This page is dedicated to questions I have been ask over my 7 years of breeding. If I have missed your question, please e-mail me and let me know what that question is and I will try to answer it and hopefully at some time get your question on my "common questions page". I appreciate your help!
Terry Warren

This is the most common concern though only a few have actually ask this questions:
How do I know you are a reputable breeder? (not a puppy mill)  One of the quickest easiest ways to help determine this is to ask the breeder for their Veterinarian's "clinic name" and phone number. If you don't trust they are giving you the number of a licensed Veterinarian, look up the name of the clinic in the phone book or go to: www.whiltepages.com and do a "reverse phone number" search to see if you come up with the Clinic's name by the phone number that they gave you.  Then call the clinic and speak with either the Veterinarian or one of his or her staff letting them know who you are buying the dog from and asking about their character, the care of their dogs, and their puppies.  If a breeder is not happy about giving out his Veterinarian's name or says that the Veterinarian does not want to be called - FIND ANOTHER BREEDER. Any breeder should work close enough with his or her Veterinarian that they will gladly give you their office number. And any Veterinarian's office should be glad to take the call, even though it might be one of the staff rather then the Veterinarian who will answer your questions if the Veterinarian is away on a call or very busy in the office. 

There is a common misconception that it is better to by puppies from someone who has their adult dogs in their homes:
Do you raise your dogs / puppies in the house?     There is an incorrect notion that puppies raised in a home where there are only 1 to 3 dogs that they are breeding have healthier, more socialized puppies.  These dogs / puppies may or may not be receiving as much time, care, or energy as a good breeder gives to his or her dogs. The responsible breeder has gone to classes, seminars, and meetings to learn how to better care for their dogs and puppies and will tend to have more knowledge about the needs of the pure bred dog (health, emotion, and mental) that they are breeding then will just the average home breeder that  will just have a litter once in a while for fun. A good breeder will also normally have more knowledge concerning the care of their dogs and puppies, then even the average show breeder or hobby breeder. There is nothing wrong with a "hobby breeder" - but it will not necessarily make a better or more healthy puppy.
    If you see a breeder who has more then four or five female dogs - more then likely they will have more then one breeding male. IF there is more then one breeding male then a person can't really "raise the dogs in the house" the way someone might think that they do.  I've had breeders tell me that they raise 2, 3, 4 or even more different breeds of dogs and that "of course" they are all in the house.  I just have to shake my head.  If you have more then one male breeding dog, then you can not have them mixed in with each other. You will have a lot of "mistake' puppies or you will not really know who the sire is of the puppies.  You also can not keep a house clean the way you need to. I have walked into a house where the adult dogs were "raised" in the house - I had to walk back out very quickly!  It is better for the adult breeding dog when the they are in an area that is made just for them with the idea of being able to best care for the dogs. A good breeder will have done a lot of research to see how they can best keep their adult dogs in a way that gives them the best care possible, allowing room for play and exercise,  and enables them to receive the socialization that they need. Also any breeder who has more then three breeding females is REQUIRED to be state licensed. If they are not, then BE CONCERNED. It is through being licensed that breeders are kept accountable for the care of their dogs and puppies.

What is a "kennel" dog like as compared to my "house pet"? This is something I have never been ask, but I was thinking it might be a help to hear what my mom and dad dogs are like.
My adult dogs are fed quality food - often MUCH better quality then the average pet owner feeds their dog. They have yearly shots (which many pet owners fail to give their dogs), and a yearly vet check (my vet comes out to my kennel once a year for that). They receive baths are groomed by me or my helper.  They have toys, clean water / food bowels, have a good place to sleep, have lots of outdoor playroom along with their indoor areas where they eat and sleep, and have time spent with them every day.  My little moms have times where they are outside their run area just running around my yard playing and inspecting all around. When these little moms are outside, if I call, they come running to me as fast as they can, because they know they will get some "loving". They never stray far from the kennel area, house or barn with the exception of a few who like to go check out the pond for a few minutes before coming back into their run.  I never have to chase, or bribe them to come back in - once they have played, they are more then happy to get back into their "home" area where they know they are always safe.   If, as happens sometimes, one of my adult dogs gets out of his or her pen, I can be assured that they are going to stay in the area of my house and as soon as they see me they are going to run right up to me. When this happens, the mom and dad dogs not out let me know there is something "amiss". They know they are safe and loved in their home. When my little moms and dads are past their "prime breeding" age and still young enough to be healthy little pets for a home, they are given to retired individuals or couples to love on them the rest of their lives. The majority of my dogs are already house broke.

