Do you sell dogs?

Yes, we sell dogs as puppies. Right now, we are giving them away.

What is the dog breed?

It isn’t a breed. It’s indigenous. Internationally, it is species #348.

Dog “breeds” are selectively chosen for “desirable” DNA qualities, filtering-out “unwanted” traits. The problem is that selective breeding narrows the DNA pool (which is 99.9999999999% of any ‘dog breed’ anyone’s heard of.) This is why almost every dog breed has some risk of DNA disorders, diseases, and so forth.

These aren’t that.

Think “cotton tail” of rabbits freely living in nature, but as a dog. It’s natural, how they walked off Noah’s Ark. Humans haven’t messed with this, except for maybe some mutts that got in the gene line from a stray hunting dog introduced by world explorers 400 years ago. That’s the most you can expect.

These are DNA tested by Embark, 100% Formosan Mountain Dog, and have ZERO DNA defects. It’s not a “breed”, it’s an “indigenous species”, verified by science.

You’ll have to list something under “breed” with your vet or IR chip. The very first owner to adopt one had to insist that they list it as “Formosan Black”.

What are the personalities?

There is no simple answer. We are dealing with a primitive species that human breeders haven’t messed up yet.

Most people think of some dog breeds being good at fetch or others good at protecting territory. Once you own a Formosan, you will realize that those other breeds aren’t good at fetch or protection; they are just bad at everything else.

These dogs aren’t bad at anything. They have nearly all of the natural skill sets.

So, they are extremely intelligent. They protect like a Doberman, love like Retrievers, pack hunt like beagles, catch prey like Airedales, and drive you crazy like Belgian Malinois. They aren’t quite as theatrical as Huskies, but they try to be.

How do I raise the dog correctly?

The key is to dominate and love the dog at the same time. If you let them think they are your boss, then you will accidentally train them to be aggressive. If you can maintain your status as master so that the dog doesn’t think you are under its leadership, then you’ll be fine. But, we have had stories of that “let’s have a time-out” form of guidance unintentionally training the dog to be aggressive. No; assert your dominance. Ask Caesar Milan how to do that.

Mainly, never let the dog have sacred space. Respect the dog, but pet while feeding every time. Never let the dog think that you owe space while eating or they will think you are submitting to them. Rub them all over. Pick them up often. Take them to the store from when they are young so that they learn to be around strange people. Don’t let the dog get a big head or live alone.

If you maintain a constant “invasive, dominant love”, then the dog will love you and be safe.

And, train them. These are smart dogs. They can do almost anything you train them to do. The more you train them, the more they will understand your world. They live to please. Training them to do what you want shows them how to please you. Then, they will be calm and satisfied, knowing that you are proud of their obedience.

What types do you have?

We only raise the Formosan Black (see Blake), the indigenous black dog we technically refer to as the Formosan Takasago Canis, which you see in many of the pictures. In Mandarin, you can call the dog species a Gaoshan Tugou. It is about the size of a beagle.

Read about some of the defining traits and the history of the Formosan Black.

Other varieties of the Formosan Mountain Dog arrived with migration waves and settlers over the last 400–1,000 years. Lucky (the brown dog in some of the pictures) is another Formosan Mountain Dog, but not the indigenous black Takasago. Once we find a mate for Lucky, their puppies will also be available through this site, but they will be “Taiwan Dogs”, not the “Formosan Black”.

How much is a dog worth?

Right now, public demand seems almost non-existent. While surprising, we’re giving away puppies to any owner who is ready for the adventure of owning one. Once the world learns how smart these dogs are, the price will be shocking.

How do I adopt a dog?

We accept cash, money orders or Zelle. We do not accept personal/business checks or credit cards. If you are across the country, you may make your deposit through PayPal, but you must absorb the payment fee. Contact us for PayPal info, a Zelle email, or mailing address.

A non-refundable 20% deposit will hold a dog for you either until it is 7 weeks old or a special pickup date we agree to. Waiting past 8 weeks could raise the total price of the dog because we would be dog-sitting for you. We will give you a notarized receipt with your deposit. If for any reason a dog becomes unavailable, of course we will refund your deposit.

The dog may be DNA tested through Embark for an additional $100, which is our price at bulk discount. This tests for parentage, breed, and genetic diseases, which we have already confirmed through Blake, Flavor and Drake’s first puppy ever. More than anything, the DNA test will permanently confirm the dog is yours.

