Puppy Go-Home Process
Contract, Health Guarantee, Vaccination Protocol, and AKC Registration
Current Shomaisou companion home placement workflow and documents.
Current Placement Document Hub
This page brings the core Shomaisou companion puppy go-home materials into one place: the current companion home contract template, the Health Guarantee policy, the vaccination protocol, and the placement workflow from application through records, payment, microchip, pedigree, and AKC registration.
Primary Application Intake
Good Dog is our primary application intake process. Families should begin there when they are ready to be considered for a Shomaisou companion puppy.
Good Dog Payment Link
When a puppy is listed and placed through Good Dog, families may use the Good Dog payment link as directed during the offer and contract process.
Go-Home Workflow
- Application. Families begin by submitting the Shomaisou puppy application, preferably through Good Dog, which is our primary application intake process. The application helps us understand household structure, experience, expectations, activity goals, and long-term suitability for a Shiba Inu.
- Engagement and review. We review the application, may ask follow-up questions, and may schedule a call or consultation. Approval means a home may be a good fit; it does not reserve a specific puppy, sex, color, or litter.
- Evaluation and placement offer. Puppies are matched after development and evaluation. Decisions about whether a puppy will remain in our breeding program or be offered to another home are made between six and eight weeks, based on the puppy's best interests, temperament, structure, health, household fit, and long-term suitability.
- Contract preparation. The companion animal placement contract is completed with buyer information, puppy identity, call name, registered name, microchip, sex, color, whelp date, sire, dam, AKC registration information, transportation terms, and incorporated attachments.
- Signatures and payment. Contract signatures are completed before or at transfer. The current companion contract template states a Companion Animal price of $3,500. Payment is handled only after a formal placement offer and contract process. Homes do not need to use the Good Dog payment processor for puppies that are not listed on Good Dog.
- Records and go-home packet. The go-home packet includes vaccination and health records, microchip information, pedigree information, the current contract documents, Health Guarantee attachment, and vaccination protocol requirements.
- AKC registration and microchip. The contract template provides for Limited AKC Registration, prepaid AKC registration, a Gaylord's or Gaylord prefix, and an ISO microchip listed in AKC Reunite. Buyers must maintain current microchip contact information and list the breeder as a secondary contact.
- Veterinary exam and transition window. Buyers must have the puppy examined by a licensed veterinarian within seven days after taking possession. The contract template provides a seven-day return window for any reason, subject to the contract terms.
- Ongoing care and updates. After go-home, the buyer assumes responsibility for health, feeding, training, socialization, appearance, and welfare, while following the contract, Health Guarantee, vaccination requirements, and agreed communication/update expectations.
Co-Owned Litters and Puppy Preschool
Shomaisou co-owns some dogs with other breeders, and those co-ownership arrangements may determine where a litter is whelped. In addition to our home in Ohio, we work with co-breeders in West Virginia and Michigan.
Whelping and Preschool Logistics
Puppies whelped with our West Virginia co-breeder and puppies whelped at our home in Ohio are moved to our Michigan co-breeder at five weeks of age for Puppy Preschool through eight weeks of age.
Between six and eight weeks, puppies are evaluated to determine whether they will remain in our breeding program or be offered to other homes. New homes may also elect additional training through the Extended Puppy Preschool program.
Good Dog Listing Note
Because of how our co-bred and co-owned litters are raised, and because our understanding is that Good Dog listing policy requires a puppy to be whelped at our home in order to be listed there, not every Shomaisou litter will appear on Good Dog.
For puppies that are not listed on Good Dog, families do not need to use the Good Dog payment processor. Application review, contract signatures, records, and placement details still follow the Shomaisou process.
- Good Dog profile: View Shomaisou on Good Dog
- Good Dog application: Submit a Good Dog application
- Good Dog payment: Open the Good Dog payment page
- Other litter resources: Current Litters, Live Cams and Puppy Updates, and Petnax listings may show litters or puppy information that is not listed on Good Dog.
Companion Home Contract Template
The current companion animal placement contract template identifies the breeder, buyer, puppy, sire, dam, AKC registration, microchip, purchase price, incorporated attachments, dispute process, and responsibilities of both parties.
Contract Highlights
- Purebred Shiba Inu with AKC registered parents.
- Limited AKC Registration for companion placement.
- Pedigree provided on the date of purchase.
- AKC registration is prepaid and completed by the breeder on or before sale.
- ISO microchip inserted by the breeder and listed in AKC Reunite.
- Seven-day licensed veterinary examination requirement.
- Seven-day return window as described in the contract template.
- Health Guarantee and vaccination protocol incorporated into the placement documents.
Buyer Commitments
- Maintain the puppy in good health with periodic veterinary care.
- Provide proper indoor shelter, quality food, exercise, care, and socialization.
- Return the dog to the breeder if the buyer can no longer keep the dog.
- Maintain current microchip contact information.
- Provide reasonable progress updates and photos.
- Follow contract restrictions regarding breeding, transfer, and welfare.
Health Guarantee Policy
The Health Guarantee is incorporated into the companion animal placement contract. The current contract template links the Health Guarantee as Attachment B and states that no refund, in whole or in part, is available after seven days except as specifically stated in the Animal Placement Contract and Health Guarantee.
- Current Health Guarantee Attachment B: Open Health Guarantee Policy
- Contract Definitions Attachment A: Open Definitions
- Vaccination requirements: Review the Shomaisou Vaccination Protocol
Vaccination Protocol
Shomaisou supports thoughtful, age-appropriate vaccination and preventive care. Core protection matters, especially distemper, parvovirus, and rabies, but the protocol is designed to avoid unnecessary overlap, poorly timed combinations, avoidable higher-valency vaccines, and rushed medical decisions during sensitive developmental periods.
Core Requirements
- Review the puppy's actual records before giving boosters.
- Use a limited distemper/parvovirus vaccine when reasonably available.
- Do not give rabies at the same time as any other vaccine.
- Do not give optional vaccines together with core vaccines.
- Separate optional vaccines from core vaccines by at least two weeks; three to four weeks is preferred when practical.
New Owner Actions
- Schedule a wellness visit with your veterinarian soon after pickup.
- Bring every vaccination, microchip, fecal, and wellness record provided by Shomaisou.
- Ask your veterinarian to identify the next due date based on records already given.
- Avoid uncontrolled dog parks, high-traffic pet-store floors, rest stops, and unknown dogs until the puppy series is complete.
- Use safe, controlled socialization and handling practice.
Go-Home Records Checklist
At go-home, families should review the provided records and keep them together for their veterinarian, AKC registration, microchip registry, and long-term care file.
Placement Documents
- Signed companion animal placement contract.
- Definitions attachment.
- Health Guarantee attachment.
- Vaccination protocol link and requirements.
- Transportation or pickup details, if applicable.
Puppy Records
- Vaccination and health record.
- Microchip number and registration information.
- Pedigree information.
- AKC registration information.
- Sire and dam information.
Questions Before Go-Home?
Families are welcome to schedule a call to review contract steps, records, vaccination timing, pickup details, or how to prepare for the first veterinary appointment.