What are your prices on German
Shepherd puppies?
- Please *click here* for more
detailed information & explanations of our
puppy prices.
How do you accept payments and
deposits?
- We DO accept (most) money orders, cash,
or Western Union.
- NO, we do NOT accept PayPal, credit
cards, or personal checks.
How does your adoption process
work?
- Please *click here* for a
step-by-step breakdown of how to adopt a Kerstone
German Shepherd puppy.
Are the German Shepherd puppies
AKC registered?
- YES!! All Kerstone German Shepherds are AKC
registered! I would never even consider breeding
a dog without AKC registration. Some of my
breeding stock is also UKC registered, and some
of my white German Shepherds are registered with
AWSA as well. All puppies are litter registered
with the American Kennel Club (AKC), and
individual registration applications will be
provided to the buyer at the time of sale or soon
after.
- And NO, you may not purchase a puppy at a cheaper
price by asking me to withhold the AKC papers,
the same amount of dedication, financial expense,
and hard work goes into each puppy and price does
not depend on that one piece of paper.
Do you ship puppies? How does
that work and what is the cost?
- YES, we do ship our German Shepherd puppies all
over the United States and Canada. At this time,
due to location, my only option for shipping is
usually Kansas City International airport in KC,
MO. This is a 3-hour drive for me both
directions, so your flexibility is appreciated.
- I will need a list of the closest airports to
you, and we will communicate back & forth to
determine an ideal date for the puppy to fly.
- Shipping typically costs around $350 for an
8-week-old puppy depending on which airline is
used. This cost is a TOTAL of airfare, shipping
crate, and veterinary health certificate.
When should I spay or neuter my
German Shepherd puppy?
- If you bought a pet puppy with limited AKC
registration, my contract requires you to have
your Kerstone puppy spayed/neutered between 8-12
months old. I feel this is a reasonable age for a
responsible pet owner to have it done.
- Kerstone does NOT encourage the "early"
spay/neuter of pets, as it can do MORE HARM THAN
GOOD in the longrun on your pet's health!!! Do
NOT listen to the propaganda and vet scare
tactics pushing you to spay/neuter early! I go to
great lengths to make sure my pups are placed
only in responsible, caring homes and I do
believe that as long as you are a RESPONSIBLE pet
owner (not allowing your pet to roam freely), and
you are capable of preventing them from breeding,
there is no real rush into having your pet
"fixed".
- Although I don't feel rushing is necessary, I DO
feel spay/neuter IS a part of responsible pet
ownership, so anyone buying a "pet" pup
from me is REQUIRED to have it spayed/neutered by
12 months old... Even if you bought a
"show" potential puppy, I still
encourage having it altered if you have no plans
to invest a great deal of time, research, and
money into a reputable breeding program yourself.
How big can I expect my
Kerstone puppy to get as an adult?
- Kerstone German Shepherds are bred to be of
CORRECT size, as called for in the written breed
standard. This means you can expect your male
puppy to be 24-27 inches tall at the top of the
shoulder, and about 75-95 pounds at maturity. And
a female will grow to be 22-25 inches at the top
of her shoulder, and weigh 55-80 pounds at
maturity.
What shots and de-wormings has
my puppy had before I get him/her?
- Breeding is an always changing and ALWAYS
learning process. We breeders continue to gain
new experiences and new lessons with each litter.
My vaccination and de-worming scheduled has
changed a lot over the past year or so, as I
learn new things from trial & error and get
advice from vets & well established long-time
breeder friends.
- All puppies will come with a detailed health
record when they leave to their new homes!
- Currently, I give some puppies a parvo-only
vaccine (NeoPar) at 6-weeks-old.
All puppies recieve a 5-way combination vaccine
(Nobivac) at about 8-weeks-old.
- De-worming may vary from litter to litter, but
typically they are de-wormed with pyrantel
pamoate at 2, 4, and 6 weeks old. Sometimes
I also give a dose of piperazine (for
roundworms) and praziquantel
(tapeworms). Then they recieve 5-7 consecutive
days of Panacur and Albon, before leaving at
8-weeks-old.
- In nearly all cases, de-wormings are done
"just in case"... As a preventative
measure to make sure everything is covered, and
to try my hardest to be sure all pups are healthy
before they leave. Due to my location (Kansas),
nearly every parasite is possible to pick up
here, so I do try to use an aggressive schedule
to stay ahead of any potential problems.
- All pups have a full physical vet check-up
(including heart check) at 7-weeks-old before
leaving.
- Kerstone recommends setting up a check-up with
your own vet within the first few days home, and
discuss with them the dates of future
vaccinations (at 12 and 16 weeks old), and also
getting STARTED on heartworm and flea/tick
preventions.
How will I choose my German
Shepherd puppy?
- As the breeder, Kerstone Shepherds, reserves the
right on final say of which puppy goes to which
home. But I do prefer we work together with lots
of communication, so that I know exactly what you
are looking for (personality, future plans,
color, sex, coat type, etc.) and I will help
guide you towards the right puppy to fit into
your home and you can let me know which pups
stand out to you.
- Puppy choice order goes in order of the dates
that deposits were recieved. Earlier deposits get
first choices, but we do NOT allow folks to
bounce (change their mind) from litter to litter
multiple times.
- Final puppy choices are made around 6 or 7 weeks
old, NO SOONER.
What guarantees do you give on
your puppies?
- Please *click here* to see our
current contract & guarantees.
What colors of German Shepherd
puppies do you have?
- Nearly all colors are available through Kerstone
German Shepherds, although some specific
colors/patterns may be available only up to once
per year.
- With the genes carried by our breeding dogs,
colors such as black & tan, traditional red
or tan sable, solid blacks, bi-colors, whites,
all patterns of blue, all patterns of liver,
black & silver, silver sables, cream sables,
ay fawns, and Panda Shepherds may be available.
Do you ever have long-coated or
long haired German Shepherd puppies?
- Yes, we do occasionally have long-coat puppies!
And we hope to work more exclusively towards
almost ALL long haired German Shepherds in the
future!!
What should I buy for my puppy
before it comes home?
..............More questions & info to come in the
future!!!!!.........................
|