FAQs

Prior to having a litter on the ground, I keep a "tentative list" of families who are interested in a puppy, and have filled out my puppy questionnaire. After puppies are born and doing well, then I can start picking families to move to an actual waitlist, based on their interest level and puppy availability. When families are moved to the actual list, we can start requesting a $1000 deposit to hold a puppy spot for them. 

Families can feel assured, that if for any reason, they need to back out, our deposit is refundable, at any time prior to puppy pickup. My reasoning is because, I would never want a family to feel stuck, just because they have money invested in a deposit. Our tentative list is usually VERY lengthy, so we wouldn't have any problem finding another family waiting for a puppy.

We put a great deal of time and money into every breeding, and into raising our puppies. Our dogs are Stormy's job, so she is with our litters, the majority of the 8 to 9 weeks that they are with us.  We raise puppies in our home, in the middle of all the action, and follow both the Puppy Culture protocol and Avidog. Puppy Culture is a socialization program that helps to prepare puppies for real world experiences, by introducing a multitude of different sights, sounds, textures, and other experiences. In the puppy's first 16 days, we do Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI), to boost their brain development in those early days.

We set up a potty area around 2 weeks of age, to get them used to going to a specific place to potty, and by 6 weeks, we are usually taking them outside a lot, in our fenced backyard to potty, especially after they wake up, or they get through eating. Around 4 weeks old, puppies are moved to an x-pen in the living room, where we start crate training as well. At first, we usually set up a couple of 36" crates, and then eventually transition to individual crates, that we rotate feeding the puppies in, to make the crates a positive place.

Our puppies are $4000 total. As previously mentioned, we do ask for a $1000 deposit, but not until puppies are 1 to 2 weeks old, and doing well. The remaining $3000 is due when you pickup your puppy.

Our Goldens have very extensive health testing prior to being bred and we only breed to studs that do also. Our main focus on every breeding that we do is health, longevity, temperament, and structural soundness. 

We do all that we can to produce healthy puppies, but with any living being, nothing is 100%, so it is because of that, that we do provide a 26 months written health guarantee, but really our support is for a lifetime. 

The happiness of our puppies is a priority, so we would never expect a family to return a puppy to us, to honor a guarantee. The last thing that a breeder should want is to break one of their puppy's hearts, by tearing them away from their family, in order to honor a guarantee. Obviously, if the family prefers that the puppy come back, then we would take the puppy back, but we just wouldn't expect it. In the event of an unexpected genetic condition, depending on severity, there would be a partial or full refund of the purchase price of the puppy.  All of this will be written out in more detail, in our puppy contract.

Our placement process is very similar to other ethical breeders. We do structural evaluations and aptitude testing around 7.5 weeks old, so we won't know for sure which puppy goes to who until then. We might have an idea on some of them before then but will not know for sure until after both of those evaluations are complete. We usually pick the puppy for each family, based on personality/temperament, and what the puppy's intended purpose is, BUT if there is a puppy they like, we are open to that suggestion, but we can't guarantee, that will be the puppy that they can get. 

We know it can be confusing, but this is why most breeders do the picks. For instance, if a puppy is a show prospect, then we probably want that one going to a show home, or staying here with us, so that they can be shown, and we can't evaluate for that, until puppies are at least 7.5 weeks old. As another example, if I have a family that is wanting to do performance sports like Agility or hunt/field titles, or they are very active, then their puppy will need to be very balanced structurally, very much like a show dog, but they also have to have the personality for those intended tasks, so all of that final information comes from structural evaluations, and temperament testing. I can gather some of this information along the way, but I really like to have confirmation from the Volhard Aptitude testing, or Apet. 

As I mentioned earlier, a dog that is intended for a very active life, should be just as structurally sound as a show dog, because if they are not, then all that jumping and sharp turns, can put a lot of strain on joints, and the joints could wear down faster, so structure and personality is always taken into account, when looking at the activity level of the family that puppies are going to. 

Anyway, this is all information that most families wouldn't understand enough, to make the best choice for themselves. I know it is confusing, but I hope this makes some sense to you. As previously mentioned, we do allow input, so please do not feel like, that we are going to be dictators. 

Coming soon