Home › Adoption Process
Six unhurried steps, no hard sell, and an honest conversation at every stage. Here is exactly what happens from your first message to your first week at home.
Send us a note about the puppy who caught your eye, or just tell us what you are hoping for. No deposit, no pressure.
We share fresh photos and video, and arrange a live video call so you can see the puppy, the parents and the room they are raised in.
Once you are sure, a 30% deposit reserves your puppy and moves them to our Reserved page. Your written contract is issued here.
Every two weeks until homecoming we send photos and a short update, so you can watch your puppy grow into themselves.
At 8 to 12 weeks, after vet checks and vaccinations, your puppy comes home - collected in person or brought to you by an accompanied pet courier.
We check in a week after homecoming, and answer questions for the rest of your dog’s life. That part never expires.
We keep one or two litters a year, so there is often a wait. We would rather be straight with you about that than pretend otherwise. If nothing suits you right now, tell us what you are looking for and we will contact you before a litter is announced publicly.
We never take deposits on a litter that has not been confirmed by our vet.
Between 8 and 12 weeks, depending on the puppy and on travel. They leave only once fully weaned, eating confidently, vet-checked and started on vaccinations. We never rush a puppy out of the door to meet a date.
A 30% deposit reserves your puppy, with the balance due before homecoming. It is non-refundable, because reserving means turning other families away. If we cancel for a health reason, you get a full refund or another puppy.
Yes. We deliver in person where we can, otherwise we use an accompanied pet courier we have used for years. Your puppy travels in the cabin with a handler, never in cargo, and you get updates the whole way.
A signed contract, full health record with vet-check and vaccination dates, deworming schedule, microchip details, AKC paperwork where applicable, and a one-year health guarantee.
Yes, where the pairing is eligible. Puppies go out on limited registration as companions. Breeding rights are by prior agreement only.
Come back to us at any point in your dog’s life. We will always take back a dog we bred and rehome them ourselves.
Generally yes. They were bred as companion dogs and are sociable, sturdy and tolerant. We raise ours around family life so they arrive already used to it. As with any small dog, we ask that very young children are supervised.
Watch the eyes, keep the coat brushed out, and look after those crowded little teeth. Shih Tzu are a short-muzzled breed, so heat needs care and a harness is kinder than a collar. We talk you through daily care and stay on the end of the phone for life.
Your puppy goes home on the food they are already eating, with enough to last the first few days. We feed a good-quality small-breed puppy food — four small meals a day at eight weeks, reducing to two by six months. If you would like to change brands, do it gradually over a week.
More than most small breeds, and this is the honest part. A full coat needs brushing every single day and a professional groom every six to eight weeks, or it will mat. Many families keep theirs in a shorter puppy clip, which is far easier to live with and looks lovely. Eyes want a daily wipe, and a topknot keeps hair out of them.
They are clever and very food-motivated, which helps enormously, but they can also be stubborn and house-training often takes longer than people expect. Short, consistent, reward-based sessions work best. Ours start crate training and puppy pads before they leave us.
Tell us a little about your home and which puppy caught your eye. We reply personally, usually within a day.
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