ABOUT US…
We are located in Northern
Idaho, about 45 minutes from the Canadian border (the picture to the left is
our home). The closest city you would
be able to find on a map is Sandpoint Idaho (about 8 miles from us). My husband and I run a small imprinting
business out of our home (http://www.impressionsonline.net/). Our daughter, Christine, is currently in her
2nd year at college at George Washington University in Washington
D.C. We moved to Sagle Idaho in June of
’03. I am originally from Southern
California and my husband is from St. Paul, Minnesota. We began breeding Poms about 5 years ago,
but I have owned Poms for over 20 years – they are a very special breed to me.
We do not kennel our dogs, nor are we considered a
“backyard” breeder or puppy mill.
Currently, we have four breeding dogs in our home - our studs, Mojo and
Homie, and our girls Bug-A-Boo and Bubbles.
All of our animals are our pets, first and foremost, and will never be
for sale – they all live inside our home without restrictions. I am somewhat of an animal fanatic so they
are all treated like our kids. We also
have an assortment of cats (6 in total) that were brought to us for rescue from
various sources…they have all been spayed or neutered and now enjoy a pretty
special, safe living environment.
Please note that we reserve the right to refuse the sale of any of our
pups to anyone for any reason we deem appropriate. It is of the utmost concern to us that all of our babies are
placed in loving, appropriate environments.
We own 10 acres of property in a somewhat remote area, and we have
approximately 50 surrounding acres that are uninhabited so our dogs get to
enjoy daily hikes, running through the woods, chasing rabbits and birds,
chasing each other, playing in the snow and water, and whatever else they seem
to feel would be fun to do on any particular day. We like to warn people before they come to visit us that our
animals are very friendly and they need to be prepared to get wet kisses, have
at least one dog in their lap and a few barking at them at first – it’s always
VERY exciting to our pets when we have visitors (and a little overwhelming to
our visitors)! In the winter months,
you cannot reach our home without 4 –wheel drive.
We know that the atmosphere we have provided for our
four legged friends is one that is very healthy and unique. We do not have a sterile room in the back of
our house where we keep the babies, nor do we keep them in cages or separate
them from our other pets. For the short
period of time the pups are with us (8 weeks, minimum) they are free to roam
our home. The first four weeks they
stay in our bedroom where they nurse, sleep and begin to explore the smaller
area. After that, they’re all over the
place! This opportunity allows them to
interact with our cats, learn how to use a doggy door, explore, climb, and
become socialized with people and our other dogs. Our puppies are by far, some of the best socialized, well
adjusted puppies out there.
The primary difference that we see between some
“professional” breeders and ourselves is simple – our pups are treated like
“ours” and they are not contained in a certain area or secluded from the rest
of the world. Many breeders would
disagree with our approach, but we have found that our pups leave us happy,
healthy and prepared for their new environment. All of our pups are cat friendly by the time they go to their new
homes. At three weeks of age, they are
taken with their mommy to the vet for a check-up. At six weeks we take them back for their first set of shots and a
thorough exam. Their 2nd
shots are due at 9 weeks and we recommend that the new owner take them to
“their” vet for this set of vaccines.
This allows the new owner to introduce the pup to their new doctor and
allows the vet to become acquainted with the dog at a very early age. The complete recommended vaccination
schedule is listed on our home page under “vaccinations.”
In 2001, we rescued a male pom (Ozzie) from a
backyard breeder who was keeping him in conditions not suitable for anyone or
anything. We ended up paying a good
deal of money for him, even though he wasn’t show or breeding quality, just to
get him out of that place. He was
covered with ticks and extremely scared of everyone. He now thinks he’s the king of the world. We also kept one of Voodoo’s pups from her
first litter, as he was a “water baby” and stopped breathing at 3 weeks of age,
luckily we were able to resuscitate him and, once we determined he was going to
make it, we couldn’t let him go, so he too lives with us (also neutered). Ozzie is a poor example of the AKC standard
– he weighs about ten pounds and looks more like a sheltie than a pom. Oompa is the water baby and he has survived
an attack by a wild bear among other things (no kidding). Oompa also suffered some brain damage from
going without oxygen when he died at 3 weeks, so he’s our special boy with a
few “issues.” We added two more to our
mix in 2003 – Bubbles and Jack’s Little Man, and Homie in 2004. Bubbles and Homie are both excellent
examples of the breed standard and have just recently had their first
baby. Jack’s Little Man is my husband’s
baby and is a beloved pet who will be neutered very shortly. We also have
Voodoo, our retired girl. She gave us
four beautiful litters of puppies before being spayed in 2004 (we don’t allow
our girls to have more than four litters total (one per year), because it’s
very hard on them and their health and happiness is our main concern. If you would like to view pictures of all of
our pets, you can see them through Webshots at: http://community.webshots.com/user/idahogirl69
Pomeranians are very special dogs. Everyone has their own idea of what is the
best environment to raise a pet in, and you will no doubt get conflicting
opinions from different sources. We highly recommend that you do your own
research and visit the prospective seller prior to making any purchase
decision. Remember to always ask to see
the parents and keep an eye out for their living quarters. If a seller will not let you see the
parents, or the area in which the puppies are kept, run for the door! I also urge you to please avoid having your
new Pom puppy shipped (we won’t do it).
