All of our litters are born in our home. We have a room set up just for this. This gives the mom privacy along with keeping the puppies in a controlled environment. A roomy whelping box is provided which has plastic pvc railings so that a puppy can not get trapped behind it's mother. The mom moves into the whelping room a few days prior to the delivery date to get use to sleeping in the box. This room is just off our family room so that I may sleep on the couch to monitor what is going on. When I am not able to be near I have a baby monitor so I can listen to what is happening.

When puppies eyes and ears open at around 2 weeks of age and they can get around better the pvc pipe is taken out so that they can not use it to "get a leg up" and get out. Puppies are kept here until they are weaned. We have a small TV and a radio in the puppy room. We try to keep one on during the day for the puppies to get use to all the different sounds of the world. They are exposed to rock, jazz, country, classical and talk radio.

When Mom no longer needs to feed the puppies they are put in puppy pens. These pens have a grated floor so that "messes" fall thru and onto newspaper. This keeps the puppies clean and helps them to learn they want to stay clean. Since they are now elevated the TV is on more than the radio. They watch the full spectrum of shows such as cartoons, soap operas, football and game shows. And YES they do sit and watch TV!

Weather permitting we take our puppies outside after each meal to run and play in the fresh air. Since we take them out immediately after they eat, and if it is very nice out often feed them outside, nature takes care of them "going" in the grass. We have found this to be a great asset when housebreaking time rolls around. Puppies that have been exposed to the outside in this way are a step farther than puppies who have not been outside. Unfortunately there are times of the year puppies cannot go outside to play. However, most of the time we have puppies when the weather co-operates with us.

By the time the puppies are 6 weeks old they have been dewormed, had their first shot and been to the vets for a check up. We also micro chip each puppy to better identify them and also a safe guard in case the puppy is ever lost or stolen. Now we are ready to temperament test to determine which family would be best for which puppy. This test is done in an area that the puppies have not been in and conducted by someone who the puppies do not know. The true test! Some examples of this test include-

Calling puppy.
Chase moving object.
An umbrella is opened and set down to get reaction; scared, indifferent or curious.

Now puppies are ready to go to their new homes. Most puppies are picked up here, however, we have shipped them all across the US and into Canada.