A Special Thanks To Our Guardian Families

At Labradoodle Dreams, we do NOT kennel our doodles, they live in our home as a much loved family member, as we think all dogs & doodles should , whether they are a breeding doodle or not.  In order to expand our breeding program, we have a Guardian Program.  If you would like to learn more about our program and live within an hour of Livonia, Michigan, please contact us at jenny@labradoodledreams.com or call us at (734) 812-5570

What is a Guardian Home?

A Guardian Home is very much like a forever home for one of our cream of the croppuppies or young breeding doodle.   While the breeding puppy or young doodle lives with the Guardian family, the breeding rights are retained by Labradoodle Dreams for a pre-agreed uponamount of time.  Each situation is unique as far as a deposit and how many times we will breed a female. Wewill work out the details with each family on anindividual basis.  Once we have all the breeding tests on the puppy & they have passed those tests, the doodle will be able to breed when they come of age.  All breeding is done back here with us at Labradoodle Dreams, not in the Guardian home.  For a female, she will come to us to breed and then again about a week before she is due to whelp her puppies.Whenshe has whelped, raised and weaned her litter she will return to the Guardian family, this will take about 7 weeks.  Once the breeding contract is complete, the she will be spayed at our expense and full ownership will be transferred to the Guardian family.  For a male, he would have a much shorter stay with us, but more frequent visits.

How many litters will my doodle have?

Our females will have 3-4 litters as outlined in our Guardian contract and our males are neutered by six years old.  Again, all of this is on a case by case basis.

Are there Benefits of Being a Guardian Home?

A Guardian Family gets the very best American and Australian Labradoodlesthat Labradoodle Dreams has to offer! We base all of breeding dogs on temperament being the most important factor, and then we look to structure, coat and conformation.   All health testing that is done will be done at our expense, and most of it is done by the time the puppy is one year old.  Many tests need annual renewals, but again, they are done at our expense. We also gift back your deposit on the first litter for our female breeders (which is what we primarily have in Guardian homes), and $500 for every litter thereafter.  For our males, after their 5^th service their deposit is gifted back to the Guardian Family and $100 every time we use his services thereafter.  Being a Guardian Families you also get to see your doodle’s puppies brighten the lives of families like your own, or possibly see another family like your own, that has decided to keep a breeding doodle!!!

Things Families will need to Consider Before being a Guardian

It’s been said time and again, ‘It takes a Special Family to be a Guardian Family’, not only because they have be able to part with their doodle from time to time, but there are other responsibilities that Guardian families need to consider. Guardians of females will have to deal with several heat cycles and keep all intact males away from her when she is in season. The Guardian family will need to learn the signs of a heat cycle starting and communicate, cooperate and coordinate with us so we can work together to guarantee a successful breeding. Guardians of males will need to be comfortable with some manly behaviors in their un-neutered boy as well as not allowing him to be with ANY females. There are dog venereal diseases that can cause infertility if a male were to be infected.  We test for these diseases prior to breeding;our males will ONLY mate with approved females chosen by Labradoodle Dreams.

So, How Does all of this Work?

Most all of our doodles/pups available for our Guardian Program will be females. There is the rare occasion that we will have a male available.  There is an application and a deposit, again all Guardians are chosen on a case by case basis.

Our Guardian Home Families are responsible for the general, routine and emergency veterinary care and wellness of the Guardian puppy/doodle placed with them. This means annual vaccines, feeding a high quality doodle food (the Doodle MUST be able to be on Orijen when at my home), grooming, monthly heartworm prevention, flea/tick prevention, at least basic training, regular exercise and socialization with dogs, kids & adults.  Most importantly we want our doodles to have all the love and care and attention possible.

Any “breeding related” medical costs for the Guardian Doodle are the expense of Labradoodle Dreams.  This would include all breeding tests, whelping cost, etc.  Our Guardian Homes are only responsible for routine maintenance and medical care just as they would if they had their own doodle.

