About our pets
Our primary goal in breeding is to produce show quality dogs. Despite our best efforts, it is impossible for all pups to grow into show dogs. These babies, who may only have a very minimal fault that is not noticeable to most people are placed in pet homes. These faults may be things of this nature: little bit too small, little bit too big, incorrect dentition, undescended testicle, not enough type to be competitive...to name a few. Things that do not affect the dog or it's quality of life that are not noticeable the untrained eye.
What age can puppy come home?
This depend on each breeder. Here at Mythical Poms, we rarely place our babies before the age of 6 months old. This does not mean that we never do, but as a general rule, we find this age to be a good age for new homes.
Why don't we sell our babies at a young age?
For many reasons. Since we breed for ourselves first and foremost, we find it very helpful in learning growing patterns in our lines and those other lines that we incorporate into our breeding program. Many poms do not have their new teeth until the age of 6 months.
Since poms change so much, sometimes the least attractive puppy matures into the best adult and vice versa.
Pomeranians are proned to hypoglycemia (low sugar) when they are younger. Too much excersice, stress, a smaller meal gone un-noticed can cause a pom baby to crash very quickly. This can present itself in many ways from excessive drooling, shaking, seizuring to being unconscious or in a coma...or worse. Rather than to worry about them being left alone and unsupervised for too long, we find it easier to wait until they are a little bit older and until they have grown enough to be out of the "danger zone"
We place all of our pets on non breeding agreements. Unfortunately, many people sign one thing but have other intensions. By placing our fur kids at this age, we can insure that they are spayed or neutered prior to leaving our home.
Another reason why we prefer this age is that over the years, we have found that people have a very difficult time with potty training until closer to 6-8 months. Poms are very small dogs and physically do not have the ability to hold it for very long or have much bladder control until the 6-8 months age. We find that rather than to receive phone calls of frustration with potty training, we get more praises on how quickly the new puppy has learned to go outside. The truth is that the basics are there when the puppy leaves. By the time your puppy comes home, he or she has been used to having a large pen in which one side has bedding and the other has paper. They naturally tend to go to the paper and because they have access to it at all times, they prefer to go on it. By this age, puppy has also been used to going outside, so with a little bit of re-enforcement, learning their new schedule and using the crate as a tool, our pet buyers have found that it only takes a couple weeks to train their dog. By this age, they are much better able to control.
But i want a younger puppy so that i can bond with it
In our experience, we have not found that our pet buyers have taken any longer to bond with their puppy due to being over 6 months of age. In fact, we find that they are normally happier, less frustrated (by this age, not only they have better bladder control, they are usually out of their chewing phase, do not scream all night because they are affraid to be away from their littermates, they are also usually done with biting hard to play and are much less fragile), allowing them to start enjoying their dog. Our buyers have bonded easily and quickly to their new baby.
But I talked to this other breeder and they sell their puppies at 9 weeks of age
Well this is entirely their choice. Each breeder breeds for their own reasons and operates the way they choose. Since we do not primarily breed to produce pets and our goal is not to push puppies out the door, we feel it's necessairy to let them grow to be properly evaluated. There is no rule of thumb, This is the way we do it here at Mythical Poms. This does not mean that we never place a young baby. We absolutely never place anything before the age of 12 weeks. Sometimes we may have a 3-4 month old puppy that is clearly a pet and not too small to leave...but it really is a case by case situation.
I want a female because they make better pets and i dont want to deal with marking or humping
In general, we find that males actually make better pets. We find them to be more loyal and more of "lap dogs". We do not think that females are "bad pets" in any way, but we find that if we are not petting them, they leave, while the boys tend to stay on our lap just to cuddle.
Female dogs hump. People assume that only males hump. This is not true. In "doggy language", humping is a sign of dominance. Babies within a litter can start doing this at 4 weeks of age already. They do this to settle their ranking within the pack. If a dog humps a human or stuffed toys...it is not horny behavior, they are telling you that they "own you" or that toy. A dog would never do this to the pack leader. Many females within our pack do this, maybe even more so than the boys. Many times, once they are no longer within a pack, there is no need for this behavior as there is no longer any competition.
Females also mark their territory. Marking territory is much more common in multi dog families. Especially if the dogs are intact. 2 boys usually get along fine together but if an intact female lives with them (especially during heat cycles) they become competitors. By marking their territory, they are letting the girl know that they have the "best perfume" and to choose him. Likewise, the female will want to let them know that she is there and does not want to go unnoticed, so the female in heat will mark everywhere. Marking is more common also when taking a dog to a new place, with new smells...it's not uncommun that they will mark upon arrival so that their scent is there. Many people "brag" about their dog being so well potty trained, only to have them pee
Why so much? I saw poms for sale in the paper for $400
Well, we do not force anyone to buy their dogs from us. We personally cannot afford to place them for so little as we have more invested into them by the time they leave. In order to keep a breeding program, we have to care for several dogs. We feed premium quality dog food, microchip, register, vaccinate all of our dogs. We also must have dentals done and provide adequate vet care. Because we breed for show quality and to a higher standard, we also often send our females out of breeding, pay high stud fees, shipping expenses and often times, expensive after hours c-sections. Breeding to the standard also means that we do not find the largest female that we can find so that we can produce large litters. We often have litters of only 1 baby born by csections. In order to even out some of these expenses, we simply cannot place our pets for that kind of price. Breeding poms can be very heartbreaking and with so many complications, pom breeders experience a lot of losses.
I can't afford to pay more than $200, but i would make a super good home
While owning a pom does not require being rich, we feel that it does require some stability. Poms are very small dogs and even in the best hands, can get injured. We feel that a pom owner should have enough financial stability to cover the cost of a broken leg, which can run into the $1000 range. It is not the ability to love and care for the dogs on a day to day basis that we doubt, but we put so much into our dogs that we want the best care for them. Most people do not realize some of the things that breeders hear. I once got a phone call from a pet owner informing me that her dog had broken his leg, and that she was having him euthanized because she could not afford to pay for the broken leg. I took the dog back and had the dog taken care of, however, it was then that i learned that taking care of a dog also means being able to provide for it. Of course, a dog that is ill and has a poor prognosis and would require ongoing expensive care is a different story, but we feel that no dog should be euthanized over something such as a broken leg.
I have kids, will you still sell me a pom?
We do not discriminate against families that have kids, however, we take those on a case by case basis. Some small kids have been raised with little dogs and are great with them, some older kids are terrible..some adults are not good with dogs either. We can safely say that we will not sell a tiny dog to a family with kids. We do however have some that are heavier built or a bit larger that we would feel comfortable placing to a home with kids. If kids are rough and too hyper, we feel that a pom is not for them and that it's probably best to look into a different breed or to wait a few more years. Our priority is not to place our dogs in dangerous situations and not in harm's way.
How much for a pet?
Our average pet is priced at $1000. This price can vary depending on quality, championship titles for those who want the novelty of a champion or something super cute and tiny. They can also be slightly less depending on age. Our retirees are considerably less. In addition to the price of our pets, we add a $100 charge for spay/neuter. In general that is considerably less than what the buyer would have to pay at their own vet, and this way everything is done before leaving offering everyone a piece of mind.
