Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do you have any puppies available?
A. We have a wait list before we breed, so most often the puppies are spoken for before they are born. Thus, for people who are interested in one of our puppies, we strongly recommend being placed on the wait list. Occasionally, we may have puppies 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.
Q. How far in advanced should I contact you if I'm interested in a puppy?
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.
Q. Do you require a deposit?
A. We 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.
Q. How do you match puppies to their new homes?
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.
Q. Are the puppies AKC registered?
A. Yes. All of our companion puppies are sold with limited AKC registration on non-breeding contracts with the agreement that the puppy will be neutered or spayed after he or she turns two years old. 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.
Q. What is your puppy-raising protocol?
A. We practice early neurological stimulation (ENS) and follow the Puppy Culture protocol and Avidog practices. You can read more about our puppy raising philosophy here.
Q. When do the puppies go to their new homes?
A. Puppies go to their new homes between 8-10 weeks old. Occasionally, we may have puppies that we've held back longer to evaluate as show prospects that we place as older puppies. A key benefit to getting an older puppy like this is that it will have a head start on training.
Q. What are my options for picking up my puppy?
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 puppy's new families in person.
Q. What food do you feed your dogs?
A. We feed Kirkland's brand dog food to our adults. Our puppies are fed Royal Canin Starter Mousse when weaning off mother's milk. We then slowly transition them onto solid dry puppy food. 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.
Q. What is in the Puppy Pack?
A. We want to help ease the transition and ensure your puppy is off to a great start in his or her 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.
Q. What vaccinations and preventatives do you give your dogs?
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, our puppies see the vet for a heath check and we have them vaccinated for distemper/parvo (DA2PP). This vaccine must be repeated in a 4-part series in order to ensure immunity. Before the puppies go to their homes, we will have our vet administer the second round in the series. We will then 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 our older puppies and adult dogs for canine influenza (H3N8 & H3N2) and Lyme. All of our dogs are on NexGard and HeartGard for flea and heartworm prevention.
Q. Do you have a health guarantee?
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 life-threatening 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 Poodle Club of America'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, we are still limited to some extent in the conditions we can test for. 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 affected 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.
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