Ruby Slipper Kennels

1) How do I go about purchasing a puppy from RSK

I first off ask a list of questions that I require any potential new owner to answer. These aren't questions to be nosey, they are just so I can do my best to ensure my puppies get good, loving, forever homes. You can answer the questions when emailing me first, or I will email you with them. Please answer those that apply, and leave the others blank.

They are as follows:

Have you ever owned a Cairn Terrier before?

Are you aware of the grooming requirements of the Cairn?

What are you wanting this Cairn for? Pet, Breeding, Show, etc.?

If pet, do you plan to spay/neuter your new puppy?

If breeding, do you breed Cairns now?

If you do not own your own home, has the landlord approved of you having a dog?

Do you have a fenced in yard?

If you don't, do you have a supervised area the puppy could run free to play?

When/if you go on vacation where will the dog be kept?

Do you have kids, if so, will the puppy be supervised while being with them?

When do you plan to pick up your puppy? (i.e. when it's ready at 7 weeks or later)


Once you answer the questions and are approved, we can discuss which puppy you would like and/or a time to visit. All puppies are on a first come basis, whoever is approved and sends a deposit first, gets the puppy. I've lost out on many homes, waiting on people, therefore I do not hold puppies for longer than 48 hrs, unless I know a deposit is coming. If I haven't received the deposit within 72 hrs of the day it was suppose to have been sent, I will let the puppy go to the next approved family.

2. How often do you take pictures of your puppies?

This varies greatly on my schedule at work (my full time job). I try to get them once a week on the day I'm off, but some weeks I don't get a day off so it just varies on my time.

3. When can I visit the puppies and what do I need to know about visiting them?

I don't allow anyone to visit the puppies before 7 weeks of age. I want to keep my puppies and mother dog as healthy as possible. The more people visiting the more chance of disease, germs, etc. Therefore no one but me and my husband handle the puppies from birth until 7 weeks. The puppies are well socialized, but they aren't picked up and tossed around from person to person. I know where everyone has been so I know what my puppies are being around.

If you are coming to visit a puppy (or puppies) please make note of two things:

1) Even if I have approved you for a puppy via you answering my questions, if I don't feel you are a match for the puppy when you arrive, I have the right to not allow the puppy to be placed in your home. This does not happen typically, but there have been times I would rather hold the puppy then allow it to leave with a family I feel isn't best suited for a puppy.

2) If you plan to bring kids along, whether yours or someone else, please make sure the kids listen upon arrival. This means there is to be no running around and trying to get into everything. Parents have brought their kids multiple times and I have no problem with this, as I feel everyone in the family should be involved and want to get the puppy. However, some parents get sidetracked with the puppy or just allow their kids to do whatever they want, and it is not safe. I am not here for babysitting anything other than puppies and if I am watching your kids, I can’t focus on explaining the paperwork to you, answering any puppy questions, etc. If you bring your kids, I only ask you watch them and make them stay beside of you while we discuss the puppy. If they can’t listen to you it may be best to leave the child with a family member while you come pick up your puppy. I do this to protect you and your child as well as myself and my animals.

​​Kids running around also scare both the puppy and the parents to the puppy. They are not used to kids running around, kids screaming and all other quick advances by kids. If the kids run up to the parents or puppies, it will scare them and make them less sociable to you. This means the puppy will act very shy toward you, when on a normal basis it’s very outgoing and friendly. The parents will also act standoffish because they don’t want to be near something that’s flinging its arms around, shouting, grabbing it, etc. I have seen kids be very gentle with puppies and the sire/dam, and I applaud the parents for teaching their kids the proper way to handle a puppy/dog. Other parents have allowed their kids to run up to the dogs and scare them, grab them, hit their heads, drop the puppy, etc. I can’t begin to count all the times I’ve seen careless things done. I’m not blaming the kids either, because they are just being kids and if they’ve been taught no better, then they don’t know how to behave. But please make sure they understand or are made to listen when you tell them to be gentle with a puppy or dog. It’s terrifying when you’re a 15 lb dog or a 3 or 4 lb puppy and you see this little human running at you full speed ahead. If the kid wants to hold the dog, politely ask them to sit down and allow them to hold the puppy in their lap. This away they can’t drop the puppy and if it runs off you can easily catch it without it injuring itself or your child.

