Ailea's Place What's Available?

~ What's Available? ~

Ailea is no longer actively breeding shelties, although I do co-breed a litter here and there, every now and again. I am not regularly breeding, however, and do not often have anything of my own to place. As I have always been, I do remain a First Class Advocate for this most loving and beloved of breeds, and there is little to nothing I would not do, if I were able, to help someone in their quest for their most PERFECT sheltie or anywise.

Ailea has nothing to place at this time, and although there is yet at least one more litter for Ailea, at some point in the future, it is not known when or where that litter might be bred. For the time being, we are resting quietly with Mama Onyx at our feet, and dreaming of the "old days" filled with puppies.

All Ailea shelties are placed in approved homes only, under spay/neuter contract and with limited registration. Ailea provides general and genetic health as well as temperament guarantees on all shelties placed. Contact Amy by e-mail, or call 919-548-1044 for more information.

Information on how and when Ailea makes decisions about puppy placements can be found here. Included are common questions you might ask of me such as, Why can't you pick your own puppy?; Puppies are disposable?; How does Ailea decide where to place puppies?; How old are puppies when you place them?; and Will we be required to use a crate when we take our puppy home?

If you are seeking to add a new member to your family now, please do feel free to contact Amy to see if perhaps I can help in your search for the perfect sheltie for you. In addition to my willingness to help in any way I can, there are some excellent contacts and information below, including locating available sheltie puppies and adults in the greater Raleigh area (and perhaps even outside the greater Raleigh area).

There's a great deal of important information below, which may well be beneficial to you as you consider adding a new family member to your home whether you use me or my information to aid your search or not. Please feel free to read on, as my goal is nothing but to help you in your search.

Question: How Does Ailea Decide and Place Available Shelties?

Why can't I pick my own puppy out of the litter?

Not just any puppy will do well in just any home. The same as your personality and energy levels - even the ebb and flow of your energy levels - differs from every other person on the planet, so do the puppy personalities differ. If you are an active home, engaging in regular long walks or jogs around the neighborhood, or hiking or biking, or are hoping to acquire the next Agility or Flyball or Frisbee champion, the puppy that wants to snuggle in your lap and spend his day quietly keeping you company is not likely going to possess the energy and/or drive required to keep up with your very active lifestyle, or to be a successful competitor in the more fast-moving competition venues.

And of course, if you are a quiet home, spending hours in your easy chair knitting or working crossword puzzles, or reading or watching television, the puppy that dances and bounces and barks at you in constant invitation to high-energy play is very quickly going to become an irritant which you may soon find yourself regretting.

As breeder of these wonderful dogs I cannot, in clear conscience, simply allow just any dog to go home with just any new owner. It is my duty to find the best home for the right dog, and the best dog for the right home. This means I may not have an appropriate sheltie for you. This means I may well sell you someone else's sheltie, choosing to leave my puppy as-yet unplaced. I would much rather sell you someone else's puppy than make a bad decision about a placement which we all may soon grow to regret.

Difficult this may be to understand, but my responsibility is to the sheltie, first and foremost. Dogs do not have a voice to speak for themselves, and so I am charged with, and it is my duty, to do my very best to place each one of these wonderful souls as appropriately as is humanly possible for me to do, in the very best-matched homes I can possibly find. It is in doing this correctly, the homes turn into true "forever" homes for the shelties. Today's is a disposable society, and it is too easy for someone to buy a puppy, take it home, grow tired of it, abandon it or leave it at the shelter and then go shopping again for another puppy, so the sad cycle continues.

Wait a minute - Disposable? A disposable puppy?

Yes.

I heard a story some time ago, from a friend who raises hunting dogs. German Shorthair Pointers to be exact, one of the other truly beautiful breeds. My friend who told me the story had a neighbor who had a young daughter at the time. For Christmas one year daddy brought home a puppy. So long as the puppy was little and cute and fuzzy and fun to play with, the little girl was happy. As the puppy grew older, the child grew bored and she soon spied another puppy, much younger and cuter and fuzzier and more playful than her Christmas puppy had then grown into, and demanded to be rid of the Christmas puppy so she could have the new puppy. Daddy obliged, carrying off the Christmas puppy, to who-knows-where (the puppy pound? perhaps dropped the puppy far away from home?). This happened again and again, and my friend related this neighbor went through something like four different puppies in the space of no more than 14 or 16 months, accomplishing nothing more than teaching his young daughter that life is easily bought, sold, thrown away and replaced at whim.

How sad can it get? How sad, indeed!

So do you now see the level of my obligation to my shelties?

So how does Ailea decide where to place the shelties?

