How does your program raise the puppies?

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Our program integrates the "Puppy Culture" program, and other positive reinforcement techniques. The extra care we put into each puppy requires us to keep our somewhat program smaller and utilizes Guardian Homes to insure that we can spend the extra time needed to work with, invest in & love our puppies. All of our puppies are raised in our home with us and our three children (who are very dog savy). We have been trained and specialize in Puppy Imprinting and Positive Reinforcement Training. We are a small breeder who performs Early Neurological Stimulation, ESI, Enrichment Effects, safe early socialization, sound protocols & other age appropriate games and exercises and early training and puppy imprinting. Here are a few examples of what this looks like...

The puppies are whelped and raised in our home while we work, clean, live life and homeschool our three children. They are exposed to real life sounds and situations. (once their ears open, we also work on other common sounds that can make a dog uneasy like...thunderstorms, fireworks, traffic, vacumns, etc.) The nursery area includes a whelping box, as well as all the necessities for both litter and breeder. From birth to about four weeks of age, we stay in the nursery with the pups over night. During this critical period, the puppies are monitored around the clock. The whelping box has puppy rails (to prevent pups from being suffocated by their dam) that are removed after two weeks and replaced with a small potty area. The puppies begin housetraining as soon as they start to walk.

Early neurological stimulation (ENS) has been proposed to enhance the natural abilities of dogs. ENS involves subjecting puppies aged between 3 and 16 days to mild forms of stimulation leading to “stress.” When tested later as adults, these same animals were said to be better able to withstand stress than littermates who were not exposed to the same early stress exercises.

Early neurological stimulation involves five brief stress exercises.

-Tactile Stimulation

-Head Up Position

-Head Down Position

-Supine Position

-Thermal Stimulation

Benefits of Stimulation Five benefits have been observed in canines that were exposed to the Bio Sensor stimulation exercises. The benefits noted were: -Improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate) -Stronger heart beats -Stronger adrenal glands -More tolerance to stress -Greater resistance to disease

Once the litter turns seven weeks old, we welcome visitors and puppy play dates by appointment only. Families are shown how to safely handle the puppies, as well as age appropriate interactions. Families are requested to take precautions before arrival and once you arrive at our home. The puppies receive an abundance of socialization opportunities and experiences weekly, until they leave at 8+ weeks of age. New puppies owners will be given activities, guidance and direction on how to continue with the puppy's socialization process up to 12 weeks. ​

Transitional period begins when the puppies eyes open and ends when they first startle upon hearing a sound. During this period:

• Pups begin eliminating on their own

• Pups begin walking (around the same time they begin eliminating on their own)

• Teeth emerge

• Pups start lapping

• Pups become interested in mush

• Pups begin vocalizing (barking/growling)

• Non-verbal communication begins, such as tail wagging​

At three weeks of age, puppies develop a startle response yet have no real fear response. The lack of fear and quick recovery to being startled provides a small window of opportunity to exercise the puppies’ recovery muscles without worry of fear imprinting. Beginning this week, the puppies are exposed to a variety of sights, and sounds intended to exercise their startle recovery, including but not limited to: a hand clap, dropping metal bowls, starting a vacuum cleaner, dropping books, shaking a marble-filled bottle, loud laughter, children, a chorus of barking dogs, and dropping a new toy into the weaning pen each day.

During the third week, pups are separated from their littermates for short periods of time with individual time. This individual handling helps encourage the puppy’s bond with people, as well as aids in preventing future separation anxiety. Brief one-on-one time with our family (or other trusted helpers that come to bring in a different face, like our parents or adult siblings) creates a positive association that will help them adjust when they leave for their new homes.

