Frequently Asked Questions
1.What is an AKC Breeder of Merit
designation and why is it important?
An AKC Breeder of Merit must meet the
following requirements: 1. Participant certifies & follows the
health testing/screenings are performed on
your breeding stock according to the
guidelines of the parent club for their
chosen breed. For me, it is the American Shetland
Sheepdog Association (www.assa.org). 2. Earned at least 4 titles in the areas
of:
Conformation, Performance or Companion
Events on a minimum of 4 dogs that you have
bred or co-bred.; 3. A member in good standing of an AKC
club, 4. Have a history of at least 5 years of
involvement in AKC events and 5. to register all puppies with AKC.
2. What is a CHIC Number?
CHIC stands for: Canine Health Information Center. Each breed of dog has certain tests
that are mandatory and a few that are
optional that can be done on breeding stock. Once those mandatory & optional tests
are done and recorded at:
www.offa.org
, then a CHIC Number will be issued. You can access the results of your
sheltie's parents at
www.offa.org by typing
in their parents name. Once a CHIC Number is given, the
breed's parent club is sent the test results
information as well. Not every sheltie conformation
breeder gets a CHIC Number as it is quite
expensive to do so. However, I do as I want to maintain
the high quality of my breeding stock.
3. Why must I fill out the Prospective
Owner's Survey? I'd rather just call, or email
you.....
You can call or email me anytime. I'll still ask you to fill out the
Survey, though. It asks all the questions that'd I'd
ask you anyway. However, I don't always have a pen
handy or it maybe a busy time for me and I
may not get to ask you the right questions. I really want to get to know you &
your family and this helps me to do so. You have the opportunity to learn
about me & my shelties here on this website.
4. Is there anything else you require?
Yes, I always ask for 2 letters of
recommendation. One is from your vet. If you don't have one, I'll send you
a file that has a list of questions that you
can ask as you either interview different
vets or their staff to find the right one
for you.
The second letter can be from your
groomer, your dog trainer, your landlord (so
they are okay with you getting a sheltie) or
your parents (if you are in grad school,
that sort of thing).
Also, a current picture of you. :)
5. How much do your shelties cost?
My shelties are $2,500. It does include the cost of their AKC
Registration and micro-chip registration
fees. Due to new government regulations
(9/16/13), we do not ship. We never have, but need to make that
statement for Uncle Sam. I
require a $500 non-refundable deposit.
6. Why are they so expensive?
Glad that you asked! Below are some of the expenses that
are incurred while producing a litter of
puppies.
A.Original cost of an AKC show/breeding
quality Sheltie ($2,500 or more depending on
the bloodline)
B. Health/Breeding tests given to the
above Sheltie......................... $545
OFFA Hip Xrays $150
CERF Eye Exam 40 (at a special clinic or more if at
DR.'s Office)
vWD Test 90
MDR-1 Test 90
Thyroid Test 175
C. Then the breeding costs once health
testing is complete:
Progesterone Blood test ($40-$90)
(done 3-4 times per breeding) $160-$360
Brucellosis Test $90
Breeding fee $850+
Travel/Gas/Food to Fella's House $100
OR
Special
Shipping to us $350
Travel to Repro-Vet & any fees $300
Momma's Food $100
Ultrasound to confirm Pregnancy $100
X-ray for possible puppy count
$100
Dew Claw Removal, Puppy shots, micro-chip $60
(cost for 1 puppy only)
AKC Litter Registration fee
$40
AKC Puppy Registration $30
AVG.
TOTAL COST $ 2,480.00
7. What about an adult that you might
retire?
Occasionally, I do have an adult that is
being retired. Their price is $700. That amount goes for their spay or
neuter that will be done by my vet. It also covers the cost of their AKC
owner transfer paperwork & changing their
microchip info. Once they have had their surgery &
have healed & stitches have been removed,
they will be available. I do make announcements ahead of time
to try to find the right home for any
retiring adult.
8. What about an older puppy?
Occasionally we do have an older puppy or
a very young adult that is available. Whether it is because they did not
fulfill their conformation/breeding stock
potential or they were brought back home
because their owner no longer wanted them. Cost varies by sheltie & situation. Irregardless, they will be spayed or
neutered here before leaving. This very quickly discourages the
irresponsible breeders from contacting me &
using my stock unscrupulously. Other than that, the cost of their
AKC owner transfer & micro-chip info is
included in their price.
9. Why can't I let my vet do the surgery?
It's not a matter of your vet's surgical
skills to do this. I'm thinking of what is best for my
sheltie. I want them to leave here and only
have to get used to a new home & your daily
routine. This way the two of you can have
plenty of enjoyable time to bond to each
other. To go to a new home & also to have
surgery so soon after coming to your house,
makes it hard on everyone....including you.
10. What kind of a guarantee do you have
or offer?
I offer a 24 hour health/temprament
guarantee on my shelties. This gives you time to take them to
your vet for a �get to know you� check up. If your vet finds that your sheltie
has a serious health problem that makes them
unsuitable to be a family pet (Vet's written
statement with proof of the health problem)
then you can return your sheltie & get a
full refund provided your sheltie is
returned within 10 days of seeing your vet. Any time longer than 10 days will
result in a pro-rating of the refund.
