Available AKC Miniature American Shepherds
Deposit List
Rust Belt Farms reserves the right for first pick puppy from any of our litters to further our breeding program, we will not always hold a puppy back for ourselves but since we breed with intention for each litter we do reserve the right. Stud owners may have second pick of the litter depending on the stud contract of each stud owner, they may not take a puppy but it is a possibility.
Our Process:
We raise our puppies with Early Neurological Stimulation which is proven in studies to help puppies grow up to better respond to new stimuli; from there we raise our puppies following the Puppy Culture curriculum for raising puppies to socialization them to new stimuli in the home & world and give them the building blocks to learn and accept training. We begin potty training & kennel training, but at 8 weeks of age it is unrealistic to expect your puppy to be finished with potty training. Puppies are wormed at 2, 4, 6 & 8 weeks of age with Pyrantel and/or Fenbendazole. At their 6 Week Vet check, we run a fecal test to check for internal parasites and each puppy is checked over by a veterinarian and receives their first puppy vaccine at their visit. Our vet prescribes a flea/tick and heartworm preventative for when the puppies reach 8 weeks old. We run an Embark DNA test on each puppy, we will include a .pdf of your puppy's results which includes both health test results & color/trait results.
Pricing & Deposits:
We ask for a $300 non-refundable deposit that is applied to the purchase price of your puppy, if you would like to place a deposit please email, message or call us for our application. We like to do a phone or video call with our prospective puppy buyers to get to know you. Once the puppies are born, we will upload photos & videos and then like to do a video chat or puppy meet up around 4-5 weeks when they begin to show personalities, we also try to take the puppies to local small-scale socialization opportunities.
Prices are the same for male & female, all colors.
We match puppies to their families. What is our process? Communication and conversation, because we breed for both sport & companionship it is important to us that dogs with attributes that best align to a sport home are matched to a sport home, and the attributes our companion families seek also get matched with those attributes. We do try to offer the choice between at least two puppies as much as possible, and we will discuss their similarities and differences.
Puppy Pick-Up: Puppies may join their families at 8 weeks of age, please plan to pick up your puppy by 10 weeks (unless your puppy is awaiting transportation with a licensed transportation company). We do work with an experienced & licensed ground transportation company that travels the continental United States; I am willing to meet within an hour drive for no-cost. If your puppy needs to stay longer, there will be costs for boarding at $100 per week and additional veterinary appointments for vaccinations to be sure that they stay current.
Deposit list for 2023:
- BH (Performance/Companion)
- SF (Companion)
- DG (Companion)
- CW (Companion)
Co-Own Homes: We are looking for potential co-own partner families for these litters. These would be dogs that would live & compete with you and your family, but would be used for breeding with Rust Belt Farms. This is a partnership, if this is something you are interested in please message us to discuss the specifics. We do offer a few options for co-ownership & partner families to work together, and because of the level of work required for both parties with health testing, breeding, competing, and producing the next generation - we need families that are good at communication & cooperation; we seek to be equitable with our co-own partner families. We will only consider homes that compete, whether its 4-H, AKC, or non-AKC that is up to you what venue and associations work best for you and you enjoy, we are willing to work with Co-Own & Partner families but we do not want to place dogs who may be breeding in homes that are strictly companion. You do not have be at the top of the placings or highly competitive, because we understand that skill comes with time and practice, and some folks enjoy dog sports not to be competitive but to have fun and we respect that.
Our Process:
We raise our puppies with Early Neurological Stimulation which is proven in studies to help puppies grow up to better respond to new stimuli; from there we raise our puppies following the Puppy Culture curriculum for raising puppies to socialization them to new stimuli in the home & world and give them the building blocks to learn and accept training. We begin potty training & kennel training, but at 8 weeks of age it is unrealistic to expect your puppy to be finished with potty training. Puppies are wormed at 2, 4, 6 & 8 weeks of age with Pyrantel and/or Fenbendazole. At their 6 Week Vet check, we run a fecal test to check for internal parasites and each puppy is checked over by a veterinarian and receives their first puppy vaccine at their visit. Our vet prescribes a flea/tick and heartworm preventative for when the puppies reach 8 weeks old. We run an Embark DNA test on each puppy, we will include a .pdf of your puppy's results which includes both health test results & color/trait results.
