Information About The Breeding Program

Hi there, My name is Alina and I am a hobby breeder of chihuahuas since 1993. I raise my babies in my home, as they have their own room in the house just for them, and a large outdoor 10x12 playhouse with 14x20 chain link (for safety) for those sunny days outdoors. I offer tiny to average sized chihuahua puppies in smooth & long coat. My dogs average from as tiny as 2 pounds to the average size of 5-6 pounds (I have gotten very few reports of any pup maturing larger than 5-6 pounds as an adult), and are all from AKC registered parents. Most have many champions in their pedigree which means they were bred to the standards for the chihuahua breed.  

My dogs are put on Frontline monthly flea prevention and Heartgard heartworm prevention (or Revolution), and are all on a regular quality deworming schedule. I offer a health guarantee/sales agreement with each puppy sold, puppy shots (and I inform you on how a vaccination schedule works with a schedule), dewormings using Drontal broad spectrum liquid puppy suspension-the best from my vet., a big size bag of start-up puppy supplies (check the "preparing for a new puppy page" to see the list of items), and/or any of the following: AKC registration full (full reg. will only be given to experienced chihuahua breeders that I approve of) or limited (all puppies that are listed with AKC registration will be limited pet quality, unless you've been approved for full rights), or no papers at all as a companion pet if you do not wish to pay for the fees that AKC will charge you to register the dog with them.  All pups that are sold as companion pets (with or without AKC limited reg.) need to be altered at or before 7 months of age, in which the best age is 5-6 months old.  If the dog is very tiny then I suggest to wait a little longer.  I require my new puppy owners to spay/neuter their pets.  When there is a profit (sometimes the medical expenses for a litter can get very high), then a good portion of the money from all puppies sold gets donated to the animal shelters, and many other charity foundations throughout (not just for animals). And, as you can tell, it goes to the dogs and your puppies!  Any dog that I have bred is welcome back to me in the event the owner needs to surrender the dog.  This is to ensure none of the dogs I have bred into this world will be put in a shelter.

Prices on my beautiful chihuahua pups vary, but are very reasonable compared to some other chihuahua breeders prices of the same or similar quality dogs as I have, that won't offer you what I can as a whole when it comes to services and advice/help. My prices are especially reasonable considering that I have a lot to offer you (medical experience, time, care, top meds./foods, etc.). My prices average in the mid to high hundreds, going up to the mid thousand. I also do not give in to the "t-cup" myth, never have, and never will. I have been around well long enough to know that a tiny puppy may grow into a larger adult. And, a larger puppy may very well stay tiny as an adult. A lot depends on the overall health, exposure, if the dog is raised alone or with other dogs, etc.  The AKC does not recognize "t-cups" as being a group for chihuahuas, it's just the variety of longcoats and smoothcoats under the toy group, and that's all for the chihuahua breed. The most accurate way to go about sizing a puppy, is to look into his background to see what the average sizes are of the parents, siblings from past litters, grandparents, etc. There is a puppy chart but it is not exactly accurate either.  A lot also depends on his overall health and nutrition before and after he is taken to his new home.  Puppies can surprise you when it comes to their weight but people tell me I am right on the mark with my estimates or maybe missed it by a few ounces, or in few cases, a pound or possibly two.

I am located in the east bay area of California and I will deliver within Ca.

I have experience working in an animal hospital in the clinical setting, and very much experience and knowledge with the chihuahua breed. I am always interested in new research. I ONLY breed chihuahuas, and have no interest in breeding any other breed. I live for my chihuahuas!! My dogs are in great health and have wonderful temperaments. I have been given many compliments on how well behaved my dogs are when my clients pick up their new puppy. I have positive experiences with my clients, and I love them very much for giving my babies a wonderful pet home. My dogs and puppies are treated with much love and respect, and constant loving attention.  All my clients are always welcome to contact me via email or phone at any time, day or night.

I will not breed in excess to satisfy the public. I do not breed more than I can handle.  I need to be sure that my puppies have much time to socialize with us, and I can't do that if I have more puppies than I am comfortable with. It is just me and my husband (my sister and mother visit often) and we don't have kids, so my motherly instincts really shine through when I'm with my dogs and the puppies. I am very loving with them, but I also have boundaries for them and they don't get away with everything.  They are not spoiled in the way that some people think is ok.  I know they are my babies but they are still dogs.  They always will be.