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GROOMING

Although our puppies begin getting bathes and nail clipping from one week old as needed, which we incorporate partial towel drying and blow drying, along with brushing. We begin using an electric tooth brush to softly place all over the puppies, to ready them for the vibrations and sounds of grooming. Beginning at three weeks of age, puppies are groomed regularly. As young pups, this involves nothing more than a few minutes of brushing daily and weekly nail trims and bathes with both towel and light blow drying. As puppies mature, about six to seven weeks old, they will be introduced to the grooming table, high-velocity dryer, Dremel nail grinder, nail clippers, and assorted combs and brushes and even a sanitary groom. We start early as this breed has to get use to grooming life.

At four weeks of age the puppies move into a larger weaning pen. The larger pen provides an area where the pups can run freely at any time. The exercise will help them grow strong and fit, and will help reduce friction in the litter. The weaning pen incorporates a large “potty area”, beds, training crates, an adventure box and more. The remainder of the weaning pen is covered with whelping pads, which provide both traction and absorbency.

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An adventure box is an innovative piece of equipment that helps puppies become confident and stable adults. The interactive activity center encourages puppies to experience different textures, shapes and sounds, providing both physical and mental stimulation.

The adventure box is loud. Objects are placed strategically to generate the maximum amount of sound with the least amount of effort. The pups “self startle” during play and eventually become immune to the continual clanging.

An event marker is something that is used to mark a desired behavior at the instant it occurs. Common markers are audible, such as a clicker or verbal cue. In order for the marker to have value, we need to change the way the puppy feels when he hears the click or cue. The goal is to create an association in the pup’s brain between the marker and a "treat". This is accomplished by presenting the marker and immediately following it with a treat. With enough repetitions, this pairing of marker/treat will change the way your puppy feels about the marker. This process is often referred to as “charging the clicker”.

Once the marker is charged (or "powered up"), the pups are ready to learn how to offer behaviors. A shallow box is placed on the floor, and we wait for voluntary interaction with the box. The goal is not to get the pup to do anything, in particular, but to teach the puppy to offer a behavior of any kind. We click anything at all that the puppy does with the box – look at it, touch it, step in it. It doesn’t matter if the puppy touches it by accident, we still click and treat. We want to teach the puppy that they will be rewarded for offering a behavior.

At four weeks of age, the puppies are allowed outside for the first time if the season and weather permits. The pups have access to toys, age appropriate play equipment, shelter, water, and their dam. The play area for the puppies, is protected from other strange dogs coming in and bringing our puppies diseases. The puppies are always closely monitored when they are outdoors.

The puppies enjoy daily outdoor exercise beginning after five weeks of age. The puppies are only denied their outside playtime when temperatures are to hot or cold, or it is raining.

The pups are closely monitored while outdoors and are promptly brought inside if there is a change in weather, or if the pups appear uncomfortable for any reason.

Teaching puppies to ask for something (manding) is a critical communication skill. By default, puppies will attempt to ask for something by jumping up or pawing at us. The very first lesson taught to the puppies is the concept that if they want something, they can ask for it, or mand, by sitting. This is accomplished by presenting a cue, the presence of a human, and then clicking and treating the puppy for sitting. The goal is to change the cue of a human present to mean sit instead of jump up. Manding gives a puppy a voice, so she can “speak” and express her needs. This is one of the most empowering life skills you can give any social being, the gift of communication.

At four weeks of age, the pups are introduced to challenges that build their problem-solving skills. They are motivated to overcome obstacles, are challenged by puzzles, experience new textures and flooring, and are introduced to novel objects daily. Below is a sampling of the challenges presented to our puppies.

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Food Barrier

Food is set behind a barrier. The puppy is shown the food, then placed on the other side of the obstacle.

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Uneven Floor

An x-pen is placed on the floor and covered with a tarp. The uneven surface helps prepare the pups for walking where footing is unsteady.

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Tunnel

A puppy play tunnel is placed in a doorway. The pups must travel through, or over, the tunnel to enter/exit the puppy room.

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Textured Mats

Pups are encouraged to cross textured mats. A novel tactile experience helps prepare the pups for navigating strange surfaces in the future.

Ball Pit

A children’s wading pool is filled with 200 balls. A dozen small treats are added to make the experience more enticing.