With all of that being said, if the puppy is under 7 weeks of age (when visiting isn't possible) you can place a $200.00 deposit on the puppy to have it held. If it is over 7 weeks of age you can schedule a time with me to come visit the puppy/puppies. If the puppies have just had a shot, I do not let anyone visit or take them home within 48 hours. When vaccinating them, if you stress them out within 48 hours after getting the puppy shot you can cause them to break with the exact disease you are trying to prevent. Therefore I change nothing within 48 hours of the puppy getting a shot. I recommend applying this once you bring your puppy home. When taking the puppy to the vet to get it's checkup, shots, etc. I wouldn't let anyone handle the puppy and would carry it everywhere. You are already having it in a very sick environment. A vet is no different then a Dr. office. Would you drag your child through the doctors office and let them handle everything other sick people have handled? No. I don't think anyone would. The puppy you now own is no different then your child. Until it has had all of it's puppy shots and rabies shot, I would limit the amount of people around the puppy. I would not take it to Petsmart, Petco, etc. and let everyone handle it or drag it across the floor. How many people have had Parvo dogs at a vet, a petsmart, etc.? Even when your puppy gets all of it's shots it can still get sick, but it's not as likely. I wouldn't stress it within 48 hrs. of getting any shot. It can still break with whatever you are vaccinating against. I keep stressing this because I want to make it clear. Just because your puppy was fine with it's first shot at RSK, doesn't mean it won't get stressed with another shot if you do a lot of changing within 48 hours of getting it. I never ever stress them 48 hours after, so that's why I'm recommending you do the same thing at home. A few things you wouldn't want to do for example:

Change food

Bring over a lot of people, especially those your puppy isn't used to

Give any wormer or other medicines (unless directed by your Vet)

Take it out to Petsmart, Petco or other similar stores

Keep everything you can the exact same for your puppy. It's only for 48 hours so it's not a super long time.

4. What comes with a puppy from RSK?

You will receive a folder with puppy information in it, a health record, the 3 day health guarantee, a sheet with Cairn Terrier information, a sample of the food it has been eating, a rag rubbed on the mother dog/other littermates, and toys. They will be current on shots and wormings before leaving RSK. The 3 day health guarantee is for the health of the puppy only, it does not cover if you suddenly decide having a puppy is a mistake or if you're puppy is stepped on while left unattended with your children. It is only for the health of the puppy.

5. What food has my puppy being eating?

All my puppies are fed Purina Pro Plan Puppy Shredded Chicken and Rice. My mother dog is put on this when she is about halfway through her gestation. This away while the puppies are still in the mother dog, they are getting the nutrients from the food. Once they are born they are getting it through her milk, so it makes the transition from milk to solid food easier. I always start off giving them soaked food at about 2 1/2 weeks. From there I gradually transition them over to dry food usually by 5 weeks.

6. What do you accept as payment?

Deposits may be paid in the form of a Money Order made payable to "Sharon Parker" or can be done through my venmo account. Please do not put Ruby Slipper Kennels on the money order, because the account is not listed in my kennel name.

Upon pickup or delivery of the puppy I accept Cash only.

7. How much does a puppy cost?

Please contact me about this. I take into consideration current costs of feed, vet care, etc.

8. Do you ship your puppies?

No. My puppies have never been shipped, and will never be shipped. It is too much stress on the puppy to be shipped. I have heard of too many horror stories of bad things happening. The one that is most prominent in my mind is a person my Dad met. The guy was moving from the east coast and was having his dogs shipped to the west coast. He had 2 dogs, both shipped in seperate crates. 1 dog made it to the proper place, the other dog was sent to Hawaii. The owner did not know this until 1 day later, and then arrangements had to be made to get the dog brought back to the west coast. For this reason and many others I do not ship them.

9. How do I contact you?

You can email me by going to the contact page.

