HHF Puppy Information
Puppy development
Socialization for our pups begins before birth. We hunt and train with our pregnant dogs so that the litter can hear the sounds and sensations of running through the grass, swimming in water and hearing gunshots and feeling the emotions of Mom while she does these activities. The pups are whelped in our house, usually in our room so that we can be the most observant of the litter at the most vulnerable age. It also allows us to start spending time with each pup, sitting in the whelping box, us and our kids, touching pups all over their bodies, holding and desensitizing the touching of ears, eyes, mouth and feet. With the dogs is the house this also lets the dogs hear the household, dishwashers, washers and dryers, vacuums, TVs, and normal household noises of a family of five. This helps the pups have a more seamless transition to their new homes when they are old enough to go home
Our pups go to their new homes around 10 weeks of age. This is later than most kennels, and we don’t do this because we love cleaning puppy poo. This is done for several reasons, first, medically. We can give our pups 2 rounds of vaccines and at least 3 rounds of de-wormer as well as a veterinary checkup around that 9 weeks of age so that we can send these pups off to their new world and physically healthy as possible. The second and more important is socially. The old standard of the 49th day or 8 weeks is just that old. A pup goes through several “fear” periods and one of these is between 7 and 8 weeks old. So if they are able to go through that stage in their pack it has less of an affect on the pups overall. Waiting the extra 2 weeks also allows us more time to introduce these pups to birds, gunfire and loud noises, water, travel in crates and cars, and having more people contacts. This again allows for a more seamless transition to their new homes and starts a foundation of contacts that will hopefully make training these dogs easier.
How to Pick a Puppy
The best advice we can give about picking a pup is to not pick the pup but to pick the parents. Do your homework, come see the parents, and come see them work the field and how they act around people and in the house. If you can’t see them ask questions, ask for pictures or videos. Look at what titles the parents have been awarded and learn about the venues and organizations they participate in, even if you don’t plan to participate in those events they should give you a good idea how the dog acts in different environments. Once the puppies are on the ground reach out to the breeder and talk about the kind of dog you like, energetic, hard charging, laid back, etc. Do not get hung up on male/female or color. It is OK to have preferences but if you limit yourself based on just those things you may be missing out on a better match. Trust the person that spends the most time with the litter and can work with you to find your pup.
Our puppy price is $1500 for all pups. As of 12/01/22 we will be adding 6.875% sales tax to all dog/puppy sales. What you get is pup that will go home at 10 weeks of age that will have 2 sets of shots, de-wormed, microchiped, and checked by our veterinarian between 8 and 10 weeks of age. The pups will also have exposure to birds, gunfire, and traveling in vehicles and trailers.