The Adoption Process at COUNTRY DACHSHUNDS
Adoption Process
Once interested parties have filled out the puppy application, we like to either talk to them on the phone or meet them through a visit here in order to answer their questions and so that both of us get a feeling for the other person. Serious buyers will also be able to meet the parents and puppies before making a decision which puppy will join their life. As soon as a potential buyer has made an appointment for a visit and shown interest in one particular puppy, we usually put a hold on this pup until the visit. If there is no decision about this baby within a day of the visit, the 'hold' will be removed and the little darling will be available again.
We usually post photos of the litter a few days after the pups are born and once the babies are around 2 weeks old their individual photos will be available. In order to accommodate their still fragile immune systems, meet 'n' greets with the puppies will only be allowed once they are 4 weeks old at which point, they have their eyes open and are (somewhat) their feet. Individual temperaments will only start to show at this point but longhair coats will be discernible already (all pups are born smooth haired). Some dapples will develop partial or full blue eyes as they mature but will not display them yet at this age. As the puppies grow up, we will take more photos at our discretion and post them on the website or send them directly to their new owners.
After meeting the little darlings please decide within a day which one will be your new family member because other people might be waiting for your decision. In general, we let people choose in order of waiting list (see below) and then in order of contact. Once a sweetie pie is chosen, we will draw up the purchase agreement and send it to you. Kindly read it, sign it and email it back together with the deposit. When we have received the deposit, we will countersign the contract and the pup is reserved for you. Without your signature and deposit the baby is still available for adoption so while we will check back with you once we will not hold it for you if the purchase is not confirmed in a timely manner. Please remember that deposits are non-refundable.
At the age of 8 weeks old all of our pups will be thoroughly checked by our vet, will receive their first set of vaccinations and will be microchipped. After a waiting period of 1 day in case there are any adverse reactions to the vaccines, they then can be picked up by their new families. All puppies will need to be picked up within 5 days of them being ready for pick-up. Any day after this pick-up window will incur a boarding fee of $30/day because we continue with age appropriate training and house training and that work is not free. It is also most beneficial to the little cutie to become accustomed to their new families and their routine as soon as possible so please plan your timeline accordingly. To leave a puppy here for any length of time after its ready-date will only ingrain our routine which might be totally different from yours.
Waiting List
Many people have asked if they can be added to our waiting list after hearing or reading about our breeding program somewhere or if they are looking for a specific puppy in terms of gender, color or coat. Over the years we have learned that anything that is free, is usually not valued at all so while such an announcement list created extra work for us, people on the list never bothered to keep us updated that they were not looking anymore. As result we do not keep an announcement list anymore without commitment from the potential buyers.
For 'no-commitment' people we have created this website so that they can check back anytime to see what puppies are available.
For committed buyers the option of a pre-purchase agreement is available. The pre-purchase agreement requires the payment of the standard deposit and gives the right of choice of any puppy in the next 6 litters or within a year (whichever is longer) in the order of deposits received and breeder's choice not withstanding. As soon as the pre-purchase agreement is signed and the deposit paid, the buyer's name is added to our waiting list and buyers will be notified of any litter born within their time frame. Previous puppy buyers fall automatically into this category and their name gets added to the list once they contact me with their preference for their next baby. Deposits are non-refundable. Before entering a pre-purchase agreement with deposit on a future pup interested parties are welcome to come first and meet the current pups and potential parents of the upcoming litters before committing so that they can see what our focus is. However, please be courteous and only come for a meet 'n' greet if you truly intend to go that route because every visit has the (admittedly small but nevertheless existing) risk of exposing the current young pups that might not be fully vaccinated yet to outside germs and illnesses. Thank you for your understanding!
