I’m alive! Thank you to everyone who sent their well wishes over the past few weeks. My cold is nearly gone and yesterday’s medical procedure is behind me (with positive results) so I move forward into November…hopefully prepared to get life back on track.
I’ve received seven puppy applications. As I’ve mentioned in my response to each of the applicants, I don’t usually keep a waiting list, preferring to accept applications once a litter is bred or after it has arrived but, in the current economic climate, I will do things a little differently as I prepare for 2023. Breeding a litter is a big investment…up front and for the next fifteen years, committing to the life of each puppy brought into the world. I want to ensure that I am prepared to meet that commitment and that I have good homes for each of the puppies that I bring into the world. While I plan to have just one litter at Talbot Hill in 2023 (5 puppies per litter, on average), I will be partnering with others with whom I co-own dogs and with people who will be using my stud dogs. Talbot Hill applicants will be considered for those litters as well.
I get some great questions along with the applications that I receive:
Do you prefer show or performance homes over pet homes?
No. I’m not a puppy mill or a “volume breeder”. I selectively breed one or two litters a year with the goal to improve traits that I am working on within my gene pool. I hope to keep a puppy from each litter that I feel has achieved the goals that I’ve set for that breeding and suitable homes will be chosen for the remaining puppies. If a high quality puppy can find it’s way to a good show or performance home, I may place a puppy in that home…but…the most important thing to me is that each puppy will live a rich, interesting life in a home where it can love and be loved. Show and performance titles don’t change the dog; rankings don’t make the dog better. Titles and rankings are not my goal.
Do you provide vaccination records and advice about spay/neutering?
Puppies come with vaccination and worming records and they are microchipped before going to their new homes. Puppies placed in pet homes are sold with limited AKC registration and a spay/neuter agreement.
Do you recommend puppy kindergarten classes?
Yes!! They are expected!
Do you recommend crate training?
Absolutely!!! My contract specifies that the beagle must always be crated when traveling in a car. There are numerous benefits to crate training for both the beagle and the owner. Crate training begins in my home and is expected to continue in yours.
When can we take our new puppy home?
At this time I have two brood bitches in my home and neither of them is ready for breeding. I anticipate that they will come in season around the end of 2022 or early 2023….but that is entirely up to THEM. If they are bred around the time that I anticipate, puppies will arrive in early spring and will be ready for new homes in late spring/early summer. I will update my website, blog, and Talbot Hill Facebook group as soon as I have news but at this time we are in a wait and see period.
What are you looking for in your applications?
I love this question….but, I’m not going to answer it. Your application is your opportunity to tell me who you are and tell me about the life that your beagle will live. Be open. Be generous.
Talbot Hill Beagles 