Welcome to Our Frequently Asked Questions!

Hopefully this page can help you out with some of your questions, if I have missed something please let me know and I will add it.

Meeting Puppies/Meeting Halfway/Scheduling appointment Questions:

Will you meet us halfway or come up to the Twin Cities area?

We will meet on occasion to try to help out with distances for people. We will often advertise in the warmer months we will be in the Burnsville area or such, this is because we have been asked to meet someone up there already. Of course we prefer you to come to our home and meet the puppies in the setting they are most comfortable with. We do understand times are tough and you really want that new puppy but just can't drive the distance. So we do try to accommodate people when we can make it possible. When we advertise that we will be in the Burnsville area, this does not mean we bring all our puppies and sit in a parking lot somewhere all day and sell puppies, this will NOT happen!! We bring only the puppies that are put on hold and scheduled to go home and that is it. We will not put the puppies through sitting in a parking lot just being viewed all day long. Our puppies are treated as we would want to be treated, and no way would we want this for ourselves, therefore the puppies will not go through this either.

Update :We are willing to meet for additional cost to help in our gas expenses. Meeting where will depend on the day/time and the weather. Only one puppy will be brought when meeting out of Albert Lea.

We want to come during the day during the week to meet the puppies.

During the day during the week, the only way to meet puppies is for me to meet you in a public place. This is because my husband works full time, and we live in the country, during the day it is just my toddler son and I home. Due to a past bad experience with letting people come out while my husband is away, we will NO LONGER let anyone come out while he is not home. This is for the safety of not only my son but me also. If you would rather come to our home to meet the puppies that is perfectly fine, we just ask you schedule in the evening or during the weekend. If this is not possible and you are fine with meeting in a public place I will gladly arrange my day to try to accommodate you. With meeting in public place, I meet you just outside of Albert Lea, right off I-35 at a very public travel center, with this I will only bring 2 puppies max for you to meet, if you want to meet anymore than that we encourage you to please come to our home. I was just recently told that it is weird/fishy that I will not allow people to come to buy a puppy while my husband is at work, my response is "It is weird/fishy that you do not understand why my husband should be here while strangers are coming to buy puppies." We encourage you and offer you times when my husband is home to come here to meet the puppies, but also willing to accommodate you in meeting if your fine with meeting in a public place. Thank you for understanding our concern for our safety. And I must once again say you are welcome to view/meet the puppies at our home while my husband is here.

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Potty training/Crate training Questions:

Are the puppies potty trained?

We no longer start potty training on any puppies, due to the many different methods of training. We of course do not allow them to go anywhere they want. We have a puppy play pen box that is specially made just for them, they often play in there, it is their area, or if weather is nice we spend a lot of time outside. Even in the winters on nice days we will bring them outside for playtime, so they get used to all weather types. Also when they are in the house with us we watch them very closely and if we see any signs of having to go potty they are either placed in their play pen or brought outside if that is the closest option. We leave potty training up to the new owners so they can choose the method that works best for them, outdoor, potty pad, paper, or litter box. If we start one method and you try to change it and go with another, past experiences has caused a confused puppy who will potty in the house. We do send along 3 pages of Outdoor potty training tips. If you choose any other method, we do not and have not ever potty trained any other way besides outside, you will have to do homework on the other potty training methods. Please remember every puppy trains differently and at their own pace, one puppy may train in 2 weeks while another may take 4 weeks. Potty training, is all about schedule, dedication and persistence. 

The puppy is 4 months old or older, isn't too late to potty train?

The answer is No. We have found that at these ages they are much more mature and ready to train, not only can they hold it longer, but they can also make it through the night, as long as they are not being fed right before being put to bed. We have potty trained several puppies that were 5 months and older, who took to potty training like pros. One of them had 1 accident in the house and from there on learned where she must go. This does not mean that you can not train younger as you can. But just because they are older than 8 weeks does not deem them un-trainable. In my own opinion I find the older ones to be easier to train.

Are the puppies crate trained?

The puppies are put in crates during the night, when we are gone, and other times we can not be with them. They are used to being with other puppies, so the first night or so they may cry at their new home because they are lonely and missing their puppy company.

What size of kennel should I get?

We suggest that you purchase a kennel the size of the puppy, if it is too large then your puppy will make their "messes" on one end and then go lay at the other end, resulting in not getting potty trained. We often have people show up with a kennel that would fit a Golden Retriever and they are purchasing a tiny puppy who will never be that size, then they email back asking why the puppy keeps doing their business in the kennel.

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Availability of a puppy/Puppies already on hold/Past Puppies Page Questions:

A few weeks ago I saw a puppy on your website and now they are not pictured on the website but also not on the past puppies page, are they still available?

