Misty Mountain Guardianship Program
What is Guardianship?
From time to time, when we have a litter of puppies, we look for responsible families who will home our breeding dogs. Thus be guardians. Whilst the information below is most relevant to female dogs, we do on occasion keep males for our breeding program and do look for families who would be interested in a male dog. Basically, this means that you will take a puppy that we choose from the litter but you will allow us to have breeding rights with the dog for up to four litters. At the end of the contract, we desex the dog and it becomes your pet. We ask for a $500 non refundable deposit which will secure you a place on the guardianship program and when a suitable dog becomes available we shall make contact with you. Before collection of the puppy, we ask for a $500 holding fee. If for some reason the dog is returned to us, we will refund the $500 to you (unless grooming or training fees are required). If you keep the dog for the transition of the program, the $500 becomes the cost of the dog. We do like to meet our guardian families at some point, so if you are interested, please complete the Guardianship Application Form below and I will be in contact with you. We do welcome guardian families who live in Brisbane, even though we are on Tamborine Mountain, as we do most of our breedings at QVS in Stafford Heights so you would not need to bring the dog to us but take it to Stafford Heights.
How long will the dog be away from us?
When the dog is around 6 months old, we will require him/her to go to a vet for health testing. The dog will be tested to see if it carries hip dysplasia or PRA eye disease. This is pain free and done at the vet. We can use various vets around the Gold Coast and Brisbane. It is also at this time that I will require the dog for about 2-3 hours so that I can take photos for my website BEFORE you have the dog groomed. We can arrange this closer to the time.
If you have a female, the dog will come into season at some point, on the tenth day (or round about) of her cycle, we will need her to come to me to be served. Sometimes, we will need to send the dog to the vet to have her progesterone testing done, this would be a maximum of three days, maybe only two. Alternatively, the guardian may take the dog to a vet closer to them for progesterone testing, but this can be agreed upon by both parties closer to the time.
She will then come back to me about 10 days prior to her due date. (Dogs gestation period is 63 days). We will need her to stay with her puppies for 5 weeks until the puppies have been weaned. During this time, you are welcome to come visit her and of course see the puppies, when the pups are about 3 weeks old.
If you have a male guardian dog, then he is required on an 'on need' basis. We will try to give you as much notice as possible. A male dog may be used by myself or at times by another breeder with my permission. All enquiries for male studs should come through me. Generally I only require my males 6-8 times per year.
If you have a female, the dog will come into season at some point, on the tenth day (or round about) of her cycle, we will need her to come to me to be served. Sometimes, we will need to send the dog to the vet to have her progesterone testing done, this would be a maximum of three days, maybe only two. Alternatively, the guardian may take the dog to a vet closer to them for progesterone testing, but this can be agreed upon by both parties closer to the time.
She will then come back to me about 10 days prior to her due date. (Dogs gestation period is 63 days). We will need her to stay with her puppies for 5 weeks until the puppies have been weaned. During this time, you are welcome to come visit her and of course see the puppies, when the pups are about 3 weeks old.
If you have a male guardian dog, then he is required on an 'on need' basis. We will try to give you as much notice as possible. A male dog may be used by myself or at times by another breeder with my permission. All enquiries for male studs should come through me. Generally I only require my males 6-8 times per year.
How many litters will the dog have?
The dog will only have 1-4 litters in its lifetime and generally within a five year period. If the dog does not pass her health tests, then we do not breed with her and she is desexed and becomes the guardian family’s dog and the contract comes to an end. If she passes all of her health tests, then at the right time for the dog and ourselves, we will start the breeding process. After she has finished her 1-4 litters she is desexed and she becomes the guardian family’s dog and the contract comes to an end.
Responsibilities:
You are responsible for:
- Feeding the dog (a premium dog food suggested by the breeder)
- Regularly worming and providing flea and tick prevention (suggested by the breeder)
- Regularly brushing of the dog and 2-3 times per year having the dog clipped. (we do ask that the dog not be clipped by you or anyone in the first 6-12 months as this is when we need to take photos of its full coat)
- Exercising the dog regularly
- Making sure that it is in a secure, fenced area when she comes on heat. Somewhere, where no male dog can get at her or where she can’t get out and roam.
- Participating in puppy school at your local vet and after that one on one sessions with a trainer or our choosing ( we have been using Sue from Animal Stars. located at Guanaba, and have seen some great results. She charges $90 for a two hour session). If Guanaba is too far for you, we can negotiate an appropriate trainer closer to you. Formal training is most important and a non negotiable. Even for pet puppies we strongly recommend formal training.
- Socialising the dog within the first 6 months of its life giving it lots of safe but new experiences.
- Providing adequate care and love and attention
- Any vet bills that are not associated with breeding or whelping.
- Getting the dog to us when we need it. Generally this is to either Greencross Vet in Mudgeeraba or QVS at Stafford Heights, Brisbane.
- If the dog has not been brushed and arrives here with lots of mats or arrive with fleas and we need to get in a groomer, you would need to pay for the grooming costs.
- Paying for all expenses associated with breeding and whelping
- The cost of desexing at the end of her breeding life. We do on occasion keep males for our program. If you would prefer a male then please specify on the application form.
- All puppies and costs associated with them.
- Feeding, worming and tick and flea protection whilst the dog is with us.
- We will pay for two training sessions with our trainer. The first session being a "puppy start up lesson" (if needed) and one when the puppy is 6 months old. The guardian is responsible for paying for two training sessions, one at 10-12 weeks of age and another at 16 weeks of age.