Breeding Plans

Thank you for your interest in Sterling Akitas. A small kennel, we breed a litter every 1-2 years. Having produced a litter in April, 1998, we don't expect to have puppies again for at least 2 years. Prior to breeding, we screen all breeding stock for thyroid levels, hip dysplasia, and eye problems.

In breeding, we focus on producing oriental-looking Akitas with more American substance. In addition, stable temperaments are a must for Akitas bearing our kennel name.

A $100 deposit will reserve a puppy from a litter from Sterling Akitas. This deposit is non-refundable if you change your mind about purchasing an Akita from us, but refundable if we are unable to fulfill your specific need (i.e. no males, and you reserved a male).

For those who wonder about "American" and "Oriental" type, American Akitas generally have black masks and can be any color. Oriental Akitas do NOT have black masks and are either red, white, or brindle. Sterling NW Tiger Moon,is a good example of an American Akita.

 

Our Philosophy

Our rearing philosophy comes out of several years of experiencing problems with our own dogs and observing the problems of others. We have seen a dramatic turn-around in a dog that previously had both me and our vet at wit's end; the positive change resulted after an overhaul of the dog's diet. Another of my dogs has chronic problems that I feel were triggered by poor nutrition and vaccinations.

Seeing the evidence first hand, considering the experiences of others, and reading about and discussing these topics among other breeders and holistic professionals has led to the application of the nutritional/health philosophy we follow in our personal lives to our canine companions. After all, our dogs deserve optimal health as well!

At Sterling Akitas we support Natural Rearing methods. We believe that poor nutrition and vaccines contribute to the overall poor health in dogs. We feed our Akitas a raw food diet and give only rabies vaccine; we have seen health problems from using even this limited amount of vaccine. Because we strongly advocate a holistic approach to dog-rearing, we encourage anyone seeking a puppy to consider this approach whether buying from us or from another breeder. I ask my puppy buyers to read the nosode/vaccine discussion and Catherine O'Driscoll's article on Canine Vaccination for an overview of the vaccination issue. In addition, I strongly recommend Kymythy's Schultze's The ~Ultimate~ Diet and/or Give Your Dog a Bone, by Ian Billinghurst, for an overview of raw feeding.

Puppies leave our kennel eating raw food and we expect our puppy buyers to continue our nutritional and vaccine protocols in the best interest of puppies from Sterling Akitas. For those interested in learning more about this approach, there is an email list for Akita owners dedicated to natural feeding and holistic health of our dogs. Click here to subscribe to Natural Akita.

Guarantees and Prices

Every Akita from our kennel comes with a lifetime guarantee: if EVER, for ANY reason, you can no longer keep an Akita you purchased from us, we will ALWAYS take it back. However, after 30 days from purchase, there will be no refund of purchase price. Also, in order to receive a refund during the trial period, the Akita must be returned to us in the same emotional/physical condition in which it left our kennel. Transportation and/or shipping costs are the responsibility of the buyer.

If a buyer follows a conventional vaccination schedule and feeds only standard commercial dog food, I will not guarantee the health/structure of an Akita purchased from Sterling Akitas, with the exception of the following hip guarantee.

We highly recommend PennHIP x-rays for your pup once it reaches 6 months of age. This exam is very accurate at evaluating hip status. You can have the x-rays done at the same time you spay/neuter your pet Akita to eliminate the need for two anesthetics. For a pet Akita we will rebate $100 upon receipt of PennHIP or OFA certification and an additional $100 upon receipt of a spay/neuter certificate from your veterinarian. However, we will NOT give ANY rebate if the pet Akita has been bred or has had a litter. OFA exams are acceptable if you are unable to locate a vet who does PennHIP exams. However, OFA will not give a final reading until a dog is two years old. In addition, we will rebate $50 each for a CERF certificate and for a thyroid panel done by Hemopet, Dr. Jean Dodds' lab in California.

We will rebate half the purchase price (after rebates) of any Akita from our kennel that develops debilitating hip dysplasia that requires surgery, under the following conditions:

  1. The dog must have been maintained on a raw feeding program and Vitamin C as recommended. We firmly believe that incorrect nutrition can exacerbate joint problems.
  2. Receipt of a copy of the PennHIP/OFA report and proof of completion of hip surgery.
  3. Receipt of a copy of the certificate of spay/neuter, if not completed previously.
  4. The affected Akita must NOT have been bred or had a litter.

Should a show puppy prove to have a genetic problem that makes it impossible or unreasonable to show, we will refund the difference between show and pet price upon receipt from your veterinarian of confirmation of the genetic problem and, after consultation with me, proof of spay/neuter, provided the Akita has not been bred or had a litter.

Regarding the cost of our Akitas, we sell pet and show puppies for the same price, but offer the above generous rebates to bring the cost of the pet back down to average breeder prices. Pets come with a Limited Registration that does not allow registration of offspring of that Akita. We sell pets on a spay/neuter contract, show Akitas on a limited co-ownership.

Our pricing/rebate policy came about as a result of receiving many calls from people looking to purchase pet Akitas for breeding purposes. Their only goal seemed to be to save money up front and make money off the Akita by indiscriminate breeding later on. These people are not interested in producing quality Akitas to better the breed. We oppose such practices and have developed our pricing and screening procedures to weed out such unscrupulous puppy-mill/backyard breeder types.

Our primary interest is in placing our Akitas in good homes and in bettering the breed by responsible breeding. If you are a sincere seeker of a quality pet Akita, we are looking for you and others like you as prospective owners of our pups.

Occasionally, we have adult Akitas in need of good family homes. If you are interested in purchasing an adult Akita rather than a puppy, please contact us for further information about what may be available. Adult Akitas are already spayed/neutered.

Would you like us to email you when we have puppies? Send me an e-mail. Be sure to include your full name, address, and phone number (email addresses have a habit of changing). Tell me what you are looking for (show/pet, male/female), and a little bit about yourself and what you expect from an Akita.

Thank you for your interest in Sterling Akitas.

Barbara Cicognani