Hurdle

The puppies are presented with age and size appropriate challenges, such as climbing over a hurdle to get outside.

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At five weeks of age, the puppies are introduced to targeting. The purpose of this exercise is to keep the pups thinking while encouraging them to continue to offer behaviors. Similar to their introduction to offering behaviors [at four weeks of age], a novel item is presented, and they are reinforced for any interaction. The puppy is rewarded for looking at or touching the object.

When the puppies move out of the weaning pen at four weeks of age into their new larger pen, they are introduced to crates. For the first couple of weeks, the doors are clipped open and the pups are free to use them as they like, often napping in the crates by choice.

When the pups are about five weeks of age (depending on litter developement progress), the doors are closed for brief periods during the day. They are given a yummy treat or chew item to enjoy while confined to their crate. Once the puppies begin eating solid foods, they will begin staying in their crates at night to ease the struggle when they go home to their forever homes. By eight weeks of age, the puppies willing run into their crates for their meals. At this age, they are crated contently for extended periods and should be able to sleep for up to 5-6 hours through the night if not all through the night.

At six weeks of age, the puppies are introduced to miniature agility equipment. The goal is not to teach the pups agility, but have them learn valuable life skills. The dogwalk is a small platform with ramps at either end. It teaches puppies to be confident when navigating up and down slopes, as well as standing on and crossing elevated surfaces. The teeter and wobble board get the pups used to being on something that moves under their feet. The chute is a barrel with a tube of fabric attached to it. The chute teaches the pups to walk under and through obstacles, and to accept things covering their heads.

When the puppies are six weeks old, they are taught the concept that attention (eye contact) is a behavior that will be rewarded. The first step is to click and then treat (reinforce) any glance towards the eyes or direct eye contact. Once the pups comprehend that eye contact will be rewarded, the criteria for reinforcement is increased by adding duration, distractions, and different locations.

Beginning at six to seven weeks of age, the puppies are introduced to car rides. The process begins by acclimating the pups to being crated in the vehicle with the door open. Once they are comfortable in the crate, the doors are closed and immediately opened. The pups are given a treat, and the doors are closed for 30 seconds, then a minute, then two. The next step involves closing the doors and starting the vehicle, and reinforcing calmness. The final step entails travel. The first trip is very short. Trips are gradually lengthened, being careful to ensure the experience remains a positive one for the puppies.

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Aptitude Test - 7 Weeks (49 days) Puppy Temperament testing is performed. This is when we allocate puppies to their new families!

Up until now, the puppies have responded to a “puppy call.” A puppy call is generally a high-pitched repetitive call, “Puppy-puppy-puppy!” The puppy call is used to call the litter at mealtimes. Because the puppy call is paired with food, it becomes a powerful conditioned reinforcer. [A conditioned reinforcer (i.e. puppy call) is anything that is paired with a primary reinforcer (i.e. food) in a way that ingrains the conditioned reinforcer with the impact of the primary reinforcer.] At seven weeks, we add the cue “come” to the puppy call, “Puppy-puppy-puppy! Come!” Because the recall cue is paired with the puppy call, it becomes equally compelling. Gradually, the puppy call will be faded, and all that will be left is the recall cue. Once puppies are named by their new owner, we begin using their new names.

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This is just a few examples of what your puppy will be working on here at the Read's. We are always staying up to date on the latest research and protocols to continue raising our puppies with excellence and puppies with purpose!

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How much are your puppies and what is included?

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The adoption fee for our ALCA registered puppies are $3000. The non-refundable Application Fee of $500, will reserve your spot in a available litter...leaving a balance of $2500. The adoption fees for puppies over four months of age, rehomed puppies, breeding prospects are set on an individual basis. WHAT IS INCLUDED?

