HOW DO I GET A DOG FROM YOU?
The first step is to read through our website and learn how we operate. We have different policies than many breeders. Next review our Buyer Contract and print out and complete our Buyer Questionnaire located on our FORMS Page. You may either scan and email, or take pictures and text/email them to us.
Remember that the contract is a basic on, and yours may differ, as we customize our contract to suit each individual buyer and dog.
Once we receive your questionnaire, we review it thoroughly. We do contact your vet and all three of your references, so you may want to let them know that we may be calling. We ask about general care, suitability, and concerns about welfare or care of your previous or existing pets.
After approval, we schedule a phone interview. Please reserve at least 1 hour of uninterrupted time. We discuss your lifestyle, goals, expectations, and family dynamics.
Next, we schedule an in-person visit. Every member of the household is required to attend. If puppies are currently on the ground, you will not meet them or mom, but you will meet us and other dogs we have.
This visit allows you to confirm we are legitimate breeders and give us 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 wraps up, you go on our waiting list - either Section A (with deposit) or Section B (no deposit). We work down Section A first, then section B, offering available dogs to suitable homes.
Please Note: If you do not want that particular dog, feel free to decline, and you will remain on the list for as long as it takes to get your perfect dog. We would rather you be on the list longer than take a dog that you are not fully happy with.
When you select a puppy, we customize your contract and email it to you. You must sign it and get it notarized at the same time, and bring it with you to pick up. We sign it ourselves, then make a photocopy for you to take home.
Puppies go home at 10 weeks old,a nd pickup should be scheduled the Monday or Wednesday after that. If needed, we can meet halfway on Thursday or Friday for a travel fee of $50 plus $1 per mile round trip, paid in full 48 hours before meeting. We do not travel more than 200 miles.
If you fly to an airport within 2 hours of us, we wil lpick up up, bring you to our home, and return you and your dog to the airport. If staying 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 take optional deposits.
The concept of deposits is to prevent wasted time, because having to pay money ensures only serious inquiries. but too often, breeders taking mandatory deposits are required to refund in the event that the buyer doesn’t receive a dog - even if the buyer was the one who backs out, waits till the last second, changes their mind and gets their money back. So this is a waste of time.
However, if deposits are optional, then a breeder does not have to refund the deposit unless the breeder backs out of the sale. This is where we stand. We do not require deposits, but if you choose to send in one, you are higher up on the waiting list than someone who does not send a deposit. You must sign our deposit contract, stating you agree that the deposit is non refundable if you back out of the sale. If we cancel the sale, the entire deposit will be returned immediately.
You must remember that when you send a deposit, we NEVER, EVER promise a puppy out of a certain litter or even parents.
CAN I PICK MY OWN DOG?
To a point. When we have pups or adults available, we match the dogs to the buyers based on temperament and personality first. Followed by gender, registration option, and then cosmetic aspects.
Because we spend so much time with our puppies starting at birth, we know our pups inside and out. We know what kind of home each puppy will need. We select suitable homes for each puppy. If there are more than 1 pup that will suit you, you can pick from those puppies.
CAN I NAME MY DOG?
Not fully. All of our dogs are registered with our kennel name as the prefix. Then we use the letter method to select the rest of the name. So our first litter would be our ‘A’ litter would be, for instance, SouthernStar’s Adjust Ur Attitude, and Southern Star’s A Cut Above. The second litter would be the “B” litter, for, say SouthernStar’s Belle Of The Ball, and SouthernStar’s Blizzard. When a breeder reaches Z, they either start back at A, or they do 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 at the time you approve your puppy, and if it meets our criteria, we will allow the name change at acquisition. We will also allow addition of a registered kennel name if applicable, provided our kennel name remains first.
However since the name features a registered kennel name, and we, as the breeder, are the first owner of record, the name cannot be changed without our permission.
You are more than welcome to pick his call name however. We usually use something associated with the personality, but a 10 week old puppy reacts 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, then transfer the ownership at pickup.
