Puppy Information
Waiting List/Reserving Pick of a Litter/Prices
Our puppies sell quickly and we always have an extensive Waiting List. Names are added to the Waiting List in the order in which I receive them. Please contact us if you would like to be placed on our Waiting List.
Once I am certain a female is expecting a litter, I contact people in order on the waiting list until I have three litter picks reserved with a $100 non-refundable deposit. The only time I will not accept deposits ahead of time is on a female's first litter. Once all 3 picks on a litter are reserved, you are welcome to add your name to our Waiting List, and you will receive information and pictures on the remaining available puppies once the deposit holders have chosen their pups. You are only guaranteed a pick of a litter if a deposit has been received, and picks must be made by 4 weeks old. Availability of puppies is a first come/first served basis to everyone on the Waiting List. We reserve the right to hold puppies and/or entire litters for a longer period of time before making them available. If for some reason we do not have a pup to your liking (not enough puppies in litter, momma does not have pups, all boys or girls, whatever), your deposit can be transferred to any other available puppy or upcoming litter, but no refunds on deposits will be given for any reason. All deposits go towards the purchase price of the puppy. Prices for ranch-bloodline (unregistered) puppies start at $400, AKC registered pups start at $600. I accept PayPal, cashier's/personal checks and cash. All payments for puppy and shipping must be received/cleared before puppy can be shipped or at time of pick up. Puppies can be picked up at the ranch at 7 weeks or shipped after 8 weeks. All puppies must be picked up or shipped by 10 weeks of age unless other arrangements have been made. If you are on the Waiting List and find a puppy elsewhere, kindly let me know so your name can be removed. I am also happy to refer you to other breeders that have puppies available, although researching each breeder and their dogs is a buyer's responsibility. We reserve the right to refuse the sale of any dog/puppy to anyone for any reason at any time. If for any reason you purchase a dog/puppy from us and can no longer keep them, that dog/puppy is always welcome back at the ranch.
Tails & Dewclaws
Tails are left naturally long and dewclaws remain intact. If you are adamant about wanting a pup with a docked tail, there are many other breeders that can accomodate you.
For the AKC breed standard, please click here.
Shipping or Picking up your puppy
You are welcome to pick up your puppy at the ranch anytime after they are 7 weeks old. If a trip to the ranch is not possible, I am happy to ship your puppy to your nearest airport. Puppies must be a minimum of 8 wks old to be shipped. Shipping is available for an additional $400 per puppy for any US domestic destination, which includes airfare, vet requirements (Health Certificate and Letter of Acclimation) and travel crate. We fly out of Casper, WY on SkyWest/Delta Airlines, or out of Riverton, WY on Great Lakes Airlines. Airfare is the same no matter where you are shipping to and from, it is determined by weight and size of crate, not distance. This is for the U.S. only. Canada and Mexico, and overseas is more costly. The airlines determine the cost based on a flat rate, then add the total weight of the puppy and crate, then they add a fuel surcharge per pound, then tax and insurance. Winter and summer months can prove to be difficult times to ship, so please be patient if the weather is not cooperating! We want you to get your puppy just as much as you do!
Health Guarantee
KS Ranch Heelers provides lifetime support for those families that take our pups home. I have a one year guarantee on puppies against terminal genetic disorders that gives you either your purchase price refunded or equal credit for the purchase price only of your puppy towards any other puppy or pick of upcoming litter. We perform individualized stimuli tests on each pup to insure they are not deaf. Shots and wormer are fresh from the same supplier our vet uses. Puppies are sold as working/pet quality with spay/neuter contracts unless other arrangements/contracts are made. All purchased puppies from KS Ranch Heelers come to you current on shots and worming and with this guarantee.