​The price of our companion puppies is $3,000.00 which includes:​ ​ 2 Year Genetic Health Warranty, if exclusively fed Life's Abundance Five Generation Pedigree after desexing proof in submitted Physical Evaluation by our Veterinarian Temperament testing Registration for puppy (once proof of spay or neuter has be given) Puppy that went through Puppy Culture and our developmental and enrichment program Foundational puppy training started (clicker/positive reinforcement training)—They will have started learning manners, such as to sit to come out of their playpen, not to jump on people for attention, and to sit quietly in front of you when they want attention or treats. Raised in a loving home, exposed to and ready for life in a home setting, socialized with other dogs and children. Support from Breeder in the transition from our home to yours and lifetime breeder support SuperDog - neurological imprinting (also known as Biosensor or Early Neurological Stimulation) Raised using Jane Killion's Puppy Culture Enrichment Program, shown to increase the size of a puppy's brain, increase their resilience to stress, and enhance their emotional stability. Crate training started Potty training started Vaccines and wormings appropriate for their age Microchipped Handling for grooming and veterinarian care started Experience with bath times, nail clipping/grinder and blow dryers Starter bag of life's abundance food 3 Day supply of NuVet Puppy's favorite stuffed animal (with litter scent) Collar or bandana Toy(s) 1st month of trupanion insurancec PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS: The first 1/2 payment (after $500 Application Fee is placed to hold spot in a litter of your choosing if available) is due by or when puppies are born and the balance is required by no later than six (6) weeks of puppy age.

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Where are you located?

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We are based out of Northeast Tennessee...Johnson City. We are the only registered Australian Labradoodle Breeder in the East Tennessee Region. We are a little over an hour from Knoxville, TN, forty-five (45) minutes from Asheville, NC and 20 minutes from Bristol, VA.

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Do you ship your puppies via airlines?

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We believe that driving in or flying in (and taking your puppy back in cabin) to pick up your puppy is the best option for the health and emotional support of your new puppy! This reduces stress on the puppy and encourage bonding between you and your new puppy. If you are not local, unable or unwilling to drive in/fly in to pick up your puppy, we have a few options... Our amazing flight nanny can fly with your puppy, and bring them to your local airport. This arrangement has to be set up, quoted and approved. If you think this service will be needed, please let us know right away, as there is limited availability in each litter for this service. We also have a wonderful driving nanny, that can meet you or even come straight to your doorstep (depending on location) with your new puppy! We work very hard raising our puppies and we do not believe in cutting corners with the safety of our puppies, your precious new member of your family. We can arrange delivery to Tri-Cities (TN) Regional Airport if you decide you will fly in to pick up your puppy. If your puppy will be flying back with you. You may be required to have a health certificate from a certified veterinarian and we can provide that we will provide (at an additional cost). You will need to check with your airline you are using to see if the Health Certificate is required, then let us know in a timely manner. Please check with the airline about their requirements in advance to verify this is an option and what is required. Please note, some airlines require the puppy to be a certain age for the "fly-in pick up" option. We do not charge to meet our families at TRI airport. We absolutely will not ship our puppies cargo!

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Do you give a health warranty or guarentee?

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We provide a two-year health warranty on genetic disease that significantly impairs the life of the dog (as determined by at least two veterinarians). We guarantee that your new puppy will be healthy at the time you receive him or her. Your puppy will have received his or her first vaccinations and de-worming treatments as appropriate for his or her age. In addition, the puppy will have passed a physical examination by a certified Veterinarian shortly before we release him or her to you. We will include the puppy’s examination results along with his or her complete medical records. Your puppy's parents have went through & cleared Genetics testing, hip, elbow and patella testing through OFA, PennHip, eVet Diagnostics or AVA, as well as OFA eye exam, heart exam & prcd/PRA from Optigen. (If we are flying your puppy to you via air cargo, the puppy will have received another medical examination shortly before being shipped.) You will need to make an appointment for your puppy to be examined by your licensed veterinarian within 72 hours of his or her arrival, according to the terms of our warranty.

