visit we introduce you to the puppies, their parents and usually all the dogs : ) They truly love visitors and this is fun for you as well as the dogs!! This is also a good time for questions and answers...... We accept deposits at this time and that will place you in order on any particular litter as to when I received the deposits......... If I have more then one litter, you are welcome to view them and if you do leave a deposit and at some point change your mind to another litter, you will need to notify me as soon as possible. A $200 deposit is required to be placed on the waiting list. I no longer offer deposit refunds........ There are some exceptions. Please understand that EMAIL is a wonderful asset to all of our lives, but they are also lost, or sent to incorrect addresses and also not sent at all sometimes because of errors, so PLEASE do not rely only on emails that we will send back and forth. I cannot guarantee a particular puppy to you without a deposit. That is why I like folks to come to the kennel and personally meet with us and place a deposit. Please come and enjoy!! MEET THE PARENT'S DAY & MEET THE BABY DAY We did start something NEW in 2007.........I have set aside dates for Meeting the Parent's of the upcoming litters and usually announce this far enough in advance so that you can schedule an appointment to come and meet the parents and sometimes Meet the babies!! We have the whole day set aside to visit with people and introduce them to the parents of upcoming litters or current litters and meet with some of the retired dogs!! It's a great time for the dogs and so far I think everyone has enjoyed their visit. I do require that you set up an appointment on that particular day so that we have time with you individually to answer any of your questions or concerns!! We usually ask that when you know you are coming to our kennel for this visit, that you DO NOT VISIT any other kennels, vet offices, doggy parks or pet stores BEFORE coming to our kennel. This will insure NO disease will be brought into our kennel harming either the young puppies or other dogs. We ask this of you so that we can continue having these days for meeting the dogs and puppies. Most Meeting Days are set up after the puppies have turned 4 weeks old.....this also helps them get off to a great start, building their immune system. We hope that you understand our concern. We try to check in with you before your visit through email, to confirm your appointment, and we ask that you do the same. Weather is always an issue here during the colder wintery months, so please dress accordingly!! We are inside and outside during your visit to the kennel. VOLHARD PUPPY APTITUDE TEST This is the Puppy Temperament Test that we perform and give you the original test sheet. We keep a copy here on each puppy. This test really helps us in placing the RIGHT PUPPY with the RIGHT FAMILY. There are different reasons for folks wanting a puppy and what they are looking for in adulthood of the dog, so we really like to test each puppy and hopefully match the puppy of your choice with YOU and YOUR family!! It truly helps me in selecting the RIGHT puppy for you. MATCHING UP THE RIGHT PUPPY This has been a wonderful task for us. We use the Puppy Test above to help us and also we ask that you be honest with us is telling us what you are looking for. We will help you all we can once the time comes to choose a puppy. We keep the website and litter page updated the best we can and from this, you may have already choose a puppy from it's "look" or "color" but we still try to match personality as well : ) During the "choosing" process we are in contact with you all the time through email. If you come out to meet the babies and they are young, we explain to you about colors and sizes and anything else that is concerning......but we cannot PICK a puppy for you on that particular day if they are too young. We do spend alot of time with them and we try to pick the best personality for your family! I know it can be hard 'waiting' to know which puppy is yours, but I do take this seriously so my time is usually limited during the last few weeks of their life here, before leaving on their BIG adventure.....Email is usually best during this time..... thank you for understanding! PRICES OF PUPPIES Prices range from $800-$1200. The prices of my puppies change occasionally depending on the Parents bred. Also, we do have to have increases from time to time to help offset some of our increasing expenses that we incur. Over the last few years I have tried hard to keep our prices the same or as reasonable as we can. We feel we are very fair with our prices. With that you will receive our FULL HEALTH GUARANTEE and also lots of LIFETIME HELP and SHARING : ) Our puppies are sold with Limited Registration AKC papers............ We occasionally have puppies that will be more or less in price............and would consider releasing Full Registration and Breeding rights given under the correct circumstances, with a Breeding Contract. Please inquire about Breeding Prices of puppies. All contracts for pet/companion pups fully state that they are sold with NO breeding rights and spay/neuter is suggested. SHIPPING We do not SHIP nor FLY our puppies at this time. I truly think being a little old-fashioned and asking that you come to the kennel and meet us, shake our hand and also meet the dogs and puppies, is more important. This does not mean that I will not eventually ship puppies but right now we have chosen not to. If this is your only option, I will refer you to someone who will ship. We care enough to sometimes lose a customer over this, but in the long run, it's best for the puppy. PAYMENT REFERENCES References, including my veterinarian can be given upon request. I used to have a Guestbook and really enjoyed all the comments until I was getting unjustified comments and cruel remarks, along with SPAM that did not pertain to our kennel nor dogs. Lots of Spam!! So I decided that I would not have the Guestbook. I do love the emails and updates though and really look forward to hearing from everyone whether you decided on one of our puppies or not. I really like to know how we are doing and ask for your help in providing the best services that we can!! We have since removing the Guestbook decided on a Testimonial Page for folks to write in! Send them to me!! We may even ASK YOU for references from time to time such as your current veterinarian.... APPOINTMENTS Appointments are necessary but we try to be available most of the time to accommodate you and your family. Our kennel hours start at 5:30 but your Kennel hours are from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, mostly for phone calls............ Also, we try to set aside certain days for visiting...........with weekends and holidays available, including MEET THE PARENT'S DAY and BABY DAY. We laugh and joke about it- but honestly we do work very hard each and every day of the year trying hard to keep things running as smooth as possible! Please feel free to email us for more details........... OUR LOCATION OUR PLEDGE TO YOU Our pledge to you is to provide you and your family with a healthy and happy puppy. We try very hard to make sure that you are happy with the puppy choice and also that you and your family are ready for a puppy! We provide LIFETIME support and ask for your emails and comments on how things are going. We also know that having a new puppy can be interesting and sometimes even scary and frustrating but we truly want to help if we can. They are born here and are our KIDS first so we feel honored when you write us or call and tell us of your puppy's accomplishments!! It is truly an honor to be in this position and we take this opportunity to tell you that it's a wonderful gift that we have been given and want to share it with you. We do ask that you send pictures from time to time and we love watching the development of your puppy! The SHARING is the best part of it all!!!! THANK YOU and GOD BLESS! Kellie & Paren Mintern
and all the dogs!!
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