Because I feel strongly that a dog needs its own “forever family”, I place my breeding dogs in what are called guardian homes. A guardian home is a kind of ‘dog-sharing’ arrangement where I retain legal ownership of the dog for a period of time, usually around 3.5 years for a girl (the amount of time it will take to raise a maximum of 4 litters of puppies), and up to 5 years for a stud, but the breeding dog lives with the guardians as their family pet.
The guardian pays a $750 security deposit, fully refundable at the successful completion of the contract. For each of her litters, the breeding female will be needed during her heat cycle for progesterone testing (up to 5 times, each a walk in vet tech appointment at Newberg Veterinary Hospital), and then for two short breeding appointments, and then to whelp and raise her puppies (6 to 7 weeks each litter), but other than that she lives with her guardians. We pamper our mamas while they’re here at the house- I jokingly call it “coming to the spa”.
Our studs are needed for shorter periods of time, but often on quite short notice.
The guardians pay for expenses related to daily upkeep, such as well pet care, quality food as approved by Mountain Park Labradoodles, grooming (using either a groomer approved by us or with approval another one, using written guidelines for grooming), and sick/emergency dog vet visits. The dog is required to remain in unmatted, full coat haircut during the contract period, because a beautiful dog is a walking advertisement for my program. Regular, thorough coat care is one of the hardest parts of being a guardian for an Australian Labradoodle.
This guardian program allows my breeding labradoodles to live their lives as pampered pets, and allows me to have genetic diversity in my breeding program that would otherwise be very limited by the number of dogs I can care for here at home. At the end of the contract period, the dog is spayed or neutered at Mountain Park’s expense and legal ownership transfers to the guardians, and if all contract terms have been met, the deposit is refunded. Basically, a guardian family earns a labradoodle puppy by providing a great forever home.
I view Guardian homes as an incredibly valuable component of the Mountain Park Labradoodles breeding programs. As such, open communication is encouraged at all times; I welcome input from the Guardian. However, final responsibility and authority for making decisions involving the guardian dog’s care and breeding career, , including naming of dog, rest solely with me, until such time that the contract is completed, dog is spayed, and title is transferred to the Guardian.
A Guardian:
-must live within 100 miles of Lake Oswego and have a dog-safe environment.
-will be asked to provide transportation to/from breeding-related veterinary visits and breeding visits, sometimes on short notice
-must make and keep regular grooming appointments with approved groomer
-will be required to ensure that dog completes obedience classes through the Canine Good Citizen level, or demonstrate equivalent obedience skills. Guardians are required to spend adequate time training, exercising and socializing the dog.
-should not travel a great deal of the time. Our dogs thrive on being with their people, and on dependable living arrangements. Boarding and care arrangements must be approved by MPL prior to guardian’s travel.
-Other guidelines are contained in our guardian home contract.
