Frequently Asked Questions
Are you interested in a puppy but still have some questions?
We often get asked very similar questions from prospective puppy families.
Please read through the below information carefully
as your answer may be here.
Do you have puppies available right now?
All of our puppies are placed on a pre-reserved basis, based on deposits. This means that 3-6 months prior to puppies being born, we will send out an email to everyone who has signed up for our email notification list (here) to let them know the date and time that we will begin accepting deposits. At Frying Pan Ranch, we believe it is important to pick out your puppy based on personality, not pictures or color. Because of this, we take deposits to hold your spot in the picking order, not to hold a specific puppy. For example, first deposit received gets 1st place pick, second deposit gets 2nd pick and so on. Because we only have 2 litters total per year our puppies are in very high demand, deposit slots sometimes sell out in under 10 minutes.
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Can I visit Frying Pan Ranch?
Because of Dr. Bledsoe's veterinary background, we take our puppy (and puppy parents') health very seriously. We receive somewhere around
150-200 inquires about purchasing a puppy each year. Unfortunately, we cannot risk bringing so many people onto the ranch, as they may unknowingly bring in dangerous diseases like Parvo Virus and Kennel Cough with them on their visit. We are happy to bring the parents along on Puppy Picking Day for all puppy families to visit with at that time.
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Can I place a deposit for the next litter now?
In order stay organized and avoid confusion, we try to only keep reservations open for one litter at a time. Once spots fill up for our current litter, we will open up our email notification list for the next upcoming litter. Check back at the bottom of our "Available Puppies" page for this sign up to appear. If you are interested in our future litters, we encourage you to sign up for this email list. Everyone on the list will receive advance notification as to the date/time that deposits for future litters will open up.
Can I get a puppy with a non-docked tail?
We dock tails and remove declaws on all our puppies between 2 and 4 days of age. Because our puppies' tails are docked at this young age, and also because we feel it is very important to pick a puppy based on personality and not simply color and appearance, we cannot offer non-docked tails. Offering a non-docked option would force us to have everyone pick their dog on the day of their birth, and we believe this could result in bad outcomes for puppies and families as mismatched personalities is highly likely.
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Border Collie Working Style
Australian Shepherd Working Style
Why are Australian Shepherd tails docked?
Hisitorically, it has been a standard of the the Australian Shepherd breed to carry a naturally bobbed tail or a docked tail. The question is often asked why Aussie's have short tails while other herding breeds (like the Border Collie) do not. The answer comes down to a difference in working style between the two breeds.
Border Collies creep, truck their tails and intimidate livestock from a father distance with their intense eye contact. Aussies are a "loose eye" working breed. Their natural insitinct is to use their bodies more, work much closer to the livestock and do NOT tuck their tails while herding. These differences are highlighted in the photos at right.
This makes their tail a liability as they can be pinned to the ground and trampled by charging animals. Aussie also carry the genetics for naturally bobbed tails, so some individuals are born without a tail.