Dogs that we breed go through an extensive panels of tests that clear them of genetic issues and then are carefully paired before they are bred. Should a serious genetic issue be discovered within the first two years, we will pay the vet expenses for treating that issue up to the purchase price of your puppy or will replace your dog with another puppy.

While we expect our puppies to remain healthy and to live long lives, canine health is dependent on environmental factors such as a healthy diet, exercise, safe living conditions, and regular veterinary care for vaccinations and other treatments. Love, attention, and proper training are also critical to your dog’s well-being. We expect that you will provide these critical components to your dog‘s long-term health.

While we do ask that you take your puppy to your veterinarian within the first 3 days after receiving him or her, please let your puppy relax into his or her new home at a gentle pace. Too many visitors, car trips, and other excitement can be overwhelming to a young pup transitioning and could disrupt the careful socialization that has been conducted up until that time. Very importantly, although your puppy will have received age-appropriate vaccinations when you bring him home, please proceed cautiously when you take your puppy out in public until he or she has completed the complete series of puppy shots. Young pups are at risk to the parvovirus, which can stay dormant for years in the ground and is not killed by most common disinfectants. We recommend that you carry your puppy into the veterinarian’s office and hold him or her for the duration of your visits, due to the possibility of parvovirus or other diseases being tracked in by other animals.

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You will receive the Purchase & Health Warranty Contract after you have been approved or upon request.

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How does puppy selection work?

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UNDERSTANDING OUR PROCESS OF SELECTION BEFORE MOVING FORWARD The details you share in the puppy application, phone conversations, texts, emails or other communication aid us in getting to know you better, so that we can pair you with the puppy you are looking for and with a puppy that will do well in your environment. We are not only looking for a good fit for you but also a good fit for the puppy. We want this to be sucessful. After steps are complete, you will receive an email or text stating litter as confirmation. ​ Possible changes that can occur in the placement of the litter: ​ Estimating litter size There is no definitive way to determine the number of viable pups until they are a few days old. The puppies are usually past that critical stage at two weeks. We do our very best to keep every puppy healthy and alive. We use vitamins, supplements, good nutrition, etc. that aid in the success of the puppies and mother, ultrasounds, (radio-graphs only for emergency situations), and the dam’s history to aid us, but in the end, all we can do is estimate the number of pups that will be available for adoption. ​ The list begins with our Breeding Program Depending on the individual pups, and the needs of our breeding program or other approved breeder programs, we select our keeper pup/breeder prospects. In most cases, we chose a single puppy as a breeding prospect. On rare occasions, we may chose up to three, but that is the exception and not the rule. Other approved breeding programs, as well as Service or Therapy spots have priority above companion puppies. ​ Next in line are Service/Therapy Dogs Next in line of priority are Service Dogs or Therapy dogs. This was one of the main reasons we began breeding this breed, for Service related needs. If we have a need for a Service or Therapy Dog in the litter, those needs/requirements will be placed in front of a family looking for a companion pet. The reason being, Service Animals or Therapy Dogs require very specific traits, testing, demeanor, etc. If there happens to be one in the litter, it would need to be placed in a home that would be best suited. ​ More information: Reserve waiting list Once the primary list is full, a small reserve waiting list is set up. One or two potential adopters, willing to accept placement on the secondary list, is an option. Should someone drop off the primary waiting list, or if the litter is larger than expected, we draw from the reserved waiting list of pre-approved puppy adopters. ​ How the waiting list works ​ First, we pick our keeper pup. The litter is continually assessed from birth onward. At 49 days of age they are "temperament tested". Only after temperament testing has been completed, then puppy allocations begin (right around the 7 week timeframe). Matching pups to people From the moment we first meet with potential adopters we focus on their needs, lifestyle, goals, family dynamics and expectations, as well as the living situation for their new puppy. Our priority is to match each pup with their ideal family. We work very closely with the families and take into consideration the desires a family has for their new puppy, like gender, markings & color preferences. However, we match temperament first (for success), then try to accommodate gender and size if needed...as that can be a real requirement for success in a home. Then we do our best to accommodate color, markings preferences if possible. To stay on a litter, you must love every puppy in the litter or you will be asked to move to another litter, alowing the next family that would love every puppy. We will allow you to move your deposit to as many litters as it takes to be comfortable, as long as you communicate very early on (right after birth - within the first week) . Again, at the beginning of each litter you will have to be open to every puppy in that specific litter to stay on that litter as your best match could fall in any puppy or you will have to move to a different litter. Again, we will do our best to accommodate your desires traits if possible, however, please understand that personality matches are much more important than color matching. Please remember that we are not ordering a pizza here and Mother Nature plays a huge role into what we produce. Our goal is to select a good match for your family and our puppy... based on the puppys' personality and your lifestyle and desires for your new puppy and what we know about the individual puppies. Please keep in mind, we are spending day and night interacting, working with and raising the puppies and know them very well. We want to set your family and our puppy up for success. Our goal is to be pleasing but also have a successful fit...we would never want a puppy having to be rehomed because a puppy was paired based on a coloring.That would be very irresponsible of us as breeders. If a match doesn't work If the puppy adopter is not happy with the pup they are matched with, they may ask to be placed on the waiting list for the next available litter. We will allow you to move only once (if you choose to move after puppy selection has occurred). Then your funds, minus the application fee/deposit will be refunded.

