WHEATEN'S GENERAL INFORMATION; Common questions & answers
Q & A PAGE WAS CREATED TO ANSWER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING OUR PUPPIES. OUR FACILITY PROVIDES BOARDING, GROOMING AND PUPPY PLACEMENT. THIS IS OUR PROFESSION AND THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY HOURS IN THE DAY AVAILABLE TO DO ALL THAT IS NECESSARY TO RUN OUR BUSINESS. OUR PRIMARY GOAL IS THAT OF CARING FOR THE PETS THAT COME AND GO ON A DAILY BASIS. DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC IS IMPORTANT TO US BUT, OUT OF NECESSITY, IT IS OUR SECOND PRIORITY. IF WE SPEND ALL DAY ANSWERING THE SAME QUESTIONS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE THIS TAKES TIME WE NEED TO CARE FOR PETS WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR. PLEASE REVIEW ALL THE BELOW INFORMATION AND IF WE HAVE NOT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTIONS OR YOU NEED MORE DETAILS ON A QUESTION, FEEL FREE TO CALL. HOPEFULLY, EVERYTHING AND MORE YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT US HAS BEEN PROVIDED ON THIS AND OTHER PAGES ON OUR WEB SITE.
BASIC QUESTIONS: Both our SOFT COATED WHEATEN TERRIERS & HAVANESE puppies are raised in a loving environment around children of all ages, other dogs of different breeds & sizes as well as cats. They come well socialized. Both are soft, social, fun, playful, snugly & very loving. Yes! All of our parents have been OAF cerified & eye cerfed. Yes! All Puppies are AKC or APR limited registration. They have been vet checked before being placed. They have been on a deworming schedule. Have had shots/vaccines appropriate for age. We have a 2 year health guarantee. You are required to sign a neuter agreement as our puppies are intended for pet homes ONLY. Each puppy leaves with a new puppy goodie bag that includes a blanket and an assortment of toys and treats. This should be everything you need to get by. The only things you should still need if you don't already have is a kennel, dog food & harness leash set. We have all this and more at affordable cost as well. To see the New Puppy Shoppinglist under the "more" link for suggested needs click the link below.
TYPICAL QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERS:
Our havanese as well as our soft coated wheaten terriers are all pure breeds. We DO NOT do mixed breeds, nor do we mix these two breeds together.
Q: How much does a Wheaten Terrier typically weigh full grown? A: The Soft Coated Wheaten is considered a medium size dog. Our parents run 30-45 lbs. mom's being 35 lbs & dad's being 45 lbs.
Q: Are girls typically smaller then boys A: Yes
Q: How many breeders do we use? A: We are NOT a puppy mill or broker, we are partnered but with ONLY 1 breeder for both our havanese & our wheatens. Clem, who has been around for over 40 yrs.
Q: At what age do you let your puppies go to new homes? A: We let puppies go at 10 weeks of age, not earlier. Both ourselves and Clem feel that puppies need appropriate time to be socialized, weaned, and be immunized. Anything prior to 10 weeks just does not provide time for these important issues.
Q: Do Wheaten have the typical terrier energy? A: Puppies have puppy energy, however Wheaten don't have the typical terrier energy levels. They need regular walks and something to keep them occupied, which is why they make great therapy dogs. But they adapt great to most normal energy level households.
Q: Do Wheaten require grooming? A: Yes. They have a soft wavy coat that requires regular combing & haircuts.
Q: What is the average lifespan? A: A healthy puppy can live 14-15 yrs old
Q: Can they be left alone while I work A: Wheaten don't do well if left alone for long periods of time and do best when kept busy. So if you are working an 8 hour day and have 2 hours of drive time to boot, you need to make sure you have something to keep you pet occupied. Toys that are entertaining to him. A dog day care may be advisable for a couple days a week, or if you could come home at lunchtime to interact with him would be best. A bored dog can be a destructive dog.
Q: Do Wheaten's bark a lot A: Although some terrier breeds tend to bark, Wheaten are not known as being 'yappy' dogs. They are more of a doorbell, barking when someone comes around or if an intruder is in their territory.
Q; Do I get to meet the parents of the puppies? A: Unfortunately, no. as stated above, we place all puppies in partnership with a reputable breeder who is out of state. He does a great job of raising puppies, we do the job of placing puppies in Colorado. Both are full-time occupations. Additionally, our facility is licensed and zoned as a dog resort so we are busy with boarders and groom clients which are neutered pets. Un-neutered adult dogs would upset the balance of our facility. If you want more information on our partnership, read the information on the link marked "Partnership".
Q: Will puppy be immunized and wormed when I get him? A: Yes, puppies are all current for age on immunizations when they leave, and will have been on a regiment of worming medication in hopes of providing a parasite free puppy for you. Giardia and Coccidia are common ailments in puppies, and sometimes a puppy will need subsequent follow up medication for these conditions.
Q: Is puppy AKC Registered and what does this mean? A: The term "registered pet" strictly means that that litter is in a book somewhere that a pedigree of dogs is maintained. There are actually several registration companies around; AKC, CKC, APRI to name a few. Our puppies are registered with the American Kennel Club. DNA testing required by AKC signifies that you are getting a puppy from the parents listed on the registration form. We place all puppies as pets and therefore require a spay/neuter from your pet so your papers will indicate that you have "limited" registration with AKC.
Q: Do you offer a health guarantee? A: Yes, a sample of our warranty is on the "Sample Contract" as well as under the link 'Health Guarantee"; we offer a 2 year health guarantee on all our puppies.
Q: Do our puppies have the American or Irish coat? A: American- we perfer the american coat as it's fully & nicer in our opinion.
Q: For dog training do we have our own the we recommend for basic, therapy or service? A: Yes, after years of research we currently used Kacy Presba who has a wide background of different positive training techniques. We will only allow positive training approach training to be used on our pups. If Kacy can't help you for whatever the reason she is in enough circles she knows some one who can.
Q: Have the parents been tested for PLN -associated variant genes? A: Yes- they are clean
Q: Do we dock tails? A: Yes. We found that when they get 'happy tail' they break &/or fracture their tails which is no fun. it was better for their health to dock their tails.
Q: Do you show your dogs? A: NO!! The show world is very political, takes up oodles of time and money. We place our puppies as pets and do not need the status symbol to validate our quality. Our partner was, at one time an AKC judge (not on Wheaten of course) and has extensive knowledge of what AKC standards are. We adhere to those standards and all our dogs are AKC registered, but they are not intended to be show or breeding dogs, therefore we have no reason to be a show breeder.