HOW DO I GET A DOG FROM YOU?
The first step in your dog adoption process is to read through our website and learn about how we operate. Our policies differ from many breeders. Next, please review our Buyer Contract and print out and complete our Buyer Questionnaire located on our FORMS Page. You may either scan and email it or take pictures and text/email them to us.
Remember that the contract is a basic one, and yours may differ as we customize our contract to suit each individual buyer and dog.
Once we receive your questionnaire, we will review it thoroughly. We will contact your vet and all three of your references, so you may want to inform them to expect our call. We ask about general care, suitability, and any concerns regarding the welfare of your previous or existing pets.
After approval, we will schedule a phone interview. Please reserve at least 1 hour of uninterrupted time. During this call, we will discuss your lifestyle, goals, expectations, and family dynamics related to your future dog.
Next, we will schedule an in-person visit. All household members are required to attend. If puppies are currently available, you will not meet them or the mother dog, but you will meet us and other dogs in our care.
This visit allows you to confirm that we are legitimate breeders and provides us with the opportunity to observe how your entire household interacts with large dogs. We pay close attention to how children behave around dogs and how parents guide their behavior.
Once this visit concludes, you will be placed on our waiting list—either Section A (with deposit) or Section B (no deposit). We work down Section A first, then move to section B, offering available dogs to suitable homes.
Please Note: If you do not want a specific dog offered, feel free to decline, and you will remain on the list as we search for your perfect dog. We prefer that you stay on the list longer rather than choose a dog you're not fully happy with.
When you select a puppy, we will customize your contract and email it to you. You must sign it and get it notarized, bringing it with you when you pick up your dog. We will sign it ourselves and make a photocopy for you to take home.
Puppies go home at 10 weeks old, and pick-up should be scheduled for the Monday or Wednesday following that. If needed, we can meet halfway on Thursday or Friday for a travel fee of $50 plus $1 per mile round trip, to be paid in full 48 hours before meeting, and we do not travel more than 200 miles.
If you fly into an airport within 2 hours of us, we will pick you up, bring you to our home, and return you and your dog to the airport. If you stay overnight, we will transport you and your dog to your hotel and back to the airport the next day.
DO YOU TAKE DEPOSITS?
We do not require deposits but do accept optional deposits. The concept of departments is to prevent wasted time; requiring payment ensures only serious inquiries. Too often, breeders who require mandatory deposits deal with refund requests when buyers back out. This can lead to wasted time and resources.
However, with optional deposits, a breeder is not obligated to refund the deposit unless they back out of the sale. This is our policy. We do not require deposits, but if you choose to send one, you will move up the waiting list compared to someone who does not submit a deposit. You must sign our deposit contract, agreeing that your deposit is non-refundable if you back out of the sale. If we cancel the sale, the full deposit will be returned immediately.
You must remember that when you send a deposit, we NEVER promise a puppy from a certain litter or even specific parents.
CAN I PICK MY OWN DOG?
To a point. When we have puppies or adults available, we match the dogs to buyers based on temperament and personality first. This is followed by gender, registration option, and then cosmetic aspects.
Because we spend extensive time with our puppies starting at birth, we know each puppy’s unique needs and which kind of home they require. We select suitable homes for each puppy. If there is more than one puppy that will suit you, you are welcome to pick from those puppies.
CAN I NAME MY DOG?
Not fully. All of our dogs are registered with our kennel name as the prefix. We use the letter method to select the rest of the name. For example, our first litter would be known as the ‘A’ litter, such as SouthernStar’s Adjust Ur Attitude or SouthernStar’s A Cut Above. The second litter would be the ‘B’ litter, such as SouthernStar’s Belle Of The Ball or SouthernStar’s Blizzard. When a breeder reaches Z, they either start back at A or move to double letters (AA, BB, CC, etc.).
As we individually register each puppy before selection, the name is locked in. If you have a different name you’d like to use, you can discuss this with us when you approve your puppy. If it meets our criteria, we will allow the name change at acquisition. We will also permit the addition of a registered kennel name if applicable, provided our kennel name remains first.
Since the name features a registered kennel name, we as the breeder are the first owner of record; thus, the name cannot be changed without our permission.
You are welcome to choose the call name; we usually select something that aligns with the puppy's personality, but a 10-week-old puppy will react to just about anything.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU INDIVIDUALLY REGISTER EACH PUPPY? OTHER BREEDERS GIVE THE APPLICATION AND LET THE OWNERS DO IT.
We register each puppy ourselves and then transfer ownership at pick-up. This prevents lost applications, late fees, unauthorized full registrations, incorrect name changes, and ensures the retention of our kennel name.
It’s simply easier for us to register the puppy and then transfer ownership at the time of acquisition. In this case, the new registration certificate will be emailed to you within a few days, with the hard copy mailed shortly after.
DO YOU OFFER FULL REGISTRATION?
