The choosing process begins somewhere around five weeks after whelping. We will send out an email notifying families on the waiting list that have a potential for choosing from the litter and that the choosing process is beginning for the respective litter. For emphasis, we always choose on one litter at a time and we will clearly communicate which litter that is. Then, we start working down the Waiting List letting people choose their puppy as we update our website (Available Puppies page as well as Waiting List page). We ask the first person on the list to choose within 72 hours. If we do not get a response withing three days, we call the next person on the list and they now get that spot for their choice. It behooves those who are choosing to have reviewed our website and discussed their priority picks with family members before five weeks after whelping. It makes your decision easier and is respectful of those choosing after you. The faster the process can go, the better it is for everybody. If the respective litter has more than six puppies, we may reduce the time given to make a choice to 48 hours. If the litter has more than 10 puppies, we will reduce the time to 36 hours. We will never give less than 36 hours for you to make your choice. The time periods for choosing based off number of puppies in a litter is a function of allowing all choices to be made (as much as possible) before the puppies are ready to go to their forever home. Puppy pickup day is usually after the pups turn eight weeks old.
Documenting the Journey: Puppy Photos
We post pictures of each litter three separate times. We post one photo when they are about a week old, two photos of each puppy when they are about three weeks old and two more photos of each puppy when they are about five-weeks old. We start the choosing process after all three sets of photos are complete, posted and we’ve chosen our Breeder’s Choice puppies. We usually choose the Breeder’s Choice puppies as we are posting the five week photos. Sometimes, if we have a lot of litters, this process can be delayed. With a lot of litters, a lot of puppies per litter and us with 10 kids, it can take time to get it all together but, rest assured, those photos are on the way.
Gender Preferences and Choosing Order
Gender preferences do affect puppy choosing decisions. If you put down a preference on your adoption form, that gender will be attached to your name on the waiting list. You are welcome to change gender preference at any time but in order to be respectful of those choosing below you on the list, doing so will automatically put you at the bottom of the list for your new preference.
Deferring Your Choice
After you are on the waiting list, when you are given an opportunity to choose a puppy, you may defer choosing (i.e. be passed over for a later litter) as many times as you like with no explanation needed as to your reasons for deferring. However, if this happens three times consecutively (i.e. you’ve deferred when given three opportunities to choose from three different litters), you will be moved to the bottom of the waiting list. If you defer and choosing continues but you change your mind before litter choosing is done, we will allow you to choose after the current person chooses. Any puppy already chosen is not available to you now. In other words, once we tell someone that it is their turn to choose, we let them finish their turn without interruption.
Puppy Pickup and Extended Boarding
We charge $300 per week to hold pups for more than nine weeks or for more than a week after they are released to go to their forever homes. This fee is not applicable when we are training puppies because the training price includes the boarding costs and they are getting good social and emotional stimulus at the training. We do not recommend us boarding your puppy beyond eight weeks if you are not getting them trained. The puppies have just become aware of their surroundings at this age and they are in need of bonding with their forever family. It is a wonderful time for puppy and family to spend together. Also, puppies are training sponges at this time and we encourage you to take advantage of that and establish the training and environment you want your puppy to be used to. Please prioritize your schedule so that you can receive your puppy as soon as possible after his or her eight-week birthday.
Preparing for Puppy Selection
Families need to have all of their questions expressed and answered before it is their time to choose a puppy. For example, if you are concerned about the hypoallergenic qualities of a puppy’s coat and desire to do our T-Shirt Allergy Test, that will need to be completed by this time and should be initiated around three weeks after whelping.
Indefinite Deferral List
If, at any time, you realize that you need to defer indefinitely on getting a puppy from us, we can move you to our “Indefinite Deferral” position at the bottom of the list. In this position, your deposit is still good with us but we will not contact you when a litter is available or other correspondence from us. Whenever your status changes and you are ready for a puppy, let us know and we will put you back on the list (at the bottom) and all the normal interaction we have with someone on our waiting list will be re-instated.
We reserve the right to institute delays and changes in the choosing process due to internal reasons.
Feel free to contact us anytime about questions on our process.
Documenting the Journey: Puppy Photos
We post pictures of each litter three separate times. We post one photo when they are about a week old, two photos of each puppy when they are about three weeks old and two more photos of each puppy when they are about five-weeks old. We start the choosing process after all three sets of photos are complete, posted and we’ve chosen our Breeder’s Choice puppies. We usually choose the Breeder’s Choice puppies as we are posting the five week photos. Sometimes, if we have a lot of litters, this process can be delayed. With a lot of litters, a lot of puppies per litter and us with 10 kids, it can take time to get it all together but, rest assured, those photos are on the way.
Gender Preferences and Choosing Order
Gender preferences do affect puppy choosing decisions. If you put down a preference on your adoption form, that gender will be attached to your name on the waiting list. You are welcome to change gender preference at any time but in order to be respectful of those choosing below you on the list, doing so will automatically put you at the bottom of the list for your new preference.
Deferring Your Choice
After you are on the waiting list, when you are given an opportunity to choose a puppy, you may defer choosing (i.e. be passed over for a later litter) as many times as you like with no explanation needed as to your reasons for deferring. However, if this happens three times consecutively (i.e. you’ve deferred when given three opportunities to choose from three different litters), you will be moved to the bottom of the waiting list. If you defer and choosing continues but you change your mind before litter choosing is done, we will allow you to choose after the current person chooses. Any puppy already chosen is not available to you now. In other words, once we tell someone that it is their turn to choose, we let them finish their turn without interruption.
Puppy Pickup and Extended Boarding
We charge $300 per week to hold pups for more than nine weeks or for more than a week after they are released to go to their forever homes. This fee is not applicable when we are training puppies because the training price includes the boarding costs and they are getting good social and emotional stimulus at the training. We do not recommend us boarding your puppy beyond eight weeks if you are not getting them trained. The puppies have just become aware of their surroundings at this age and they are in need of bonding with their forever family. It is a wonderful time for puppy and family to spend together. Also, puppies are training sponges at this time and we encourage you to take advantage of that and establish the training and environment you want your puppy to be used to. Please prioritize your schedule so that you can receive your puppy as soon as possible after his or her eight-week birthday.
Preparing for Puppy Selection
Families need to have all of their questions expressed and answered before it is their time to choose a puppy. For example, if you are concerned about the hypoallergenic qualities of a puppy’s coat and desire to do our T-Shirt Allergy Test, that will need to be completed by this time and should be initiated around three weeks after whelping.
Indefinite Deferral List
If, at any time, you realize that you need to defer indefinitely on getting a puppy from us, we can move you to our “Indefinite Deferral” position at the bottom of the list. In this position, your deposit is still good with us but we will not contact you when a litter is available or other correspondence from us. Whenever your status changes and you are ready for a puppy, let us know and we will put you back on the list (at the bottom) and all the normal interaction we have with someone on our waiting list will be re-instated.
We reserve the right to institute delays and changes in the choosing process due to internal reasons.
Feel free to contact us anytime about questions on our process.