FAQs

What health testing do you perform on breeding dogs?

What happens if your breeding dog fails any of the testing?

Do you offer a health guarantee on your puppies?

Yes, we offer a two year health guarantee on all of our puppies. This guarantee is limited to the defects and illnesses that we test for. Because we do this health testing on our parents, we are confident to offer you this guarantee. As there is no testing for cancer, we cannot include this in our guarantee. We do however take great measures to choose breeding stock with a good health history.

Here is our 2 year health guarantee:

The puppy you have purchased has a two year warranty against genetic diseases.

Breeder agrees to replace your puppy from equivalent quality from the next litter bred by the breeder, or if this is unacceptable, refund up to 50% of the veterinary fees relating to condition being claimed against for up to one half of the original purchase price of the puppy

Guarantee conditions:

Puppy must still be owned by original purchaser as stated in this agreement.

Puppy must not have been bred.

Puppy must have no evidence of neglect, abuse or trauma.

Puppy must be fed a premium dog food appropriate for his weight and growth rate. Puppy must be kept within the range of ‘ideal body condition’ as indicated by veterinary standards.

Puppy must not have been exercised strenuously or allowed to jump from high surfaces. This includes playing on slippery surfaces, jogging/treadmill, or standing on hind legs for extensive periods.

In the case of sudden death of the puppy, a written notice of death must be produced from the owners vet, along with a necropsy report indicating the cause of death.

Any hip disease is diagnosed by two board certified veterinarians (one selected by each party)

Any elbow disease is diagnosed by two board certified veterinarians (one selected by each party) Please note:
We do not include issues that include but are not limited to, Osteochondritis (OCD) Fragmented Medial Coronoid Process (FMCP), Fragmented Coronoid Process (FCP) or Panosteitis (Pano) in this guarantee. These are issues that are not proven to be hereditary, but rather lameness problems found in the elbows of all types of large breed dogs. These can be a result of poor environment, over-exercise of growing joints, Improper jumping up and down off furniture etc. or poor nutrition (Growing too fast and too much weight on joints).

This Guarantee is valid for two years from the date of birth.

What happens when your dogs are retired?

How often do you breed your females?

When do you know if your female is actually pregnant?

How long is the pregnancy?

When can I take my puppy home?

8 weeks old ( we can make exceptions for 3 days prior to this time if it falls on a weekend) Must be 8 weeks old to fly. We ask that when you make your deposit, you make sure you will be available to take your puppy at 8 weeks. We do charge per day for caring for your puppy after the 8 weeks (or nearest weekend). It takes a lot of our resources to care for your puppy individually and continue with training etc.

How many names do you take on a list for a puppy?

We generally take 7 or 8 names on each list. We have found this to be the average size of a litter. Of course, we cannot guarantee that amount of puppies, but we can usually transfer your deposit to another litter if there are not enough. (We cannot jump ahead of the people already on that list though) or we will gladly refund your deposit.

Breeding is always at the mercy of Mother Nature. Sometimes breedings don’t take, pregnancies fail, puppies fail to thrive and occasionally don’t make it. We are experienced and do our very best to make sure none of these things happen. We liaise with our experienced vets.

What do you feed your puppies?

We only feed our puppies a premium dry dog food from Pawtree, which is a complete diet that meets all of their nutritional requirements. (See our nutrition page for more details) It has real meat as the first ingredient, and none of the unnecessary fillers and additives like corn, wheat and soy. We add venison, fish and eggs for a treat when available for our adult dogs. It is for you to choose which brand. Stay informed on the ingredients in your dogs food and make a wise choice by consulting www.Dogfoodadvisor.com.

How do I reserve one of your puppies?

What is the next step?

How will I know where I am on the list?

I want a male, how can I be sure of that?

We cannot guarantee that you will get the sex of puppy you want with any particular litter. It depends on where you are on the list, the sex of the puppies we get, and prior choices. Having an open mind is often the best approach. We recommend you choose your puppy based on it’s personality and traits that you like, as opposed to the sex of the puppy. If you are sure you want a particular sex and there are not enough, we are happy to put you on an additional list for a later breeding. This will incur an additional deposit of $500, and the total amount of deposits made will be put towards your final balance.

We often get asked whether males or females are better For some people there is a preference, usually based upon what sex they have previously had. We find it is the personality of the puppy, not the sex of the puppy that dictates what they will be like.

There is always range of personalities within each litter. The puppies are of mild temperament and are well socialized, so we don’t get particularly dominant or submissive puppies. It is very hard to choose!

I’ve heard of “ENS” - Early Neurological Stimulation for puppies, what is that?

Developed by the US Military, a program called “bio-sensor” was designed to improve the performance of dogs used in the military, known publicly as the ‘Super Dog’ program. This is a series of neurological stimulation exercises performed on the puppy between 3 and 16 days of age designed to produce stimulations that wouldn’t normally occur during this time of the pups life. Results showed improvement in heart rate, stronger heart beats, and adrenal glands, and more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease. We have started to employ this program as part of our puppy socialization.

A note about dewclaws: We have decided to no longer remove dewclaws from our puppies. This is a minor procedure that removes the claw on the inner side of the dogs lower leg. It is removed to prevent accidental ripping of the claw as an adult. This practice has been banned in Europe as it is deemed cruel, along with cropping ears and docking tails. Although we have done this removal in the past we have decided to stop doing this now. Eventually it will be banned in USA also.

When do I pick my puppy out?

Puppy visits start after 6 weeks of age, by appointment for people with a deposit down only. Before then puppies immune system is not strong enough. As the puppies reach 8 weeks old we will have a scheduled ‘Pick Day’ It is always on a weekend. Each person on the list will be advised of a time to come and choose their puppy in person, or we will call or use video Skype/Facetime you if you are unable to be there in person

How do I choose my puppy if I am far away and cannot visit?

Can you ship my puppy?

We can meet you with your puppy at New York’s Albany Airport or Newark’s Liberty airport so you can fly home with them in cabin. This can only be done while they are 8-10 weeks of age. There is a $200 charge for this service out of Albany, and $250 out of Newark.

Since Covid has affected the world of travel for puppies, there are other transportation options by road. We can put you in touch with a reputable company.

And for the very best care we can offer ask about our ‘Nanny service’. This will have your puppy personally flown in cabin to your nearest airport. Ask for details.

All of our dogs have tried other beds and this one wins! Easy to clean, modern and comfortable – virtually indestructible. We love the customer service at Kuranda. If you click on our link, you will be directed to Kuranda’s website. 5% of your cost goes to the nominated charity and Kuranda will match the 5% as a donation to our chosen charity, ‘Eleventh Hour Pet Rescue’.