All Puppies come with first shots, wormed, vet checked, and record of pedigree.  A 2 year Genetic Life Threatening Diseases, Eyes and Hips guarantee.  They are used to people of all ages, our family and (we often get company to come visit, they love the puppies), other dogs, outdoors, indoors and are introduced to a kennel for traveling. 

We provide you with a puppy shot record normally sent with the puppy,  the shot record lists the shots the puppy received and his/her deworming dates.  The shot (vaccination) your puppy receives from us is the Neopar Parvo vaccination, which is the best Parvo protection available, twice with a nasal kennel cough vaccination, and the Fort Dodge Duramune Max 5 for Canine Distemper, Adenovirus Type 2, Paraninfluenza, Cornavirus, and Parvo MLV.  We do the first shots at age 4 to 6 weeks, with the first kennel cough vaccination and the Neopar, 2 to 3 weeks later with the 2nd kennel cough vaccination & the Fort Dodge. If we have any puppies here 3 weeks later, we automatically give the puppy their next Fort Dodge shot also.  Their 3rd shot is due around 12 to 13 weeks. The rabies vaccination is usually given around 12 to 16 weeks old. After that, a puppy does not need anymore vaccinations until it is a year old, and yearly thereafter.   Dewormers we use are Pyrantal Pamoate or Nemex2, (same ingredients), every 1st of every month, to all puppies that are 1 week old or older, Safeguard and/or Panacur every 15th, 16th, & 17th of every month, to all puppies old enough. Mother dogs are all dewormed at the same time as their puppies.

We no longer vaccinate for kennel cough, as the vaccination tends to give more puppies kennel cough, than it prevents. If a puppy does not show a cough before leaving, but does cough consistently within 72 hours of arriving in its new home, we will refund $50 for antibiotic treatment for the puppy, if so required.

All of our puppies are treated for ear mites before leaving as a preventive, in case they are exposed on their trip? Just in case, and in order to make sure their ears are clean/have no wax build up, which could cause ear infection on a flight.

When in season, puppies may be treated with Proticall spot on to control and prevent external parasites, such as fleas, ticks, and fur mites. This is the only spot on that we know of that can be applied to young puppies. We have flea allergies in our family, and cannot chance any of our puppies or dogs to contact fleas!

When puppies are shipped, a few are given "Calms", which is an all natural pill to help keep a puppy calm. This is not a drug, but is all natural ingredients which helps your puppy relax on its trip.

We also do have cat allergies in our family. We do see a wild cat here & there on our farm, but do not own any cats ourselves. Our oldest son, Baron, at Windswept Kennels, does have a cat. Your puppy may be exposed to his cat, Zoey, if it goes through his training program.

INFORMATION:

Deworming puppies takes care of adult worms that almost all puppies have.  It does not kill larvae that remain in the puppies system.  So even though we deworm, the larvae can grow and you can still have worms, as the puppy matures he/she becomes more immune and does not require frequent deworming's like they do as a puppy.  Deworming should be every 2-3 weeks until 3 months of age.

Coccidiosis is an EXTREMELY common parasite that almost all puppies get and become immune to it as they get older.  We do a preventative for Cocci, Cocci normally does not show up until the puppy is stressed (like changing from one home to a new home).  Even if Cocci shows up, Albon or Corid helps but puppies do become immune to it within 3 weeks or so, or by around 12 weeks of age.  Cocci is spread by birds, rodents, cockroaches, etc.. Impossible, just about, to totally get rid of. Kittens, calves, foals, sheep, ect. also usually get cocci at one time or another., and also become immune. People do not get it. It is not species transferable.

Giardia behaves a lot like Cocci and is very often misdiagnosed.  Giardia is very contagious... from dog to cat to human to horse and so on...  a preventative for Giardia is "safeguard" or "panacur".  The testing for Giardia normally takes repeated fecal exams by specialists to determine if it really is Giardia or not.   It is a waterborne parasite found in ponds, swimming pools and in the backyard.  Causes gastrointestinal problems. Clinical signs of giardia include weight loss, inability to gain weight appropriately during growth, diarrhea, vomiting, lack of appetite, abdominal pain, and greasy appearing stools.  (We have never had Giardia on our property, the information is posted here for your general information... if we did I would be sick, my family would be sick, my vet would be sick to the point someone would end up in the hospital). Though we do live in a very isolated area, we do have city/web water, which does not contain giardia. All of our animals receive this web water. We do not use any well water. Our dogs are not taken in ponds, swamps, rivers, or lakes. Their summer pools are filled with this web water also.