The decision-making process is rather complicated and convoluted, and for the most part wholly indefinable. Prospective homes are carefully screened as I seek to know as much about the hopeful owner as I can, in order to make the best educated decision.

The first question I must answer for myself is about entrusting the home with a sheltie puppy (or adult dog) in the first place. Some homes are not suited for the sheltie breed, some homes may be in a chaos or turmoil that would be best served by waiting a while before acquiring a new sheltie family member, and some homes are not suited for a puppy or dog at all.

So, in some instances I might suggest a different breed, a different age, of dog whether sheltie or otherwise, and perhaps, on that rare occasion, I might suggest they acquire no dog at all. Sometimes, maybe, I might suggest the home hold off on bringing in a new puppy or dog, waiting a bit, for the confusion and turmoil of the home is more settled and better suited to help socialize and absorb their new family member. There may well be a totally excellent home looking for a new puppy at a time of confusion or chaos that is not the best for settling in a new family member, and in those cases I assure them, a bit of patience will make a world of difference in how the new puppy or dog will be able to adjust to his new home with a new pack of people in an environment entirely different from that which the puppy is accustomed.

It is unfortunate, too, that on that rare occasion I may encourage the prospective home dismiss completely a search for a puppy or dog. This is not an arbitrary decision-making process, and it isn't easy if I must deliver information in the negative, but I must look after the best welfare of the dog, who is unable to speak for himself. Though I recognize a home I turn down may well find their puppy somewhere, I am charged with a responsibility and am bound to do what I can for those I can help, and I do. It is impossible to save them all.

After I decide if the home is suited to something I may have available for placement, I must decide which kind of puppy or adult dog would be best suited for that home, since not all puppies are good for just any home, and not all homes suited for just any puppy.

Each prospective situation is dealt with differently. Though I am who I am, and the things I need to know about you are basically the same, depending on how we interact from the very beginning defines how I proceed. Just as each of you is unique, just as each puppy is unique, each placement, and the manner in which a decision is made, is unique.

I begin by way of introduction, and ask a few questions. I try to make it clear there are no right or wrong answers to my questions because there are not. My questions are to help me begin to know you and to help me begin to figure out what kind of home you are likely going to provide a puppy. Your past pets and accomplishments and your future dreams and goals for your new sheltie help a great deal, as well. And in your answers I want more, more, and more! The more information you give, beyond that which I ask, the better informed and better able to decide I will be. It is in your answers - no matter what those answers are - I begin to form a clearing picture in my mind of just who you are and what kind of home you will provide.

I fully expect to be asked questions by you, as well. Surely you are looking for the best breeder and the best puppy you can find, and will not be satisfied with anyone with a puppy to sell. It is important for you to learn to know me the same as I must learn to know you - at least those parts of ourselves we must necessarily know in order to decide on a decision which carries with it the weight of something as important as a life - even a puppy life! So please, ask away, inquire of anything you wish to know and have not found here among the pages of Ailea's Place, or inquire of anything you find is unclear, or you don't understand. I have nothing to hide, nothing to fear, and plenty to give.

I actually have an entire section devoted to the process surrounding the decision to purchase a sheltie (or any other breed for that matter), which goes into detail the things you can expect to be asked, as well as information you are entitled - and I encourage you - to ask of a breeder - ANY breeder. Placing a dog is a two-way street. It is just as important for you to be comfortable with the breeder, as it is for the breeder to be comfortable with you, the prospective home.

More information about my Buying A Sheltie section also appears, below.

How old are puppies when they are placed?

There are no cut and dried answers to this or any other like questions. The decision about what sort of placement a puppy needs or deserves is not made when they are born, or when they are a few weeks old. In the Shetland Sheepdog breed it is impossible to guess which puppies will be conformation or agility champions, or which will be best served being a loved and loving family pet. The sheltie breeder certainly has guidelines to follow, which is exactly what I do, but these are barely a guide. All I can do is my best.

Unless a puppy shows itself at an early age to be grossly larger or smaller than the guidelines allow (there are sheltie growth rate charts to go by), decisions about placing shelties based on size are not made until the litter reaches ten weeks of age. Rarely do I make a decision to place a particular puppy as a pet before the litter is ten weeks old. In the instance of a puppy growing far larger or smaller than is safe to stay "in size", and in the instance of any puppy possessing any another disqualifying - or nearly so - fault (i.e., the puppy is more than 50% white, or his teeth don't come together the right way), it is possible a placement may be made when the puppy is eight weeks old, but generally, my fast-held rule in placing sheltie puppies is between ten and twelve weeks. Placements are never made earlier than the age of eight weeks.

