Timbreblue puppies are only sold face-to-face. We want to meet our new owners and they should meet us, see where the puppies were raised, and meet the mother. (The father may or may not be on the premises. We usually use ‘outside studs’ belonging to other breeders.)
Changes to the federal Animal Welfare Act regulations that took effect on Nov. 18, 2013 make it Illegal for breeders without a USDA license (requiring a very expensive commercial kennel operation) to ship pets unless they have four or fewer intact females and never do rescue. We comply fully with these regulations and we don’t ship under any circumstances. It is possible to carry a young puppy home with you in a carrier on the plane and we have sold several who flew to their new homes.
We ask for a completed puppy questionnaire from a prospective owner, because knowing something about the family helps us make sure that both the new owner and the puppy will be happy with the arrangement.
So how do we choose owners for our puppies? Honestly, the first consideration is that we have to like you as a person and trust that a you’ll be a good home. But don’t worry. We like most people who like whippets, so that part is seldom a problem!
Our other requirements are flexible because we believe good homes come in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have to have a fenced yard if you have a realistic plan for getting your whippet the exercise he’ll need. (Whippets must always be on a leash or inside a fence!) You don’t have to own your home as long as you are clear on your landlord’s requirements and follow them. We’ll be happy to talk to you about your living arrangements and help you decide whether a whippet would be a good choice for you.
Our only non-negotiable rule is that we don’t place young puppies in homes where no one is home for most of the day. Puppies require a lot of socialization, supervision and training. Some of our owners have worked around this by working at home for awhile, taking the puppy to work, etc. As a rule, though, if you are away more than five or six hours a day, you would be much happier with an older puppy or adult whippet, and we’ll be happy to help you find one.
Timbreblue puppies are raised in our home, thoroughly socialized, and guaranteed for health and temperament. By the time they go to new homes, they have had car rides, met various people and dogs, and been handled and snuggled many times daily since they were born. Puppies are microchipped, current on shots when sold, and go with health records and instructions for general care as well as for future vaccinations and parasite protection. You’ll receive a health guarantee and we are always available to answer questions by email, text or phone.
“Mom” and our other family dogs have a lot to teach a puppy before he’s ready for the demands of a new home. We keep our puppies till they are ten weeks old and may hold them longer if we feel it is best for them.
Owners who are involved in activities with their whippets develop truly amazing relationships. To encourage this, we offer small “rebates” for certain accomplishments: puppy kindergarten class, obedience classes, agility training, a Canine Good Citizen title and other AKC or UKC recognized titles.
We like to stay in touch with the our whippet owners. The ones who contact us regularly with updates and photos are our favorites, but if an annual text is all you want to do, that’s okay too. It’s just important to us to know that these little lives we brought into the world are doing well.
If at any time for any reason, a whippet of our breeding cannot stay in his original family, he is welcome to come home to us regardless of age or condition…no questions asked. And if you return him to us, you will always get a refund of at least part of the purchase price, whether he is three months or 12 years old. Regrdless of the circumstances, we won’t give you a hard time. We never want a Timbreblue whippet to end up in a shelter or passed from one owner to another. They always have a home here.
Let us know as early as possible if you are interested in one of our puppies. We don’t take deposits or require a commitment till the puppies are three weeks old, but we do always have a waiting list for the next litter. If we don’t have a puppy for you, we’re always happy to refer you to other whippet breeders we know and respect.
Meanwhile, explore our site, join the Timbreblue Facebook group, and find out if a whippet is the dog for you!