10. Where do your puppies stay?

The puppies stay in my basement in a petyard or exercise type pen. As they get older I enlarge this to two pens together so they have plenty of room. They sleep in a whelping box that has a towel and their toys in it, with access to papers/puppy pads so they can use the bathroom as needed. They normally come out of the whelping box to use the bathroom.  I do not take them outside for the first time until they are 7 or 8 weeks old. I want to make sure they have had their vaccines and are well protected before going outside. I'd rather keep them inside to play, then put them at risk outside.

They get fed their puppy food morning and evening, and have access to fresh water at all times.

11. How often do you breed?

I let my female dog go through at least one heat cycle, before breeding. Then I evaluate if she is capable of having a litter on her next (2nd) heat. I want to make sure she is mature enough to handle having puppies, and I want her to have time to be a puppy herself. Then if she handles it well and she seems ok I'll breed her again (total of 2 times in a row) then she goes on a year break. I do this for as long as I breed her. This away every two litters her body gets a vacation, so it can recoup itself. If she doesn't handle 1 litter well and I see it's not in her best interest to have a 2nd litter, I'll go ahead and let her take a break.

12. What breeds do you breed?

I breed Cairn Terriers only. I want to focus as much attention as I can on my dogs and puppies. I want to make sure I give all my dogs/puppies everything they need. For this reason and many others I don't breed others.

13. Are the parents on site?

I have the mom on site.  My mom owns the Sire I currently use and he stays with her. When coming to visit the puppies if you'd like to see her, please ask. Sometimes I'll have her already with me if the weather is pretty. Otherwise I'll leave them up, so they can stay as dry and cozy as possible.

14. Has my puppy been trained?

Your puppy is used to wearing a break away puppy collar when you pick it up and is used to using papers/pads. I always put a collar on my puppies at 3-4 wks of age. This helps them grow up with a collar and then they don't look at it as being such a horrible thing when they get 6 weeks old. A lot of puppies that don't have a collar put on when being young, will throw a major temper tantrum and object to having one put on when they get older. I like to give my new owners (and puppies) a good foundation to start on. It really helps the puppy settle in quicker and the new owner not be so worried, when they get a puppy that is used to a collar. It makes it easier on everyone. Then instead of learning a collar and leash, it's just learning the leash.

15. "Limited Registration" vs. "Full Registration"?

​​​Limited Registration means your puppy is AKC Registered, but none of it's offspring can be registered with AKC.

Full Registration means your puppy is AKC Registered, and all of it's offspring can be registered with AKC.

The sole purpose for this is if you have a flaw of some sort, that you don't want to pass on to other puppies, then you Limit them.

For example, ​the only time I have ever used the "limited" registration option, is when I have a puppy born with white on its chest. This is considered a flaw for the breed standard of a Cairn Terrier.
These puppies still make wonderful pets and nothing is wrong with them at all. Breeders (like myself) who only want to better the breed, realize that letting a puppy with a flaw go out without limited registration, means you are not bettering the breed or helping it out. You're allowing these flaws to be passed down to other generations which is hurting the breed.
Any puppy with limited registration due to a white spot, is a healthy, normal puppy just like any other puppy in the litter with Full registration. The only difference is, the Limited puppy has a white spot.
Some breeders chose to limit all their puppies, because they don't want you breeding them, or they will charge you an extra $100-$200 to get the same puppy with full registration. My latest male was an extra $150 for Full registration. It doesn't cost me anything more to sell one with full papers then it does limited, but other breeders charge you for it. I believe in allowing other responsible owners the privilege of breeding their puppies. I will not be one of those breeders, who only lets people purchase pet puppies. Most of the people who purchase puppies from me only want pets and end up spaying/neutering them anyways. I daresay 95% who have purchased from me don't breed. But if someone tells me they want to breed it at a future date, I do not charge extra. I don't feel it's right to charge an extra amount of money just because someone plans on breeding their dog. I also, will never limit the registration on my puppies just because I don't want others breeding.

