Can I come visit your dogs and puppies?

Due to the safety of our family and our dogs, and since we raise our dogs in our private home, we are no longer allowing anyone to visit our home for puppy meet-in-greets or puppy pick-up's. We have had to remove these public events from our program. There will be absolutely no exceptions at all. If meeting your puppy in person is important to you prior to committing to a puppy, then I am not the right breeder for you. We apologize for how inconvenient this may be for you, but MY FAMILY AND MY DOGS ARE MY PRIORITY and it is my job to protect them. We will plan to meet you in a public location for the time of puppy pick up. 

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Since you don't allow home visits, how will I see my puppy? 

We update photos every two weeks, sometimes sooner. This is not set in stone and up to my schedule. We do videos often and post to our YouTube channel. You will never be left out of the loop on how your puppy is progressing. Check in emails are always welcome. I am ALWAYS here to answer all of your questions during and after the adoption process. I also have an extended family group available on Facebook for clients only for our families to stay connected and post photos, ask questions, share advice, etc. This is a great resource we have available to our clients. I post a lot of information in this group. Once you become an established client with us, we would be happy to add you to our private group. 

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Can I pick out my puppy when his/her personality has developed?

Yes you can, but we will not hold any puppies for you while you wait to see the personality characteristics on specific puppies. Occasionally we will have pups that do not get chosen right away and they will have time to grow and mature. These pups would be the ones you would want to watch. This only happens occasionally and not in every litter. We sell puppies all over the United States and we sell our puppies out of photographs and videos that we post here on the website. We have both local and out of state customers. To help everyone to get the puppy they are wanting, we ask that you choose the puppy out of photos and videos that we will provide. We receive too many applications from customers that know what they want from pictures only. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, but this is how our program is operated. We can attest to buying many puppies out of photographs only and out of state. Most of our dogs are purchased sight unseen and then shipped to us for our program. We love them all and are completely satisfied. 

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How much do your puppies cost? 

Our puppies are $1800.00-$6500.00. Our itty bitty puppies are priced higher due to the amount of additional work that they require. We do not strive to make tinies. They happen occasionally in our litters, also known as a runt. 

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Do you offer discounts, payment plans, etc.?

Yes we do. We offer former customer discounts and multiple puppy discounts as well, as a thank you for your business! Keep in mind that we do not combine all of these discounts together. As far as payment plans go, they are set up on a case by case basis with clearly spelled out terms. Our Payment plan details can be found on our Payment Plans page. You can also apply for PayPal credit and make payments to PayPal at your convenience each month if the total price of the puppy seems high or overwhelming in one large payment. We also offer our Hero's Discount for any military personal, for active and veterans, emergency paramedics, Police officers, and fire fighters. Our discounts are not available on puppies that are already reduced in price. We also offer a senior discount to applicants age 55 or older with proper proof submitted. (Not valid on our Merle marked puppies or puppies already reduced in price and stated) 

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What can you tell me about "litter mate syndrome" or adopting puppies closely together in age? 

I do believe that litter mate syndrome is a real issue for most dog breeds, but I truly do not believe that it is an issue in a breed that loves the company of their own breed. Chihuahuas do great in pairs or small groups. In all of the years I've been breeding, I've had numerous families adopt 2 at once and have been incredibly happy with their choice. I've had families adopt one and come back about 6 months later, ready for their 2nd one. Either way is great, but I do recommend having a companion for your companion. 

 

Do you ship your puppies? And how much will that cost? 

We use a  pet nanny service to ship your puppy in the U.S. Their starting prices to ship anywhere in the U.S is $500-750.00. They require a deposit to be placed via PayPal Venmo or off their website and then the remaining balance of their fee to be paid in cash upon delivery of your puppy. They can take more than one puppy for an additional charge. We only allow puppies going to the same puppy family to bundle on shipping rates, otherwise you may not share shipping with a separate puppy family.  Pet nanny's fly on stand by to keep their cost down. 

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What days can we fly in to pick up our puppy? Or what days can we meet you in Salem? 

We meet with our clients Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. We are occasionally available on a Friday, but contingent on our schedule. We do not meet our clients on the weekends due to our demanding work schedule. You can fly in Tuesday-Thursday to PDX (Portland, Oregon) or you can have a pet nanny deliver to you. We also only ship our puppies Tuesday through Friday. Please double check our availability before you book any flights. 

 

How does airline shipment for a puppy work?

If using a Pet nanny, you will be required to pay a small deposit to the pet nanny service and then the rest of the payment for the pet nanny who does the delivery, will be due at the time of delivery in the form of cash. You will be kept updated about the puppy from the time he/she leaves my care and in the middle of the trip with photos text messaged to you to help ease your worry and anticipation. Pet nanny's fly on stand by which means their flights can change multiple times. You must have a very flexible schedule with this option. They are delivered curbside to your closest airport. Average cost of a Pet nanny is $500.00-650.00. 

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Another option, one of us can bring you the puppy. You will have the date and time ahead of time and you can rest assured that the only thing in the way of the delivery is the weather. An SFC family member or affiliate will deliver your puppy to you with a purchased round trip ticket and deliver to you inside of your closest airport. Average cost for an SFC pet nanny is $1500.00. Please note that SFC pet nanny's are not available year round and are only available to fly into larger major airports. 