When the female Guardian doodle is in season, the Guardian Family is required to contact us immediately. An intact female usually has a heat cycle that will last between 14 and 21 days every 6-8 months however she will not be bred every heat cycle. When we decide to breed her, we would need access to her for breeding related appointments, this takes about a week.  She is then returned to her Guardian family until one week before her due date. At that time, the she will come back to stay with us throughout the rest of her pregnancy.  Once she has fully weaned her puppies she will be returned approximately 7 weeks later. Guardian Families are welcomed and encouraged to visit their doodle and her puppies with scheduled appointments while their Doodle is with us.

If you are applying for a Guardian Home puppy, she will come to you between 8 & 9 weeks of age. During the first year, we will need access to her to have her health testing completed. Once we receive all of the results from her health testing, we are then able to evaluate whether or not she will enter our breeding program at that time. If for any reason we decide not to breed the Guardian Puppy placed with a Guardian Family that puppy will be spayed or neutered based on the Guardian Contract, please know that this decision is made solely by Labradoodle Dreams.

As a Guardian family of a puppy, we ask for monthly photos and updates during the first year so that we can watch the doodle grow & develop, and we also use this information to update our website. We also 2 require visits to our Guardian Family’s during the first year to evaluate the Guardian Puppy, as well as build a relationship with her for the future.  We also require our Guardian Families to bring the puppy to us for a few visits so that she can become comfortable with our home and our family so when she’s with us in the future having her babies it will be less stressful for her.

All doodles and pups placed in Guardian Families must live indoors and never be left outside unattended. Guardian Families must have reliable transportation, and be willing to bring the Guardian doodle/pup to us when needed throughout the year. Guardians MUST keep up with the grooming needs of the doodle.

Requirements of a Guardian Home

·         Own your own home & have a fully fenced yard

·         Take the Doodle to basic obedience classes

·         Make sure the puppy is socialized with adults, children and other doodles

·         NEVER strike the doodle with an object or their hand as a form of discipline

·         Provide appropriate veterinary or emergency care when needed including annual shots and heartworm preventative

·         Feed the doodle a premium diet approved by the breeder (we feed Orijen& the doodle must be able to be on that when in our home)

·         Do NOT allow the doodle to participate in extended strenuous activity, such as, running on concrete or other hard surface or go up and down stairs on a regular basis before 15 months of age. The more strenuous exercise it receives during this period, the greater chance of it developing Hip Dysplasia or arthritis later in life.

·         Notify breeder immediately when a female begins her heat cycle

·         Do NOT allow a female around intact males during her cycle

·         Do NOT allow a male to breed ANY females other than those chosen by the breeder at a time determined by the breeder

·         Guardians must live within 1 hour of Labradoodle Dreams (Livonia, Michigan)

·         Guardians and all others that live within the home must be in agreement and aware of all the terms of the guardianship contract

·         Guardians must communicate, cooperate and coordinate with the breeder regarding testing, matings, whelpings, and other breeding related activities

Our doodles are very important to us and we must be VERY careful about the families we chose to place our breeding puppies with.  It is imperative that we trust our Guardian Families to follow through with the terms of the contract and be willing to work with us and stay in touch with us for an extended period of time (4-6 years). We ask families to take into account everything we have described above before applying to be a part of our Guardian Home program. This is something everyone in the family must agree upon. And I’m back to my earlier statement of ‘It takes Special Family to be Guardian family'.  This means simply, it just is not for everyone, the commitment to the breeder and the intact doodle, the separation that will come into play when the female will be back at the breeders to whelp her puppies.  It’s nothing to take lightly and the entire family needs to be on the same page.   We have several Guardian Families that love this situation and being a part of our program.  We want our relationships with our Guardians families to be friendly with exciting and fulfilling outcomes.  Give us a call or email us and we'd be happy to talk about all of this with you!

Labradoodle Dreams American & Australian Labradoodles

If you live within ONE hour of Livonia, Michigan, and you would like more information about this opportunity, please use the contact information below, and we can send you an application for Guardianship!

Contact Jenny:  Phone: 734-812-5570  Email: jenny@labradoodledreams.com

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