I could go into a huge discussion on this topic, but I won't. I will say this, I do my best to ensure my dogs get wonderful loving homes at a price that is affordable, regardless of pet or breeding.

​Puppies with limited registration are sold at the same price as those with full. Because a puppy has a white spot it doesn't make them less of a dog and I feel that lessening the price "cheapens" the puppy. They are still the same kind of dog as the others, except they have a white spot. The limited registration only means there can't be puppies from that dog, registered. They could still be bred and are still the same as any other pup, except their offspring can't be registered with AKC. I only limit so they genetically won't be able to pass it on and make more Cairns with white. They will still have AKC papers and are still registered. I rarely have a need to limit one because of white, but occasionally a puppy is born with it and I limit them due to that.


16. Can you hold my puppy until Christmas?

No, I will not hold any puppy at all until Christmas. If I have puppies ready to go right before Christmas, I will not let them go. I typically have a deadline of 7-10 days before Christmas, that I don't let the puppies go before then. This has always been a policy of mine that I have strictly held firm to. I believe it's unsafe and unfair to bring a puppy into the family on Christmas Day or right at Christmas.

When you bring a new puppy home, it's a very stressful time for the puppy. The puppy is adjusting to many new things: people, water (yes, this is even a change), routine, house, crate, etc. Adding Christmas time with all the busy things that happen as well as decorations and you are setting yourself and your puppy up for a lot of problems. Think about the Christmas decorations, the ornaments, lights, drop cords, outlets with cords plugged in (more then usual), chocolate, plants, candy, family coming over, people dropping food, people leaving something laying around, etc. It's an unsafe environment for your puppy to be in. The puppy gets lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas and is left up to its own devices of occupying itself. Furthermore, the puppy doesn't get to bond with you, which is something it critically needs, especially in the first few weeks of coming home. If you're going to visit family out of town, who'll watch the puppy? For most people going to see family is at least a few hour visit, not counting road trip time. It's never a set in stone time you'll be gone. Imagine a puppy being brought to your house, stuck in a crate and off you go to family for 6 to 8 hrs or more. The puppy is alone, which it has never had to do before, and has no interaction. No time to potty except in the crate and then you are not training it to hold it's potty. Some people say, we'll I'll take the puppy with me, but hold on just a moment. If you take the puppy with you, what things might it find while at someone else house? Maybe they haven't puppy proofed it like you may have your own home. They'll still be decorations, presents, wrapping paper, food, etc. What if your puppy picks up Chocolate? Then you have a new, sick, puppy and you get to spend Christmas in the ER possibly. That wouldn't be fun anytime of year, but especially at Christmas. On top of all of that, you have taken an already stressed out puppy to a new house, to further stress it out. Once you bring the puppy home, it needs to have plenty of time to settle in to your house and routine, I recommend until the puppy is 16 weeks old and has received all shots, that it doesn't go anywhere and no one brings a dog or other animal in my home until that time. It doesn't need to be taken everywhere. If your family members have dogs, even if they have been vaccinated fully, your puppy can catch something because it's not fully vaccinated until it's had all it's shots. There are so many things to consider. For all of these reasons and then some, my puppies will not leave within 7-10 days before Christmas or up to 5-10 days after, depending on each situation. If the pups are ready to go, say 2 weeks before Christmas, I will let them go then, but I will be selective on which families I allow this privilege to.

17. Do you require me to register the dog with your kennel name?

No, at this time I do not. I feel it's up to the new owner to pick the dog's full registered AKC name. I don't think it's my place to involve myself in that.

18. How long do I have to place a deposit?

Once you have decided on which puppy(ies) you want, I require the deposit to be in my hands typically withing 3 business days. If you are farther away in another state, I will allow up to 5 business days normally. If I have not received the deposit or heard from you in this time frame, you have forfeited your right to own the puppy, and the puppy will be allowed to be taken by the next approved family.

19. What's the difference between temp hold and on hold?

Temp hold means I'm waiting on a deposit to be mailed or to arrive from the family who is purchasing the puppy. On hold means the family has already sent the deposit, I've received it and the puppy is now on hold for them.

