How to Sell Chipoo Puppies in the United States | PetzLover

What US rules apply when you sell Chipoo puppies?

• Federal licensing: under the Animal Welfare Act, a breeder with more than four breeding females who sells puppies sight unseen generally needs a USDA license. Sellers who meet every buyer face to face are generally exempt.
• Minimum age: about 28 states and Washington, DC set a minimum sale age, usually eight weeks. Pennsylvania, for example, bans selling or transferring a dog under eight weeks.
• Lemon laws: about 22 states have them. In California, for example, a breeder who sold three or more litters or 20 or more dogs in the past year must offer a remedy if a vet certifies an illness within 15 days or a hereditary condition within one year.
• Local rules: many cities and counties limit dogs per home or require a breeding permit; Los Angeles, for example, issues breeder's permits.

Rules change, so check with your state agriculture department and your city or county animal services before you advertise.

Which Chihuahua and Toy Poodle should be bred together?

Buyers of a cross can judge it only by its parents. The two breed clubs ask for overlapping checks, so test both dogs and publish the results with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Note that the Poodle Club of America's code of ethics bars its members from breeding Poodles to other breeds, so the testing is up to you.

• Do not breed a dog with slipping kneecaps. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons says dogs diagnosed with patellar luxation should not be bred.
• Skip a dog with a goose-honk cough, which PetMD links to tracheal collapse, or one with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease in its family.
• Ask your vet about the skull. VCA Animal Hospitals advises against breeding dogs whose soft spot stays open past three to four months, even though the Chihuahua standard accepts a molera.
• Do not pair the smallest dogs you can find. A veterinarian writing for PetMD links breeding for extreme smallness to low blood sugar, fragile bones, liver shunts and hydrocephalus.

How do you keep tiny Chipoo puppies safe before they leave?

1. Keep them with their mother until at least eight weeks, and longer for any puppy that is not yet eating well on its own.
2. Feed small meals often. Young Chihuahuas are prone to low blood sugar, and the AKC says toy puppies under 12 weeks can run low when cold, active or stressed.
3. Book a vet exam for each puppy, with first vaccinations, deworming and a check of the heart, knees, mouth and soft spot.
4. Microchip each puppy and give buyers the number.
5. Socialize them gently with visitors, sounds and handling, so a bored, barky adult is less likely.
6. Get them used to a soft harness, which PetMD recommends over a neck collar for dogs at risk of tracheal collapse.

Put together a puppy pack: the vet record, microchip details, a few days of food, a written meal schedule, the signs of low blood sugar (trembling, weakness, wobbling, sleepiness or seizures) and your contract. Add a note from the Poodle Club of America: keep the puppy out of grooming shops until its vaccinations are complete, after 16 weeks.

How should you price Chipoo puppies?

There is no reliable price survey for the cross, so compare current Chipoo puppies for sale near you. PetMD puts purebred Chihuahuas at typically $800 to $2,000 and Toy Poodles at $1,200 to $3,000; a cross priced above tested purebreds needs strong health results and a strong contract behind it.

• Charge the same for the smallest puppy as for its littermates; a size premium rewards the very risk buyers should avoid.
• Say what the price includes: vet checks, vaccinations, microchip and any health guarantee.
• Agree any deposit and its refund terms in writing before you take money.

How do you write a Chipoo puppy ad that buyers trust?

• What they are: a Chihuahua and Toy Poodle cross. Say plainly that the AKC does not recognize it, and that designer-dog registry papers, if you have them, record ancestry only.
• Parents: which is the mother, each parent's adult weight and coat.
• Health: the parents' kneecap, eye, heart and PRA-prcd results with registered names, plus each puppy's vet check.
• Size: an honest estimate based on the parents, with no teacup, micro or pocket labels. PetMD puts adults at 4 to 15 pounds.
• Coat: low-shedding is fair to say; hypoallergenic is not, since PetMD says no dog is 100% hypoallergenic.
• Photos and video: recent pictures and a short clip of the puppies with their mother.

You can post your Chipoo puppy ad for free on PetzLover, and buyers can message you through the listing. Keep your phone number and home address out of the ad text until you have spoken to a buyer.

How do you screen buyers for a Chipoo puppy?

• Who lives at home, and how old are any children? PetMD warns that very small children can injure a Chipoo by accident.
• How long will the puppy be alone each day? Chipoos want a lot of attention.
• Are there larger dogs at home, and how will they be introduced?
• Will barking bother neighbors or a landlord?
• Can they feed small meals on schedule, brush teeth daily, and who is their vet?

Careful buyers often follow how to buy a Chipoo puppy, so expect the same questions back about the parents and their results.

How do you take payment and hand over safely?

• Hand over in person, at your home or theirs, with another adult present, and never ship a toy puppy alone.
• Accept cash or a payment you can confirm before the puppy leaves. The FTC warns about fake checks written for more than the price with a request to send back the difference.
• Sign a contract with both names, the puppy's description and microchip number, the price, a health guarantee, any spay or neuter terms and a promise to take the dog back.
• Remind buyers to register the microchip in their name; the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup shows which registry holds it.