I know there are good breeders and also some bad ones out there, and it is your job and responsibility to seek them out and avoid them!  I wouldn't want to lead anyone to the wrong direction unknowingly and put my reputation on the line or put you in a bad situation when leading you to another breeder so it is your responsibility to choose carefully. You are guaranteed a purebred chihuahua with me, no mistakes on that here because I only have akc reg. chihuahuas here and no other breeds! My dogs are only bred after basic or extensive health testing has been done-depending also on how closely I have worked with dogs from their lineage (& I know the health of their relatives at least 2-3 generations back-most are 4-6 gen.), that their temperament is awesome, and they meet the correct standards as best I can for the chihuahua breed. You'd be surprised how many I don't feel have made the cut for breeding for some reason or another.  I feel that you should only breed if you are capable of the whole huge responsibility that comes with it all-& the responsibility is getting bigger and bigger as time goes by since the standards for being a good breeder have gone higher (you're prepared for difficult whelps that usually lead to c-sections), and you do truly love and respect the chihuahua breed. Don't do it just because mom and dad do it, and aunt Rose does it, and cousin Ralph too, etc. You get the picture? That wouldn't really mean that you have a true passion for it, it would just be another business. And, yes I do get calls from people that got their puppy from another breeder telling me of their bad experiences.  I feel bad for them but I cannot and will not interfere into their business between them and their breeder, but I do tell them to not fear their breeder and make them work at correcting their mistakes and working something out, or at least start off by communicating their problem with them (yes, some people are too shy or scared to even take the first step by contacting them).  If you want a puppy from me, and I don't have any available, you will have to wait until I have another planned litter. I don't "overbreed" my dogs, and they are usually retired from my program at around 4-5 years of age, and definitely skip heats here and there, not to be bred at every heat cycle. I feel it is fair to do this because I owe it to them, and when/if I place them at their youthful ages they have better chances at a loving new home at a young age. As a breeder, I cannot keep every dog until their end of time because then I would have too many chihuahuas to be able to tend to their needs the way that I want to, and I am not a dog hoarder.  Yes it is hard to let them go, but I have to if I want to be an attentive breeder, and if the home is loving and they are going to remain happ,y or even happier, then of course I am happy too.   I am not greedy with my dogs.  I know that someone else can also love them as I do, and I am not too jealous to let them go to them.  I do not want to deny them of that.  I like the idea of being able to sleep comfortably at night knowing I feel right about what I am doing.  They have so much going for them, super loving, spunky, friendly, most are trained to do tricks, and beautiful.

I also help organizations of many kinds throughout the years (for pets, exotic animals, a wide variety of human cancer foundations, local firemen, police, etc.) with donations, or on occasion I do volunteer help. I work part time and my husband works full time (I have a medical background for humans and animals as a vet. tech., med. asst., and geriatric caregiver). I used to make visits to convalescent homes weekly and I think I will start doing this again. I feel that it is your responsibility to donate part of your profits or time (or both) to help benefit other animals and people in need that aren't as lucky as we, or our pets are. Please consider doing this if you are a breeder, or if you plan to breed in the future. Only gracious and kind people should be breeders, as it takes a lot of love to raise puppies right and to please the public in todays society. If you do really love the breed, then you will show it by helping in many ways. Please, if you are a buyer, do not give in to the outrageously overpriced charges of some puppies, as some are just outrageously high and I doubt they would be breeding if they didn't profit that much from it. Their money gets pocketed, and none of it is brought back into rotation for the community. Also, some pups are priced very low, and well, in a few cases you may have to pay for it in the end (there could be a reason they are so low), since the breeder may be a novice and cannot or will not help you if the time comes that you are in need of their assistance.  They usually lack knowledge with chihuahuas and breeding in general. 

I hope this has been helpful in explaining a few questions, and when you have other questions for me, please feel free to email me, or if you just want to chat about chihuahuas, email me then too! You don't need to be a "serious buyer" for me to chat with you about your plans for a new puppy. No matter where you decide to adopt your new baby, just be sure that the puppy is healthy (don't ever buy a dog that you "feel sorry for" because in the long run you will be hurting more future dogs by rewarding them when you buy from them & the cycle will continue), the breeder is responsible (has good management over the dogs), attentive and loving toward you and your pup, and that you feel good about the decision you are making.  

If you want to look someone up to see if they have any complaints on them just go to ripoffreport.com and there are detailed complaints that anyone can post up there (type in their name, kennel name, etc).  Some sound like a real "ripoff" to me and a few sound like just a small nonsense fuss that really isn't even a real direct complaint.  So, use your own judgment when reading these and learn other ways too that you can help look out for yourself!  You are not a baby and you need to be responsible for your decisions too.  Just remember it is always ok to say, "no thank you" if it doesn't feel right.

Thank you for listening, Bye-bye!

Email at: chihuahuas@sopharie.com

I have references...don't be afraid to ask and I will be proud to show you my hard-earned respect I am given from my buyers for beautiful puppies and excellent service. Think of your breeder as your hair stylist. They need to listen to you, and you need to have trust in them.

Email me at: chihuahuas@sopharie.com to place a $100 nonrefundable deposit to reserve a puppy. Yes, that's it, just one hundred to reserve your pup! I keep it low because it is nonrefundable, and if you decide later that you won't get the puppy afterall, then you aren't losing out on so much. I'd rather you back out, then take the puppy and not be happy with your decision because that is not fair to the dog. But, I can't hold puppies on peoples word alone. If you see "Sale Pending" that means that a deposit is on it's way for a puppy, so it's on "hold" right after I get a confirmation of sale for that pup for up to 5 days until I receive the deposit in the mail. I do also accept Paypal for the deposit (you must be verified with paypal & add 3% to the total to cover paypals fees). Once the deposit is received, the picture of the pup will be removed from the website and emailed to you. I feed all puppies and pregnant/lactating mothers Nutro Max puppy canned and dry food. Whichever pups are pictured on the available page are for sale, unless otherwise stated. If there are no puppies advertised there for sale, then that means that I don't have any at the moment, but you can put my website on your favorites list, and contact me later.

Thank you, from your breeder of Sopharie Chihuahuas, Alina Toledo