This prevents lost applications, late fees, unauthorized full registration, incorrect name changes, and removal of our kennel name.
It’s simply easier for us to register the puppy, then transfer ownership at time of acquisition. In this case, the new registration certificate will be emailed to you in a few days, with the hard copy mailed shortly after.
DO YOU OFFER FULL REGISTRATION?
Yes. We believe that limited registration is too often overused and harms the breed in the long run. It requires newcomers to access dogs from puppy mills and backyard breeders. It also limit’s the gene pool and runs up the COI, when there are fewer dogs being added to the gene pool.
We offer full registration with co-ownership or contractual breeding conditions to ensure proper mentorship and ethical 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:
Up to 6 months: $2,500
6 - 12 months: $3,000
12 - 24 months: $3,500
Over 24 months: $5,000
Prices are the same regardless of gender, registration option, color, and other points. Prices only change for titles.
WHAT PAYMENT METHODS DO YOU TAKE?
At this time, we only take cash, certified check/money order, CashApp, and Zelle.
Do to the risk of scams, and terms of service restrictions, we do not take PayPal, or Venmo (owned by PayPal)
Due to a disagreement on how Good Dog handles payments, we are not active on Good Dog and do not take payments through them, even though we cannot seem to remove our profile.
We do not take personal or business checks.
Certified checks and money orders will be held until cleared.
WHY SO MUCH? I ONLY WANT A FAMILY PET!
Ethical breeding is expensive, time consuming, and requires significant investments long before puppies are born.
Let’s break it down to what it costs:
Purchase price of breeding dogs - generally 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 of researching pedigrees, wins, offspring, faults and strengths of various stud dogs to find the perfect match - hundreds of dollars
Showing and titling costs - thousands of dollars
Health testing costs - close to a thousand dollars
Stud service fees and travel/insemination fees - thousands of dollars
Whelping supplies and medical equipment - hundreds of dollars
Fresh frozen plasma for newborns - we spin down mom’s so not too bad
Microchips and DNA testing done shortly after birth and DNA to AKC, OFA, and Embark - a few hundred dollars per puppy
Puppy food and supplies - easily hundreds of dollars
Hours spent on socialization, training, handling - hundreds of dollars per puppy
Health certificates, vaccines, parasite control - around a hundred dollars per puppy
Care packages - a few hundred dollars per puppy
And this does not cover the cost for any sort of emergencies that crop up. Injuries or illnesses in our breeding dogs, whelping problems, emergency c-sections, puppy losses, neonatal surgery for birth defects or health problems.
Every puppy receives the same level of care and resources, regardless of registration type.
WHAT COMES WITH MY DOG PURCHASE?
When you purchase your dog, you do get a lot of items. We split your care package into items and paperwork. Your items include:
Appropriately sized crate (plastic if flying, your choice of plastic or wire if car)
Personalized tote bag with 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
Assortment of chew toys,
3 days supply of the food he is used to.
We do not give stuffies or blankets due to ingestion risks.
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 come with your dog. We transfer the AKC papers to your name online when you are at our home for pickup. You will get the electronic copy (without the issue date) in your email in a few days and the paper copy will be in the mail shortly after that. If your dog is full registration, we will sign over the UKC registration papers that day, and mail them in and you will receive your UKC papers shortly after. If your dog is limited registration, we retain the UKC papers in our name and possession until dog is spayed/neutered or we lift limited registration. This is because UKC does not offer a limited registration option so all UKC dogs can be bred and pups registered.
WHEN DO YOU LET YOUR PUPPIES GO HOME?
Our puppies can go home at 10 weeks old. We know many breeders let their pups go home earlier than this, but we like to keep the pups an additional few weeks to work with them on house, crate, and potty training, manners, basic obedience, etc. Our buyers tend to be happier when their pups come home, knowing not to bite and to potty outside.
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, you cannot take it at the moment, we will give you 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 a result of a natural disaster on your end or ours, a military deployment, or a hospitalization or death of a household member or immediate family member. We do require proof, though.