Not everyone has the privilege of being a stay-at-home doggie parent. Unfortunately, puppies do need a lot of attention to ensure they are properly trained and socialized. That is why, at Petopia, we will be there for your puppy when you can't. Puppies between the ages of 8-16 weeks can join in the fun at Petopia's puppy daycare program as long as they have their first set of vaccinations and a negative fecal exam.

Puppies go home when they are ready. In the state of Illinois, a puppy cannot be legally sold until he/she is eight weeks old. We do not let our puppies go any earlier than ten weeks of age. Each puppy is treated as an individual and can go home once they are eating well on their own and have passed their final veterinarian exam.

Doggy Haven Resort reserves the right to refuse boarding to any pet for any reason and at any time. Due to the nature of our business, our insurance coverage, and to ensure the safety of the other boarding dogs and our resort companions, ONLY SOCIALIZED DOGS are allowed to board at Doggy Haven Resort. In addition, our insurance carrier prohibits us from accepting the following purebred breeds: Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Akitas, Rottweilers, Chow Chows and Bull Mastiffs.

Most of our puppies are ready to go at 9 to 10 weeks. We have found that this is an ideal age to begin the socialization and bonding process and allows us to focus on primary socialization here during the critical first 9 weeks. During primary socialization, our puppies are exposed to gentle adult dogs, cats, horses, agility obstacles, noises, various environments, car rides, vet offices, children and unfamiliar visitors.

Dogs over the age of 6 months must be spayed or neutered, with a few exceptions. Unlike some kennels, we do not have any age restrictions -- elderly dogs like to play too, and we are careful to put them with other dogs who play quietly. If your dog has serious aggression issues, we will refer you to Margaret Johnson, The Humaner Trainer.

We do not know of any Airlines that will accept puppies for shipment prior to the age of 8 weeks. We also will not ship a puppy that we feel is not mature enough or stable enough to handle the trauma of a shipment. We will either delay shipment or deny placement of that pup with that person unless they come and pick it up. Also, some puppies are just too small for to be shipped in the cargo hold, and we will require the new owner to come and pick it up.

Yes. I take puppies on field trips and if we encounter other nice puppies, we meet and greet each other. I also take puppies to Puppy Manners group classes (when there is room) where they run and romp with other puppies of similar age during the free play time.

On occasion we accept puppies or adult dogs from breeders. This is usually done a donation basis. Acceptance of any outside stock into our program is reviewed based on pedigree, temperament, and joint and eye clearances. Any adult dog accepted into our program must pass all physical and temperamental tests required by Guide Dogs of America. Please refer to donating a dog for more information.

The training your puppy receives in its first 8 weeks can last a lifetime. Thus socialization is not taken lightly at Sunshine Acres. Following is a general schedule each litter follows while here: weeks -- The puppies are maternally socialized. This simply means they are cared for and taught by their mother. Human contact is limited to healthcare. weeks -- The puppies are imprinted to human contact with petting and light play as well as continued training from their mother.

We do not take deposits for puppies at any time prior to the puppies being born. After the puppies are born we have a better idea of how many puppies will be available. We may take deposits any time after the puppies are born and up until they are 8 weeks old. We do not take deposits for more puppies that we plan to sell. Deposits are in the amount of half the total purchase price with the remaining half due at pick up. Deposits are NON-REFUNDABLE.

No, we will NOT ship puppies. We require all puppy buyers to pick up their puppy in person. We strongly recommend against shipping any puppies and/or adults for many reasons.

All puppies/litters from Woodcrest are raised in our home where they get near constant attention from both us and their Airedale Mother. Every litter is different and we adjust our methods to the needs of the litter and individual puppies. We keep the puppies and their living areas as clean as possible; their Mother helps with this too.

Yes, we have daycare available to families that have child care assistance. You can obtain the application for this program from Washington County Department of Social Services. It is available to all working families meeting financial eligibility guidelines.

I let them go at 8 weeks old only because 99% of people want them as young and as tiny as possible. I used to sell them at 10 weeks old, but found out that was really bad for business. Now, I let them go at 8 weeks old, but only after I warn people that if you expect to go to work all day long come home and throw food at your puppy, and then go out to dinner, do not expect a healthy puppy when you return home, and have your credit card ready for vet bills.

We get our puppies from breeders all across the United States. Some of the breeders we have been working with for up to 20 years. For our clients protection we require a one year warranty against problems associated with bad breeding and we pass the warranty along to our clients. Without this warranty we do not buy from the breeder. Much attention is brought to Pet Stores that sell puppies in that they are easily associated with "Puppy Mills". All our breeders must hold a U.S.D.A.

Usually not. Most dogs are at least 3 years old. But we do sometimes get dogs as young as 1 year. The only time we received puppies was after the raid on the Bergman Puppy Mill.