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What is your visitaion policy?

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**NEW POLICIES** RIGHT NOW WE ARE NOT ALLOWING ANY PEOPLE TO COME INTO OUR HOME WITH THE RISK OF COVID-19 AND OUR HEALTH. We raise our puppies in our home because we strongly believe that home raising puppies is both ethically the right thing to do, as well as producing the best possible well rounded puppy. The downside to this is that we do not have an office or kennel outside of our home that people can visit. Unfortunately, it’s a sad product of our times that stranger danger is a real thing in today’s world, even for adults. Here are just some of the reasons we no longer allow visits from people who are not yet on our reservation list and has been approved to receive a puppy from us. Significant harm has come to people like breeders or real estate agents who work in home-type environments where unknown people are routinely invited in. Examples, here, here, here, here, and here. 
 We have health concerns for the puppies, who are still developing their little immune systems and not yet protected by vaccinations and maturity. (People can inadvertently—or even intentionally—carry diseases in on their shoes, hands, and clothing.) Information about parvo, canine influenza. 
 We have health concerns for our mothers. Activity and new people in the house are a significant source of stress for nursing moms. Stress produces cortisol and other stress hormones, and those hormones go into mom’s milk and directly into the puppies, causing biochemically induced stress in the puppies. This is not healthy for moms or pups. Stressed moms also can get frantic and accidentally roll on or step on puppies if they panic. This is not an acceptable option for us.
 Puppy theft is also a growing problem, so unknown traffic in our home endangers the safety of our puppies due to theft. So this means that seeing us or our parent dogs means that you are also seeing our home and any puppies we have. Examples here, here, and here.
 We are a real family, with a real life. We have home responsibilities, and also rely on our home as a place we can relax and feel safe. Inviting strangers over on a regular basis is not conducive to a strong family life.
 Our home is not a petting zoo, and it’s impossible for us to ascertain who is coming over to genuinely look at puppies and who is coming over because it looks like fun to bring the kids and play with puppies.
 Some children (and more often even adults) are not able to behave appropriately around puppies. We may not realize which people these may be until it is too late and a puppy is hurt—or worse.
 These puppies are also not ours to risk—they belong to the families that are taking them home and we are just their caretakers for a brief period of time.
 We are happy to have our committed buyers over, providing we don’t have any concerns about current disease outbreaks or any other similar biosafety or puppy/dog health concern, when possible. We consider these concerns as indicative of our reputability as a breeder—the safety of our puppies, dogs, and family will always be placed above a potential sale. I remember growing up, it was always deemed important to visit your breeder and see where the puppies are being raised. I still believe this to be true. Luckily, modern technology has a good solution for this modern problem. Videos! So although we aren’t able to allow the general public to visit, we do provide a significant number of videos that show where and how our puppies are raised. We post multiple videos EACH WEEK on our Facebook page and you can request to join our private page dedicated for our puppy families only here to show you how our puppies are raised and walk your puppy be raised on a much more private setting. You will see and learn more about our program from these videos than you would from ten visits to our house. We encourage you to view these videos and shoot us an email to discuss any questions you may have. We also encourage you to check out our reviews on Facebook, as well as frequent posts on our Facebook page from very happy, satisfied families that have our puppies. We appreciate your understanding of our commitment to the safety of our puppies, dogs, and family. Visitation Policy for Families with Reservations