Shiloh Creek Kennels Questions...Plz Advise
 

I was using the search feature on the forum for Breeders in North Carolina and came across Shiloh Creek Kennels. The post I found gave very good reviews.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/bre...-carolina.html

The post is very old but was recently updated with a new post by a fellow YT member having purchased from this breeder and is very happy with them.

I was just curious if some of you awesome YT members could help me a little by giving this breeders website a quick look over and tell me what you think please.

Shiloh Creek Kennels

Questions for people that have purchased from them:

1. When you went to get your puppy, where did they have their dogs located? And what were they kept in?
2. Did you get to meet the parents?
3. Were you invited into their home?

As for others that would like to help me, I have these questions:

1. They offer 3 breeds of dogs, which is a red flag right?
2. Apparently they have 24 Adult dogs, isn't that a crazy amount of adult dogs to have in one location?
3. They have apparently sold a lot of dogs because there are a ton of past puppy pictures, so does this make them seem more honorable?

I have started emailing with the owner and she responds promptly and seems very knowledgeable. She mentioned that they sell about 70% of their babies to repeat buyers & referrals. So people must be coming back for more.

Thank you everyone for any guidance you can give me.

Well, if they're in house raised, then why do they have the kennel?

They have 5 kinds of dogs: Maltese - Chihuahua - Yorkie - Biewer - Shih-Tzu.

I would Google the kennel name and see if anything negative turns up there.

Oh wow 5 kids of dogs!

Great idea to do a search for reviews. I only found one so far:

Repeat buyer
Diane and Randy are two of the nicest people you can meet. They take great care of all of their "kids" (that's what they call their dogs). I purchased a chihuahua puppy from them a couple years ago and just recently, I got a yorkie from them. Diane is very straight-forward. She is not the kind of person who will just tell you what you want to hear to sell you a dog. These are great breeders who you can trust.
Reviewer: Jennifer, December 19, 2007

Thank you for replying Karen :)

I tried to get on their website, my antivirus said to leave website, website known for stealing personal info, so not sure why that happened?:confused: Anyways, I have nothing against other breeds at all, I just prefer to have a breeder that sticks with one breed. Having 5 different breeds, that are used for breeding would be a red flag for me.

Wow , I find it odd that she breeds 5 different kinds of dogs, I would think that is a red flag.... but who am I :confused:

I think you have found sufficient evidence to steer clear from the breeder. If you are not 100% comfortable why not take your time to find a breeder who you know is reputable and does not have 24 dogs. I didn't look at the website but from the information you provided it does not seem like a place I would want to buy my dog from. Why not try a breeder in your area that is on the YTCA list and shows and breeds one type of dog.

Yorkshire Terrier Club of America

They do have beautiful past puppies, but as far as I can tell they don't do any type of conformation showing which would turn me off, I see nothing about health testing which is a MAJOR red flag, and I don't see any of there adult dogs having pedigrees displayed on the site.

One of the past puppies is actually a member of YT but I don't know what the members name is.

Thank you Mary, Jeannie, Vanessa, and kharise for all of your advice. Vanessa I looked on that website you gave me, great list! I emailed one of them and hope to hear back soon. Honestly my biggest issue with Big Named Breeders is that I can't afford them. *sigh*

You would be very surprised how reasonable show breeders are. Many price their puppies the same as backyard breeders. Even if you have to pay a few hundred dollars more upfront, it is well worth it in the long. Reputable show breeders are very knowledgeable about genetics and health test prior to breeding. That "bargain puppy" from a BYB can cost you a fortune in vet bills over the course of it's lifetime.

Getting a puppy from a reputable show breeder will also guarantee that you will get a puppy that will grow up to look and act like a Yorkie is supposed to. Many people come on here asking if their puppy is purebred when he grows to weigh 15 pounds, have a short, sparse coat, huge ears, etc.

Many of the "big named" show breeders can refer you to other smaller show breeders who may be more reasonable, too.

True, but a good breeder who does the proper tests is most likely to save you a lot of vet bills in the long run... that's just my opinion though. Scruffs was a re-home but I tracked down his breeder. They don't show their dogs and have like 4 different breeds, I would never have bought a dog from them but they are better than some places out there (thought not the best).

Hello fellow North Carolina YT Friend :)
I don't mind paying more money up front. When I bought my Chloe I put $500 up front. I guess maybe I feel Intimidated because they are so smart and knowledgeable about Yorkies when I am still learning. I fear they will not want to sell me one of their precious babies because they may feel I am not good enough. I need to work on my self-esteem issues huh? lol I have heard stories of breeders not selling to people because they felt the person was not good enough.

So true. Wish I would have listen to you in the beginning. : ).

You might have to save uo for a few months but believe me it is well worth it. Most breeders require a deposit. You can put down your deposit and when its time to pick out or pick up your puppy you will have the money. I thought show breeders wanted loads of money but when I actually started emailing them I was soooo surprised!

I am the original OP of that thread about them, but I closed my old membership account here a few months ago and just re-joined under this new name recently. My opinions have changed quite a bit since that post, please PM me and I can tell you anything you need to know, as I used to work for them and was at their home a lot.

I'm a little confused at some of the responses. I have been to many show breeders web sites and have never seen anything about any testing they are doing. Actually for as many members as there are in the YTCA you would think that there would be 100's of pages of testing, when there are not even 9 full pages.
So the fact that this person doesn't say anything about testing shouldn't be an issue.
I have talked to her and she seems to be a very caring person. She is a stay at home mom and these dogs are their children. Maybe you should just go there and see for yourself. Asking for someone's opinion that has never been there or talked to her may not be the answer. I have seen people highly recommend someone here, and they turned out to be horrible breeders and the dogs lived in deplorable conditions.

