How to join the Belridge Dachshund Family
The first step in adopting a puppy from Belridge Dachshunds is to fill out our application for adoption. You can find the link to this application by clicking the button below, by emailing us, or sending us a message on social media!
This application gives us some of the basic information needed to ensure that your family will be a good fit, and that we have a puppy (or litter on the way) that we feel would fit your family well. Please answer these questions IN DETAIL. One word answers to these questions will likely result in no response to your application.
We breed for our future show and breeding purposes FIRST. Therefore, decisions on which puppies are available will likely not be known until evaluations are made around 8-9 weeks of age. Occasionally we will be able to make placements for select puppies prior to evaluations based on what we are hoping to hold back. Puppies will only be available to those who have filled out our application and have been approved, and will be offered to families on our paid waitlist FIRST. Our puppies stay with us until 9-10 weeks of age. This allows time for our evaluation process, appropriate vaccines, etc. we do NOT send our puppies home at 6-8 weeks of age.
Once we have an approved application, you can be added to our paid waiting list. We require a good faith deposit of $200 to be placed on the paid wait list. This step is for families that are committed to adopting a puppy from Belridge Dachshunds. The good faith deposit is deducted from the retainer fee owed once your puppy is born. Both the good faith deposit and the retainer fee will be deducted from the total adoption fee. Please understand that good faith deposits are for families dedicated to adopting a Belridge family member, as much as we are dedicated to our puppy families for life. If your intent is to continue to shop for a puppy from another breeder, please don't place a good faith deposit. The good faith deposit is NON-refundable.
When puppies are born, we require a NON-refundable retainer fee of $100 to hold a puppy for you. This amount is applied to the adoption fee of your puppy. We allow 2 business days (48 hours) unless prior arrangements have been made to receive your retainer fee. The puppy will be reserved for your family once the retainer fee is received. If you choose not to be placed on the paid waitlist, and we happen to have a puppy available after the paid waitlist has been fulfilled, deposits are $300.
Belridge puppies start at $2500 on a spay/neuter contract with Limited AKC Registration (no breeding rights).
Our Guarantee
We do extensive Health Testing on our parents to ensure we are doing everything in our power to produce the healthiest puppies possible. The Dachshund Club of America recommends specific OFA health testing for our breed, which is what we complete. Some breeders say their breeding stock is health tested, but do not specify what that means to them, and all they are completing is genetic testing. This is not the only thing recommended by the breed club. We provide a 1-year health guarantee. All of our puppies leave us with their first vaccine, fully dewormed, microchipped, and vet checked. New owners are expected to have the puppy examined by a licensed veterinarian within 72 hours of purchase and a copy of the exam must be returned to us. The new owner is expected to continue vaccinations, per the vaccination protocol provided to them, taking care not to over-vaccinate. We strongly advise CORE VACCINES ONLY. Owners should avoid the Leptospirosis vaccine and only give when it's an absolute necessity. If it MUST be given, they should exercise extreme caution, as dachshunds notoriously will react to this vaccine and in some cases those reactions can be deadly. Owners must take care to protect the puppy from dangerous or infectious situations until the puppy has completed its vaccination series. Our dogs are on FROMM Gold kibble; we highly recommend this food. We do not guarantee any puppy raised on a Raw diet or diet other than high quality kibble, and the dog must be kept on a consistent exercise plan for the life of the pet.
Registration
We will register puppies sold as companions with Limited Registration, which means the dog is recognized by the AKC as a purebred, but the dog may not be shown in AKC conformation events. The dog IS eligible to take part in performance events. Puppies sold as companion animals MUST be spayed or neutered at an appropriate age. Registration papers will be mailed to new owners directly from AKC.
Welcome Home Policy
We have a Welcome Home Policy for all of our puppies and retired companions, which means if at any time during the life of the animal, the buyer finds they can no longer care for the pet or that the pet is no longer suitable for them, they agree (and will sign a contract stating such) not to sell, rehome, or abandon this animal to a shelter, rescue, or individual. They agree to return the animal to Belridge Dachshunds. We do this to ensure that our babies do not ever end up in a shelter.
Payments
We accept Venmo, Money Orders, or Cash for your good faith deposit and retainer fee. Final payments are due in CASH ONLY, Venmo will be accepted, however, the buyer is responsible for transfer fees.
What your puppy will come home with
Each puppy will go home with their own blanket that has been in with mom and siblings and carries their scent. This helps ease the transition to a new home. I ask that you try not to wash their blanket for the first week, if possible!
Each puppy also goes home with a goody bag, which includes their folder containing their paperwork, vaccine and deworming info, prepaid microchip registration info and a report from our vet. Their goody bag also includes a few toys, treats, and a small bag of food- we feed FROMM Gold puppy kibble.
You also receive lifetime support from your breeder! When you adopt a puppy from Belridge, you become a part of our Belridge family. You can be added to our families only Facebook group, where other families share updates on their babies for years to come. You get the opportunity to watch your puppy's littermates grow up! We LOVE pictures and updates, and never mind questions!
We also have put together a Shopping List for you to look over!
Pick Up
Once your puppy is old enough to join your family, we will coordinate a meeting spot for you to pick your puppy. We do not allow home pick up for safety reasons, however, we are always happy to facetime upon request! We want you to see where your puppy is growing up! We do not EVER ship our puppies in cargo, or send them with transport services. We want to ensure their safety very step of the way. We are happy to accommodate flight plans, for you to fly to us to pick your puppy up. We will be happy to meet you at any of the 3 airports nearby to us. These include Piedmont Triad International (Greensboro), Charlotte Douglas International (Charlotte), or Raleigh-Durham International (Raleigh). If your preference is to fly, please discuss this with us in detail ahead of time, as there is extra planning involved in this.
If you have questions about upcoming litters, or about joining the waitlist, please DM me on social media, or you may email me at Belridgedachshunds@gmail.com. We enjoy getting to know our families during this time and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have! We offer lifetime support to all of our puppies and their families! We hope you decide to join our family of happy Belridge puppy owners!