This brings us to another good question:
Why should I care if the breeder has a USDA and / or STATE license? Doesn't that mean that they sell to Pet Store? ONLY the licensed breeder has surprise inspections by a knowledgeable inspector who can make sure that the dogs and puppies are really receiving the care that they need. I am USDA and STATE licensed, but I don't sell to Pet Stores. I only sell to the general public so I can know who the puppies are going to. There are very strict regulations by the USDA and the STATE that have to be followed. As a USDA licensed breeder and a State breeder, I receive at least two surprise inspections per year of my facilities and dogs to make sure I am doing all I need to be doing to have the dogs in the best care possible. They are very picky - as any licensed breeder will tell you. I am proud to be a licensed breeder! The USDA and State inspectors do their best to find those who are not taking good care of their dogs to shut them down.

Another Common concern though not always ask a breeder:
What guarantee do I have that I will receive the puppy I pay for - that I am not going to "not receive" any puppy or that I am going to receive a different puppy then the one I picked? You have to be able to trust your breeder. I never want a person to buy a puppy from me who does not totally trust me.  That is hard in a day where there are so many scams. (We breeders also get scams from people pretending to be buyers. Some of my "fellow breeders" have lost money when they have fallen for these scams)  You need to go with your "gut" feeling as there is often a reason for that feeling - I have also had to go with my gut feeling and have not sold to some people I don't feel good about. Also - call their Veterinarian! Don't think any question is "stupid". Ask a question to the Veterinarian if you are concerned about it.  I micro chip all my puppies so that I can know which puppy is which if they will tend to look very much a like.  I can tell my puppies apart because I am with them so much where as someone else will look at them - such as a litter of Maltese - and think they all look the same. It's like a parent who can tell their twins apart when no one else can. Having the breeder point out something about the puppy that marks them as different will help you know you have the right puppy. Or having the breeder give you the micro chip number that the puppy has will help you know that when you get the puppy you have the correct puppy. All Veterinarian's offices should have a "universal" micro chip reader.

Question: Does the puppy have a health guarantee?  All puppies should have a written health guarantee that is fair to you and to the breeder. I personally have three parts to my guarantee that I feel are important. Please see my health guarantee page to see what my guarantee covers: http://www.terrystwobytwo.com/images/Health%20Guarantee.htm  Every breeder is different so make sure you understand the guarantee - if you don't understand it - ask about the part you don't understand.  Please make sure that you do understand the guarantee as far as your options if a puppy gets sick or has a genetic disorder. Some breeders advertise: "5 year health guarantee" or "lifetime guarantee": BE VERY CAREFUL!  I have read some of these health guarantees that say they guarantee for 5 years or are lifetime guarantees, and they are not as good as many breeders who give a one or two year guarantee as they will tend to have a lot of "heavy stipulations" for this 5 year or lifetime guarantee. Breeders can be very different in how they guarantee, so do check carefully.

Questions I get about shipping: 

I am really nervous about shipping and the horror stories I've heard about puppies being shipping by air - can you reassure me that the puppy will be safe.  I get this concern constantly. I can't say about all shipping, but I have been using a company called Pet Air ( www.flypets.com ) and have had an excellent experience with them over the past 4 years. Pet Air is a company that specializes in shipping animals. They use all the airlines so that they can get the best flights possible for the puppy. Since they ship many animals - mainly puppies - across the United States every week - they can work with the airlines in a way that the average person cannot.  The airlines will not always treat an individual well if there is a problem with the shipping of the puppy, where as they work extremely well with Pet Air. I have had some experiences that my puppies have been taken care of by Pet Air that would have been a worry if I had tried to do the shipping on my own.  My new puppy families continually make comments to me about how the puppies were excited, tails wagging, giving kisses and not at all showing any stress from the shipping. Other's have said that any stress that they saw was minimal and was not long lasting at all - no more so then a puppy just leaving their home to go to their new homes when picked up by their new family. I would not ship this way if I felt that we would have any type of health or safety issue with the puppy.

    There are times due to the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter that I have also needed to use an "on ground" pet shipper. I have also had very good results from the on ground shipping, but tend to like the air shipping as the puppy gets to his or her new home the same day by air, where as it might take 2 to 4 days to get to his or her new home by the on ground shipper. The on ground shippers do take good care of the puppies while they are in their care.

