Choosing the Right Puppy

Now this is a question that seems rather obvious, but it is a necessity. Are you striving for a family pet?  Or a companion for you or one of your kids? Or maybe this puppy is for a parent or friend. Everyone is different and has different lifestyles, for the best interest of the puppy and the new owner, we ask that you deeply think about how your life is laid out. 

Adopting a puppy is one of the greatest joys in life, but no matter how wonderful it is, life still goes on. We understand that you still have to work and live. The puppy most likely will not be with you 24/7.

Tiny dogs are extremely fragile. There are many different health hazards that can come about when a tiny dog is left unsupervised for extremely long periods of time. For example, hypoglycemia is a condition of low blood sugar that can be manifested by stress and/or overexertion. When a puppy becomes stressed, it may stop eating. This causes their blood sugar to drop and if not treated immediately, it can fatally affect them. Therefore, if you are gone for an extended amount of time daily (usually more than 8 hours a day) we recommend you should not get a chihuahua or tiny yorkie. Normally, any other breed would be suitable. 

As cute and cuddly as they are, fragile dogs are not for small children. Children under the age of 12 are not recommended to have a dog under six pounds, although this is determined by the parent for each individual child. The smaller the dog, the easier they are to trip over, step on, and other actions to unintentionally cause harm. They are not fast enough to get out of the way of playing children. 

This by no means that small children cannot be around dogs. Of course, they can! And they should! Pomeranians, poodles, standard Pekingese, and standard yorkies are just some of the wonderful pets for children. They are active, sturdy, and energetic enough to run and play. 

Even if the dog is not necessarily for your children, but you still have children in the household, you still need to be prepared for the children to come in contact with the puppy. 

Just like people, some dogs are prone to anxiety. Crate keeping isn't for all breeds. So, the question you ask is, "where (in the long run) will my puppy stay?" Will your dog free roam the house? Be confined to a room? Or be kept in a crate/pin? These are all available options in regard to size of the puppies you would typically receive from us since we specialize in small dogs, although, there are other factors to consider. 

For example, Maltese are extremely prone to anxiety. Because of their constant crave for companionship, they tend to have episodes when they think they are being abandoned. So being left confined for long periods of time may cause them to act out.

Poodles are the smartest small breed of dog! Although this is fantastic, this also means they are thinkers... and sometimes overthinkers. They may feel as if they are trapped if kept in a crate and act out as well.

Regardless of the breed, all dogs can adapt separation anxiety, there are just breeds that are more prone to it than others. It is important that when you get a puppy, you raise him/her to be adjusted to how their life is going to be. It is unfair to the puppy to bring them home, stay with them and let them roam the house for weeks, then randomly decide they have to stay in a designated area. 

Great news, people with allergies can still have a furry best friend! Hypoallergenic breeds do not shed and therefore will not affect people with allergies. Some of the breeds this includes are Yorkies, Maltese, and poodles.

Maybe you do not have allergies but, you want minimum floating dog hair around your house? That's okay too! Hypoallergenic dogs eliminate the constant having to lint roll your clothes and sweep your floors. Many designers are bred to lower shedding. For example, peekapoos are a designer with one parent being Pekingese (non-hypoallergenic) and poodle (hypoallergenic). This is done in order to lower the amount of shedding your puppy may conduct. 

This question is all based on your personal preference. There are of course, pros and cons to both genders. 

All dogs are going to love their person regardless of their gender. All we can say is, in our professional experience, opposites attract. Male dogs tend to connect and devote themselves better with a female owner. So it goes, female dogs tend to connect and devote themselves to male owners. 

With any dog, potty training is something you as the owner are responsible for. We train our puppies to use training pads. Although, training doesn't always transfer from home to home. 

It is of absolute importance that you get started on a schedule if you wish to have successful potty training. What does this mean? devote certain times when you will be available for 'potty time'. For example, if you work from nine am to five pm, you should make 'potty time' before nine am and after five pm, even if you are off that day. 

If you are adopting a tiny dog, we absolutely do not recommend taking them outside unattended to do their business. Eagles can pick up a dog up to four pounds, and even worse, an owl can pick up a dog up to fifteen pounds. No matter if you dog is tiny or just small, your dog should be supervised when outside. 

We also do not recommend taking your puppy outside until they have received all of their puppy vaccinations.