How we raise our Puppies and care for our Dams
Our girls are only bred every year to eighteen months. We usually only will have three litters from each female and then retire her by the time she is six years of age. There are exceptions to every rule and we may have an older female who is sent to us to breed to one of our studs to acquire new bloodlines in their kennel.

PUPPIES

• Puppies are always born indoors and will remain inside until they are at least four weeks of age. We give them daily attention and we begin the bio sensor program on them at three days old. We have an indoor kennel area specifically for newborns and the mom.
   

• Keeping our puppies indoors allows us to interact with them on a constant basis and to watch them carefully in those first few weeks.
   

• At four to five weeks our puppies are moved outdoors into a large-covered kennel with access to a large 16 x 30 grassy turnouts. At night the pups are back in the covered 16 x 16 wire kennel with mom for safety.
   

• I do not push weaning on my puppies and let mom decide when it is time. I begin to offer food at three weeks and by four to five weeks they are doing well with wet food. Puppies and mom are fed Canidae Holistic food in both wet and dry mix. Mom begins to spend more time away from them beginning around five weeks of age.
   

• Six weeks they get their first shots and are playing, running and eating well. They are beginning to socialize with other dogs, the cats and showing interest in the horses. Of course we never let our puppies around the horses at this young an age.
   

• At eight weeks of age your puppy is now ready to go to his new home. WE DO NOT let any puppy go for any reason before eight weeks of age.
   

• When your puppy leaves here it will be well adjusted, loving, outgoing and happy.
   

• Your puppy will come with AKC papers, puppy food, regular weekly wormings starting at two weeks of age, and his first set of shots at six weeks.

• You will be provided a puppy packet and his medical records.
   

• We worm with Panacure, Strongid and/or Drontal. We use wormers on a rotating basis.
   

• We feed Blue Buffalo Organic and Wilderness Formulas.

PRICING, HEALTH, AND CONTRACT

All Bleu Moon Puppies are sold on LIMITED registration. We request that you spay or neuter your pet and provide us with documentation when you have this procedure done. Limited Registration does not mean the dog cannot be registered, it does come with AKC papers, however Limited means that no offspring of this dog/bitch are eligible for registration. There are exceptions to every rule, so please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Also, our dogs are ONLY AKC registered and we do not want any of our puppies registered with CKC.

Our puppies are priced from $600.00 and up. Occasionally we will have a litter that is priced lower, but these puppies are strictly pet quality puppies and on limited registration. We firmly believe that not every person wants or can afford a show puppy or has the desire for one, so we feel that our prices are quite reasonable for a good working dog or companion. As the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for," is true. But on the other hand you must watch for breeders who charge double the cost and has no foundation on which to base their prices. As another saying goes "Not all that glitters is gold." Be cautious of the breeders who ask these inflated prices, when they have no Champion parents or champion lines (in close generations) and only breed their dogs as "companion pets."

LIMITED REGISTRATION     Why and what does it mean?

Limited registration helps breeders protect their breeding programs. In order to promote responsible breeding, all our puppies are sold on LIMITED AKC Registration. **We do make SOME exceptions, so please talk to me and tell me what your goals are**

By using Limited Registration, breeders can provide AKC papers to all of their puppy owners, while still controlling which puppies will be bred. It is an excellent tool to demonstrate breeders' concern for the future of their lines and their commitment to preserving excellence within their breed the breeder can be confident that the new owner cannot use the dog to produce and sell AKC-registered puppies that may not meet the standards of the breeder's program.

This does not mean the dog is of lesser quality, it just means that they are ineligible to enter conformation shows or produce registered offspring. They are, however, eligible to enter other AKC events such as hunt tests, agility, and obedience trials. Most of our puppies are purchased as companion dogs by owners who have no interest in breeding or showing; therefore, limited registration will have no bearing on these dogs and their owner.

Limited registration also helps to prevent genetic problems by preventing the breeding of dogs who haven't been checked for these problems. Well, it doesn't actually prevent the breeding, just the registration of any offspring. Few owners will go to the expense of breeding their registered dog, if the offspring can't be registered.

Puppy mills will often buy puppies with the intent of breeding them as soon as possible. Some owners of puppy mills will even hire young couples to pose as puppy buyers in order to get past screening by breeders, then the puppy is transferred to the puppy mill. In order to keep their costs down, a puppy mill will breed a dog early and often. They won't test for genetic problems. They don't screen their buyers (except to make sure the buyer has sufficient cash available). They take few (if any) precautions to prevent disease in their dogs.

We sell our puppies on a limited registration to make them less appealing to puppy mills a puppy whose offspring can't be registered isn't as valuable to them.