Pricing & Deposits:
We ask for a $300 non-refundable deposit that is applied to the purchase price of your puppy, if you would like to place a deposit please email, message or call us for our application. We like to do a phone or video call with our prospective puppy buyers to get to know you. Once the puppies are born, we will upload photos & videos and then like to do a video chat or puppy meet up around 4-5 weeks when they begin to show personalities, we also try to take the puppies to local small-scale socialization opportunities.
Prices are the same for male & female, all colors.
We match puppies to their families. What is our process? Communication and conversation, because we breed for both sport & companionship it is important to us that dogs with attributes that best align to a sport home are matched to a sport home, and the attributes our companion families seek also get matched with those attributes. We do try to offer the choice between at least two puppies as much as possible, and we will discuss their similarities and differences.
Puppy Pick-Up: Puppies may join their families at 8 weeks of age, please plan to pick up your puppy by 10 weeks (unless your puppy is awaiting transportation with a licensed transportation company). We do work with an experienced & licensed ground transportation company that travels the continental United States; I am willing to meet within an hour drive for no-cost. If your puppy needs to stay longer, there will be costs for boarding at $100 per week and additional veterinary appointments for vaccinations to be sure that they stay current.
Deposit list for 2023:
- BH (Performance/Companion)
- SF (Companion)
- DG (Companion)
- CW (Companion)
Co-Own Homes: We are looking for potential co-own partner families for these litters. These would be dogs that would live & compete with you and your family, but would be used for breeding with Rust Belt Farms. This is a partnership, if this is something you are interested in please message us to discuss the specifics. We do offer a few options for co-ownership & partner families to work together, and because of the level of work required for both parties with health testing, breeding, competing, and producing the next generation - we need families that are good at communication & cooperation; we seek to be equitable with our co-own partner families. We will only consider homes that compete, whether its 4-H, AKC, or non-AKC that is up to you what venue and associations work best for you and you enjoy, we are willing to work with Co-Own & Partner families but we do not want to place dogs who may be breeding in homes that are strictly companion. You do not have be at the top of the placings or highly competitive, because we understand that skill comes with time and practice, and some folks enjoy dog sports not to be competitive but to have fun and we respect that.
Expecting Late February 2023!
Ambrosia x Parker
Pregnancy confirmed via Ultrasound!
We are excited to announce our next upcoming litter - Ambrosia & Parker, due late February 2023. These will be AKC Miniature American Shepherd puppies; expected colors are black tri and red tri with full tails and natural bob tails possible. Because this litter has conformation potential, we will be docking the Natural Bob Tails. We will not be able to evaluate potential for conformation prospects until 7.5 weeks, so this is an imperfect compromise between the conformation ring's preference for a docked tail and our preference to leave tails natural.
Ambrosia will help to bring down size and provide a lot of athleticism, she has a lot of drive for playing and is my best little herding dog, and Ambrosia has an off switch and also enjoys sleeping on the couch or cuddled next to me watching Netflix. Parker brings an affable temperament, he is very playful and silly and he has a lot of play drive - but he doesn't have much natural skill for herding. Parker has fantastic conformation, his side gait is lovely, a strong topline, a good front with balanced angulation.
We are excited to announce our next upcoming litter - Ambrosia & Parker, due late February 2023. These will be AKC Miniature American Shepherd puppies; expected colors are black tri and red tri with full tails and natural bob tails possible. Because this litter has conformation potential, we will be docking the Natural Bob Tails. We will not be able to evaluate potential for conformation prospects until 7.5 weeks, so this is an imperfect compromise between the conformation ring's preference for a docked tail and our preference to leave tails natural.
Ambrosia will help to bring down size and provide a lot of athleticism, she has a lot of drive for playing and is my best little herding dog, and Ambrosia has an off switch and also enjoys sleeping on the couch or cuddled next to me watching Netflix. Parker brings an affable temperament, he is very playful and silly and he has a lot of play drive - but he doesn't have much natural skill for herding. Parker has fantastic conformation, his side gait is lovely, a strong topline, a good front with balanced angulation.
Litter Plans for 2023
These are our goals/intentions for 2023, dog breeding plans are written in pencil and not ink, they are subject to change.
