About Us
Welcome to Irongate Kennel located in the beautiful Ozarks of Missouri. We have been breeding dogs for 23 years beginning with Toy and Mini Aussies and English and French Bulldogs. A couple years ago we decided as much as we loved our Bulldogs and Aussies, it was time for a change and to slow down a bit, so we placed our Bulldogs and Aussies in new homes. We decided on a new direction and that was to purchase a few Poodles and Shih-tzu’s wanting a breed that did not shed and could breed and whelp on their own. This was a game changer for us to have dogs that were non-shedding and did not require artificial insemination and c-sections. I could quickly see why Poodles were so popular, non shedding and very intelligent as are the Shih-tzu’s. We are so impressed with how intelligent these breeds are and so loving.
Our main priority is the health and well being of our puppies from birth until they leave with their new families. We health test all our adults to make sure each litter born here at Irongate Kennel has the absolute best start in life. Our dogs are our pets and we make sure they are happy, healthy, socialized and most of all loved!
We raise our puppies so they can easily transition into their new home with their new families. They are handled from day 1 and we desensitize them to touch and sound and above all give them lots of love and snuggling every day. When the puppies are 5 weeks old we start them on potty training using a litter box with pine pellets. By using this method, when puppies go home they can continue this method or if taking outside to potty just pour some of the pine pellets in the corner of your yard you wish for your puppy to use and take them to it. They will associate the smell of the pellets on the ground as the same as their litter box. At week six our puppies are weaned from mom and at week seven they have their 1st trip to our veterinarian for their wellness check. We have an immunization and worming schedule recommended by our veterinarian that we follow. We make sure our babies are as happy and healthy as they can be before leaving their mom and the environment they are used to.
Your puppy will leave here with a veterinary report form completed by our veterinarian after the puppies checkup, all vaccination records, AKC registration, pedigree, micro-chipped, puppy food, toy, collar and leash, and a folder with parent information including health test documents and information on how to care for your new family member.
We are always here for our clients and encourage you to contact us any time with any questions or concerns you may have, and of course we love getting pictures of our babies with their new family!