What You need to Know Before Adopting a Candle Hill Shepherd
We have done all in our power to improve your pet's chances of thriving in every way, including:
1. Excellent Pedigrees. Candle Hill Shepherds guarantees that your pup will be fully registerable and without restrictions by the AKC.
2. Pregnancy care has been optimized in every way we can including premium nutrition and most importantly heavy doses of love, play & a safe, fun environment to be sure that your pet's mother was happy & contented during pregnancy, whelping & the pup's life before being sent to your home. The attitude of the dam during this time directly transfers to the pup, making it very significant that your pup's dam is contented.
3. Whelping and puppy rearing takes place in our home with clean facilities including indoor nursery.
4. Puppy care will include neurological stimulation following the proven methods of "Developing High Achievers". Research shows that where 35% of a dog's performance is genetic, this method has greatly enhanced the other 65% and has proven to make a huge difference in the achievement of the dogs so reared. (http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html).
5. Puppy care has been optimized by New Skete methods including music, toys, play, a full schedule of puppy exercises, grooming, socialization & problem solving exercises. Our children take pride in gently and thoughtfully handling the pups to make them well rounded canine citizens.
6. All breeding pairs, including several generations back, have had their hips x-rayed and certified free of dysplasia by OFA, A-stamp, Penn-hip or by other documentation.
7. Our dogs come with a health guarantee as spelled out in our Proven Health link.
8. It is important to us that your puppy or dog is happy in the new home you provide. If for some reason you are unable to keep your pet, though we are unable to provide any refund, we will provide a loving home for your pet if you wish to return him or her to us.
9. We will help you along the way in any way we can, including periodic e-newsletters, help with training, health & grooming questions & pass along any helpful non-private info about how other adoptive families are handling various situations with their adopted German Shepherd.
10. It is very important to us to assess whether we are reaching our goals in our breeding program in the quality of dogs we produce. To do this, we rely heavily upon, you, our puppy families to give us feedback on how your puppy is doing. If you become one of our puppy families, we will expect you to keep in touch with the understanding that emails sent to us, updating your pet, may be sent on to others unless you specifically ask to keep it private.
11.. We highly recommend that you read Shelby Marlo's "New Art of Dog Training" and the Monks of New Skete books "The Art of Raising a Puppy" & "How to be Your Dog's Best Friend" before picking up your puppy.
12.. Your pup is helped in the transition to your home if you send something that has your scent on it. We will put this near your pup allowing your pup to get to know you before you meet. People have told us that their pup recognized them when they went to pick the pup up at the airport. Now how cool is that?
13. In buying a Candle Hill Shepherd pup you are agreeing to choose a registered name according to the German style of the use of the litter letter for the first name and the breeder's kennel name, Vom Haus Kohl at the end.
14. A $500.00 deposit is required to hold your reservation for a pup. The remainder is to be paid by certified check or money order prior to the time that the pup reaches seven weeks old. At eight weeks of age, the pup will either be picked up at Candle Hill by the buyer or will be shipped as agreed upon at the time of reservation. If for any reason, the buyer is unable to pay the remainder owed by the time the pup is seven weeks of age or is unable to meet the pup at the agreed upon airport, all agreements to buy the pup may be considered to have been made void by the buyer. Though the $500.00 deposit will not be refunded, any other monies paid will be returned. In the event that a reservation has been made for a pup from a specific litter and no such pup is available, the buyer has the option to role the deposit over to another litter or to have it refunded.
Questions to ask yourself before acquiring a German Shepherd Dog:
1. Am I prepared to deal with a high energy and intelligent dog who is looking for activity and is not a couch potato?
2. Do I have the time and energy and a giving nature to attend obedience classes with my pup and to consistently supply socialization, exercise, and tons of nurture and love well after my pup is no longer a cute little ball of fur?
3. Do I have the patience, for the health of my dog, to resist allowing my pup to jump, run as in jogging with me over long distances or running beside my bicycle, or experience rough play with other dogs, such as body banging during that first year? Sports such as flyball and frisbee which require the dog to leap into the air should also be avoided until the bones are fully developed. Will I be determined to be conscientious to use common sense to preserve my dog's hip health?
3. Do I live in a situation that is stable enough to provide a good home to this pup over the next twelve to fourteen years and beyond?
4. Am I willing to give the time required to regularly groom my pet, including coat, ear, and teeth brushing?
5. Am I willing to provide regular exercise for my dog?
6. Am I willing to incur the expense required for regular vet care, immunizations, and hip x-rays as well as emergency care when required?
7. Am I willing to pay what it costs to provide top quality food for my pet?
8. Do I have a fenced in yard or kennel run where I can let my pup be free to be a dog, a place where he is safe from cars, people, and other animals?