I offer a 2 year genetic guarantee on
your sheltie that covers their hips
(normal-non dysplastic rating by OFA), eyes
(normal), vWD (non-affected rating) & MDR1
(non-mutant rating) in these areas only. These are the areas that I test all
of my beeding stock for. I cannot be responsible for a sheltie
that is under your care & supervision for
problems due to lack of exercise (or too
much), poor diet or anything that happens to
them while they are in your care as an
owner. Since I have done all that I can on
my end, you must be responsible owner of
your sheltie on your end. I am willing to guarantee your
sheltie for 2 years for these genetic issues
only. Please remember that a sheltie is a
living, breathing animal and no animal or
person is going to grow & age without
something going on or health issues that may
become known later on in life.
11. What are the kinds of genetic
breeding tests that you do on your shelties?
Each sheltie undergoes genetic
health/screening tests in the following
areas:
A.Hips- this is done just after they turn
2 years and it is to see the quality of
their hip bones & socket structure. The X-rays are taken by a Vet and are
sent to OFFA for a analysis. OFFA then sends the X-ray to vet
radiology specialists at vet schools around
the country. Each x-ray is evaluated by 3
different specialists each at a different
vet school. They do not communicate to each other
about what they see. You can go to for more info:
http://www.offa.org/hd_grades.html
Classification
results are:
Excellent
Good
Fair
Borderline
Mildly Displastic
Moderate Displastic
Severe Displastic
B. Eyes�CERF or OFA Exam by a
Veterianarian Opthamologist as to the
condition & health of each eye. Results of this are now posted on the
OFFA website as well.
C. VWD- also known as Von Wildebrand's or
free bleeder syndrome. This is done with a DNA marker check
swab and the results can be:
Clear- no genetic markers
Carrier- carries one marker from a parent
Affected- carries a marker from both
parents
This is a simple genetic marker that can
be bred away from in one or two generations. Idealy, both parents are clear and
don't carry a marker for this. As show/hobby breeders have now
gotten this down to 0.3% in our population. As for non-show/hobby breeders, I
have no clue as they don't test for this. Source:
http://www.vetgen.com/canine-vwd3.html
D. MDR-1..Drug sensitivity. Almost everyone knows that dogs found
in the herding group have issues with
Ivermectin. Ivermectin is in a specific class of
drugs. Because of the seriousness of this,
there has been a DNA test developed. Test results are:
Normal/Normal....Both parents don't carry
the gene & all offspring will be
Normal/Normal
Normal/Affected...One parent doesn't
carry the gene & the other one does.
Affected/Affected..Both parents carried
at least one of the genes and the resulting
offspring
received both. All medications should be given with
caution as well as
any surgeries as this puppy/dog will
probably not survive the
proceedure.
Great care must be done if the
Affected/Affected dog is bred and all the
resulting puppies will be Affected/Affected. It is a very bad idea to breed two
such parents together. As show/hobby breeders, we are still
working this out of our lines and we are
down to 30% affected and droping in our
breeding population. Source:
http://www.vetgen.com/canine-vwd3.html For more
information on which specific drugs,
Please see:
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-VCPL/drugs.aspx
12. Why don't you ship?
We have never shipped one of our shelties
to a new owner..........ever. Why? Our weather makes this risky here in
the South because of the heat. Only one airline has air conditioned
facilities & can keep a sheltie in their
office area. This is known as hand carried or
counter to counter service. All other air lines that ship would
have a sheltie to go through normal cargo
which is not air conditioned (nor heated in
winter) and be treated with fork lifts
zooming their crates around with the
accompaning back up beeps. How do I know? I have visited them to decide for
myself if I would ship to a new owner or
not.
13. Can I name my sheltie?
Yes, you can name your sheltie anything
you want to! In fact, I encourage you to think
about what it might be because together we
will fill out the papers here. I just ask that you use Creekside
somewhere in their formal name. Their everyday or 'call' name can be
whatever you want it to be.
14.Are there any additional costs for my
sheltie?
Not at this time.
15. What do I need to bring to take my
sheltie home with me?
A crate to travel in. A couple of towels for them to rest
on.
One for the crate and an extra one just in
case you need to use a fresh one. Sometimes their tummy doesn�t like to
travel. A water dish for a sip of water if
you take a pit stop on the way home. Most puppies will sleep for the
entire journey home.
16. Does anything come with my sheltie?
Oh my, yes! Your sheltie will have an entire
goodie bag of things to go home with them.
They will have a new leash & collar and all
puppies will have a small bell attached to
their collar (so you can find them quickly
if you need to), a couple of toys, a handful
of treat biscuits, enough food for 2 weeks.
A
copy of their records (health & shot
records, height chart, Sales Contract, Care
& Maintenance Contract, AKC Registration
papers & microchip registration.
17. When can I meet my sheltie?
All prospective owners must go through
the approval process before coming to meet
their sheltie. Puppies can be visited at 6 weeks of
age by invitation only. I also ask that you don�t visit any
dog parks or other doggie areas prior to
visiting. Remember these puppies are too young
for regular vaccinations/puppy shots to take
affect. Visiting somewhere else before coming
here could cost them their lives as they
have no immunity of their own at this age.
Those
looking for an older sheltie must go through
the same process before being invited to
come & spend time with the sheltie here.
