Hi friends! It’s Ranger and Helen here today answering all your most frequently asked Ranger questions. Ranger has brought me so much happiness, she’s everything I wanted in a best friend (and more!), and I love taking the time to talk to you guys about her!

I figured it’d be easy to have this blog post as a great point of reference, but of course please keep reaching out if you’d prefer to talk over the phone, or if you have further questions that we didn’t answer here!

FAQ: Ranger.

Where did you get Ranger?

I got Ranger from a breeder in Virginia. To get all the details about my breeder delivered directly to your inbox, click HERE.

Wow, Virginia? That’s far! Why didn’t you get Ranger closer to Connecticut?

Maybe it’s the biology major in me, but I spent hours (yes, HOURS!) researching to find a reputable breeder near me. I checked CT, NY, heck, the whole Northeast and that’s before I moved on to Ohio and Pennsylvania. Basically I checked everywhere from North Carolina to Vermont (I’m not sure if I really explored Maine) and this was one of maybe three places that I could verify as being reputable.

I am 100% against puppy stores, like Puppy Love or that pet shop in the mall. Yep, those. They source their puppies from puppy mills, which if you’re not familiar with puppy mills, they have terrible living conditions for the animals. I’d say look it up, but you probably don’t want to do that because the images that will come up are really sad.

In the process of finding a reputable breeder, I called up countless “breeders” in the area to learn more about their practices. To be quite honest, their websites were questionable at best. PRO TIP: if the website seems shady then it probably is a shady business! If they can’t give you a straight answer or a clear definite, yes we breed them here ourselves, they they get them from puppy mills.

Another red flag is when you see a “well-establish breeder” in a city. I’m not saying that can’t exist, but think about it. A quality breeder needs space for the dogs to live in the proper conditions and a city environment doesn’t really afford them that luxury. I came across a “breeder” in Staten Island and after doing a little digging I found out they weren’t actually breeders. Instead, they were getting their puppies from puppy mills.

To put it into perspective, I got Ranger in the middle-of-nowhere Virginia. The breeder lives on acres and acres of land and had plenty of room for her “runs” which is the technical term for where the dogs live.

What breed is Ranger?

Ranger is a Maltipoo (Maltese and Toy Poodle mix). Her mom is a Maltese and her dad is a Toy Poodle.

How much did Ranger cost?

$950 (This is actually really inexpensive for a “designer dog” that’s the fancier way of saying Ranger is a mixed breed. Ha!) Since getting Ranger, my breeder has raised her prices to around $1,200.

How much does Ranger weigh?

Ranger is 5lbs ! When I brought her home she was just under 2lbs. Can you believe it?! She’s more than doubled in size! To me she is huge because when I brought her home she was the size of my foot. How cute!?

How old is Ranger, and how old was she when you brought her home?

Ranger is two weeks shy of being 5 months old. Gosh, time flies! I brought Ranger home when she was 8 weeks old. I know some places wait until at least 10 weeks old, and yes, she was really young when I brought her home, but she adjusted perfectly fine and within a few days! The breeder said it’s typical for puppies when they are brought home to not eat for a few days, but Ranger seemed completely fine with leaving her birth mom and coming home with me. Long story short, she was super easy and we had no problems with her adjusting to life in Greenwich, CT!

How much will Ranger weigh when she’s full grown?

***Updated 2/15/2020*** Ranger weights 5lbs and she is full grown. She reached her full-grown weight at around 6 months.

Which vet do you use?

Ranger goes to Rye Harrison Vet and sees Dr. Pisciotta. We’ve been really happy with our experience there so far! Ranger unfortunately had an incident where she got into a bag of M&M’s at 11pm one night. I called their emergency/after hours number and received a call back within 10 minutes. I was so grateful to have that kind of care and service from them! And yes, Ranger is perfectly fine now!

Where do you board Ranger when you travel?

My parents, who also live in Greenwich, watch Ranger while I’m away. I wish I had a recommendation for a great boarding place, but luckily haven’t had to look into that yet. If you have any suggestions of great boarding places in/near Greenwich, please let me know so I can share with anyone who asks me. Thanks!

Ranger is a small dog, does she bark?

