Guardian Homes For Springdale Puppies
If You Live Within 90 Miles of Greensboro, NC
Interested? Please complete our online puppy application and choose "Guardian Home Puppy" option.
We will call you directly to answer any questions after we receive your application.
We are looking for guardian families that live within 90 miles of Greensboro, NC. We need to get to know you, since you will be an important part of our lives! You get our pick of the litter puppy! This puppy will have an amazing temperament, fully vetted and already obedience trained. Sounds perfect right? Here are the details….
Guardian Home Explanation
We do not believe that puppies or dogs are best served by being kennel raised. By placing them in a home environment that will be their forever home from the time they are puppies we are doing our best to ensure their happiness and best start in life. We are not a kennel and rely on loving guardian homes to continue to provide amazing dogs to amazing families.
Guardian Families must understand and be able to afford the routine maintenance and care of an Australian Labradoodle which includes good nutritional food and daily vitamins, monthly grooming, pet insurance, regulars vet checkups and yearly bloodwork, teeth cleaning and heartworm prevention.
We benefit as a breeder because we do not need to have kennels and all our dogs are raised in loving homes with lots of attention and affection. It allows us to not have to care for more dogs than we can manage easily in our own home. Mostly, we know each dog has a forever home from the time they are young till the time they pass the rainbow bridge.
There are always a lot of questions that people have about the guardian program. The collection of questions and answers below is our best attempt to address all questions right up front. It really is a very simple program even though it may seem like it has a lot of details. The main thing to remember is, if we as a people truly reject the idea of puppy mills and back yard breeders (who are responsible for most dogs abandoned in shelters), there is no better way than a guardian program to breed dogs in a humane, loving environment. Our puppy contracts do not allow our puppies/dogs to end up in a shelter EVER. We value our dogs as family members, and we hope that you can see how this program benefits families and our four-legged friends!
What does it cost to become a guardian home?
Guardian families do not pay any upfront cost for their fully obedience trained, fully health tested and fully vaccinated puppy. All Springdale guardian puppies will be placed in your home at 5 months of age after completing the full obedience training (as described on our trained puppy page) with their Canine Good Citizen certificate and will come to you with advanced obedience manners to aid in a seamless transition to your home. They will also have completed their preliminary health testing required to become part of our breeding program. Apply today to add a fully trained puppy to your family with no upfront cost and support RESPONSIBLE breeding practices and our Family!
What guidelines do I have to follow when raising the puppy or dog?
Guardian families must feed a dog food approved by us. We are advocates of health nutrition for dogs, and for feeding foods that will not cause health issues, things like cancers, tumors, allergies, etc. The foods we ask you to feed are easily found, but are holistic, no by-products or fillers, etc. We also require you feed a multi-vitamin (our recommended vitamin only) once a day for immune health support.
We require the family to avoid all chemicals (this includes your yard, in your home and any flea/tick oral and topical preventions suggested by most veterinarians. All Springdale puppies/dogs are only treated holistically and naturally for Fleas & Ticks. This is not negotiable. Monthly Heartworm prevention is required under the guardian program.
If the dog becomes sick or injured, the family is required to notify us right away, so we can make all decisions regarding any treatment of the dog.
We ask the family to practice safe handling of the dog. The guardian home is responsible for accommodating us with the access or transportation of the dog to us when needed for breeding, whelping, vet visits or health testing. We are happy to come and pick up the dog, but the dog must be available to us within a 2-hour’ notice.
What age do you start breeding the dog?
Females usually cycle around 8-12 months for their first cycle. We will usually breed our females on the heat following 18 months age. If a dog goes into heat, you must notify us immediately so we can assess whether we will breed or if too young, we will mark our calendar to track the cycles and be able to estimate the timing of the next cycle. We will not always breed when she cycles. It is at the discretion of our family if we choose to breed or skip a cycle. This will depend on how many other girls have or are cycling and/or have already been bred and expecting. We pride ourselves on raising each litter with all our love and attention so we will not schedule more than two litters in our home at one time.
How long is she with Springdale while breeding?
As soon as the family is aware the dog is in heat, we will plan to breed her around day 7-9 of the heat cycle. During this first week, we will take her to several visits to the vet to check progesterone levels so we will know when she is ready to breed. (All breeding related vet visits are paid for by our family.) Once we know she is ready for breeding, we will breed her every other day for up to 3 breeding’s. Depending on your location, she may stay with us, or we may pick her up and bring her back after breeding. This decision will be at the discretion of our family.
How long is a dog pregnant?
Dogs are pregnant for 63 days.
How long is she with Springdale when she is whelping?
She will come to us 5-7 days before she is due with her litter. This gives her time to settle into our house, get used to her whelping box. It is important that she becomes very comfortable with being in our house and receiving love from our family before she gives birth. She will go home the same day the puppies go home at 8 weeks old.
Can we visit her when she has the puppies?
The Guardian home may pre-schedule visits to spend time with mom after the babies are 4 weeks old. This allows mom time to settle in with her babies. We encourage the families to schedule these visits early so she can "show off" her babies to you. She will be very proud for you to meet the babies and excited to see you and love her.
Does this negatively affect the dog emotionally to go from the guardian home to the breeder's home?
No. The transition is very seamless and all our moms living with guardians absolutely love us and enjoy staying with us. We give them so much attention and love that it is a pleasant and enjoyable experience for them. It is so important the guardians keep the stress levels very low during pregnancy. The less stressed and the more relaxed she is, the better it is for her babies. It is very important the guardian home makes the transition happy and easy for her.