I may send you a quick PM here in a few minutes. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my thread. Oh and Welcome back to YT!

Thank you for your response. That is nice you have talked to her. I thought she seemed very nice as well in our emailing back and forth. I only asked for other's opinions because I don't feel it hurts to do so, the more info the better. :)

Actually, I've found that any breeder that is reputable would post that they atleast do testing on there dogs. You don't even have to list what you do as long as you say that you have done some testing (although I would rather you list the testing you do).

Anyways, that fact that someone seems nice doesn't mean they have healthy dogs. You should always make sure someone test their dogs! You never know what could be in a dogs genes. Tha fact is that these dogs could be goregous dogs but have something that might show up with age and you could end up with a diseased puppy. Why would I want to spend 800+ for a dog that I might end up spending 1000+ on vet bills because I bought from a breeder that doesn't test their dogs. That would be stupid right? So I would think she would health test.

But its up to the buyer. I would email or call and make sure she test for everything before I would even consider a pup from her.

If anyone has any questions about us please contact me personally & I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.336-767-9250
Thank You
Diane Rutledge
Welcome

Hello,everyone I did a short posting & then decided I would add a little more. I have never been on here before & had someone tell me this was being posted about us & it is very hurtful. Our dogs are considered our kids ,raised with respect & love. They have excellent pedigree's which I choose not to post because it is sad to say people will STEAL them. They are raised for quality,health & to give happiness to pet home families. We have MANY REFERENCES AS WELL AS OUR VET. who can tell you that as well.If anyone has ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT US AT ALL JUST CALL ME OR MAIL ME TO CALL YOU & I WILL GLADLY ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. I just ask that you please don't talk about us on here,talk to me, I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank You
Diane Rutledge 336-767-9250
Welcome

My mistake
 

Well I apologize, I hurt my back a few days ago and have been on bed rest and on some strong medications, I honestly do not even remember posting this last night. Someone emailed me and asked about it, that is the only reason I came back to check. What I believe I was trying to convey...and it didn't come out that way, is that my opinion probably isn't valid anymore since I have not seen them or talked to them in a long time. It seems they have changed a lot and done a lot of downsizing and focusing on Yorkies more than anything else, so I honestly don't know that much now about how many and what breeds she has, because I haven't been there in almost 2 years. Someone who read that old thread of mine had asked me a bunch of questions about the dogs they have, and I told her I honestly don't know anymore...I haven't been there in a long time and I haven't even looked at the website recently. What I was going to say in a PM was something about the kennel/dogs being kept inside. I was going to say that her pregnant moms, nursing moms, and all puppies are kept in her house...so that is what she means for the person that asked. As for the other questions I was going to say that the best thing to do was ask her and go to her house to see them yourself, because again I am not entirely sure. The only thing I meant to comment on is that although I'm the original OP of that other thread I haven't been there in a long time and I think she has changed a lot with her breeding program and dogs, etc. and that I knew she keeps her puppies and pregnant/nursing moms inside all the time. Otherwise, I don't know and those questions should be asked of the breeder herself or someone who has been to her home very recently. I also don't have any dogs from her anymore, they have all been spayed/neutered and all but 1 are now in different forever homes, so I'm no help there either. I just saw that my old thread was brought back up recently, but is probably no longer valid since I am no longer there. I hope that makes more sense, I am going back to bed now, ha. Sorry for any confusion...:confused:

Completely OT, and I apologize for doing this but....

Nikki, right? I'm hoping I remembered your name! I had wondered whatever became of you? Why, if you don't mind my asking did you close your other account and open a new one?

Hi, I stopped coming to YT last year, I was just too busy and would forget all about it. So I closed my account. Then a few weeks ago I came across a thread I wanted to read that was directed here from another site, and I remembered that you couldn't look at pictures unless you were a member, so I had to sign up again to do it. :p

I have a little boy originally from Shiloh Creek Kennels, whom I purchased through Nikki- former Emeraldshadowqueen now Madedo or whatever. I personally wouldn't ever purchase another pup from either person, but that's my opinion based on my experiences.

That being said, I wouldn't give Ryder up for ANYTHING, but I certainly have been through a lot with him..

I would like to share my experience...

We got our boy, Stormy, from Diane and Randy at Shiloh Creek Kennels. We did not know them before inguiring about the puppy so, I have no previous opinion, good or bad, to go on.

All I can say is that our boy is perfect in every way. My family had recently lost our beloved Westie to a terrible accident and making the decision to bring another baby into our home was difficult, especially for my children ages 10 & 8.

Both Diane and Randy were very understanding of our situation and even took time to speak with my children about the loss of our Westie. I just can't say enough good things about them. They were certainly a blessing to us at a time when we needed them the most.

Just to reinforce this if anyone is ever looking back at this thread, I got my girl there. The breeder sold her to me at 8 months because she wanted to keep her to breed originally but she was only 4 lbs and she knew she wasn't going to get big enough.

In that sense, I find her a responsible breeder to make that call. She LOVES her babies and cried when I got my girl because she was going to miss her so much. A great breeder!!

Anyone looking for Biewer puppies? I have several available.

Contact me at dee@houseofwags.com