Frequently Asked Questions

  • How much are your puppies?

    Our puppies are $2500. This price helps us offset some of the cost of health testing, breeding and raising a litter, and put back into our dogs and program. This is in line with other AKC show breeders in the PNW. This price may be subject to change but will be finalized before any deposit is taken.

  • Where are you located? Do you ship?

    We are located near Yakima WA, which is about 2 hours east of Seattle! We are willing to place puppies anywhere in the United States or Canada if the home is the right fit, but we strongly prefer that puppies are picked up by their new family. If that is not possible, we can help find arrangements for transport. Alaska Airlines is the easiest to work with for large dogs.

    



    If you are interested in importing a dog outside of the US or Canada, please contact us in advance of finalizing any plans.

  • When is your next litter?

    We’re planning a litter for Fall 2024.

  • How do you choose homes for your puppies?

    We do not place puppies in a first come-first served manner, we seek to place all of our pups in homes that they are likely to thrive in and who will meet the needs and interests of the family they’re joining.

    That being said, we do prioritize our waiting list to a degree based on the interests of our breeding program.

    1. Local (PNW) show homes. We want to encourage more folks to get started showing their Black and Tan Coonhounds and are happy to mentor new exhibitors in our region.

    2. Local (PNW) performance homes. Black and Tan Coonhounds can excel in a number of venues like nosework, tracking, barn hunt, shed dog etc. We want to encourage more participation in our area in these venues.

    3. Out of area show and performance homes.

    4. Pet homes that are interested in dabbling in sports and will make time to get the dog out and properly socialize them. Even attending FastCAT events or getting a Canine Good Citizen with your dog is a fun experience for them.

    5. Experienced hound homes who are looking first and foremost for a companion in the home.

    We do not presently sell competition hunting, or big game hunting dogs. Our dogs are not bred for big game or competition hunting and they would not be successful in those venues. We’re happy to talk to blood trackers, SAR/detection handlers, and pleasure hunters who would provide a forever home. We do not place our puppies as service dog prospects as we feel the breed is typically inappropriate for service work.

  • What is the process of getting a puppy from you?

    Please fill out our interest/application form to get started. Once you’ve filled that out we’ll reach out (usually within a week or so) and schedule a phone call. Black and Tans are not the breed for everyone so we want to make sure to answer any questions you might have. Once that’s done you may be put on our waitlist, and we’ll keep in touch with future updates. Once a litter is confirmed, we’ll reach out to folks on our waitlist to gauge interest.

    We do not breed very frequently and will not be able to provide puppies for the entirety of our waitlist, every (or even most) breedings. It may be two or more years before you’re able to bring home a well bred AKC Black and Tan, so we encourage you to speak to several breeders, and if you are unable to wait, to look into rescuing. American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue often has coonhounds and mixes in need.

  • Is there a deposit?

    Around 5 weeks old when we have a feel for their personalities, we will begin taking deposits from approved homes. The deposit is $500 and goes towards the full price of the puppy, with the remainder due at pick up. 


    
In the event that there is not a puppy that we feel fits the home, the deposit will be fully refunded. We will not roll deposits over to future litters as we can not guarantee a timeline or litter size.

    



  • When can I bring home my puppy?

    We keep our puppies until at least 10 weeks, this helps them get past the first fear period, and also allows us more time to see their personalities and structure before making our final decisions.

  • Do I get to choose my own puppy?

    The idea of not choosing your own puppy can definitely come off as strange to people who are not accustomed to it. After speaking to you and getting to know you at length we’ll have a very good idea of what you’re looking for and what type of dog would be the best fit in your home. We use our experience and our time with the litter to help determine which one(s) may be a good fit.


    Frequently when people are choosing a puppy without input from the breeder they’re choosing based off of one photo or video that happened to be more cute (I promise they’re all that cute, its coincidence which ones we snap photos of) or by their behavior on pick up day. We have 10+ weeks with them 24/7 to learn their personalities. When possible we do try to provide a choice between two or three possibilities, but the ultimate decision lies with us.

