Question 1

How much is the deposit?

Accepted Answer

A deposit is a non-refundable $250 that goes towards the purchase price of the puppy. If the litter is not born yet, or still very young, then we do accept personal checks since we have more than two weeks for a check to clear. We also accept PayPal, Venmo and Zelle.
Puppies are chosen in order of deposits received. If you request a male with perfect ridge and crownes, and then when it is your turn to pick there are no males with perfect ridges and crownes, then the deposit IS refundable OR you may move it to the next litter, your choice The deposit is also refundable if the female you put the deposit on is NOT pregnant.

Question 2

How do we pick our puppy?

Accepted Answer

If you put a deposit down ahead of a litter being ready to go, then this is how picking works. Puppies are chosen around five to six weeks of age. Most people choose from the dozens of pictures of each pup, and litter videos that I post online. I do my best to answer any questions you might have about personality, etc. and send you information with vet check and personality notes.  If you want to come pick out your puppy in person, that is okay as long as you are able to do it in a timely manner. Plan on coming the weekend the pups are 5 or 6 weeks old, and please remind me! Usually you will have to come before you might know which pups are chosen ahead of you, and we encourage you to pick out your top 2 or 3 favorites at that point. Picking your puppy needs to happen fairly quickly once we start the process. We encourage you to start thinking about your favorites BEFORE the picking starts, so that we can move quickly through the list. We often have 10 or more people waiting and it just takes too long if everyone decides to take several days to pick once it gets to be their turn to pick. Once you come to pick up your puppy, IF there are any other puppies available, you may switch at that point. Also, when it is your turn to pick, if you have decided to wait for a future litter for whatever reason, that is ok. You can just move your pick to the next litter. However, once you "pick" a certain puppy, you will lose your deposit if you back out after that.
After we go through the deposit list, if we have pups available and you don't have a deposit down, then you are welcome to come out in person and pick a pup, or pick from all the information online. We can't hold a pup without a deposit. However, if you are driving out to see a specific pup, we won't take a deposit on that pup until after you've had a chance to meet the pup. We wouldn't want someone to drive out here just to find there are no available pups when they get here.

Question 3

How old are your puppies when they leave?

Accepted Answer

Our puppies can leave at 8 weeks of age, a few days after their 8 week vet check. If you need a puppy held for longer than that, we are usually able to do so. We generally charge $25 a week to hold a puppy after 9.5 weeks of age, but that is to help cover costs of food, shots and worming that we keep up to date. Whenever you put a deposit down on a pup that is ready to go, our policy is to hold it for one week for free, and then we charge $25 a week.

Question 4

Do You ship puppies? How Does shipping Work?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we ship puppies anywhere in the continental US for $550 and up. We have been shipping puppies for over 15 years now. We usually use a company called Ozark Jet a Pet to book your flight. They fly out of St. Louis on Fridays, weather permitting. We would pick a shipping date that works for both of us and I book the flight on my end and send you all the information as soon as the flight is confirmed. The puppy gets a special vet visit to get his health certificate in your name that he needs to fly. You would pick up your puppy at the airport by showing your photo ID. Your puppy will come in a crate, with a leash and collar and bag of food on top. Sometimes AA doesn't fly close enough to a customer, or their temperature requirements make it so we can't use them. When you pick up your puppy at the airport, you will get it either at cargo, or at the baggage claim office, depending on the airport. NO, the pups are not put on the baggage carousels. Yes, the area of the plane where the pups ride IS climate controlled. No, puppies do not enjoy being shipped, but I have never had one harmed or traumatized by being shipped. Shipping my puppies is the best way for me to get them quickly and safely to loving homes all over the United States. The puppy will be awfully glad to see you at the other end and is ready to be comforted and loved on after their long day! We have had pups shipped to us from South Africa (Aslan), Russia (Timka and Oksana) and the Ukraine (Tzeitel) and they all arrived safe and sound and are well adjusted dogs. Payment for the puppy, including shipping, is due in full (via PayPal, Venmor or Zelle) at least 48 hours before the shipment day. Most people send the payment after I send the flight information and they call and confirm it. If you are not using a form of electronic payment, then the payment via a check is due at least two weeks before the flight to give it time to clear before shipping.

Besides AA cargo shipping we do have some puppy nanny options (they fly in the plane with the pup), but a Ridgeback grows very fast, so a pup can not be over 10 weeks if choosing that option. Even at 10 weeks, so big pups might be too large to fit in the required in cabin crate. A puppy nanny is more expensive and you should expect to pay $700-1200, depending on the nanny.

There are also various ground shipping options we can look into. Those can be less expensive (sometimes as low as $400) depending on where the pup is going, but often they have several pick ups and drop offs along the way. We are pretty selective about who we will trust to take our pups.

Lastly, if you are within 3 or 4 hours of us, we have several people (mostly young people) that earn extra money by delivering pups for us. Delivery to Kansas City and St. Louis is generally $250.

Question 5

What do we need to bring when we pick up our puppy?

Accepted Answer

We prefer cash for the remainder owed when you pick up your puppy. However, we will also accept PayPal, Venmo and Zelle. We will not accept checks. If using an electronic form of payment, please know what your daily sending limit is ahead of time.
 
We recommend bringing some towels and/or baby wipes to clean up any messes if your pup gets car sick on the ride home (some do, but most outgrow it as they get older). You will probably want to hold your puppy on your lap (or your kid's lap) on the ride home. He/she may not be used to being alone and will probably cry when put in a crate by themselves for the first time. Trust me, you don't want to be stuck in the car with that for any length of time! However, it's a good idea to bring a crate to put the puppy in if you stop to eat or anything else where you might leave the puppy alone in the car.
We ask that you don't bring other dogs with you when you come, or if you do, that you have them stay in the car. Our new dogs are all quarantined and tested for diseases before they are allowed to socialize with our current dogs.
We do like meeting pups from our past litters, so if you want to bring one, please give us a heads up and we will make sure all our dogs are put up before yours gets out of the vehicle to say hello.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the deposit?

How do we pick our puppy?

How old are your puppies when they leave?

Do You ship puppies? How Does shipping Work?

What do we need to bring when we pick up our puppy?