We welcome scheduled visits from families with reservations! We love to see families that live close enough to come get to know the puppies and see our families interact in person. We have a very careful bio-containment program to protect our puppies from diseases that can be accidentally brought in on shoes and clothes, therefore, we do not allow walk-in visits. We are happy to have you visit by appointment for our puppy party. We usually give the puppy party date right after the puppies are born so that our families have about six to seven weeks notice in advance to schedule. Please note that for the safety of the puppies, we do not allow visits to litters until the puppies have had their first series of vaccines or reached a certain age and if we have other young puppies we may place certain limitations on visits or even cancel visits to ensure bio-safety. This policy is altered at times when we know there are outbreaks of contagious diseases in our area, and we restrict or halt all visits in those circumstances. Assuming there are no security, disease outbreak, or other health concerns, we will try to schedule visits for no more then one hour, or as our time permits. Our priority is the raising of our puppies so visits are not always available, as we have very busy days caring for the needs of the puppies, as well as our children. We make particularly strong effort to schedule appointments for puppy selection and pickup. Puppy selection and pickup appointments will always take priority over other visits. We will send out another email to talk about precautions, safety measures and expectations about visiting, before you come. Please note that we do not allow visits with puppies that are younger than seven weeks old. Visits are limited to immediate family residing in the household. Children under 12 need to be approved prior to coming. Before 4-5 weeks of age, puppies are still in the whelping box with their moms, and visitors can upset the moms and cause them to become protective. This can cause stress hormones to be released, which go into the milk and then into the puppies and with some moms they can get upset enough to accidentally trample a puppy. These are unacceptable outcomes for us. Puppies are at their most vulnerable before 4-5 weeks old, and in their fear period at 5-6 weeks. We put up as many videos and photos as time allows, so please feel free to view those for our younger puppies. Once the puppies are 6 to 7 weeks old, their eyes and ears are functioning well and they have gotten steadier on their feet, so they are more interactive. We feel that families get the most out of visits with older puppies as they can interact with them more. All visitors must be declared to us prior to arrival. If you bring your cousin, your neighbor's best friend, and your hairdresser's groomer, we reserve to right to deny entry to unknown and unscheduled people. Children must remain under your control at all times. Please explain to your children that you are visiting baby puppies in someone's house and that for the safety of the puppies, they should be on their best and quietest behavior. Please also note that you are visiting our residence and we prefer that your children don't explore all corners of it. PLEASE ARRIVE ON TIME. We work from home, but that doesn't mean we aren't on a strict schedule. During visitation days we still have to care for, feed, and train our dogs and puppies, as well as homeschool and take care of our children's needs. Additionally, we may have other families coming the same day, so please respect their schedule as well. We schedule appointments so that we have time to care for our dogs and puppies between appointments. If you are more than a few minutes late (or early), that can mean that we may not have time to care for the puppies or for the arrival of the next family. Because of this, we may have to reschedule your visit. We know that many of our families travel from a distance and more than appreciate the time and effort that takes. We understand that there are times when travel delays happen. Please text or call if you are delayed in your trip more than 15 minutes and we will do our best to try to accommodate that time difference into our schedule. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

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