Where can I live and still be in your guardian program?

To be considered for our Guardian Program, you must live within 1.5 hours of our home in Hillsborough, NJ. Applicants from further afield may be considered at our discretion.

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What guidelines do I have to follow when raising the puppy or dog?

1. The family needs to feed one of the foods off of the Premium Dog Food list we will provide you. These foods are high quality and not necessarily expensive (we use Life Abundance - please ask us about this!). We are advocates of health nutrition for dogs, and for feeding foods that will not cause health issues down the road, things like cancer or tumors or allergies, etc. The foods are easily found at most pet stores or online. We would recommend all dog owners to consider these foods for the lifetime health of their pet.

2. We ask the family to avoid all chemicals unless necessary, and to not give supplements or medicines unless approved by us.

3. If the dog becomes sick or injured, we need the family to notify us right away so we are involved in all decisions regarding the treatment of the dog. In many cases we can save the family a lot of money if it is a simple issue, and in other situations the treatment may need to be specific if the dog is going to be bred soon, or is pregnant.

4. We ask the family to practice safe handling of the dog. To not leave the dog outside if they are not at home. Don't let the dog sit in the back of an open pickup. Use a leash in public. Provide basic obedience training so the dog has manners. All these things should be done to protect your dog.   

5. The guardian home is responsible either for the transportation of the dog to us or arranging for us to pick up the dog for breeding or having litters, or for the initial health testing at between 1-2 years of age.

 

What age do you start breeding the dog?

We will usually breed females on their second heat, which usually starts between 12 and 18 months typically. We usually do not breed males until over 12 months old.

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How long is our Guardian Pet with you when you breed?

FEMALES: As soon as the family is aware the dog is in heat in a cycle she will be bred, we will have them arrange to have her here or pick her up by about day 5-7 of the heat cycle. She will remain with us for about one week and then return home.

MALES: A male dog will be in our home for up to a week, unless discussed otherwise.

 

How long is a female  pregnant?

Dogs are pregnant for 63 days give or take 4 days.

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How long do you wait between breedings?   

We are flexible about when breedings are done. If you want to plan a summer vacation while your dog is with us raising her pups, we are fine with that. If the timing works better for you during the winter we are agreeable to that. The dogs generally cycle every 6 months. As long as your dog is healthy and up to having a litter we are very flexible as to when the breeding will be done but don’t want to wait more than a year between breedings unless there is a medical reason to do so. She will not be bred before 12 months of after 6 six years. Most female dogs will have 3 litters.

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What happens when she is ready to have her puppies?

You bring your girl to us a week before she is due so she can settle in. We will whelp and raise the pups and mom will come back home when the pups are between 6 and 7 weeks old.

 

Can we visit her when she has the puppies if she is at your house?

You and your family are welcome to visit. No other visitors are allowed due to the risk of bringing in a lethal virus (Parvo) to the pup. The mom usually is VERY focused on her babies the first two weeks after she has her pups. Usually by the time puppies are two weeks old the mom is ready for little breaks from the puppies and enjoys seeing her family much more than earlier in the process. She is settled into being a mom and things are much happier for all involved during the visit. We ask that you try to decrease the odds of bringing in a fatal virus by bringing in freshly washed sneakers putting them on at our front door. We will ask for you to wash your hands before handling pups.  

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Does this negatively affect the dog emotionally to go from the guardian home to the breeder's home?

No. There is an initial "Where is my family going?" when she comes to us, but in every situation the dog is settled and comfortable and doing very well within an hour or two. Remember they will already “know” us from the times we have taken them for testing or when we have “dog sat” for you. We try very hard to give them so much attention and love the first couple days that it is a pleasant and enjoyable experience for them. This is also important as everything the mother feels causes things to happen inside her body that can affect the babies. The less stress and the more relaxed she is, the better it is for babies. So, it is very important that the guardian home not make the transition difficult for the dog. If they act upset or nervous or sad about leaving her, she will feel that even more greatly and we need to make sure that doesn't happen. Bringing her and hanging out with her for an hour or so and just pretending like it's any other visit you'd make is very important. If we can have the family sneak out so the dog isn't even aware they've left, that is usually best too. She rarely acknowledges for more than a couple of minutes that anything has happened.

