how we care and prepare our dogs & puppies

INTRODUCTION TO OUR PUPPIES

We believe what makes our puppies stand out above the rest is the care and focus we put into their parents and the puppies from before conception to the time they go to their forever homes. As a breeder we focus on the things that make a difference in the long term health and longevity of our pups, genetics, health, and temperament. Below is all that entails.

1. All would-be-parents are OFA hips and elbows x-rayed with a rating good-excellent worthy of breeding. All breeding dogs and their all relatives, have their eyes checked yearly for any eye issues, which are common in aussies. All of the dogs have been tested for MDR1 (Multi Drug Sensitivity) gene, CEA (Collie Eye Anomaly), CD (Cone Degeneration), HC (Hereditary Cataracts), PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy), and DM (Degenerative Myelopathy). All these tests cost approximately $800 per dog, but in our view must be done in order to breed healthy puppies. If you are looking at puppies that are cheaper in cost, you will find they do not do a full genetic panel (7+tests), which puts your future puppy at risk, and they don’t do OFA xrays to insure they aren’t creating puppies that will be dysplastic. You will not know what you are getting without these clearances and knowing the full genetics of your parent dogs and their parents and so on.

2. All our dogs are fed premium dog food (Life’s Abundance). 100% of dog foods purchased at the grocery store are very poor and have a lot of stuff in them you don’t know about. Most ingredients are made abroad and have no regulations to ensure quality ingredients or actual ingredients. Your new puppy will be a part of your life for the next 12 plus years. We believe that proper nutrition plays the biggest role in ensuring your aussies quality of life, just like in humans. There are a lot of very good premium dog foods, be educated in your choice. All ingredients in Life’s Abundance dog food is made in America and has NEVER had a recall. It is extremely fresh and has a shelf life.  They don’t store it for month or years. Its made fresh and sold. 70% of all hip dysplasia in dogs is due to a poor diet, vitamin deficiency, and improper exercise or lack of exercise at a young age.  We just want the best for our puppies and puppy families. And the best part, it gets delivered to your home hassle free.  You can put it on auto ship and not have to worry about ordering it again.

3. We also have them on Nuvet Vitamins, Life’s Abundance and/or Life’s Abundance Wellness Vitamin. As humans, we can hardly do a balance diet. Nuvet Vitamins, or Life’s Abundance Wellness Supplement Vitamins for the first 3 years of the puppy’s life. So many of the health issues that we guarantee are affected by diet.  We can only ensure the Health Guarantee if we know the puppy is getting a healthy diet, or at least a high quality vitamin.  It will be part of your contract and you will have a link to these two sites on our webpage.  Ordering threw our website will also let us know who is ordering and what.

4. Temperament is VERY important to us. Along with choosing dogs with loving and stable temperaments for breeding, we enhance their emotional resiliency and stability by using the Puppy Culture Program. Their methods are excellent for raising solid temperament pups that can handle kids, loud sounds, different environments, etc. and are confident in themselves. We have fallen in love with this program. The pups interact with us every day, all day, along with other dogs (ours only), visits from our grandchildren, and teenagers, all helping to make well-rounded dogs. They are not in the back room, out in the garage or in the barn.  They are in our living room. Our puppies are temperament tested throughout their 8 weeks with us in order to ensure they go to the right forever family.

5. We also do a Puppy Development Program call "The Other Piece of the Puzzle" by Pat Hastings and we do Puppy Culture as well. It is an extensive program starting at the pre-natal period threw neonatal, the transitional period, all the way to time to go home. It focuses on awareness, socialization, curiosity and fear imprint and impact. We recommend this book. It follows the puppy from birth to adulthood.  We only start the process of raising healthy and emotionally balanced dogs. We give them the good foundation and rest is up to you.

6. We have an open door policy, meaning you can contact us for help or if you have questions about your pup and raising them throughout their lives. We have put together a basic list of items that are crucial to you ending up with a healthy, long living and emotionally balanced dog. It will be in your puppy package we send home with you as well.

7. All our puppies are wormed throughout the 8 weeks, have their eyes checked by an ophthalmologist at 8 weeks, and come with their first round of shots and a puppy wellness report from my local vet.  We also include information on over vaccinating your puppy and research that backs up our belief.

As you can see, we put an extensive amount of energy into our dogs and raising your puppy. This specialty care will benefit the dog and save money over the life of the pup because of the great foundation. The amount of Puppy Culture daily conditioning, desensitizing training, socializing skilled training. All of this adds up to be a very time consuming.

Ann & Rob Ellis

raellis2@hotmail.com

541-905-3932