Pictures
here.
These seven little guys and three guyettes are likely to be great pets, if properly trained. Shelby, the mother, is not only the sweetest dog I've ever owned, but the sweetest one I've ever known. Given their breeding, they're likely to be very Vizla-like: good sense of smell, natural hunters, medium high-energy family dogs, with good protective instincts. The males are likely to end up at around 50 pounds; the females a little less. (Shelby is 52 pounds, but the father was small.) They should do fine in an apartment or small-yard . . . as long as you're religious about long walks and trips to the dog park.
Since the father is a full-blooded Vizla, what you're likely to get with one of these is a great family pet, that will look and act like a very mellow Vizla, and who can also — if started off early enough — be a great pointer/retriever if you're interested in putting in the time and effort training them. (That's the reason that their dew claws are going to be going; the only thing a dew claw can do is get caught up in brush.) So far, we don't know of any health issues, but
caveat emptor; if you want to have your prospective pup checked out by our vet (Minnehaha Valley Animal Hospital) or yours, that's not only okay, but strongly recommended.
The only guarantee we make is that we won't sell you a puppy we know is sick. Both Labs and Vizlas are pretty robust breeds, though; it's probably a good gamble. We'll be putting them on IAMS puppy food, as soon as they're ready for solids, and are going to attempt to keep them on Shelby's milk exclusively until we start to wean them. Naturally, they won't be available to go home with you until they're fully weaned.
We're not going to be getting into the puppy mill business; there's plenty of adoptable mutt puppies in the world, and not enough good homes. I don't have any problem in making back the money we're putting into the puppies — food, shots, and such aren't free — so we're asking $100/pup.
We've already had a lot of interest, and the three girls and one of the boys are already spoken for.
So: if you want one, throw $100 in the
tipjar. We'll take up to 8 deposits*, and if we — for whatever reason, or none; our call — can't or decide not to ("Gee, I wonder how one of these puppies will taste," guarantees you don't get one, frex.) let you have one, you get your money back. If you flake, you don't. We're going to strongly encourage you to get your pet spayed — really spayed, not Shelby-spayed; see above) or neutered — but we're not going to be doing it, as they'll be in their new homes too early for that. We're willing to dock tails — particularly for the ones who look very Vizla-like — as that's kind of the standard for hunting Vizlas.
Puppies will be available for examination, reservation, and just plain playing with in about four weeks, once they've been started on food, and we're confident that they're healthy and immunized enough to let them out in public; they'll be available for delivery on June 10th. We will require "first refusal" if you decide to sell or give away the puppy — we'll match what you're offered, up to $100, if you plan to sell it, but will require that you offer it back to us for free if you want to get rid of it, but don't have a bona fide offer. (Just to be clear: if you ever decide to get rid of your dog, we got dibs. If you have an offer for $50, we'll either say, "Hey, go with it" or give you the fifty and take the dog. If you have an offer for $400, we'll either say, "Hey, go with it" or give you the hundred bucks you've paid and take the dog. We'll need five business days to make the call, and any notices about sale or refusal of option *must* be in writing.)
Do remember, though, that the first few weeks in general and the first year in particular is where potentially good dogs go bad through lack of training — taking on a puppy is a lot like having a kid, and if you're not able and willing to put in the time, it's a real bad idea to take on a puppy. Much better to find a good dog who won't need that constant attention.
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* Yes, that means that if everybody who has spoken for a puppy follows through, we might have to return at least two deposits — three, if we decide to keep one.