TAIL DOCKING    What is tail docking?

Tail docking today is the amputation of a dog's tail at varying lengths to suit the recommendations of a breed Standard. Docking involves the amputation of the puppy's tail either with scissors, a knife or with a rubber band. The cut goes through many highly sensitive nerves in the tissues including skin, cartilage, and bone. This procedure is usually performed without any anesthetic at between three to five days of age. The procedure can be performed by either a registered veterinary surgeon or by an experienced dog breeder. In many countries veterinarians are declining to perform this unnecessary procedure, meaning that breeders are now docking more of their puppies shortly after birth, something I refuse to do.

Is tail docking painful for the puppy?
Yes, there is strong evidence that this is the case. The puppy has a fully developed nervous system and a well-developed sense of pain. While the puppy cannot tell us that it is in pain, many biological markers show that pain is occurring.

I WILL DO NOT AND WILL NOT DOCK TAILS, so don't even ask me to do this. If you want a puppy with a docked tail, I suggest you look elsewhere for a breeder who does not follow AKC standards.

HEALTH
We offer a written health guarantee on all our puppies. If you would like a copy of that guarantee, we will be happy to provide a copy for your review.
Click here to view our Health Guarantee..


CONTRACT
ALL our puppies are sold on a contract. This protects the buyer as well as the seller and covers all details of the health guarantee.
Click here to view our Contract...

SHIPPING
No puppy can be shipped before eight weeks of age. This is a rule set by the airlines. When your puppy is to be shipped, we take care of all arrangements. We ship on Continental and Delta. We prefer Continental since we have found them to be much more pet friendly.

Airfare, crate to ship puppy and Health Certificate is at the buyers expense and runs around $350.00. THIS IS EXTRA AND NOT PART OF THE PUPPY PRICE.

• Airfare is the same whether you are shipping from New Orleans, LA (where we ship from) to Calif, or from New Orleans, LA to Texas. It is determined by weight and size of crate, not distance. This is for the U.S. only. Canada and Mexico, and overseas is more costly. The airlines determine the cost based on a flat rate, then add the total weight of the puppy and crate, then they add a fuel surcharge per pound, then tax and insurance. Due to the high increase in fuel, most shipping lately has run between $230.00 to $255.00. This also depends on which airline I use. This is not the cost of the crate and health certificate. These are separate cost.   

• Crate cost varies depending on the size I must purchase and what store it is purchased from. For a puppy on a long trip, I cannot see squeezing it into a small crate and I prefer to use a 300 crate (Intermediate) for my puppies who average from 13 to 16 pounds when shipped. Crates can run from $45.00 to $75.00, again depending on where they are purchased. (Wal-Mart, Pet Smart, or other)   

• Health Certificates are mandatory to ship and required by the airlines. I charge what my veterinarian charges. $50.00 currently.   

• We handle all shipping arrangements. Please be aware that things happen and at times we may have to delay a shipment by a day or two. This can be due to weather, missing a flight because of a wreck on the interstate, backed up traffic, not being able to book a flight on the day you want, not being able to get a veterinarian appt or very often, not getting payment or paper work back to me in time to ship. I never ship a puppy without a signed contract or with payment in FULL prior to shipping.

• I have been asked numerous times the process of shipping. It is simple. The puppy will be in an airline approved carrier, with towels, paper and food and water and a toy. Puppies usually fare pretty well. If a puppy is healthy and outgoing, they should be a tail wagging, happy bundle of fur upon arrival to their new parents. It is common to be a bit scared of the whole ordeal, but generally they bounce right back.

• If fuel continues to rise as expected I will have to begin adding a $30.00 travel cost. I have held out as long as I can, but our airport is 90 minutes away and with fuel it is getting expensive to travel back and forth.
  
  
  BEWARE OF:
  
  When shopping for a puppy the buyer should also have a list of questions to ask the seller. We do not mind questions and will answer then and help you make a right choice. Whether you chose to buy a puppy from us or another breeder, be well prepared and know what you are getting. In today’s world with Internet access it is easy to be scammed. So take precautions.

• The "breeder" lacks knowledge about the breed.

• The "breeder" shows ignorance or denial of genetic defects in the breed.

• The "breeder" doesn't let you observe the puppies or adults, or let you see the kennels.

• The "breeder" has no documentation and cannot provide a pedigree or won’t answer your questions to your satisfaction.

• The "breeder" list "Champion Bloodlines."  This can be very misleading.  This only means that somewhere in the pedigree was a champion.  It may be as far back as twenty years ago.