20. Can I name my puppy different then you have on your website?

Yes, by all means! I usually try to give my puppies temporary puppy names because it's easier to keep them apart then always saying Puppy 1, 2, etc. If the puppy is put on hold at a very young age, I don't give them names so you may see a "Name Pending", because I'm waiting for the new owner. Otherwise, if you put one on hold that already has a name, feel free to let me know you want it changed if you decide on one before you pick it up. Some people already have a name picked out and others don't. I normally offer this to you in the email that I send the holding agreement to you, but incase I forget, don't hesitate to bring it up to me. Also, if I don't have a puppy named before it gets placed on hold I won't name it until the new owner does since it already has a home.

21. Why does my puppy look shy in the picture?

I have a photography area set up in my house, that I take the puppies to when I take their pics. Typically when I do this they get nervous and scared because of the change to a new environment. When the puppies are younger, up until about 5 weeks, they don't care because they haven't started processing new things yet. When they get about 5 weeks, the prospect of going somewhere new with new sounds and lights, etc. is somewhat stressful on them. I don't hold my puppies in pictures, because they always still look scared, and they also aren't able to be seen as good. I've seen breeders that hold the puppy or puppies all in one big armful and it just isn't how I want to represent my own puppies. I prefer individual pictures and if the puppies get scared, they just get a little scared. It's good for them to go to new areas for socialization and becoming used to new areas. For no longer then the time I take pictures, they don't have time to adjust. If I let them live in my photography area, they'd be used to it and be fine. By the time the puppies reach 7 weeks, they are typically adjusted to the area and the change isn't a big deal to them. If you were to walk by their pen in my house and talk to the puppies, they'd go CRAZY licking you and wagging their tails at you. They get plenty of love and socialization.

22. How do I place a deposit and how much is it?

The deposit process is very easy. If you are ready to place a deposit down on a particular puppy once you have been approved, let me know which puppy you want. I will fill out my holding agreement (which is a contract basically saying I will not sell the puppy to anyone until x date and will hold the puppy until he/she is ready to leave. It also tells me you are serious and while you can still back out if you decide not to get the puppy, it usually weeds out the people who want to flip flop back and forth. The deposit is non-refundable(unless something unforseen happens to the puppy, at which time I would give your deposit back or if I still have puppies left, offer you another puppy), so be sure when you put a deposit down you are serious you want the puppy. Once I email the holding agreement to you, you need to print it out, sign it and mail it to me with your deposit in the form of a money order. If you are placing a deposit via venmo, you can email the holding agreement back to me signed. As soon as you mail the deposit, please email me and let me know. I will hold a puppy for 3 days while waiting on a deposit, 5 days if you're in a state that isn't adjacent to NC. As soon as I receive your deposit, I will email you and let you know it has arrived. If I haven't received it or heard from you within 3 days, the puppy will be back available to the first person who is approved. This has never happened yet, but should someone just want to keep putting me off, I will place it in another home. The deposit of $200 is applied to the final purchase price, meaning you can deduct $200 from your final price.

23. What is the registration process through AKC?

AKC papers are very easy and can be done via mailing in or online. In recent years they have it very very nice online so it's much easier paying with a credit or debit card that way. When you pick up your puppy I provide the AKC papers. Some prefer to register their pups and some don't. I encourage you to at least get the certificate of registration, just so you have proof that the dog is registered in your name and is yours. It's not a necessity though. Once you get the puppy you have up to 10 months roughly to get him/her registered without paying an additional fee. After that AKC charges a fee because you waited so long to register. So, if you plan to register, register them before they reach the date listed on your paperwork (about middle to bottom of the page down). You pick a registered name you want and can check to see if it's available through AKC's website. If the name has already been picked, AKC will tell you so online and you can pick another or they can usually add a roman numeral to your name. It's totally up to you. As of October 2015, it cost $30 to register your puppy. If you want a pedigree or other things, the costs goes up from there per the package you choose. If you ever have questions I can help you or AKC can. They are wonderful with responding in a timely manner.

Please note I can not guarantee height, color, size, weight, etc. as your puppy matures!