AKC Registration
All puppies leaving our ranch will be pre-registered by us with AKC. You will receive the AKC certificate with the puppy already named on the papers. This is done so that I can have our ranch/kennel name on all AKC papers, and to ensure all puppies are indeed registered. The AKC does perform at-random inspections and checks to see if puppies produced are registered, and this way we know all our pups are properly in the AKC database. A puppy's "call name" (the name you give them for everyday use) can be picked by you or you can keep the one my kids give them at birth. Puppies are registered with the AKC only and with Limited Registration. Limited Registration means the dog itself is registered but that no offspring of this dog/bitch are eligible for registration. We therefore expect these pups to be spayed/neutered at the appropriate age, they are not to be used as breeding stock.
*~*There are exceptions to every rule as far as limited vs. full AKC registration*~*
Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in a pup with full AKC registration for breeding or show purposes. Price and contract will be affected if you desire
full AKC registration.
Breeding
Our most serious consideration when breeding our dogs is working ability. It is, after all, what this breed was bred to do! Our dogs must have the physical confirmation, intelligence, temperament, endurance, work ethic, and implicit devotion to their job to be our great working partners AND family companions. We have both AKC registered dogs and ranch bloodline dogs that have been bred and raised here on the ranch for generations, they all work cattle and are our family companions. When it comes to working cattle, this breed has no peer. Preserving that part of the breed standard before any other "ideals" is essential for us as cattle ranchers with a large herd. We love our dogs as much as anyone, but we also expect them to be at our side when there is work to be done. It is amazing to watch them work, and how much they love to do so. However, our dogs are just as happy to go fishing with us as they are to trail cows! They are part of our family whatever we are doing, work or pleasure. All pups are guaranteed to have a natural desire to work stock and can learn to the best of one's ability to teach them. I STRONGLY discourage people to use these dogs to work/herd horses. If they are allowed to heel a horse, gather and herd them, how can you ever be 100% certain they won't do it with a rider aboard? Its just asking for serious trouble, and a big no-no on our place.
Many of our puppies have found homes on farms and ranches working with their families, some are having fun competing in agility, obedience, disc and confirmation competitions, while others are just as happy providing loving companionship to families in many states. We have many references available upon request from families that use our dogs for work and pleasure.
If you have never owned this breed of dog, please do your research-they are a great breed IF they fit your lifestyle, as they require a substaintial amount of daily mental and physical activity. www.australiancattledog.com and www.cattledog.com are two great websites that have a wealth of information about ACDs.
Socializing puppies
We are just as excited to have puppies as you are to get them, and we make certain they have the best start in life possible. When mother dogs come into the house to have their puppies, it is with great excitement and audience! Puppies are handled by my kids from the minute they are born- we refuse to own a dog that is not tolerant of children. All of our dogs have been raised with our kids, so they all are happy to jump on the trampoline, go down the slide, do chores, watch TV, walk on a leash, pull a wagon, and tend to follow the kids around, especially if I am not out with them! The pups follow the big dogs and learn by example.
Mother and pups are moved outside to the "dog barn" when weather permits or the puppies are around 3 weeks old. The dog barn has 3 roomy indoor kennels, each has a heat lamp for the colder months, a fan for hot weather and is thickly lined with clean straw with a doggie door leading to a fenced run. The runs are only shut at night or if we are driving trucks or heavy machiney near--pups and mother can come and go as they please and the mother dogs teach the pups to "go" to the bathroom out of the kennel when they are big enough. This really makes housetraining a lot easier for the new families. The pups are used to lots of noises and sights, both inside and outside- vacuum cleaners, slamming doors, radios, TV, kids, tractors, horses, cows, cats, goats, pickups, other dogs, etc. We spend a lot of time with them- having puppies is lots of fun for all of us! They are socialized to all aspects of life on the ranch-my kids often have a "puppy train" behind them once the puppies get big enough to follow us around. We learn each pup's individual personality and quirks, and this helps us better inform a buyer about each puppy's qualities.
We also use the Bio Sensor program (AKA, the Super Dog), on all our puppies. It takes only a few minutes each day, but I think really makes a difference.