Yes. We believe full registration is essential for responsible dog ownership and promotes ethical breeding practices. Limited registration can lead newcomers to obtain dogs from puppy mills and backyard breeders, which limits the gene pool and can raise the COI when fewer dogs are added to it.
We offer full registration with co-ownership or contractual breeding conditions to ensure mentorship and promote responsible breeding practices.
WHAT ABOUT A CO-OWNERSHIP?
We offer co-ownerships for serious show, working, and breeding homes. Our co-ownership contracts are detailed and require commitment, communication, and adherence to clearly defined requirements.
HOW MUCH DO YOUR PUPPIES COST?
Base prices for untitled dogs are as follows:
Up to 6 months: $2,500
6 - 12 months: $3,000
12 - 24 months: $3,500
Over 24 months: $5,000
Prices are consistent regardless of gender, registration option, color, and other factors. Prices only change for titles.
WHAT PAYMENT METHODS DO YOU TAKE?
At this time, we only accept cash, certified check/money order, CashApp, and Zelle. Due to the risk of scams and service restrictions, we do not accept PayPal or Venmo (owned by PayPal).
Additionally, we are not active on Good Dog due to disagreements regarding payment processing, despite our continued listing.
We do not accept personal or business checks, and certified checks and money orders will be held until cleared.
WHY SO MUCH? I ONLY WANT A FAMILY PET!
Ethical breeding is costly, time-consuming, and demands significant investments long before puppies are born.
Let's break down the costs:
- Purchase price of breeding dogs - typically around what we charge for a puppy
- Food - hundreds of dollars
- Routine vet care, parasite control, vaccines - hundreds of dollars
- Grooming supplies and equipment - easily a few hundred dollars
- Hours of labor for grooming and training - again, hundreds of dollars
- Hours spent researching pedigrees, wins, offspring, and the strengths and weaknesses of various breeding dogs - hundreds of dollars
- Showing and titling costs - thousands of dollars
- Health testing costs - close to a thousand dollars
- Stud service fees and travel/insemination expenses - thousands of dollars
- Whelping supplies and medical equipment - hundreds of dollars
- Microchips, DNA testing, and registration to AKC, OFA, and Embark - a few hundred dollars per puppy
- Puppy food and supplies - easily hundreds of dollars
- Hours dedicated to socialization, training, and handling - hundreds of dollars per puppy
- Health certificates, vaccines, and parasite control - around a hundred dollars per puppy
- Care packages - a few hundred dollars per puppy
This doesn’t include unplanned emergencies such as injuries, illnesses in our breeding dogs, whelping issues, emergency c-sections, or neonatal surgeries for health problems.
Every puppy receives the same level of care and resources, regardless of the registration type.
WHAT COMES WITH MY DOG PURCHASE?
When you purchase your dog, you will receive a comprehensive care package that includes both items and paperwork. Your items include:
- Appropriately sized crate (plastic if flying, your choice of plastic or wire if by car)
- Personalized tote bag featuring your dog’s registered name
- Personalized coffee tumbler with your dog’s registered name
- A small bag of treats
- A bottle of pet stain and odor remover
- 2 stainless steel dishes
- An appropriately sized collar and lead
- AKC Reunite collar tag
- An assortment of chew toys
- 3 days’ supply of the food your puppy is used to.
Due to ingestion risks, we do not provide stuffies or blankets.
The paperwork includes:
- AKC reunite paperwork
- AKC and OFA DNA certificates
- Florida Health Certificate
- All vet records to date
- Any applicable rabies certificates
- Vaccination record
- Any OFA certificates earned to date
- Any title certificates earned to date
Your registration papers will not accompany your dog. We will transfer the AKC papers to your name online when you are at our home for pick-up. You will receive an electronic copy (without the issue date) in your email in a few days, and the paper copy will be mailed shortly after. If your dog has full registration, we will sign over the UKC registration papers that day, and you will receive them shortly after. If your dog is limited registration, we will retain the UKC papers until the dog is spayed/neutered or we lift the limited registration, as UKC does not offer a limited registration option.
WHEN DO YOU LET YOUR PUPPIES GO HOME?
Our puppies can go home at 10 weeks old. We know many breeders allow their pups to go home earlier, but we prefer to keep them an additional few weeks to work on house, crate, and potty training, as well as manners and basic obedience. Our buyers tend to be happier when their pups come home knowing proper behaviors.
WHAT IF I LIKE THE DOG YOU OFFER ME, BUT CANNOT TAKE IT AT THE MOMENT?
If you approve of a dog we offer you, but for any reason cannot take it at the moment, we will provide 14 days of free boarding, beginning the day he turns 10 weeks old.
After 14 days, we charge $15 per day for boarding (plus the cost of vaccines and parasite control), unless the delay is due to a natural disaster on your end or ours, military deployment, or the hospitalization or death of an immediate family member. We do require proof, though.