Thank you for your interest in visiting. We want to make your visit as comfortable as possible and have these ground rules for your visit.
Visiting WITH a Deposit
You are welcome to visit and select your puppy at 7 to 8 weeks weeks of age ONLY IF you have placed a NON REFUNDABLE/TRANSFERABLE deposit to reserve your puppy. We can also send videos and photos or facetime with families that are unable to visit.
Visiting without a Deposit
You are allowed to visit the puppies without placing a deposit, but not until the puppies are at least 8 weeks of age and have had their first puppy vaccination. Often times there may not be any puppies still available in the litter at 8 weeks so we recommend placing a deposit to reserve a puppy as they tend to go fast. You are required to place a deposit on your puppy before visiting because many families will do what we call “puppy shop” and go from one place to another handling puppies from a variety of breeders. Parvovirus is highly contagious and spreads through direct contact with an infected dog or by indirect contact with a contaminated object. It can be carried in on your clothing, shoes, hands, and even vehicle tires. Coming to hold and play with our puppies after visiting other facilities and holding their puppies could possibly infect our puppies with Parvo. This we want to avoid to keep our puppies healthy.
About Parvo
Parvo is extremely harmful and most often deadly to puppies under 1 year of age treated or untreated. Once a puppy/dog has contracted the virus it has a 50/50 chance of survival following treatment. We have heard of breeders who have lost entire litters due to this horrible disease and it’s a risk we are not willing to take. It would also be irresponsible of us as breeders to allow people to come to hold and play with our puppies and possibly infect puppies that have already been sold to the families on our waiting list. Just imagine, you come out at 6 weeks and pick out your puppy, then the XYZ family comes out without placing a deposit, handles the littermates of your puppy of which end up infected with Parvo…. the entire litter then gets Parvo and your puppy dies…. it’s bad news all the way around. You will not be able to handle puppies that are already sold. It is just as important if not more important, that our puppies are matched with the best family for them, which is why we do temperament testing to let you know who is outgoing, friendly, ornery, and active versus who is mellow and a little bit timid. We feel 6 weeks of age is a good point to be able to determine these characteristics though all of the puppies begin to develop even more personality traits as they mature and are exposed to different environments and lifestyles. Responsible breeders do not allow everyone to visit for the safety of the dogs/puppies – and if they do you should be concerned for the health of those puppies.
Alternatives to Visiting Us
We understand your desire to visit the puppies before making a decision but we cannot compromise their health. However, we would be happy to provide you with references for those who have previously visited our facility and many families that have purchased a puppy from us have left google reviews . They can tell you about our puppies and how they’re raised during their time with us, about us as breeders, and how happy they are with their puppies. You can also visit those that own Guardian Labradoodles from us to see if the doodle breed is something in which you are interested. We also offer videos,photos and live facetime. We are also available by phone if you have other questions or concerns.
Extended Stay
If your puppy is to stay with us past the weekend of its ready date there is an additional boarding charge of $15 a day. If any vaccinations are needed during their stay with us those are included in the weekly boarding fee. Deworming will be done free of charge. If your puppy is with us past 12 weeks of age and is being shipped, the airlines require a rabies vaccination – this shot can only be done by a licensed veterinarian.
Picking Up Your Puppy
Prior to picking up your puppy you should not play with or visit other dogs/puppies that don’t already belong to you. These dogs could be exposed or infected with Parvo and will increase your puppy’s chance of exposure. Thank you for your consideration for the puppies and dogs in our care. With these precautions in place, you can be better assured to receive a healthy happy puppy!