You will receive a written contract proving your adoption of the dog identified by the Embark DNA codes. The sale will be permanent and you will legally be the owner.

How do I prove the dog is pure?

If you do the DNA test with us, you will be added on the Embark site as a “shared owner”. We will fill out everything, even the DNA records online, when you adopt. You could buy your own DNA test, which should prove the family relation.

The DNA test is more fool proof than anything. Being listed among our dogs will help confirm your dog’s pedigree and your ownership of the dog.

Are the puppies vaxed or chipped?

We usually vaccinate puppies with Spectra 9 at about 7 weeks. If adopting at 8 weeks, which is optimal, you are ready for whatever the next rounds of vaccinations should be.

We do not  IC chip used to tag dogs, but we recommend it. So, we won’t chip the dog before you adopt it. That is for you to take care of with your vet. That keeps us out of the chipping and puts you in full control.

Can I sell the dog after I adopt it?

You can sell it since you fully own it. When you buy the dog from us, it’s your dog. But, we will not certify the authenticity of your dog to just whomever might ask.

Part of this is to avoid animal trafficking. It’s like reselling a car or mobile phone. If your new owner wants to confirm the purity and value of the dog, you both will need to contact us.

If you want to sell your dog, we won’t stop you. But, if the new owner wants us to recognize the value of the dog, that would significantly add to the value of the dog. We take the purity and integrity of this rare breed as seriously as your full ownership of the dog. If you sell your dog and want us to recognize the new owner in our pedigree records and DNA list, there is a registration transfer fee for 20% of the original price, and we require a recent clean bill of health from a vet.

Since we don’t chip the dogs before you adopt, you have full control over the dog’s IC chip and its registration, unless you don’t want a chip. If you want to sell the dog and confirm papers yourself with the chip, you won’t get any trouble from us since we aren’t involved.

Unless you pay the fee for a change, our records will only record the DNA test with you as the original adopted owner. We will not keep any records of your dog’s IC chip, if you get one. Remember, your registration with government ultimately decides the legal owner of your dog. Our DNA test merely confirms the dog itself.

Can I get a refund?

Since this dog variety is scarce and you are more likely to make a profit by putting it up for sale, this doesn’t make much sense. But, if you really want us to buy back the dog, we might buy it back at 50% discount or more, and with some conditions…

The dog must not been neutered or spayed. You pay and we witness a second Embark DNA test confirming the dog is from our family. And, it must have a 30-day clean bill of health and fertility from a vet we recognize.

For the most part, all sales are final. If you just adopted a puppy and in the first month have trouble, we certainly want to help the dog have a good home, so we are here to assist. Please tell us about any trouble so we can find a way to help somehow. Maybe another person has called us for a dog and they might want yours. Just ask.

Why are some Taiwan dogs different colors?

Only the small black dog is truly indigenous. This is what we call the Formosan Black or, being extremely clear and technical, the Formosan Takasago Canis.

“Takasago” means “upper mountain” in Japanese, giving credit to the Japanese researcher who saved it from the brink of extinction in the late 1970s. Using Mandarin, the Taiwanese call this the “Gaoshan Tugou”, also meaning “upper mountain dog”. In Japanese and Mandarin, the “upper mountain” term distinguishes this black, indigenous dog from the other types of Taiwan Dogs (like brown and brindle). Only in the English Formosan Mountain Dog name does “mountain” refer to all types of dogs.

This variety we call the Formosan Black is considered by researchers to be just one type of “Formosan Mountain Dog” among other sizes and colors within the greater species. The terms are confusing, probably because so little has been known about this dog from when the West first began recognizing the species. The brown and brindle dogs really shouldn’t have the word “Mountain” in their proper species name, but alas! The Taiwanese don’t see a difference between ketchup and the tomato sauce we put on pizza and spaghetti. It stands to reason that we don’t see the difference between their clearly different dogs.

As some of our other articles explain, the Formosan Black is the only truly indigenous dog of Taiwan. This Formosan Black dog is the only one we currently raise.

How can I contact you?

If you have other questions or want to inquire about adopting your own rare Formosan Black dog, reach out to us through the Contact page, listed at the top menu of this website.

You may also reach out to chat with us through any of the social media listed on the site. But, bear in mind that messages may be filtered and could take some time. It is advisable to say hello with a message through our Contact page anyway, then message us on social media if you want to chat or call. We answer through X, Instagram, and Facebook.

And, we do look forward to helping these rare dogs find awesome homes with great owners.