Reservation to pickup.

You've sent in your application, we've approved it, and your reservation fee is in. Now the wait begins, and the waiting is the most exciting part and the hardest, both at once. Your puppy is already on the way, and all you can do is let them grow. What follows is how the weeks go between today and the day you drive home with a puppy on your passenger's lap.

Phase 1: On the waitlist

Most families wait several months from reservation to pickup, depending on the colors and sex you're hoping for and how the breeding calendar lines up.

During the wait, the bulk of what you'll see from us is on Instagram and Facebook, where we post most of the day-to-day from our home: heat checks, ultrasound days, new whelps. When there's real news for you specifically (an upcoming pairing that fits your preferences, a litter on the ground), it'll come by email.

You also have a private portal, linked from your approval email and live the whole way through. It's where photos and updates land as your puppy grows, along with your place on the waitlist, what's been paid so far, and any paperwork we've shared with you.

A few things worth knowing:

• It's fine to write us anytime. If your situation changes (move, family change, a long trip coming up, second thoughts on color), let us know. Updates help us match you well, not the reverse.
• You're not losing your spot by being patient. Pick order is set by the date your reservation came in, and we don't move it around.
• Color and sex preferences sometimes change. Plenty of families start the wait set on one color and end up smitten with a different puppy entirely. You can update your preferences with us at any time, and we're happy to talk through how it would likely affect your wait, in either direction; broader preferences tend to mean a shorter wait, narrower ones, longer.
• Pricing is current pricing. The number we shared at approval is our pricing at that time. If it changes while you wait, we'll tell you before a litter comes up for you.

As you approach the top of the list, we'll reach out directly to confirm your current preferences and the best way to reach you. That outreach is usually the signal that a specific litter is on the horizon for you.

Phase 2: A litter for you

When a litter is born and we've had a few days to count sex and color, we work down the waitlist in order, reaching out to each family by their preferred contact method (email, text, etc.; rarely a phone call). The message names the litter, the pairing, your pick order, and what's available that lines up with what you told us you were hoping for. Make sure the contact info on file is accurate, and let us know any time it changes; if we can't reach you when a litter comes up, we may have to move on down the list.

From the moment we contact you that you're next to choose, you have forty-eight hours to decide: add $200 to accept a puppy from that litter, or pass and stay on the list for the next one. Paying the $200 is how you accept, so deciding and paying happen in the same step. Until you decide, your $300 is still refundable (minus the $100 admin charge); the moment you add the $200, you're committed to that puppy. If the colors or sex in this particular litter aren't what you wanted, you can pass with no penalty and stay near your spot for the next litter that might be a better fit. We'd rather you wait for the right puppy than feel rushed into a litter that doesn't suit you.

Once you commit, the full $500 ($300 reservation plus the $200 conversion) becomes a non-refundable deposit on your puppy, applied toward the final price at pickup. The puppy contract is also completed during this phase, signed via SignWell e-sign.

Phase 3: The first eight weeks at our home

Once a litter is on the ground, time picks up. The short version of what's happening on our end while you wait for pickup day:

• Whelping and week 1. Calcium support during delivery, weights recorded from day one, dam close around the clock, and gentle daily handling from the first day. Eyes and ears closed; most thriving puppies double their birth weight by the end of the week.
• Picking your puppy: the first two weeks. We send photos of the litter, and you choose from the puppies available to you. We share what we're seeing as they come along; you make the call.
• Weeks 2 to 3. Eyes and ears open, first wobbly steps, and the daily handling starts to register now that they can see us. First round of worming medication at week two; the first taste of solid food around week three.
• Weeks 4 to 5. Puppy teeth, real play, real personalities. Second round of worming medication at week four. By week five, soaked kibble is the main event.
• Weeks 6 and 7. Fully weaned. The puppies live in our home with us, so household sounds (vacuum, dishwasher, four kids) are part of the daily backdrop. Three-day course of worming medication for the puppies and the dam.
• Week 8. Vet check, first vaccinations, and a second three-day course of worming medication. Miniature dachshund puppies are usually right around three pounds at this point and ready to head home.

Throughout these weeks, we post regular updates to your portal: photos, short videos, and notes on how the litter is coming along.

Phase 4: Pickup week

Pickup is the milestone we've been building toward. A few things worth knowing before the day arrives:

• Eight weeks, not a day sooner. New Hampshire state law requires puppies to be at least eight weeks old to leave for their new home. We can't make exceptions, even by a day.
• Plan for prompt pickup. Puppies held past the weekend after their eight-week mark are subject to boarding fees. Once littermates start heading home, the sooner your puppy can join your family the easier the bonding tends to be, since the family steps into the role the littermates were filling.
• Health certificate. Each puppy needs a health certificate issued by our vet before going home. Occasionally a puppy needs an additional parasite or worming treatment first; that's routine and not a cause for concern, but it can push pickup back by a few days. Because of that, we'd recommend holding off on non-refundable travel arrangements until the certificate is confirmed and issued. We can't be responsible for travel costs lost to a delayed certificate.
• Final payment, before pickup. A few days before pickup we'll send the final balance invoice. The methods we accept are on our payment and deposits page, and the account details are in your portal. Start a few days early rather than at the meeting point; we can't release a puppy until the balance has cleared.
• Time and place. Pickup happens at our home in Danbury, NH by default. We'll coordinate a specific time with you and ask that you keep to it as best you can, since we schedule other families and family obligations around your slot. If something comes up, let us know as soon as you can and we'll adjust together. If you'd rather meet partway, we can drive to a point up to two hours from our home for an additional cost; reach out in advance to coordinate the spot and get pricing.

What you'll go home with:

• A bag of the food we've been feeding (Purina ONE Healthy Puppy) so you can transition gradually.
• A small blanket carrying the smell of the dam and littermates, which helps the first few nights.
• The signed health certificate from our vet, plus vaccination and deworming records.
• Microchip and AKC registration paperwork on request, at an additional cost. Let us know in advance if you'd like either.
• No paper contract to sign at pickup; the puppy contract is fully digital and was signed via SignWell back in Phase 2.