You've Got Questions?
We've got answers!
We strive to be transparent about every aspect of our program, so if your question is not addressed here, please reach out and ask!Â
1. Are your parent dogs' health tested?
Yes, each of our parent dogs is genetically tested (through embark and/or paw print genetics) and also receive breed appropriate OFA testing. We are happy to provide the documentation of health testing on any of our parent dogs per your request!
​
2. Are your puppies registered?
Our moyen poodle puppies are AKC registered and will come with appropriate papers. Our cavapoos are a cross breed (cavalier King Charles spaniel X poodle). Cross breeds are not eligible for AKC registration. We can however provide AKC papers on the purebred parents involved in the cross and/or DNA test results to verify breed on our parent dogs.
3. How much are your puppies?
The deposit to reserve your puppy is $250 (this is part of the total cost). Our moyen poodle puppies are $2400 and our cavapoo puppies are $3100. Cavapoos have smaller litters on average, hence the higher cost. This cost does not include breeding rights. Breeding rights are available to approved programs only (please inquire).
​
4. Why are wellbred puppies so expensive?
We put our lives on hold when it comes to raising puppies. We sleep with our moms the weeks prior and after delivery. Simply put, raising puppies is not only a passion but also a full time job! We lose plenty of sleep and spend MANY hours caring for and even starting to train the pups. We spare no expense when it comes to the nutrition, prenatal care, routine vet care, etc. for both our puppies and our parent dogs. The cost of maintaining our adult dogs (grooming, health insurance, proper health testing) is a major yearly expense. When pups are offered at a significantly cheaper price, the odds are that they are not coming from health tested parents, are not being raised indoors/in home with an emphasis on socialization, and that the parent dogs are not receiving the highest level of care.
5. Where do your parent dogs live?
A handful of parent dogs live here with us at Red Paw Farm. They are our pets, first and foremost: they sleep in our beds and make nose prints on all of our windows. When they retire, they will still remain with us for the rest of their lives. Since we can't keep every dog inside of our house, we have a handful of dogs that live in guardian homes with people we know and trust. These dogs also live indoors as pets and will not be rehomed once they are retired. We strongly believe in not keeping dogs in a kennel setting!
6. Do you offer a health guarantee on your puppies?
Yes, each of our puppies comes home with age-appropriate vaccines, microchipped, vet-checked, and with a 2 year health guarantee against genetic diseases. We offer lifetime training support for your pup and will always try to be available to answer training questions.
7. Where are your puppies raised?
Our puppies are raised in somebody's living room... either ours' or one of our close friends'/guardian homes. We believe that when they are raised as part of the family, the normal hustle and bustle of daily life is a great way to make sure they are well-socialized. In addition to being a part of the family, we also follow a combination of the BAB & puppy culture enrichment programs. We start at 3 days old with early neurological stimulation and progress to exposure to a huge variety of stimuli, crate/potty training, recall exercises, and more!
8. Can we visit Red Paw Farm?
Yes! We are proud of our parent dogs and want to show them off. You are welcome to meet our parent dogs, current trainees, etc. by appointment.
We do limit visits when we have litter of puppies under 6 weeks of age to due to risk of contracting viruses. Those who have a deposit down on a litter are able to meet all of the pups once they are over 6 weeks.
​
9. I am looking for a therapy or service dog, can you help me?
Yes, Brooke is a certified trainer (CDT-C) and has experience with training dogs and temperament testing puppies. A big part of our goal with breeding is to create puppies that can go onto fulfill these special roles in the future. Please let us know your needs and we can help find the right match and even help you find a local trainer to get started depending on the training tasks needed.
10. How often and how many times are your female dogs bred?
First of all, we have noticed a misconception out there that pregnancy/birth is somehow a form of torture for dogs. In our experience, our dogs really seem to enjoy the process of motherhood, similar to many humans! We strive to be emotionally in tune with each of our dogs... if one seemed to truly not enjoy motherhood and/or physically did not recover well from pregnancy/birth, she would not be bred again. For a healthy dog that seems to enjoy her little pups, we breed up to 4 times.
In the past, it was considered to be ethical to skip heats and only breed your female once a year or even once every two years. Recent research​ has shown that the canine uterus actually fares better without skipped heats. We take a balanced approach here and try to look at each individual dog but we are comfortable breeding at least 2 cycles back to back based on the current reproductive veterinary recommendations.
11. Do you ship your puppies?
Yes, we can deliver our puppies anywhere in the United States. We do not ship our pups via cargo (too stressful and potentially dangerous for them), but we offer to hand-deliver the pups ourselves via car or plane. If we are not available, then we have several reliable flight nanny services that can also fly with the pup in cabin. The cost varies by location but typically starts at around $400-500 for air deliveries.