  • What would disqualify me from owning one of your dogs?

    Scent hounds can be nuisance barkers when they are not properly enriched and trained, and that can be a huge problem in an apartment. We are not opposed to apartment owners having scent hounds, provided they understand and are able to manage the challenges that can come with.


    
We strongly prefer a fenced in yard for any single family dwelling. Lack of any yard in an apartment is more negotiable, but having an unfenced yard is more of a concern. Black and Tans love to follow their noses, and it is easy for a young dog to slip out a door that didn’t get fully latched. We’re willing to chat with folks who have hound experience and a management plan though.

    If you have some extenuating circumstances you’d like to chat with us about whether or not a Black and Tan would be a good fit, please feel free to reach out. Outside of obvious things like animal cruelty charges, we’re open to working with folks.

  • What do you expect from puppy owners?

    We want our puppies to go to the best homes that will put as much time and love into them as we have. Being transparent with each other from the very beginning is the best way to make sure that everyone is happy and successful!

    1. Feed a high quality grain inclusive food that your dog thrives on (healthy coat, no gastro upset etc). Not every diet works for every individual so we do not require any specific food. We suggest a WSAVA brand such as Proplan. If you’d prefer to feed raw or home cooked, be sure that you are working with a canine nutritionist to create a nutritionally complete and balanced diet.

    2. Vet annually at a minimum! They will have recommendations for area specific vaccines (or titers) as well as for flea, tick and heartworm that should be followed. We do require that our puppies remain unaltered until as near to 2 as possible so that they get the benefit of all of their growth hormones. If you’re unsure of something your vet recommended feel free to reach out to discuss, but our general advice for vaccines and preventatives is that your vet will have the best area specific plan of action!

    3. Maintain contact with us! We do expect to get an update and photos at least once annually. We absolutely understand that not everyone is social, but this is our baseline expectation. If your dog has any major health issues please notify us right away, as it may be relevant to not only your dog, but to our dogs and other puppy owners as well.

    4. We strongly encourage taking your dog to a weekly training class until it is at least a year old. Group classes help young dogs learn to focus with distraction as well as learn impulse control and socialization. We take all of our young dogs to class at least once a week.

    5. It can be hard to wait to find out which puppy is yours, and sometimes even disappointing if you were heart set on a different puppy. You won’t remember in 2 months that a different puppy had longer ears, so try not to get too attached to litter photos and videos early on.

    6. Don’t oversell the activities you want to do to move up on the waitlist. While we do prioritize sport and show homes, there will be puppies that are most suited to a companion home in almost every litter. Setting our expectations to be vastly different than your actual intentions will likely cause stress for everyone down the road and may net you a puppy with different behaviors and energy levels than your true preferences.

    7. That being said! We encourage everyone to get out and do more activities with their dogs. In competing with our dogs it has become really apparent how much dogs can enjoy those extra outings and how much you can strengthen a bond with your dog. The extra training and socialization required for dog shows and sports also helps in every aspect of your dog’s life. If you’re unsure of how to get started, just ask— we’re more than happy to guide you in the right direction.

    8. If for any reason for the duration of their life you’re unable to keep the puppy, they must be returned to us. We may assist with rehoming to an approved home, but dogs born here will always have a home here and should never ever end up being passed around or in the shelter system. We recommend communicating this with your next of kin, as well as adding information about what to do with your pets to your living will. It's unfortunately not an uncommon scenario for animals to end up in the shelter after an owner passes. If you’re having behavioral, training, or other problems please reach out to us, we want to help you and see you be successful, without judgement! We’re happy to foster during a life change such as a move or job loss, babysit during an emergency such as a death in the family, or take back if needed any dog we’ve produced. Call us any time.

  • I want to use one of your dogs at stud

    Our stud fee for approved females is $2500, or second pick puppy back, contact us for more information.

  • What if I want to show or breed?

    We sell all of our companion and sports home puppies on limited registration, co ownerships with a spay/neuter contract. This is the standard practice in the breed. If you are interested in showing, we're happy to chat about converting registration to full and terms of any future breedings!