The stress is just too much for these little ones and I have heard some
truly horrifying stories about what happens to these puppies after being
shipped. They not only can have some
sort term issues (bloody stools, anemia, low blood sugar, etc.), there have
been instances where puppies have died during shipment from utter fear. I have also listed a few other points to
watch out for when searching for your perfect puppy (they’re listed at the
botton of this page). If you are not
set on purchasing a pure-bred puppy, we urge you to check out the different
rescue organizations and the local animal shelters – you can get a great pet
for a small amount of money and have the satisfaction of knowing that you have
rescued an animal in need. We have
several links to rescue sites located on our main page under the “links”
category. We recently added to our
menagerie of pets, by adopting a rottweiler/lab mix from the local shelter
(Boomer) and a Rhodesian Ridgeback/Chow Mix (Dilly) – they’re both very special
dogs and get along great with everyone.
Dilly believes that it is her responsibility solely to make sure all of
the little dogs are accounted for and she would guard them with her life – they
absolutely adore her!
We are always available to answer any questions or
assist you in finding a Pom puppy if we don’t have one that fits your
requirements or needs. We have both vet
references and personal references available upon request and try our best to
stay in contact with our past puppy owners.
If for any reason after purchasing one of our puppies you’re not able to
keep your puppy (illness, financial hardship, etc.) – we will either assist you
in placing the puppy/dog in a new home or we will take the puppy/dog back and
re-home it for you. We keep very
aggressive records tracking any issues that could arise with any of our puppies
so that we can keep new buyers informed if there is anything to look out for. We not only have the health information on
our breeding stock, we keep a lateral file on litter mates so that we can track
their health progress as well. To date,
we have been very fortunate to not have issues of luxating patellars,
collapsing trachea, eye problems, heart problems, thyroid problems or any major
medical issues arise with any of our placed puppies. Our breeding stock (and our pets) are all checked out thoroughly
each year by our vet to insure that they remain in the best possible health
condition.
We thank you for visiting our web site and remain available
to answer any questions you may have.
-
Jack
and Cyndi
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR WHEN RESEARCHING A
BREEDER:
ü Do they ship? If so, please keep looking – the cost to fly
just about anywhere and pick up a puppy is about the same as shipping a puppy.
ü Will they take the puppy
back or help you find a home if something happens and you’re not able to care
for it? If not, keep looking.
ü Do they take the puppies to
a vet for vaccinations and health checks or do they do it themselves? If they don’t use a vet, don’t buy from
them.
ü Do they kennel their
dogs? (this one’s iffy, as some very
good breeders kennel their dogs, I just don’t agree with it).
ü Do they have puppies
available almost all of the time (if so, there’s a very good chance they’re a
puppy mill or backyard breeder or broker)
ü Do they breed multiple
breeds? (if so, they probably aren’t
taking enough time and spending the needed attention on any one breed –beware)
ü Do they offer tea-cups or
pocket size Poms? (if so, they’re not
reputable, there’s no such thing and these itty bitty babies are generally less
healthy and live a shorter period of time – they’re not within the breed
standard and not worth what you would pay for a standard size Pom – standard is
4 to 7 lbs.)
ü If your puppy develops a
congenial health issue, will they replace the puppy or offer a money back
guarantee?
ü Will they allow you to come
to their home/kennel and view their other animals before making a purchase
decision?
ü Will they allow you to
interact with the Sire and Dam of the litter?
ü Did they ask you a lot of
questions about your living environment, family, pets and other information
that is needed to insure that you are an appropriate home for one of their
puppies or did they just want your deposit?
ü Did they provide you with a
list of the health issues associated with the breed?
ü Are they telling you that
you better hurry and put down a deposit because these puppies won’t last? (if they’re rushing you, you don’t want one
of their puppies)
ü Do they have the pedigrees
for the Sire and Dam available for you to view before you purchase the puppy?
ü Do they have the
registration papers for the new puppy available before you pay?
ü Do they have references
available for you to check?
ü
Have
they gone over proper care of teeth, grooming, etc. for your Pom?
ü
Do
they advertise “very rare colors” “a
great Christmas gift” “tea-cups” “pocket-size” lines in their ads – if so, it’s
not a good sign.
ü
Did
they explain both the negatives and positives associated with the breed or just
play up how great Poms are? (all breeds
have some negative aspects)
ü
Do
they insists that you stay in touch with them after you take your new puppy
home to make sure all is well?
ü
Did
they explain to you how important it is not to allow your Pom puppy to
jump off of couches, chairs, etc. during the 1st year (luxating
patellar can happen as a result of this)
ü
Did
they explain that, in general, male Poms make better pets than females? (Males are easier to train, have a little
better temperament and cost a little less)
ü
Do
they require that you spay/neuter your pet quality Pom and offer only limited
registration for pet quality Poms?