Retired Adults
One of the hardest parts of breeding responsibly is choosing to place a retired dog. So why do we place our beloved dogs? At a certain point, how much attention can a person to give multiple dogs? As I have either brought this dog into the world or raised them from a puppy, I truly want the best for these dogs, even if that means a life away from the home they grew up in. For a breeding program to continue for decades breeders must keep puppies from their breeding. That means I only have enough of me to go around. Simple math tells you that your program can grow to large numbers of dogs in your home rather quickly if your breed is long lived such as the Shih Tzu. In home, my dogs live as pets. Yes they have crates for sleeping, but they play in our living room, play fetch, have a yard outside to play in and are in general a part of our life. I am honored to bring them in to the world and raise them with my own hands and I love them from day one. I would not dare breed unless I had a passion FOR my breed, because this ultimate decision to seek a new home for my retired adults takes a piece of me every single time.
Every. Single. Time.
Occasionally, we will have an adult dog who is retiring from our breeding program.
Breeding dogs can be one of the most rewarding experiences a dog owner or breeder can have. However, breeding comes with a lot of complications and potential health hazards for the female dogs involved. As a result, you need to know when to stop breeding especially female dogs. There are a variety of opinions and standards as to when dogs should be retired from breeding. Many kennel clubs require a dog to be 8 years or younger to register litters. Many vets suggest that dogs of normal health should be retired from breeding around 8 years old. Our standards here tend to be one of the strictest standards in retiring a dog from breeding which for us is 4-5 years of age. We feel at this young age, our retiring dogs have matured enough to become great pets especially to older ones who might not have the energy required to raise a puppy but the dogs are also young enough to give a family lots of play and that they also will have a full life ahead of them, The average life expectancy of a Shih Tzu is 16 years.
What is required to adopt a retired dog?
They are not being given away for free, they do not need to be rescued, they are still loved. Be willing to sign a contract and we do screen potential homes. We require a contract to require the retired adult to be returned to us if you cannot keep the dog. We do ask for a rehoming fee. Our retired dogs often come with champion lines and we have lots invested in them. While we do not ever expect to get back everything we have invested, they are not free.
We are lucky to find excellent homes who become like family to us, but that does not make it easier to do. We thank those who have opened their homes to one of our beloved retired dogs and thank those of you who support us breeders by doing so, because this allows us to continue to contribute to their breed’s preservation by being able to continue to breed.