What happens during pregnancy and what do I have to do differently with the dog?
Pregnancy is actually very easy. The dog may act a little more tired, or not eat normally for a few weeks. The last couple weeks of pregnancy she is usually becoming hungrier and sleeps more as time progresses. Otherwise, normal activity is typical, and it is important to continue with walking the dog right up to the end. This helps during delivery. Being in shape is always best. We will give you a written Maternity Plan immediately after she breeds so you will know exactly what to expect. Normal play and romping during the first half of pregnancy is great. After that, we limit activity to walks on a leash and no ball chasing or running.
No medications may be given during pregnancy. We must be notified immediately of any eating changes, behavior changes, illness, or injury.
What happens if the puppy gets sick or injured while in the guardian home's care?
While the dog is in guardian's care and home, any illness or injury that happens is their financial responsibility. We must be involved in any treatment decisions and know what is going on and determining medications, but the family is responsible for those expenses if it is not breeding related. Trupanion pet insurance is required during breeding years. This monthly expense is approximately $40-$60/month (depending on age increases). Pet insurance is for our protection because these dogs are extremely valuable as part of our program.
What expenses do the guardians pay for and what things does the breeder pay for?
The guardian home pays for all normal pet care such as, pet insurance, quality food, dishes, leashes, beds, routine vaccinations, heartworm meds, daily probiotics & vitamins, toys, and monthly grooming visits at an approved groomer. If the dog needs meds due to worms, illness, infection, or anything unrelated to breeding or pregnancy, it is the guardian’s responsibility to pay for those expenses. The guardian is required to keep an active Trupanion Pet Insurance policy on the breeding dog until the guardian contract has been completed in writing.
We pay for all expenses related to health testing for breeding purposes, all breeding expenses and litter expenses. We also pay for the final spay/neuter procedure once the dog has completed its time in our program.
How many litters do you usually breed before retiring the dog?
For female guardians we contract for four litters. We may only breed three or two, or one, but we have the option of four. We are concerned for the well-being of our program dogs. If we find that the girl has problems with deliveries or decide not to breed again, we will stop the breeding program with her, spay her, and we will transfer ownership to you in writing. For male guardians our contract will keep him intact for up to 7 years at the discretion of the breeder and the needs of the program.
Who pays for the spay surgery& neuter surgery?
The breeder pays for the spay or neuter surgery. For females, it is scheduled after the girl has had time to recover from the last litter and have her hormone levels return to normal. This is typically 2 months after puppies are weaned. For males, it is scheduled once the breeder decides it is time for him to retire.
What happens if the dog doesn't pass a health test like you want them to for becoming a breeding dog?
We do not place our puppies in their guardian home until after the health testing is completed. The puppy will not be officially offered to your family until health testing has been completed and the scores are excellent. We are looking for the best and highest scores in our parent dogs, so we ask guardians to be patient with us while we complete health testing and confirm the prospective puppy is going to join our breeding program.
What are the grooming requirements, and do you want us to keep the dog clipped a certain way?
We ask that families keep the dog in one of the typical cuts for an Australian Labradoodle. The most important part is the head and ears. We want them to have the look an Australian Labradoodle is supposed to have so that we can have updated pictures regularly for puppy buyers. Springdale Labradoodles will need to approve the groomer you choose to use.
We do require that the dog be kept groomed and matt free. We recommend grooming every 4 weeks. If the dog is brought to us with a matted coat, or a coat that is in bad shape, we have the right to take them in to our own groomer and have them groomed properly, but you will be responsible to reimburse us for that expense before the dog returns to you. Guardian dogs are ambassadors for our program. It is important that they are maintained and not matted and in bad shape.
Springdale Labradoodles believes all dogs should be loved and treated as members of the family. We are not a kennel. Since we can only have a few dogs living with us and still give them all the love and attention they deserve, we have the rest of our breeding dogs in carefully selected Guardian Homes. Our breeding dogs living in Guardian Homes are pet dogs loved immensely like all dogs should be.
It is crucial that our Guardian Dogs are well socialized and comfortable in new situations and with new people. Socialization outside of the home is a requirement for our guardian program.
GUARDIAN HOME REQUIREMENTS SIMPLIFIED
1. Puppies cannot be left alone for more than 3 hours for potty training purposes. A flexible work schedule or someone home at least half of the day is important.
2. A fenced yard is required for all Springdale Guardian Homes. Invisible fences are not an approved fence for our program.
3. Guardian dogs must be fed food approved by Springdale Labradoodles of Greensboro. We feed Fromm Puppy Gold and Fromm Adult Gold.
4. All oral medications and vaccines must be approved by us. We do not allow oral flea/tick preventatives to be administered to our Guardian dogs. Guardian families must agree to do all-natural flea/tick prevention.
5. All medical procedures must be approved by Springdale Labradoodles.
6. All guardian dogs must be groomed in accordance with grooming guidelines of Springdale Labradoodles at the owner’s expense. (Every 6 weeks from 4-12 months old then every 4 weeks after 12 months at a Springdale Labradoodles approved grooming facility.)
7. Guardian family agrees to keep in touch and send pictures at least once a month.
8. Always have the dog on a leash if not inside a fence.
9. Guardian must keep Trupanion Insurance current while dog is in our breeding program.
Alyssa Draime
Springdale Labradoodles of Greensboro
336-736-9680