Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do you have any puppies available?
Q. How far in advanced should I contact you if I'm interested in a puppy?
Q. How much does a puppy cost?
Q. What is your puppy-raising protocol?
Q. When do the puppies go to their new homes?
Q. Are the puppies AKC registered?
Q. What food do you feed your dogs?
Q. What vaccinations and preventatives do you give your dogs?
Q. What are my options for picking up my puppy?
Q. How do you match puppies to their new homes?
Q. What is in the Puppy Pack?
Q. Do you have a health guarantee?
A. We don't breed that often, and when we do, we already have a wait list. We are not a pet store and we do not have puppies available 24/7/365. Our litters are carefully planned, sometimes years in advanced--and that means often times most of the puppies are spoken for before they are born. Occasionally, we may have some available if we have a larger litter than expected or if we hold a puppy back as a show prospect that we later decided to place in a pet/companion home. However, this is why, if you are interested in one of our puppies, we highly recommend filling out a puppy application in advance to discuss being placed on the wait list.
A. If you know you're interested in one of our dogs, its not too early to reach out. Even if your timeline for a puppy is a few years out, that's okay! We often have wait lists that are more than a year out for people interested in certain pairings.
A. We do require a $500 deposit to be placed on our wait list. This deposit is credited to the final purchase price. Once the litter has arrived, we will contact those on the wait list to let the know whether we have a puppy that fits their gender/color preferences in the litter. Puppy matches are made to specific homes around seven weeks old, once temperament and structural evaluations are done. If there is no puppy in the litter that matches the home's preferences in color/gender/temperament/purpose, the buyer can choose between moving the deposit to a future litter or having the deposit returned.
Our pricing ranges from $3000-3500. The pricing varies from litter to litter depending on the expenses related to that litter. However, we do not charge different pricing based on sex, color, "pick order," or any other differentiating factor.
A. Yes. All of our companion puppies are sold with limited AKC registration on non-breeding contracts. This enables the dog to participate and earn titles in all AKC events except conformation. Show prospects are sold with full AKC registration to approved show homes on a co-ownership agreement with titling and health testing requirements.
A. We continually evaluate the puppies as they grow and mature. Between 7 and 8 weeks they will have an official structural evaluation and be temperament tested. Based on those evaluations and our overall impressions, we will select our show and performance prospects and as well as which type of pet home would be suitable for each puppy. We then use the information provided in the puppy application and subsequent conversations to match puppies to the homes that will best fit their structure, temperament, drive, and energy-level. We believe matching puppies to the right home sets the puppy up for success and helps ensure the new owners preferences and exceptions in their new companion are met.
A. We practice early neurological stimulation (ENS) and follow the Puppy Culture protocol and Avidog practices.
A. Puppies go to their new homes between 8-10 weeks. Occasionally, we may have puppies that we've held back longer to evaluate as show prospects that we place as older puppies. One key benefit of getting an older puppy like this is that it will have a head start on training.
A. We encourage owners to come pick their puppies up in person. We like to meet the owners and it also gives the puppy owners the opportunity to meet the dam. On a case-by-case basis, arrangements for in person delivery can be made. We do not use third-party transport or "flight nannies" as we prefer to meet our puppies new families in person.
A. We begin de-worming puppies at two-weeks old and repeat every two weeks until they go to their new homes.
At six-weeks old, we vaccinate them for distemper/parvo. This vaccine must be repeated in a series in order to ensure immunity. We will provide vaccination records for your vet to pick up the vaccination schedule and conclude the series of vaccines. Most vets will space the vaccines out every 3-4 weeks, so by approximately 16 weeks, the series should be completed. It is imperative that the new families complete the series to ensure puppies are fully protected.
Puppies will also receive a bordetella and leptospirosis vaccine before leaving. Puppies will need to be vaccinated for rabies after arriving in their new home. We recommend waiting for the dog to be at least 16 weeks old before being vaccinated for rabies and to ensure that no other vaccines are given during this appointment. If your vet recommends other vaccines based on risk factors in your area they can be given at a separate appointment. We also vaccinate for canine influenza (H3N8 & H3N2) and Lyme.
All of our dogs are on Sentinel for flea and heartworm prevention, and this is what we recommend.
A. We feed Royal Canin Medium Breed and Kirkland's dog food to our adults. We feed Royal Canin Starter Mousse when weaning puppies off mother's milk. By the time your puppy goes home, he or she will be on Royal Canin medium breed dry puppy food. A starter bag of food is included in the puppy pack to ensure puppies have the same food in their new homes. If you do ultimately decide to change foods, we recommend transitioning slowly by mixing the Royal Canin with the new food and slowly phasing out the Royal Canin to avoid the puppy having an upset stomach.
A. We want to help ease the transition and ensure your puppy is off to a great start in its new home. That's why we send all puppies home with a puppy pack that includes a starter bag of food, a blanket with the litter mates' scents, a toy, and some grooming essentials.
A. Yes, we have a short-term and long-term health guarantee. Our short-term guarantee covers the period of time right after the puppy arrives in its new home. During this period, the new family has the opportunity to have the puppy examined by a veterinarian of their choice, at their expense. If the veterinarian finds the puppy to be unhealthy or unfit for sale, the puppy may be returned for a full refund of the purchase price.
On the other hand, our long-term health guarantee covers covers debilitating congenital conditions. If any such arise, a replacement puppy will be offered.
Q. What health conditions do you test for?
A. Health tests are performed on the dam and sire prior to breeding. We test our dogs in line with PCA's recommendations and beyond what is required for CHIC. We perform the genetic tests that are recommended for standard poodles. Additionally, we have our dog's hips evaluated through OFA, and their results are publicly posted on the OFA website. Our dogs also have their thyroid tested, have a cardiac exam by a vet board certified in the specialty of cardiology, and have their eyes examined by a vet board certified in Ophthalmology.
While we do everything we can to ensure we're producing healthy pups, there is no certainty in dog breeding. For instance, with conditions such as hip dysplasia, Addison's (hypoadrenocorticism), sebaceous adenitis, etc., we can only know that our specific dog is not affected by the condition at that very point in time, but there is no way to genetically test the dog to know for sure that a puppy from that dog could not develop the condition. With these types of conditions, we study pedigrees to try our best to avoid breeding to known affective dogs.
Additionally, there are conditions like hip dysplasia that have environmental factors as well. That is why we strongly discourage overexercising young pups and stress the importance of minimizing jumping and impact on the developing joints when your pup is still young.