FAQs

Thank you for your interest in our puppies. The information below will hopefully help answer most frequently asked questions about our puppy purchase process. In this way you will know exactly what to expect if you do business with us. Please read through it carefully before making a decision to purchase one of our puppies.

All CaliRats Rat Terrier puppies are born and raised inside our home. They are handled and cuddled daily, get exposed to routine household activities and noises, and are well-socialized to adult humans as well as adult dogs. (We do not have indoor cats, or young children in our home but grandchildren visiting for kid’s exposures.) They are kept in very clean environment and are started on use of potty pads & crate trained for great beginnings at home.

All puppies will:

Have their tails docked and dewclaws removed.
Be preventively dewormed.
Get their first puppy vaccine before leaving here.

WAITLIST INTEREST OR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We breed toy (4-10 pounds) and miniature (11 – 17 pounds) and standard (16-18 inches tall at withers) sizes. We will give you our best estimate, but adult size of the dog is NOT GUARANTEED. We breed both the traditional, brindle and merle coat patterns in all colors (black, blue, chocolate, pearl, and sable in tri or bi).

Since we only breed for the demand our number of litters a year can vary, and Toy/Mini Rat Terrier litters tend to be small (2 to 5 puppies), so puppy availability is always limited.

We will keep a list of names of those individuals who have expressed interest in purchasing a puppy. There is no deposit required to get on the list, and no obligation to buy, but if you are a serious buyer, we highly recommend that you place your name on the list. As the breeder, we reserve the right to first pick of all litters, should we choose to keep a puppy to add to our breeding program.

FILL OUT OUR PUPPY WAITLIST INTEREST FORM

Approximately one week prior to the due date of a litter, those with their names on the list will be sent a reminder by e-mail and/or Facebook message. When the litter is born, a notice (with photos) will be posted on our website and also on our Facebook page. Individual notices will follow immediately, via e-mail and/or Facebook message, all at the same time to all on the list. (Puppies will also be available for public sale through our website, Facebook page, and possibly other advertising sites.) We will then accept deposits ($200, non-refundable) on a first come, first served basis. We do not hold or reserve a puppy without a deposit. Our females and our merles are in the highest demand and generally sell first.

Our price starts at $850 and goes up depending on the color/markings. The price range of our puppies is appropriate for a quality, registered Rat Terrier puppy from health tested parents and quite affordable compared to prices of other pure breed puppies. When you are buying a purebred puppy, you get what you pay for. The money you “save” when buying a cheap puppy will likely be spent at your veterinarian later!

DEPOSITS:

If you are on our waitlist and have been notified puppies are available, they can be reserved with a $200 non-refundable deposit on a first come, first served basis. We do not hold or reserve a puppy without a deposit.

Deposits are accepted by cash, check (we allow 5 business days to receive a mailed check; if no check is received, the puppy will be made available again) or PayPal. There is a 3% service charge added to all PayPal payments, as that is what PayPal charges us to receive funds. Personal checks are accepted until puppy is 4 weeks old; after that it must be a cashier’s check from your bank (we will call your bank to verify the authenticity of the check) or a USPS Money Order.

The deposit will be put towards the purchase price, and will reserve your puppy until it is ready to be picked up or shipped. In the rare case that your chosen puppy becomes unavailable due to illness or death, you will have the option to choose another available puppy from a current or future litter OR receive a full refund of your deposit.

CANCELLATIONS:

If you choose to back out of the sale, you will forfeit your deposit and you will not be considered for a future puppy purchase.

We also reserve the right to cancel the sale/reservation at any time while the puppy is in our possession. If we cancel the sale/reservation, we will refund all payments including the deposit.

FINAL PAYMENT

Final payment at in-person pickup is CASH ONLY (no checks). Total payment (balance of payment on puppy + all shipping expenses) for puppies being shipped must be made by cashier’s check (which will be verified with your bank) or a USPS Money Order at least 1 week prior to the flight. For shipped puppies ONLY and at breeder’s discretion, PayPal may also be accepted for the final payment (no e-checks and 3% service charge applies). All puppies must be paid for, in full, before going home. We do not offer a delayed payment plan.

The prcd-PRA test is a DNA-based test that helps you avoid one form of Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA). PRA refers to a group of diseases that cause the retina of the eye to degenerate slowly over time. The result is declining vision and eventual blindness. Progressive rod-cone degeneration, also known as pcrd, is a type of PRA known in several breeds.

Primary Lens Luxation (PLL) is a disorder that is characterised by weakened zonular fibers which eventually lead to the luxation of the lens in the eye. This is very painful for the dog and depending on where the lens moves to, can leave the dog permanently blind. Often, this event will occur around 3-6 years of age.

Canine Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) is a devastating degenerative disease of the spinal cord that can progress rapidly and cause weakness in the hind limbs and eventually paraplegia among genotypically-affected dogs.

All CaliRat Terrier puppies are free of the gene that causes the eye disease PLL and PRA-PRCD as well as DM. W have DNA test results on our parent dogs that are listed on the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation For Animals) or GenSol (GenSol Diagnostic) public website. (We highly recommend that you do NOT buy a puppy from a breeder that cannot or will not offer proof of PLL and/or PRA-PRCD and DM testing!)

HOME PICKUP
Whenever possible, we prefer that you pick up your puppy at our home (by appointment) so that you have the opportunity to view where your puppy was born & raised and meet the parents and other relatives. We do not allow puppies to go home before 8 weeks of age. The balance on the puppy is to be paid in cash when the puppy is picked up.