No the if a puppy is no longer pictured, the puppy has been sold and is in his or her new home. The past puppy page is for the new owners to show off their new puppy and tell people about their new puppy and their experience with us.

How do I get my puppy on the past puppies page?

Email us pictures and a statement, and we will add them as time permits. Please also included town/state in which the puppy is living in.

I am interested in a puppy but see he is Pending or On Hold, can I still but a deposit down on him or meet him before they come?

Oddly enough I get this question at least once a day if not more. Pending means someone is coming within 24 hours to meet/purchase puppy. On Hold means someone has put a $100.00 deposit down on the puppy. Anytime a puppy is Pending or On Hold, the appointment date is under the ON HOLD, check back after this date to see if they did in fact take the puppy they original chose or if another one caught their eye. 90% of the time the puppy they originally picked out is the one they end up taking home. As long as the puppy says ON HOLD or Pending under their name, they are not available, not even to meet. If it says Available Now under the picture they are available.

Can we view and meet all the puppies?

We give you up to 4 puppies to view. We have found when it is more than this people get overwhelmed and often times leave without a puppy at all, causing much sadness for them or their children. When scheduling an appointment to meet the puppies we will ask for your choice of top 4 you want to meet this 4 includes the one puppy you put on hold, the other 3 you will be able to meet if they haven't been put on hold before you appointment. No puppy is held without a deposit, so if there is a puppy you just can't bear not to meet and your leaning more towards that one, then we ask that you put a $100 deposit to hold that puppy for your appointment.

What are your hours?

We do not have "hours", as we are not a business, we sell the puppies out of our home, so puppies are viewable by appointment time only. Contact us with the time that you were hoping to come meet the puppies and we will let you know if that works out and try to compromise as well as we can to accommodate you.

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Deposit/Payment/Boarding/Shipping Questions:

Is the deposit non-refundable?

We do not like the idea that you are buying a puppy by picture, so if you get here and realize that the puppy you put on hold really isn't the one for you, and maybe another one caught your attention your deposit would go towards that puppy. If no puppy catches you, then we will refund $95 of the $100 deposit. If you NO SHOW your appointment and give no warning, we will NOT refund your deposit for the inconvenience.

Do you take checks, we have high numbered checks?

We do not take checks anymore. We have had one too many problems with checks and no longer will only accept cash or credit card. We accept MasterCard, Visa, or Discover. There is a $10.00 processing fee for using your credit card. The deposit is not included, we pay the processing fee on the deposit the first time it is run through. If a refund is given, the processing fee will be charged, or if the remaining amount is put on the credit card there is a processing fee (This is no matter what card is used, if it is the same card as deposit or a different one, if the remaining balance is placed on the card there is a $10.00 processing fee). We do not do Paypal, we take credit card over the phone or through email which ever way you are more comfortable with.

Will you hold a puppy without a deposit?

We no longer hold any puppies without a deposit. People change their minds and do not bother letting us know that they have either found another puppy elsewhere or have decided something in their lives will not allow it at this time. Then the puppy goes on being put as Pending in good faith that we will be let know if changes happen and puppies go on without finding a home or miss out on the opportunity of a wonderful home. A deposit is refundable if we are contacted saying that things have changed, if a no show happens no refund is given.

We are going on vacation, we really want this puppy can you board him until we return?

We will board your puppy, for $25.00 per week. We ask that you come and meet your puppy first and be sure that this is the puppy you want, unless you are sure from the picture and description (this has been the case many times). The puppy must be paid in full, along with the boarding fee, with NO REFUNDS.  We also require you to schedule the pick up date of your puppy. Any time over this scheduled date will result in additional cost for boarding.

If I pay for the puppy in cash is there a discount, "Cash is KING!"?

The price shown is actually the cash discount price, if you use credit card there is a $10.00 charge. We do not except money orders or checks.

Do you ship your puppies?

The answer will be no every time. We want you to meet your puppy, before committing to years of having this puppy. We are willing to meet for those who live in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota, in order to help out with distances, this is very dependent on our schedule and weather and our son. We do encourage you to come to our home and meet the puppy, so you get the true personality of the puppy, after a car ride and being in a strange place to meet, they never show you their true selves. There is absolutely no EXCEPTIONS to this rule. We do not care if you can not find any in your area or we have such a cheap price compared to your area. Shipping is very stressful on the puppy, as they are stuck in the cargo area of the plane, alone, in a weird noisy place. Plus without meeting your puppy you do not have the opportunity to see if you and the puppy jive, which may result in the puppy going to a shelter. Sorry to be rude, but I would rather those out on a sale than have any of the puppies go through this.

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Puppies & Children/Puppies & Cats Questions:

Are the puppies good with children or been around children or babies?