For more info click here: Breeding Better Dogs
Our Goal
I proudly raise and offer for sale happy, healthy, well socialized puppies. Our pups have gone to working, companion, agility, obedience, disc sport and show homes with terrific success. I encourage you to ask any (and many!) questions so that you will be confident one of our pups is a good fit for your family. All purchased puppies come to you current on shots, worming and with our Health Guarantee. We feed high quality dog foods, along with lots of meats, grains, eggs, dairy, fruits and veggies to all our dogs.
Our dogs are part of our family and we treat them as such- they are NEVER caged (and only kenneled intermittently when a female is in heat or at night) and have free choice fresh water and high quality dog food at all times. All dogs are kept current on vaccinations and worming, proper testing is done on AKC dogs and results are available upon request. They live, work and play with us on the ranch.
All of this information is provided because it is important to me that you are well-educated on my policies and puppies--that way no one is surprised, confused, or disappointed. If we all know what to expect, then a puppy gets a new, loving home and everyone involved in that process is happy. I am so excited to receive updates from puppies and their new families. We consider these pups part of our family until they reach yours, so it is always fun to hear what they are doing and see how they have grown up !
Thank you for your interest, consideration and business
Please contact me with any questions, concerns or to be placed on the waiting list for our upcoming litters.
Gwen Shepperson, KS Ranch Heelers
307-267-1956
gshepp725@gmail.com
Australian Cattle Dogs
Puppy Love!!
Teddy (9 months rear, Sky x Doc) &
Luna (8 weeks front, Brandy x Harley) live in Vancouver
Doc (deceased) playing in the snow
Maggie x Sly pups, 8/05
Shaw the puppy looking for worms while Kiley & Kody fish.
Kiley with Silver and Twinkle( both Brandy x Harley) watching cartoons!
Please read below to find answers to
the most commonly asked questions about our puppies--
but if you have any more, please feel free to ask.
Pups from past litters are pictured on the Previous Litters page.
Its always naptime when you're 3 days old!
Our kids socialize our pups with all sorts of crazy ideas!
Lefty (Maggie x Sly), grew up to chase cows on the Arapaho Ranch in Thermopolis, WY
George (Peach x Sly), Kiley's first dog (deceased)
Kody & Magnum
Sophie and her puppy, Hatch, 6 wks old.
(L) Kiley on her horse Pepsi and Harley, counting cows thru the gate.
(R)Sophie and Jet putting a cow back into the herd.
(L)Kody with Beth x Harley pups,
(R)Kiley with Brandy as a pup and her littermates
(Pixie x Butch)
Beth(Sami x Splash) napping on the couch with Brutus, our Mountain Cur Dog, whether he likes it or not!
Beth x Harley pups
Dallas & Sunset
(Brandy x Harley Pups)
Three generations of KS Ranch Heelers-- Brandy(Pixie x Butch), Beth(Sami x Splat), and Scarlet(Maggie x Magnum)
Sky, Maggie, & Brandy enjoying nice Spring weather.
Sky and Clover (Sky x Splash), who now lives in NH-
See What She Taught Her New Family Below
Harley Trailing Cows up the Slope to Mtn Pastures
Sky x Splash Puppies having a lazy summer afternoon
Things I Learned From
My ACD, Clover
The house is hers, but she lets us share it.
The new leather couch was brought in so she could nap comfortably.
Anything she chews is, by definition, a chew toy.
All chew toys belong to her.
German Shepherd Dogs are chew toys.
Cats are to be chased, but never, ever caught!
Cows are to be barked at from a distance.
Horses are to be barked at from close up.
Chickens are to be chased.
Guinea Fowl are to be herded.
Ducks are to be watched like a cartoon.
Wheel barrows are to be regarded with suspicion.
Cow poop is to be ignored.
Horse poop is to be eaten.
Chicken poop, only if fresh and gooey, is to be rolled in.
Clover has brought us laughter and joy. I never thought I would find a better breed than German Shepherds. I was wrong.
Thank you,
Larry Power
Jet & Sophie --Happy Dogs Live in WY!
Jet (at 5 months) waiting for all the cows to get through the gate
Suzy (Brandy x Harley) and her best buddy, the kitty
Roper
Sophie x Doc