GROUND SHIPPING AVAILABLE FROM:
B&S Transport. Contact Tracy at 580-465-5077.

FLY-IN PICKUP
If you would like to fly in to the Texarkana/Shreveport/Dallas airport and take your puppy home in the cabin (this can often be accomplished in one day), we will meet you at the airport with your puppy. The puppy must be at least 8 weeks old to fly (10 weeks on Delta Airlines). You must provide an airline approved carrier for the puppy that fits under the seat in front of you. You are responsible for your travel arrangements & expenses (including a fee paid to the airline for having an in-cabin pet, which averages $95- $125) and also for the cost of the puppy’s health certificate, which is $75. The balance on the puppy is to be paid in cash when we meet you.

AIR SHIPPING
If neither home pickup nor fly-in pickup is feasible, air cargo shipping is available (within the USA only, except Hawaii) from Dallas International Airport or possibly Shreveport International Airport. (We do use a ground shipper available some states weather permitting.) We will attempt to get the puppy as close to your home airport as we can, but airlines do not accept live animal cargo to some areas. Our preferred airlines is Alaska Airlines and United Pet Safe with United Airlines, due to their climate-controlled pet services which allow us to ship puppies year round. It may be possible to ship a puppy on another airline, but temperature restrictions (generally not fewer than 45 degrees nor over 85 degrees at any point in the trip) will apply.

In accordance with airline regulations, puppies cannot be shipped before 8 to 10 weeks of age, and if the puppy is very small, we may delay shipping until we (and our veterinarian) feel the puppy is ready to ship. The cost of shipping varies depending on size of crate and distance, and covers our time to make the shipping arrangements, the airline cargo charge, a new shipping crate, required veterinarian examination/health certificate, and ground transportation of the puppy to the Shreveport Airport (a 150 mile round trip for us). Contact us for current prices.

We do NOT ship puppies outside the USA, as the transit time is too long for a Toy/Mini/Standard size puppy. If you are not a USA resident, you must make arrangements to either have us ship your puppy to a USA airport for pickup OR do a fly-in or home pickup at Texarkana/Shreveport/Dallas. Any additional expenses, veterinary requirements, and documentation with regard to exportation of a puppy outside the USA are the responsibility of the buyer.

Each puppy we sell will be accompanied by the following important documentation:

Copies of sire’s and dam’s registration certificates.
Copies of sire’s and dam’s OFA PLL/PRA-PRCD testing certificates.
Multi-generational pedigree(breeding purchases)
Purchase agreement/health guarantee.
Complete health record, including labels from any vaccines that we gave the puppy.
All weekly photos or videos of the puppy’s taken from birth will be sent to buyer for their keeping.

When we ship a puppy, we will only attach the purchase agreement/health guarantee and health record documents to the shipping crate. All other documents will be mailed so that there is no risk of them being lost by the airline.

Original puppy registration application is mailed once proof of neuter/spay has been sent in to CaliRats.

We provide you with many pictures and updates during the weeks we have your puppy. Once you pick a name, we will start using it with your pup so he can become accustomed to it. We work on socializing your puppy, as well as paper/litter training and crate training. We raise our pups in a clean home, free of pests, with high quality food and lots of love. All pups have dew claws removed and tails docked. Puppies will be up to date on vaccines and worming.

Note: We reserve the right to cancel the sale/reservation at any time while the puppy is in our possession. If we cancel the sale/reservation, we will refund all payments including the deposit.

All litters will be registered with UKCI (Universal Kennel Club International). At breeder’s discretion, litters may also be registered with one or more of the following:

AKC (American Kennel Club)

There will be a $25 fee for each additional registry.

Puppies may be nicknamed by us for identification purposes only while they are here. New owners get to choose any call & registered names they wish. However, we request that all registered names begin with “CaliRats” to identify the puppy as coming from our breeding program.

The prices listed are for pet/companion puppies with limited registration. Breeding rights MAY be available, to the right situation, at additional cost. If you are interested in purchasing breeding stock, please advise us, as there are certain criteria that must be met in order for us to approve a puppy as a breeding prospect. We will also want to discuss with you, at length, your plans for using our bloodlines in your breeding program. We’ve invested a large amount of time and money into developing our bloodlines and we are very selective about who we will allow to have these bloodlines for breeding.

We have no specific requirements for spay/neuter of pet/companion puppies; the decision to spay/neuter, and the timing of the surgery, is a choice to be made by the puppy’s owner and their veterinarian. Current research has shown that delaying spay/neuter (including allowing a female to have her first heat cycle) until the puppy is at least a year old may have important long term health benefits. However, every situation is different, and owning an intact dog does bring with it the responsibility of proper management to prevent unplanned breeding.

We are family bound together in loving our Rat Terriers. You will be part of our family when you adopt a CaliRats pup. We sponsor an annual event where our families (two-legged and four-legged) meet and greet their relatives and share family fun. You will be invited to join our facebook group so you can enjoy seeing and sharing the fun of owning a CaliRats dog and be part of planning the next reunion.

When you choose to purchase a young puppy and not a mature adult dog, it is impossible to guarantee the exact characteristics of the puppy at maturity. Therefore, no guarantee is made as to future temperament, physical conformation (including, but not limited to: size, bite, ear carriage, and descent of testicles on male puppies), or suitability for breeding.