Though size is judged at ten weeks, it does not mean puppies are available for placement when they are ten weeks old. Please understand any litter bred at Ailea is done so with the intent of creating show-prospect shelties - shelties whose quality warrants showing in the conformation ring and for proven improvement of my own breeding program, as well as that of the Shetland Sheepdog as a breed. It is improvement which is uppermost in my mind when planning and accomplishing breeding - and then, ultimately, placing - any litter.

This in no way means the shelties I place as pets are in any way "bad pets". Quite the contrary, all shelties at Ailea's Place are pets first and foremost, and receive the best of my time, attention and loving care as is humanly possible to give. In most instances it is nigh impossible for the average sheltie-loving pet home to see the difference between the puppies I place as pets and those that are kept as show prospects, so subtle those differences may be. So rest assured - older the puppy may be, but a beautiful and wonderful pet is guaranteed!

Generally, puppies placed as pets go into their new homes with their own unique identity, having been weaned and separated from Mama several weeks before, and having further been separated from littermates in order to facilitate the beginnings of crate training. By the time a litter of puppies is eight or so weeks of age, they no longer look to Mama for attention or care , but they do become very attached to their brothers and sisters and the litter interaction, and it is this separation, I think, that is more harrowing for the puppies - working toward the goal of separating puppies from littermates and placing them as individuals into their own, carefully chosen homes.

As stated, I place my pet puppies between the ages of ten and twelve weeks. Rarely has a puppy been placed prior to reaching ten weeks of age, and some I have held off placing until fourteen weeks or more. Decisions on when a placement is made depends entirely on the puppy's development.

There are those who will argue puppies should be placed into their prospective "forever" home at the exact age of forty-nine days (seven weeks). The reasoning behind this is the puppy has severed ties with its mother by this time, and is independent enough to separate from the litter. The thinking is that beginning at the age of seven weeks the puppy is ready to find his place in his human pack and should therefore be placed into the home where he will live the rest of his days, in order to begin the bonding and training process with his identified "human pack" as soon as possible. The word "bonding" is used heavily in these arguments, with the thinking being, if the puppy is not placed at exactly seven weeks of age he will never be able to properly bond with his new family, or will be unable to bond at all, and/or will be otherwise harmed or socially crippled.

This rule of thumb - placing into the new home at seven weeks of age - may well apply to puppies of some breeds, and it may apply to the occasional sheltie puppy. But it has been my experience over the years the sheltie puppy is much better prepared to enter into the strange, new world he will come to call "home" when he is a bit older.

As the sheltie puppy grows, he goes through several "fear periods" - stages in his early development that are critical as he develops his individuality and self-confidence. Sending a sheltie puppy into a new environment - traumatic at the best of times - can be devastating if done so in the midst of one of these "fear periods". Though these "fear periods" do not arrive at any hard-and-fast time, they do occur at the same general age, so are somewhat predictable and, therefore, placement in the midst of one relatively easy to avoid.

It has been proven, too, that the properly raised, loved, handled, cared-for and socialized puppy during the "critical" age between six and twelve weeks (better yet, from birth), will BOND to his caretaker (in this instance, the breeder - me) and after then will bond just as well and just as tightly to the next home he enters. All that is required is that the puppy bond to human, and his ability to bond should last his entire lifetime. How else, do you think, rescued animals are so successfully re-homed and placed into their adoptive home?

Simple- at the time these were babies they were held and loved and cuddled by human heart and hands, and therefore learned to bond to human. That ability to bond, once learned, becomes a need, and for the rest of his life, the sheltie will seek to bond with someone. If puppy learns to love and bond with one, he will inevitably come to care for and bond with another. And, if necessary, another. And, (heaven forbid) if necessary, another.

Keeping the puppy with me in my home until he is older also affords me the opportunity to start the puppy's vaccinations at the appropriate age for best coverage. While the puppy is nursing he receives natural immunities from his mother, but the age at which those immunities cease to be effective is not yet known. Over the past few years it has been proven that puppies seem to better benefit from beginning the puppy vaccination protocol a bit older than has been done in the past. This means that, by placing my puppies between ten and twelve weeks of age, the puppy has had one vaccination and is ready, as soon as he is placed into the arms of his new human family, to go straight to the veterinarian for his next. This is beneficial in different ways - the puppy takes his next step toward vaccination freedom, and he is taken to meet your veterinarian and is afforded the opportunity of a thorough examination by the doctor, which ensures you the puppy is healthy and ready and able to meet your strange new world (it is strange and new to him, don't forget!). There is nothing bad about that, and you and your puppy are then ready to put your best feet forward into your new life together.