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What happens during pregnancy and what do I have to do differently with the dog?

Pregnancy is actually very easy. The dog may act a little more tired, or not eat normally for a few weeks. The last couple weeks of pregnancy she is usually becoming hungrier and sleeps more as time progresses. Otherwise, normal activity is typical and it is important to continue with walking the dog right up to the end. This helps during delivery. Being in shape is always best. Normal play and romping and running during the first half of pregnancy is great. After that, we limit activity to walks on a leash and no ball chasing type of activities. The dog may become pickier with food. If she does, we recommend mixing boiled chicken
and rice into her food. No chemicals may be given during pregnancy. We suggest no vaccinations, worming and heartworm when possible during this time. If there is an illness or injury we ask to be involved in determining how she is treated.

 

What happens if the puppy gets sick or injured while in the guardian home's care?

While the dog is in your care and home, any illness or injury that happens is your financial responsibility, just as it would be if you had a non guardian pet. We need to be involved in knowing what is going on and determining medications, but the family is responsible for those expenses. We have your dog’s best interest at heart so it is good to have us to consult with. If you are negligent and your dog is lost or dies when in your care we will ask for you to be responsible for our financial loss. If your dog is injured or dies and can no longer participate in the program and you were being responsible we will not hold you liable for the loss. Bad things can happen to anybody. Fortunately, we have never had a serious injury or loss to any dog in our guardian program. 

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What expenses do we pay for and what things does the breeder pay for?

The guardian home pays for any normal care items for the dog. Food, dishes, leashes, beds, normal vaccinations or wormings, toys, etc. We pay for all expenses related to health testing for breeding purposes, all breeding expenses and litter expenses.  

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How many litters do you usually breed before retiring the dog?

We contract for up to 4 litters. The number of litters depends on each individual case. We consider a litter 2 or more pups so if a mom has only one pup we don’t count it as a litter. A female averages 3 litters in our program. If the puppies are exceptional quality their could be 4 litters (once a year).

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Who pays for the spay/neuter surgery?

We do. This is usually about 2 months after her last litter of puppies is weaned or for male dogs on or before their sixth birthday (usually before). 

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What happens if the dog doesn't pass a health test like you want them to for becoming a breeding dog?

Our standards are very high. We adhere to the quality requirements of WALA as well as our own quality ideas. Remember, that breeding quality and pet quality are two different things. Just because a dog may not be the best breeding candidate doesn't mean she/he isn’t the perfect pet. Your dog can pass all the tests and we still may decide to remove it from the program. We aren’t bashful about removing dogs from our program. If we release your dog from the breeding program, yu will spay/neuter your dog. You will still have gotten a quality dog for only the normal costs of having a pet.

  

What if I have a male guardian dog?

Male guardian dogs are usually used for breeding after 12-18 months. We will let you know when you need to make your dog available for breeding.

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Where can I board my dog?

If you ever need boarding we would love the opportunity to watch your dog as long it fits in with our family schedule. Otherwise you would board your dog as you would any pet when you vacation. It is always great to have the opportunity to play with one of the dogs we produced. We love the additional opportunity to interact with the dog and family. 

 

What happens if we join the guardian home for a quality breeding dog but don’t intend to honor the breeding contract?

We make a great commitment emotionally and financially to our owners and guardian dogs. We ask that you only enter into our guardian program if you are willing to make the same level of commitment to your dog and to us. Unfortunately, we have been forced to put a penalty for those who break our contact as we find some want the discounted dog but have no intentions of honoring the contract. We want to work with you and for this to be a win, win, win for all involved. We work hard to select the best of the best of our dogs for our guardian homes. We have a financial penalty to discourage those that would want to get a discounted dog and break the contract by using the dog for their own breeding program. If you are willing to make an honest commitment to us and our breeding program we will be very flexible and will do all we can to make this program work for you and your dog.  

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We don't want to be controlling or intrusive into a family’s life. We consider our dogs and owners like extended family and enjoy the extra interaction we have with them in the guardian program. We are very fair and reasonable and want to work with you to make this a win, win and win situation for all of us. We hope that you will consider partnering with us.  

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If you are interested in applying for our Guardian Home Program, contact us by email.