 Should I get a puppy for a Christmas present for my family?
Christmas Puppies:
When considering bring a puppy into your home over the holiday, please think carefully about how busy / hectic the holiday will be at your house. A young small breed puppy is put through some stress in a move. When moving a puppy during an active, people filled holiday, you can add more stress to the new puppy then is good for the puppy. If you are going to be home with a quiet, not so busy Christmas season, it might work fine to bring a new puppy into your home. But if you are going to be gone a lot during the holiday, have parties, or lots of family or friends in, then maybe you would want to have a "puppy package" to put under the tree to show you are getting a Christmas puppy, but might want to postpone the puppy coming until the hectic pace of the holiday is past. You want to provide your new family additions with the smoothest transition possible into your home.
 I will provided a "Christmas package" containing the puppy's picture, a leash and collar, the popular dog series: "Training Secrets for Toy Dogs" , and a puppy toy for any puppy that is purchased as a Christmas puppy but that will be leaving after the holidays.

I hear this question and this statement from many of the people who e-mail me about puppies:
Why are the other breeders I speak with so rude when I ask them questions about their puppies or when I ask for more pictures? (and) You are the only breeder who e-mailed be back of around 3, 4, 5, ..... breeders that I've e-mailed.
I'll start with my opinion of the first question. Sorry to say. many "puppy buyers" are just plain rude. Thankfully most are not this way. A person buying a puppy might feel that the Breeder has been rude to them, but more then likely this is a breeder who has been dealing with people for many many years has just gotten fed up with the many people who she would spend hours answering e-mails, on the phone with, or taking pictures for, then after doing all this, if the person decides not to buy her puppy for whatever reason, the puppy buyer doesn't have the courtesy to e-mail or call her and say, "Thanks for your time, but I've decided on a different puppy", or "not to buy a puppy right now", or "something else has come up", etc. but they just "drop of the face of the earth".  Here are some personal examples I've had that have been very frustrating: I get some e-mails asking me to take special pictures of the puppy or puppies - this is after I have spent time already sitting down and typing out all kinds of answers to questions - then after all the work (puppies don't pose) and time of taking some good pictures to send back, I just never hear from the person again. At least a "Thanks for the picture(s)......" even if they are not going to get the puppy would be appreciated. There have been times I've actually e-mailed to ask if they received the pictures and either was ignored, or just received a "yes" back, without any appreciation for all I did for them concerning the puppy..
The biggest problem a breeder will have that might tend to make them act a little ruder is when they have had too many people say they want to actually buy a puppy and say they will put a check in the mail or pay by paypal, money gram, or a wire that day. So the breeder holding a puppy and turning down other families for this puppy while waiting for a payment and then the payment never comes, nor does an e-mail letting the breeder know a payment is NOT going to come. I've had this happen too many times. Anytime that happens I will write a very nice e-mail, just asking if they are still getting the puppy, if not, that's fine but I just want to know.  Nine of the ten people who do this will not have the courtesy to give me any answer at all - they just ignore me even though I have tried to work my best with them.  I have great experiences with the great majority of my puppy families - they are great people who have given my puppies very good, loving homes. But anytime you deal with people you will have some very frustrating experiences. And when we are finding homes for out precious babies that we have raised up and helped care for from birth, we want a happy experience, and it is a personal experience - it's not "just business" when it comes to puppies for a good breeder. Some people looking for puppies and even a very small handful of the actual puppy families who get one of my puppies can really turn something good into something sour.  My goal is to not to be rude to people but to let the bad experiences just slide off as far as the way I act with my "possible" puppy families. Some of these things have tended to cause me to have certain procedures that I try not to break. Such as: I will only hold a puppy for 24 hours while a deposit or payment is being made. If I don't have the payment or proof of a payment coming, then the puppy is available for other families. Another thing is that I will not allow a puppy to go to his or her new home without the payment for the puppy completely clearing my account - That's a lesson I've learned the hard way also. So please - ask all the questions you want to - but let the breeder know, even should you decide not to get a puppy, that you do appreciate all their help if they have spent a lot of time with you. Also if you ask a breeder to hold a puppy, let them know as soon as possible if you have changed your mind for any reason. I don't know of any breeders who would get mad at this. The breeders I know would appreciate the notice. Also realize that like you, a breeder might just be having a bad day or there might be some communication problems.

There are many more "questions and answers" that I will get to as I have time.

Please e-mail me with any questions: terrystwobytwo@hughes.net

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