Hand-raised toy puppies · Est. 2011 Lancaster PA
Our Program
Litle Pups is a boutique toy-breed breeder and puppy placement service built by a second-generation breeder and a small-animal veterinarian. Since 2011, we have hand-raised toy and teacup puppies — Maltese, Yorkie, Pomeranian, Morkie, and Cavapoo — in our Lancaster County farmhouse and delivered them health-guaranteed and crate-trained to loving homes across 38 states.
This is the story of how we raise them, and why every family on our waitlist still meets the same two founders who placed our first litter.
The founding pair
A breeder and a veterinarian, in the same farmhouse.
Litle Pups opened in 2011 in a converted dairy barn on 14 acres outside Ronks, Pennsylvania. Eleanor grew up whelping toy puppies beside her grandfather and brought 30 years of lineage knowledge to the program. Daniel, a small-animal veterinarian, brought a clinic-grade standard of care that most breeders simply cannot offer.
Together they made one decision early on that still defines the program: every puppy is examined by an on-staff DVM at 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Not a third-party clinic. Not a traveling vet. A doctor who lives on-site, sees the puppies every day, and signs the congenital health certificate that travels with your puppy to its new home.
We are intentionally boutique. Fourteen full-time staff, two licensed veterinarians, three certified canine behaviorists, and six dedicated puppy couriers. We place roughly 350 puppies a year — never more than we can raise by hand.
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licensed veterinarians on staff, reviewing every puppy at 8, 12, and 16 weeks
The Litle Pups difference
The five promises behind every puppy.
We pioneered the standards that responsible small breeders now adopt across the country. Here is what comes standard with every Litle Pups placement — not as an upgrade, but as the floor.
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01
On-staff DVM reviews
Every puppy is examined by our on-staff veterinarian at 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Not a third-party clinic. The same doctor who reviews the litter signs the congenital health certificate that travels with your puppy.
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02
2-year congenital health guarantee
Three times the industry standard. If your puppy is diagnosed with a life-affecting congenital condition within 24 months, we refund, replace, or contribute toward treatment — your choice, no arguments.
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24-month socialization curriculum
Newborn ENS through 16-week crate training, mapped week by week and documented in your puppy's portfolio. Pioneered here in 2018 and now adopted by 60+ US small breeders.
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Crate-train-before-delivery
Featured on Good Morning America in 2022 for setting this standard. Your puppy arrives already comfortable in a travel crate, so the courier ride and the first nights home are calm ones.
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AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy graduate
Every puppy is started on the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy curriculum before delivery and graduates with a portfolio of socialization milestones. Your family picks up where we left off — never from scratch.
Audited as often as our puppies are cuddled
The compliance-grade evidence, kept warm.
Trust isn't a feeling here. It's a paper trail. Every credential below is renewed annually and available to any approved family before placement.
USDA Licensed
AKC Breeder of Merit
Responsible Breeder Network
Toy Breed Preservation Society
"We are retired, and we had not owned a puppy in thirty years. The application was thorough — it should be — and the courier arrived at our door in Asheville with the most calmly curious little Morkie we had ever met. He slept in his crate the first night without a sound. The two-year health guarantee arrived in a leather folder with both founders' signatures. We are customers for life."
The 24-month socialization curriculum, pioneered here.
A chronological walk through the program our team developed and that 60+ small breeders across the US now follow. Every puppy graduates with a printed portfolio so your family can see exactly what they were exposed to, when, and how they responded.
Days 3–16 · Early neurological stimulation
Five gentle handling exercises performed once daily, developed by the US military's canine program. We track each puppy's startle recovery and adaptability from day three. The data goes into their portfolio.
Week 8 · First on-staff DVM review
Cardiac auscultation, palate check, patella palpation, eye clear, bite alignment, and a full congenital screening. Nothing is left to week 16 — if we see something, we tell the family that same afternoon.
Week 12 · Temperament testing & family matching
A certified canine behaviorist scores each puppy on recoverability, sociability, sound sensitivity, and touch tolerance. We use those scores — alongside your application — to recommend the puppy whose temperament fits your household.
Week 16 · Crate-training milestone & delivery prep
Final DVM review, second vaccination series, microchip registration, and a graduated crate-training plan that ends with the puppy sleeping comfortably through a six-hour simulated courier ride. This is the milestone that caught Good Morning America's attention in 2022.
Delivery day · Climate-controlled courier handoff
One of our six dedicated puppy couriers drives your puppy to your door in a climate-controlled van, never flown, never third-party shipped. The same person who loads the crate meets your family at the curb with the puppy's full portfolio.