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Do your puppies come with breeding rights? 

Whether or not we will offer a puppy with breeding rights all depends on if the puppy is considered breeding quality, and if we feel as though the potential owner is a responsible breeder and has the right intentions in mind for our pups. We do charge an additional fee for "Full AKC" (permission to breed your dog at your discretion). Prices vary from puppy to puppy. Otherwise, all puppies are sold as a pet companion only and generally will come with registration papers after proof of spay or neuter has been submitted to us. We will offer limited registration on all litters. Always feel free to discuss it with us if you're interested in purchasing a dog with breeding rights! 

 

Do you offer any guarantees?

Yes. Your puppy comes with a Wellness exam report that ensures that the puppy is in a healthy condition while it is present at Salem's Finest. The exam verifies that the puppy is free and clear of any genetic disorders. Once the puppy is in your possession, you are responsible to take your puppy to a vet that specializes in small breeds and have your puppy examined within 72 hours or within 3 business days. If your vet concludes that the dog has a genetic medical defect, you must provide the vet's paperwork within 48 hours of the visit to Salem's Finest. If the issue is considered conclusively genetic, we will offer a replacement puppy of similar value out of our next available litter. If for any reason your puppy does have a genetic defect that was missed in the initial wellness exam, and you would like to have the puppy replaced with a new puppy from a different litter, the original puppy will need to be returned to us. We only offer refunds if the puppy becomes gravely ill or dies while in our care. Or we can transfer the funds that were paid for said puppy, to an upcoming puppy in future litters. Our puppies are not all priced the same, so prices will vary from litter to litter. You are responsible for transporting the puppy back to SFC if you need to return it for any reason. 

 

Do you have a contract, and does it have to be signed?

Yes, and yes. Upon expressing interest in one of our puppies, you will be prompted to sign a  virtual contract that discusses that you have read and understand our deposit policy, our refund clause and our spay/neuter contract.

 

What is included with my new puppy? 

All of our breeding dogs are genetically health tested to ensure the health of our puppies in upcoming litters. This means we are committed to the health of your puppy prior to the conception of the litter! Most puppies will have the dewclaws removed shortly after birth. This does vary from litter to litter, as well as not all puppies in an entire litter. We cannot guarantee that if your puppy's declaws were removed, that they will not redevelop at a later date. All puppies are given parasite prevention (dewormer) at 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 weeks. All puppies will receive their first set of shots at the very least, possibly two sets depending on the circumstances. Shots include being covered for the beginning of Parainfluenza, adenovirus type 1 & type 2, canine distemper and parvovirus. We do also administer oral Bordetella to prevent against kennel cough. All puppies are microchipped before leaving our care and registered in our name and you will be responsible to add your name to the registration of the microchip. Each puppy is also raised under the puppy culture curriculum to provide the best foundation for a healthy and well rounded pup. Each puppy will receive a container of puppy food that your puppy has been introduced to. We recommend that you either purchase the same brand or mix in the amount we provided to you in with the dog food brand that you have decided on. Our biggest recommendation on choosing dog food is to avoid "grain free" dog food. Your puppy will also come with a wellness exam report that is from our vet that ensures that the puppy is healthy and clear of any genetic defects. This certificate is issued for the puppy around 7-9 weeks old. We provide a puppy shot record that you can take to your vet to show the dates of when the vaccinations were provided to your puppy. Each puppy comes with one month of free pet health insurance.  We also offer lifetime breeder support. You can always call or email (or Facebook) us to ask about anything dog related. (Our tiny babies who require additional care at SFC over and beyond the typical 10-12 weeks of puppy rearing, do not get a microchip implanted due to their fragility. Please let me know if you have any questions about this.)

 

Do you work on any training with the puppies before they leave? 

Absolutely. We start with introducing a variety of different noises and experiences with the puppies. We also work on potty training with the introduction of potty-pads or pee-pads. We also incorporate crate training into our puppy school curriculum as well. It is our goal to make the puppy's transition from our home to your home as easy as possible. 

 

Can you recommend some other reputable breeders? 

Definitely! We want you to have the right puppy for your family. If we don't have that puppy, we are happy to refer you to someone that might. We are happy to recommend some specific breeders. We aren't offended at all, and we actually prefer if you ask for references so we can steer you towards breeders that do honest business and produce quality dogs. We want you to have a positive Chihuahua experience. 

 

Do you have references?

Yes we do! We have numerous references from our puppy buyers, to start. We can also offer breeder references from reputable breeders that know us and our dogs. We have reviews both on this website and on our Facebook page. 

 

Can we give our dog back if things do not work out?

Yes, please do! We encourage our buyers to give us back our dogs so that we can re-home them with our strategic screening policy. We do not want to see any of our beloved puppies at any age end up in a shelter. Please contact us at any time to arrange for a surrender option. Please note that Salem's Finest does not buy the dogs back. We only offer a safe haven for our bloodlines and in a way will open our home back up as a rescue if need be. We hope that you do not have to surrender your pet, but we understand that sometimes unforeseeable things happen. Please contact us.