Dany x ?? - Spring 2023
The plan is for this to be Dany's last litter (**knock on wood**), this will be a sport cross and we are seeking a sport/performance stud who would also help to bring down overall height. Dany produces her gentle, loving, easy-going temperament nicely, Dany is high-drive but also has just as good of an off switch and likes sleeping on the couch while my kids play or watching Netflix.
Nova x ?? - Spring 2023
This will be Nova's first litter, we are looking at AKC/ASCA Australian Shepherd studs that bring drive and performance to the table, with good conformation. Nova is high energy, high drive, very smart, strong herding drive, and adores children and has not nipped at my kids. This will be an AKC/ASCA Australian Shepherd litter.
Entropy x ?? - Fall/Winter 2023
This will be Entropy's first litter, I am looking at studs that have strong attributes for the conformation ring, who produce puppies that excel in versatility for both conformation and performance. I am seeking to produce puppies that will do well in the conformation ring as well as in performance/sport. Entropy is a ray of sunshine in a dog's body, she has wonderful herding instinct and is a fun partner in sports.
Ambrosia x Firenze - Fall 2023
Firenze is the 2022 #1 Fast CAT Miniature American Shepherd; he competes in multiple sports and comes from herding/performance lines from Latigo Farms; he lives in Oklahoma and has competed in trick, CGC/CGCA/CGCU, Disc, NADD Dock Diving Senior, Herding in AKC & ASCA, Iron Dog Weight Pull, and FastCAT. I have been planning this cross for sometime This litter is going to be a blast to compete with in sports
Dany x ?? - Spring 2023
The plan is for this to be Dany's last litter (**knock on wood**), this will be a sport cross and we are seeking a sport/performance stud who would also help to bring down overall height. Dany produces her gentle, loving, easy-going temperament nicely, Dany is high-drive but also has just as good of an off switch and likes sleeping on the couch while my kids play or watching Netflix.
Nova x ?? - Spring 2023
This will be Nova's first litter, we are looking at AKC/ASCA Australian Shepherd studs that bring drive and performance to the table, with good conformation. Nova is high energy, high drive, very smart, strong herding drive, and adores children and has not nipped at my kids. This will be an AKC/ASCA Australian Shepherd litter.
Entropy x ?? - Fall/Winter 2023
This will be Entropy's first litter, I am looking at studs that have strong attributes for the conformation ring, who produce puppies that excel in versatility for both conformation and performance. I am seeking to produce puppies that will do well in the conformation ring as well as in performance/sport. Entropy is a ray of sunshine in a dog's body, she has wonderful herding instinct and is a fun partner in sports.
Ambrosia x Firenze - Fall 2023
Firenze is the 2022 #1 Fast CAT Miniature American Shepherd; he competes in multiple sports and comes from herding/performance lines from Latigo Farms; he lives in Oklahoma and has competed in trick, CGC/CGCA/CGCU, Disc, NADD Dock Diving Senior, Herding in AKC & ASCA, Iron Dog Weight Pull, and FastCAT. I have been planning this cross for sometime This litter is going to be a blast to compete with in sports
Available Older Puppies & Adults
Inky is going to break my heart to sell him, I adore this dog and think he has such a charming and affectionate personality, he is gentle, and well-behaved on the leash and an absolute pleasure to take to Farmer's Market event and meet the public. I have fought myself so hard about selling him or keeping him; because he is nearly my perfect pet dog - but from the standpoint of a breeder, he does not work for my breeding program. He would be a good candidate for a sport dog, considering his parents are Kosmo & Dany; he has the drive and the energy to go all day and give his everything but he is also a focused and calm soul too; he is not going to be the dog ricocheting off the walls. Inky has joined me at work in my office and was a good boy, social with my co-workers and settled down; he has gone to several farmer's markets when I was vendoring and hung out in our booth and got to meet lots of new people.
Inky has completed his full round of puppy vaccines including his rabies, he is microchipped, he has his Embark DNA Panel, and he is ASDR registered "Rust Belt Name Written Here in a Rose Tattoo"
Inky is available to a pet home for $2,500 or with full rights (to an approved program) for $4,000
Inky has completed his full round of puppy vaccines including his rabies, he is microchipped, he has his Embark DNA Panel, and he is ASDR registered "Rust Belt Name Written Here in a Rose Tattoo"
Inky is available to a pet home for $2,500 or with full rights (to an approved program) for $4,000