Doberman Health Testing & FAQ's

*We've never had a doberman before. How long does it take to post ears? It depends on the length of ear and whether you are getting a male or female. Male's tend to take a little longer to post. Approx 6 months of age is general time frame, but it depends on the dog and thickness of the cartilage in the ear.

*When do you have the ears cropped? Between 6 and 7 weeks of age. We make sure the ears are healed as much as possible before they leave and that the stitches have been removed.You will need to continue to monitor the ears for infection and treat as needed.

*We dont want our puppy's ears cropped. Is that a problem? No, we allow for natural ears, however, there is no
price difference.

*At what point do we pick out our puppies? We allow our customers to choose their puppies at 6 weeks of age, just before the ears are cropped. Provided there is more than one puppy to choose from of that sex and color.

*What is the deposit to reserve a puppy? The deposit to reserve one of our puppies is $100. This is applied towards the price of the dog. When the puppies are born, we require 1/2 down, which will include the $100 deposit. The balance is due at or before 6 weeks of age in order for funds to clear prior to cropping.

*Is our deposit refundable? The only way your deposit is refundable is if we cannot provide you with the sex/color of puppy you wanted after the litter is born. If you back out of the purchase before or even after the puppies are born, any deposit/payments made will be forfeited. Your deposit is YOUR commitment to me as your breeder.

*What does "limited registration" mean? Limited registration allows you to participate in any AKC sanctioned events except conformation. It also means that your dog is being sold as a companion and is not to be bred.

*What if we want to breed our puppy? You will need to find another breeder, because we do not give breeding rights. The only puppies allowed to be bred are show puppies and the buyer must abide by the strict requirements and the monetary investment required to exhibit the puppy. It can take upwards of $10,000 to finish a dog with all the expenses involved.

*Do your dogs live in a kennel? No, our dogs live with us in our house on 15 acres. They have their own room downstairs where they have their beds, toys, crates, sofa, tv, etc. They do come upstairs to spend time with us daily, but are rotated due to the small size of our home. Puppies whelped are also raised in our home. We also have several fenced areas where our adults can play safely outside.

*Do you socialize your puppies? Of course. The puppies start to come upstairs to be handled more frequently at approx 4 weeks of age. We have friends, family, customers, etc. who handle the puppies until they leave at 8 or 9 weeks of age.

*What kind of treats do you recommend? Pig hooves (even though they do stink), pig ears, beef marrow bones from the butcher shop, rawhide chips, milkbones, kong toys, and training treats are what we feed our dogs.

*Are their treats we should avoid? Yes. I do not offer "stuffies" to our dogs. They like to de-stuff them and that can be an obstruction hazard. Rawhide bones with the knots on the end can also be chewed down to a nub and swallowed causing a blockage. No treats made in China. They are poisonous. The really hard nylabones can also be chewed down to the nubs and swallowed and I would not recommend them.

*When should we spay our neuter our puppy? Between 12 months and 18 months would be best. Females can develop incontinence if done too early and males will not grow to full potential if their testosterone development is cut off. There is also research indicating early cancer developments in dogs that have gotten pediatric alterations. Females may have to go through 1 heat cycle prior to being fixed.

*Are the puppies health tested? No, only our adults. The puppies will get an exam when they go for cropping, but we do not do "health testing" on the puppies.I am worried about Vwd or Von Willebrands. Should I be? Please see our Jambolou Files and Forms pages. It has many articles that you can read on health problems related to the Doberman breed. Dobermans have the mildest form of the disease and in most cases, should not be a worry to our customers.

*Can we come visit the adults? Certainly, as long as I am available. We make appointments for visits to ensure that someone will be here. Dropping in is not recommended as we may not be home. Scheduling guarantees that we can introduce you to our family of dobermans.

*Are we able to visit the puppies? Visitations are by appointment only.

*Do you have any adults for sale? Sometimes we have a retired female that we can place into a family home. But it isnt very often.

*Why are dobermans so expensive? Well, our prices include ear cropping, tails being docked, dew claw procedure, immunizations, wormings, etc. If you call around, you will see many vets will not crop ears and if they do... the prices range from $350 to $850 PER PUPPY! Yes, you are reading that right. That's almost the cost of the puppy itself. We get a litter price from our vets, so we can save a few $$ and pass it on to you. There is a long list of things that contribute to the price of a quality bred dog.

*How many litters do you have in a year? We are small hobby breeders and do not pump out puppies like some of the large commercial breeding kennels or Amish puppy mills that you read about. Usually, we breed 2 litters, but there are times when we do breed 3 or 4 depending on the available females we have and customer demand. We will never overbreed one of our females. Period.

*We bought a puppy from you and returned it. Can we get another in the future? NO! Plain and simple. Our puppies are not disposable and deserve a good FOREVER home.

*We paid a deposit on a puppy, but had to back out and forfeit our deposit/payments. Can we get a puppy in the future from you? NO! My philosophy is you should have considered the future for you and your new pet long before you placed a deposit or reserved one.

•      What happens if I can no longer keep the puppy we purchased? The dog MUST be returned to me. No exceptions. It cannot be re-sold to someone else and you will not receive a refund on your purchase. I, as the breeder, have ultimate legal rights to the dog since we bred the litter. Any dogs re-homed WILL be seized and any legal action taken. We do not want our customers to be be embarrassed to return a dog. Life happens, however, I have made a commitment to the lives I brought into the world. The dog must be returned to me. Period.