Cherry eye is an inflammation of the third eye lid. If caught early, when it is swelled, but has not yet popped, an antibiotic eye ointment may cure it? But if it pops, surgery is necessary. Cherry eye normally just happens, if an eye is irritated by dust, wind, ect. Though, the surgery is fairly cheap and simple. My vet charges $35.

More information about Canine Diseases is listed on your shot record that you receive from us.

It is your responsibility as the puppies new owner to continue on good health care for the puppy.  We have provided your puppy with our local requirements for shots, worming and health guards.

FEEDING

Our puppies are all fed Purina Healthy Morsals Puppy Chow. Because we feed many puppies, they have access to this food 24/7 while they are here. It may be necessary to put them on a feeding schedule for housebreaking reasons once you receive your puppy? Purina is usually a brand which can be found by everyone! Local chain stores, such a Wal-Marts, and stores of the like, including many grocery stores carry this brand. Some brands, such as Iams, Science Diet, ect. Have been known to cause stomach problems in dogs. Many feed store brands can be difficult for everyone to find. Some foods, such as Nutra, Ol' Roy, and Diamond have been having a lot of problems that require recalls, deaths in dogs, ect. We find that Lamb & Rice, some "all natural" foods and such, are not tasty/bland tasting to the puppy, and often produce dull coats or even hot spots. We feel that a dog or puppy with a dull coat is not fully healthy. We have not had any problems with Purina, and they are a very long standing, well known company!

However, when puppies first begin to eat solid foods, we start them on what we call puppy mush. This is a mixture of the Purina Healthy Morsals Puppy Chow, mixed with canned food, as well as milk & warm water to soften it. Most of our puppies are still receiving this puppy mush once a day yet by the time they leave. We recommend Cesar Canned Puppy Food, once or twice a day, if your puppy appears to be a picky eater.

If you change your puppy's brand of food, it is best to mix it with the Purina for the first few days. We do send a zip lock of food with your puppy.

Most puppies should be fed at least 3 times a day. However, very small puppies should be offered food more often, if not 24/7. (Such as Toy Breeds).

TRAINING

If you would like basic or advanced training for your puppy, our son, Baron, and his fiance', Janelle, do offer this service! For more information, see their web site: Windswept Kennel In which case, you need to arrange any shipping payments and all with them, instead of us.

ENVIRONMENT

All puppies are born inside of our house. This allows us to closely keep an eye on their births, to prevent any puppies being retained in the sack, or any other problems that may arise within the first week or two. However, we do have a dog building that is much better set up for dogs & puppies then our house is. When puppies are old enough, they are moved to the dog building. This building is kept heated and cooled as necessary. We do spend a lot of our time in the dog building with our dogs, several times a day! Dogs are kept clean, comfortable, and always fed & watered. Weaned puppies are allowed to run at our feet, and in & outside as they please, during the day, as weather permits. However, we cannot allow them to play outside during bad or cold weather. We do pen them up at night, in a 12 X 12 foot area, where they have their food, water, bed, and toys. They have wood shavings to keep them clean, which soaks up any messes, and helps a lot with smell! If puppies are here when a little older, they are taught how to use a dog door, in which case, they can go in & out as they please, anytime they please. At this point, they do learn to potty outdoors only.

OUR ADULT DOGS

Our Adult dogs are vaccinated as needed, including for kennel cough and rabies. They are regularly treated for ear mites, as a preventive, and dewormed, with Panacur or Safeguard. (Which have the same ingredients.) We also treat our adult dogs with Frontline Plus or Zodiak from April, until the end of flea & tick season. We only breed healthy, well bred dogs. If an adult dog should be found to have a genetic health problem, we would no longer breed that dog. The dog would then be fixed, and/or rehomed. We never inbreed or line breed any of our animals. Older dogs are rehomed to loving families, or kept here to retire. We often rehome them because then they can retire as full time housedogs, which can be difficult for us, since all of our puppies are born inside of our home. All of our adult dogs are super friendly, and most have at least some training. We may also rehome adult dogs because they do not breed as we had hoped. This can be for several reasons. Most often because we often breed large females, to smaller males, which can be very difficult for many females to conceive this way. (Though, they can often still have puppies by larger male dogs.). We have never put any dog or puppy down. We would only ever put any animal down if it was suffering in such a way that it could not be saved. We are huge believers in saving a life if at all possible!  If any animal here needs any vet care, for any reason, they do receive it!

To prevent food aggression, all of our dogs have food & water available to them 24/7. They are also all given daily treats. Our adult dogs are fed Purina Dog Chow. Very pregnant mothers, and mothers feeding puppies, are fed the Purina Healthy Morsals Puppy Chow, the same as their puppies. If a mother dog has a large litter, or begins to get a little thin, she is allowed to finish her puppies "puppy mush". Which always helps her!