***Updated 2/15/2020*** For the first year and a half Ranger rarely barked. When I say rarely, I mean less than 5 times a week! I know, I was shocked too… some people have said to me it’s because she’s still a puppy and once she get’s older she’ll bark more, but Ranger has lived with us for almost 3 months now and she is more than comfortable in our home.

Ranger is now 19 months old and she barks more frequently than when she was under a year old, but it’s still not terrible. She’ll mainly just bark when she hears someone outside or if she sees a dog walking by the window. Aside from that, she is still pretty quiet.

Is Ranger crate trained? Does she sleep through the night?

Yes and yes! I was able to crate train Ranger in 3 days. Yes, really! Anyway, yes she is crate trained and it only took her 1 week to start sleeping through the night. Thank goodness! She now is known for sleeping until 9:30-10am some mornings! We put Ranger to bed anywhere between 10pm and 11:30pm. Most of the time she’ll wake up in the morning when she hears us puttering about (8am-9am), but sometimes, if we’re really quiet we get lucky and won’t wake her, so she sleeps in for an extra hour! Or maybe she just lays in her crate awake, either way, it’s really nice to have some quiet mornings to myself where I can get a lot done without Ranger distracting me.

What is Ranger’s temperament like?

A lot of people who reach out to me aren’t familiar with the breed Maltipoos, but they see Ranger and think she’s so darn cute they have to have one too! I don’t blame you…obviously! I didn’t know a lot about Maltipoos either, but when I read online that the get really attached to their owner and needs lots of attention and love, I was sold! I mean, that describes me as a person, so having a dog like that would be perfect right? Yes.

Since Ranger’s still a puppy it’s hard to speak to her true temperament, I know she’ll settle down some with age, but right now I’d say she’s awesome! She bites our fingers and toes a lot, because she’s teething, and she’s not great around food (but that’s our fault because we eat our dinners on the couch…can’t believe I just admitted that here!).

The best way to describe Ranger is that when I’m home in our apt she never wants to leave my side. I’ll be in the shower and she’ll lay on the bathmat waiting for me to get out. If I’m washing dishes, she’s laying by my feet the whole time. If I’m working on my blog, she’s laying under my desk. You get the picture. Ranger is a complete mush pot and you know what, so am I!

We love spending our days together. Ranger loves being held and we start each morning with me picking her up and carrying her around like a baby when she comes out of her crate. I know this sounds ridiculous, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. If I didn’t give her that attention, then she’d be jumping on me to pick her up. It’s so funny! She loves being held like a baby, she loves playing fetch, and while we’re watching TV at night she’s always curled up on the couch with us. I can’t say this is what every Maltipoo is like, but that’s Ranger for you in a nutshell.

Where do you buy Ranger’s pet food, treats, and toys?

Ranger’s food and some of her treats come from a local, family-owned pet shop called Choice Pets. They have a Greenwich location (they have lots of other locations in CT and neighboring states!) right next to Whole Foods, which is in walking distance from me! I also have received a lot of treats and toys from Mooshiepets, which is an online boutique with a carefully curated selection of all-natural, organic, non-toxic pet products. I’m talking top of the line human-grade treats, made in the USA toys, and more! Ranger’s favorite treats are linked here, and one of her favorite toys (which keeps her entertained for more than just a couple of minutes) is linked here!

What brand of food do you feed Ranger?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from owning a puppy, it’s that food is such a personal preference! Some people are completely against foods with grain in them, others are fine with whatever, some people even cook their dogs their food daily! I mean, it really just depends on what you’re able to afford and what you’re comfortable with.

Ranger’s puppy food does have grain in it. It’s a high-end food brand, I think it’s called Grandma Mae’s, but honestly, my best advice is twofold: talk to your vet to see if he/she has any preferences and also talk to your local pet shop to see what their input is! And yes, emphasis on LOCAL PET SHOP! This is no exaggeration here, but I don’t know what I’d do without Choice Pet’s employees! They’re so helpful and have never steered me wrong. Each item they’ve suggested I buy for Ranger, Ranger has loved.

I get that ordering stuff off Amazon is super convenient, but at the end of the day, Amazon isn’t going to place a sales associate in front of you with tons of experience and knowledge about what toys, treats, and food are best suited for your pets. Okay, tangent over! I’m so lucky to have Choice Pet and Mooshiepets in my life! They’ve been invaluable to me (and Ranger) so far!