About Us

About Longfellow Dachshunds

Our family

My name is Crystal Robinson and my husband and I own Longfellow Dachshunds. I am a stay at home mother (as well as doxie mother) and my husband is currently employed as a dispatcher with the Kentucky State Police. We have one little boy, Joshua. We also are the proud parents of 12 miniature dachshunds, two golden retrievers, one cat, and one Tennessee Walking Horse.

Breeding Miniature Dachshunds has become a full-time job for me. Being a good dog breeder not only takes knowledge but dedication. I’ve kissed vacations good bye. I’ve sacrificed dates and family gatherings to stay home with a mother dog that is close to whelping or a weak puppy trying to hang on. I love dachshunds and I love everything about breeding. My favorite part about my job is all of the people that I get to meet, and the friends that I have made. I have friends that breed all across the country. I also have friends that don’t breed but simply love dachshunds too! Many of which are past puppy buyers.

Forums to Visit

I belong to several breed specific forums. Two of my favorites happen to be The Dachshund Haven (www.thedachshundhaven.com) and The Doxie Spot (www.doxiespot.com). If you are new to the breed and you would like to know more about miniature dachshunds I urge you to participate in these groups. Feel free to dig around and ask questions. Don’t be afraid to post. No question is a bad question. If you spend a day without learning something new, it’s a day wasted! The day that I don’t learn something new about miniature dachshunds is the day I should give up breeding all together. There is always more out there to learn.

Where they live

Our dogs are primarily kept in a heated and cooled kennel in our backyard. They have 10x5 outside runs and 3x4 inside runs and have plenty of room to romp and play. Our kennel consists of only 4 runs. Three of which have males, and the other one only has females who are skipping a heat or are too young to breed. All of our dogs take turns being in the house with us so that we can be sure that their temperaments are that of a desirable pet. NONE of our dogs are mean in any way. We couldn’t risk having a mean dog around our infant son and quite frankly, we don’t think that such temperaments should continue to be bred. They are all very friendly, well socialized, and loved to death!

Our Standards

We DO NOT knowingly breed dogs that have genetic defects. Some defects that we specifically watch out for are kinked tails, bad bites, alopecia (a form of hair loss common to dilute dogs), patella problems, bowed legs, roached backs, or a testicle not descending. There are several other things that we watch out for when it comes to the overall conformation of our dogs as well. We try to stick as close to the standard of the breed as one possibly could. We breed to BETTER the breed. Not to over populate it! Quality is important to us. Without quality, you simply have nothing to offer.

References

Our veterinarian is Ralph Derrickson of the Rowan Veterinarian Clinic. You can reach him at (606) 784-7170 if you would like to know more about the wellbeing of our dogs. They are all current on vaccinations and have regularly been dewormed with Panacur dewormer.

Mothers and Puppies

We have about 7 litters of puppies a year—sometimes more, sometimes less. Our females are not bred until after they have had their first heats. They are only bred on their second heat if we feel that they are physically and mentally ready and mature enough to have a litter of puppies. We breed our females twice, skip a heat, breed them twice more, then spay them. This pattern may vary if for any reason a female does not do well as a mother or she has complications associated with her pregnancy. Sometimes females just don’t work out in our breeding program for one reason or another. They are spayed and either kept as a pet or adopted out to a loving family. We would love to keep them all but if we did that we would not be able to continue breeding these quality dogs that we strive for.

Adopting Process

When we adopt out any dog or puppy we tend to be very selective as to where it goes. Please do not be offended if I drill you with questions. I want to be sure that the puppy or dog that you want is the right breed for you. I also want to make sure that your lifestyle is beneficial to the puppy or dog. I do reserve the right to refuse the sale of a puppy or dog to anyone who I see to be an unfit owner. We are also very selective when selling to breeders. There are only a handful of breeders that I know personally who I would be willing to sell one of my dogs or puppies to. I do NOT knowingly sell to puppy brokers, puppymills, pet stores, or just down right unethical breeders. If you are a breeder and you want to purchase a dog from me, I had better be impressed. I will ask ALL breeders for a minimum of FIVE references. One of which must be your veterinarian, another must be a puppy owner, and another must be a breeder friend. The other two are your own choice but they must, in some way, be related to your breeding business. There are several other qualifications but we won’t go too in depth with that.

Buying a puppy is buying a life. Please be sure that you are ready to dedicate yourself to any animal that you welcome into your home. Our puppies come pre-spoiled because we know that's the way you want them.

We require THREE references from all of our puppy buyers. One of which must be your veterinarian. I sleep better at night knowing that our puppies are all receiving their age appropriate shots and wormings!

If you decide that you would like to purchase a puppy from Longfellow Dachshunds please contact us to make sure that the puppy you are interested in is still available. I try to keep my site as updated as possible but sometimes I manage to get a little behind. If the puppy that stole your heart is under 8 weeks of age we require a deposit within 48 hours of your commitment to that puppy. The deposit depends on the price of the puppy. If within 48 hours we have not received a deposit or we have not heard otherwise from you, the puppy will go back up for sale. When the puppy reaches 8 weeks of age we require that it be paid in full and shipping (if needed) should be paid in full as well so that I can begin making arrangements.

Methods of Payment

We accept payment through cash, PayPal, check, or money order. All payments MUST clear the bank before you can take possession of your puppy. If you are meeting me to pick up your puppy in person I require cash payment.

Shipping and Transport

We ship within the continental United States using Delta or Continental for a fee of $350.00. The ONLY airport that we are willing to ship out of is The Bluegrass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. We prefer to make shipping arrangements for you.

We also have used PuppyShip, PLLC, on one occasion. It was a wonderful experience, but their coverage area is very limited. More information about PuppyShip can be found on their site. They are often cheaper than airlines.

We absolutely do not ship with private shipping companies other than PuppyShip. Many breeders have had bad experiences with these individuals and we will not take the risk. These private shipping companies do not meet our efficiency or cleanliness standards.

As of Feburary 1, 2009 we will no longer be driving any distance further than one hour's time will allow to deliver a dog or puppy FREE OF CHARGE. We have found ourselves spending outrageous amounts of time and money to meet people. We feel that it is VERY important that the puppy buyer see first hand where their puppy is coming from and we hope to see you all here, at our home, if at all possible. I have driven up to 8 hours to pick up a puppy for myself and it was well worth my time in the end. IF, by some chance you are unable to meet me within an hours distance, I am willing to drive further for a fee of 50.5 cents per mile and an additional $18.00 to place my son in daycare for the day (as per the IRS Employee Mileage Rate for 2008). The distance that I am willing to drive depends upon the roads that I will have to travel.

Visiting our Kennel

Anyone who may be interested in visiting Longfellow Dachshunds is more than welcome. All visits are by appointment only. We do not show our dogs on Sundays. We dedicate that day to spending time with our friends and family.