Words of advice for taking your puppy home!

Q:  When is a puppy old enough to go home, and why do we have a few older puppies for sale?

A:   TIME is one thing that few families can give up in our busy lifestyles. Every year, every facet of our culture becomes more polarized, with every family playing baseball, soccer, football, vacations,  graduations, halloweening, etc, simultaneously.   Most families feel that they have time for a pet in their busy lifestyles at all times, but they can only bring home a new puppy when nothing else is going on because they want to spend the first few days bonding with and training their puppy when they first bring it home.  Unfortunately for puppies, many are born at times that makes their go home date in the middle of an event that every family with children almost without exception is doing simultaneously.  Every child is in love with the idead of getting a tiny cute puppy and taking it home, NOT in love with buying a teenage puppy/young dog that cannot compete with the cuteness of the tiniest puppy, so especially summertime children and spoiling parents will pick the tiniest/youngest puppy while even a slightly older/larger puppy gets left behind! The sad part is that the slightly older and larger puppy will grow to be a young adult a few short weeks and expensive vet visits to complete shots later, and it will remain as big as it's going to get for the rest of it's life! It's easy to save $1000.00+ dollars by getting an older puppy that's on sale and not having to do as many vet visits to complete the puppy shots! NOTHING is wrong with a puppy you may see on our website that may be a few weeks older.  They were born at the wrong time when families were simultaneously busy, or got left behind because someone got Covid, etc, in most cases. Many people have the idea that they want the youngest puppy that they can take home because it is the cutest and it will fall in love with me more quickly, since younger puppies are likely less inhibited.  A wise puppy buyer would seek out and be willing to pay MORE for a slightly older puppy because it is a more secure and less problematic investment. Most puppy buyers are deceived to believe that it is okay for any puppy to go home as soon as it is no longer nursing.  This is true for many large breed puppies but can be a recipe for disaster for toy size puppies.  The most common cause of puppies being taken to the emergency vet for thousands in emergency IV's, etc, is being taken home too soon or too small to endure the stress of travel, being handled excessively, and adapting to a new home.  This happens most often when families try to make puppies fit into their vacation, work schedule, or special event gift giving plans.  More and more parents try to give their children what the child wants with no regard for what works, so the children almost always pick the tinest puppy and the larger one is left to grow bigger and older.  A small child will often take home a puppy that would fit into their pocket if the breeder and their parents would let them; very often to watch it die after about 3 days from stress related issues or to have ongoing fail to thrive problems. The parents of the child, rather than accepting responsibility for their poor choices, parenting and puppy care skills, will get online to blame the breeder through attack blogs and leave negative reviews. Their vet will look for even an isolated trace of a bacterium or parasite and blame the breeder because he doesn’t know how much stress has already occurred.  Most vets do not understand the relationship between microorganisms and dogs.  Handling stress, being vaccinated to early or too small, going home when too small, etc, can weaken the immune systems of too tiny/too young puppies and can cause blooms of parasites, especially giardia lamblia, that can make puppies sick very quickly.  Experiments of scientists have proven that ALL adult dogs AND HUMANS are carriers of microorganisms.  Puppies born to moms that have just been dewormed and medicated are still born with parasites, even in sterile laboratory environments.  Blooms of parsites do not mean that the breeder did not do a good job. It means that the puppy was not large or strong enough to handle the stress at home that it was subjected to, or that it was vaccinated too soon or too often.  Anything that weakens the immune system of the puppy will allow parasites to grow stronger. Like human children, puppies must build their own immune responses, after which they become an asymptomatic carrier like the mother that they inherited them from.  Puppies should not be vaccinated until they are at least 3 lbs, as severe reactions and giardia blooms may result. DO NOT allow your vet to vaccinate your puppy until 3 lbs!  Although larger breeds can go home sooner, most smaller to tiny breeds should be at least 10-12 weeks old and at least 3 lbs before going home.  Any age up to 6 months is an ideal time to take home a puppy. Every puppy needs to be old enough and strong enough to endure the stress of going to your home, playing with an existing pet, or with your child.  Slightly older puppies at reduced prices are sometimes available in the Fall when a few puppies remain because they were not taken due to vacation season and October syndrome- when hundreds of families won't buy until Christmas, then they all land here to fight over them at the same time.  Yes, we will work with you to reserve a pet to go home at a specific time.  We will be glad to facetime with you to get a live look at a specific puppy before you place your deposit. Please call with any questions!

Thanks, Irvin Blackburn, owner- www.healthypups.com (336) 957-3609

Every family CAN afford a puppy, and SAVE MONEY in buying a good puppy.

Bored families go out and waste money. Playing with a puppy at home is a free gift that continues to give, while superficial entertainment is one and done. We also gladly provide ownership education which can lower long-term ownership costs, initial vet bills, and increase the life expectancy of your pet! Many buyers look for the cheapest puppy. 

We average 5 calls per day from those who have sent deposits to a scammer pretending to have a puppy, AND we regularly talk to folks who had unexpected vet bills from backyard puppies bought from inexperienced caregivers. You are much less likely to have unexpected expenses from an experienced breeder. Our knowledge has come through 40+ years of hands-on experience with the same group of pets.  Not even our senior vets have likely had this unique learning opportunity!

The best answer for our pets is preventative maintenance-NOT pet insurance or long-term warranty scams. Our goal is that you have the best life with your pet AND that you don't get scammed by those who want to sell you goods and services throughout the life of your pet! Healthy Pups is a family-owned nursery open for business on this property since 1982! We focus on better care standards, diverse genetics to improve the mental and physical health of our puppies, and preventative ownership education that can reverse and prevent many canine diseases!

Having more experience than almost anyone else in the pet business, we enjoy sharing our valuable experiences to help you have a better pet ownership experience, and to improve your chances of having a longer and better quality life with your pet! Thanks, Irvin Blackburn, owner- www.healthypups.com (336) 957-3609