So there are definitely benefits realized by placing a puppy when he is just a bit older. First, he is weaned from his littermates as well as his mother. Then he is very nearly crate trained, which is half the battle of house-training a puppy. And then his vaccinations are well underway within a week following your taking him home. He has certainly been allowed to play with his littermates until he enters your life, but he has also spent time alone so that being alone will not be so lonely and frightening for him. Being around his littermates and even his mother after weaned, also provides the correct responses to his behavior (whether that behavior is good or bad), which is a MUCH more effective way to discipline the puppy at this young age.

***PLEASE TAKE NOTE - BEWARE AND BE AWARE!***
It is illegal in some states to sell a puppy younger than eight weeks of age! You should familiarize yourself with your state's and local community's laws regarding puppy placement age and protocol! These are usually referred to as the "Puppy Lemon Law". Please protect yourself AND your puppy appropriately by understanding these laws where they exist!

Will we be required to use a crate?

Simply put, yes.

Why, you ask?

Contrary to some long-held beliefs, the crate is not a cage. The crate is not punishment. The crate is not jail. You are not locking up your puppy. Simply put, the crate is a training tool that has long proven its invaluable benefits.

The dog species is "canine." Canids are "denning" animals - seeking and resting, eating, "hiding out" if you will, in smaller enclosed spaces known as and called "dens." The crate provides an enclosed space in which your puppy can snuggle and rest, knowing this is HIS place and he is safe while he is there. It should be a quiet, comfy place that affords him a dry, warm den to curl into and rest without fear. Since the dog's nature is to stay clean, they naturally wish to avoid using their sleeping quarters - the crate - as a bathroom. That's part of why it is so great your puppy leaves my house at 12 weeks mostly crate-trained. Not only do they willingly enter the crate, but generally speaking no longer use the crate as a bathroom, which is half the battle of house-training. There are exceptions to every rule, and this one is no exception to that, so not all puppies will so quickly and easily cease using the crate as a toilet. Many of my puppy litters have paper-train themselves when kept in an area that offered them a place to sleep with blankets or fuzzy beds to snuggle into for warmth and play, separated from the newspapers to potty on. So crate-training them is just a natural progression from that point, and the direction is forward from there, which helps life be much easier for all.

There are some excellent resources available to assist you in continuing with crate training once you get your puppy home. A simple "Google" search will turn up literally thousands, but of those a few of the better places to start are included in my Training Links.

Looking for a sheltie?

Please read the letter, "I Am Your Puppy."

Please also read Ailea's Spay/Neuter Page.

Lots of great information to be found by visiting my "Buying A Sheltie" pages. A great deal of information, including do's and don'ts, what to expect a breeder to ask, what you should ask a breeder, etc. - HUGE amount of GREAT information for anyone looking to buy a sheltie, or any other breed, is included in this buying guide.

Please, please, please, always remember- CAVEAT EMPTOR ~ BUYER BEWARE! - There is no substitution for doing your own homework and guaranteeing the breeder you choose is working with you honestly. If something just doesn't feel right, by all means move to the next breeder on your list. Even the BEST of breeders are numerous enough we should be able to hook you up with the right breeder - and the right sheltie - for you!

If you are interested in acquiring a pet sheltie, you may wish to view Ailea's sample pet contract. Make note that each of Ailea's contracts are written around each individual sheltie being placed and each individual home into which the sheltie goes. There is very little in Ailea's sample contract that cannot be tailored to suit individual needs of the sheltie or the home into which that sheltie is placed.

People looking for puppies or adult shelties in the central North Carolina region may either visit the Triangle Shetland Sheepdog Club website's Available page for information on available shelties, or contact the Triangle Shetland Sheepdog Club of NC's, and the local ASSA breeder referral person, Krystn Messer. Krys should have information on most of the sheltie puppies and/or adults that are available from TSSCofNC club members, and more.

Something else for you to consider in your search for a sheltie: Many shelties wind up in Sheltie Rescue through no fault of their own. These rescued shelties need loving homes in which to live out the remainder of their lives. If you think you might be interested in adopting a rescue sheltie, please see my Rescue pages, visit the Triangle Sheltie Rescue site, or contact the National Rescue Director, Dorothy Christiansen, for a sheltie rescue contact in your area.

Regardless of where you live, where you go, regardless of whether your sheltie is a puppy, a retired adult, or a rescue, if there is anything I can do to help you, I hope you will feel free to ask. I am here for the sheltie, and that puts me in the position of doing nothing but helping - helping the sheltie find his perfect home, and helping your home find the perfect sheltie. I offer you my very best luck in your search for that next new family member.

"There is nothing more rewarding on Earth than placing the right sheltie in the right home. Nothing." ~Amy Butcher, Ailea's Place

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Please feel free to e-mail Amy with any questions or comments