All the puppies here have been very well socialized on a daily basis with children. We have a toddler  son who adores the puppies and helps us out a lot with getting them used the noises that a kids can make and also show them how sometimes kids petting can be innocently a little rough from little ones. We also have friends and family who have children in the age range of 3 months to 12 years of age, who come help socialize the puppies and get them used to children of all ages. We have had great response back about how much the puppies just adore children. If puppy is not kid friendly and would not be good for a children's home, we will state this fact on their more information page.

How are the puppies with cats?

Puppies seem to do just fine in homes with cats, being they are young and very open to new things. The bigger worry is how the cat will except the new puppy. Usually if the cat is older it takes sometimes a week for him/her to get over the new addition, sometimes it can be longer, depending on your cat. We do not have cats indoors due to allergies, but we have a few outdoors who come up to the house and check things out, all the puppies want to befriend the cats.

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Vet Check/Shots/Spaying & Neutering/Annual vet cost/Health Guarantee Questions:

Have the puppies been vet checked, given shots or wormed?

All puppies have been vet checked, wormed and given at least their first 3 sets of shots, starting at 5 weeks. Worming has was started at 2 weeks of age this is not on the shot record as the record starts at 5 weeks of age. But by the time you get your puppy they will have had worming at 2, 4 and 6 weeks of age. A copy of the vet check form, the shot/worming record are all given at the time of purchase. Continuing shots we recommend discussing with your vet his/her shot protocol, we have found that each vet does their shots differently, and rather than telling your vet how to do his/her job, we have you discuss how your vet does things.

What is the annual cost to have a puppy?

This is a question we will not answer. This question is to hard to say for sure, what the annual cost for one pet owner to the next changes, from the brand of food you choose to feed your puppy, to the vets prices. We have found that our vets are much cheaper in our area than those up in the Twin Cities area. So for us to tell you what the cost will be, will be misleading you. The best way for you to get answers to this question is to choose what brand of food you will feed your puppy, go and price it at the available stores it is at. Then call around to your local vets and get their prices. Some charge office visits, some to not. Some will package deal a visit and others will not. Every vet is different.

Do you have a guarantee?

We do have a guarantee, which we go over with you when you are here, you will sign the guarantee and get a copy of it for your own records.

Is the puppy neutered or spayed?

Females can not be spayed until they are 6 months of age, males depending on your vet is usually 5-6 months of age. It is not wise to get them neutered or spayed until this time, as things do not properly develop and may cause problems down the road, such as stunted growth and not developing properly.

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Other Questions:

How can I talk my spouse or father or mother into getting a puppy?

We will never help you talk anyone into getting a puppy. We will never force you to buy a puppy. We want our puppies to go to homes where everyone in the family agrees on getting a puppy. Emailing me yelling at me, saying "Then I will just go to a pet store and buy my puppy!" will not make me help you talk anyone into buying a puppy. I want you and your family to feel comfortable with your experience with us, with no pressure to buy.

Will you email or call me in the spring or summer when you get the next litter?

No we will ask you to come visit our website again and see what is available when you are ready in the spring or summer to purchase your puppy. We do not want to hound you, especially if you have changed your mind about getting a puppy and no longer interested. This way we are not trying to force ourselves on you, as stated above, we want you to feel comfortable and have a nice experience purchasing your new addition.

Do we have to keep the name of the puppy?

The name is changeable, we name the puppies for a couple of reasons, the first being that as long as the puppies are here they are out pets, and every pets deserves a name. Second it is for identifying purposes when you contact us. If you email or call us saying we likes the white and buff Cockapoo and there are 6 available, it is hard to know exactly which one you are inquiring about. This way you can say, "We are interested in the Cockapoo you call Jade" We know who your inquiring about. They are not used to their names, a lot of times they get called Baby. So feel free to change their names to whatever you would like, we love to hear what you have named your puppy.

Can you tell me about the puppies personality or email me more pictures?

We have a more information page for each puppy, if you click their picture you will get this page. Here you will find more information about the puppy and more pictures with the date that pictures were taken. Birthdates and which parent is the poodle and vet check information can all be found on this page. We have tried our best to make our website as user friendly as possible in helping you choose your puppy.

Can we see the parents?

As we explain on our home page.

We are not the breeders of the puppies, so the parents are not here. My Aunt and Uncle are the breeders, they are at the age where there are no children around anymore to help play with and socialize the puppies, we bring the puppies back to our home and start the socialization with the little people (kids/babies). Since the birth of my son I have become a stay at home mom, where my job now is too stay home play with a baby and puppies all day! So now the puppies get very used to children and babies and leave feeling confident of these little people making so much racket and not exactly handling them the best. We do know all the information about the parents and have personally met them to know what they are like. We are confident about all the puppies that we sell. They are healthy, well socialized and happy puppies. Please visit our past puppy link to see what some of our puppies new owners have had to say.

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This site was last updated 03/08/10