Welcome Letter
Thank you for choosing us for your new puppy. Our goal is to raise healthy and happy puppies that grow into well adjusted family companions, many who develop into hunting and/or competition partners. Many of our dogs participate in therapy or service work as well.
Puppies are whelped in our home, are well socialized and are exposed to many environments prior to going to their new homes. We perform Early Neurological Stimulation as well as Early Scent Introduction on puppies from day 3 to 16. They have been regularly de-wormed and will have received their first vaccination. Puppies come with a written health guarantee. References are available upon request.
Your puppy will have been regularly de-wormed and will have received the first vaccination prior to going home with you, according to the scheduled indicated by the mom's nomograph. We no longer are removing dewclaws, even for our hunting puppies and changed this practice years ago. Puppies have been well socialized and exposed to many new environments during the first weeks of their lives. You should schedule an appointment with your veterinarian within a week of bringing home your puppy for a health check. At that time, your vet will establish a vaccine schedule. Thoughts on vaccines have changed quite a bit with research over the past few years. Talk to your vet about the best approach for your puppy. Recent guidelines have changed: AAHA 2017 Vaccine Guidelines.
Our puppies are raised on ProPlan Performance 30/20 (all life stages) and continue it through adulthood. We encourage our puppy owners to continue this or to change to another all life stages food that is not grain free.
owners to not feed grain free foods or those high in legumes due to a rise in what appears to be nutrition-based Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) in many breeds, including many golden retrievers. Genetically, we know Sub Aortic Stenosis is the cardiac disease that is prevalent in goldens, not DCM. Puppies receive probiotics for the week before they go home and you will receive some to take home. This helps their systems adjust to new water, food and environment.
You will receive a health guarantee/contract and health record when you pick up your new pup, along with a letter to give your vet. We strongly encourage you to also check out Avidog, where you can learn a lot about an early start with your puppy. Bite inhibition is also important concept to start with your puppy. We have started it at 4-5 weeks, but you will need to continue this. More information and links can be found with the other resources.
Retrievers are smart and active dogs. They do well with structure and activity. We encourage you to spend time training and/or attending an obedience class in the future, especially for the first year of your puppy's life. Read about the benefits of early socialization: AVSAB Position on Puppy Socialization. Keep in mind, socialization refers to a wide variety of stimuli, including people, animals and environments. This is crucial during the early period for the development of a well rounded and adjusted dog. Introduce new things, but don't force it on them (and at the same time, don't baby them from everything that goes bump in the night).
After doing our Avidog Puppy Evaluation Test, along with observing puppies over 8 weeks, we match puppies with families depending on their traits. Puppy deposits are non-refundable, unless your gender preference is not available from the litter. If you choose to take a puppy from a future litter, your deposit can be applied to a puppy from a litter up to 12 months in the future. *Due to COVID, we may not be able to complete the APET assessments that we usually do.*
Due to the possibility of disease transmission, we strictly limit visitors until the puppies are ready to go home with you. It is vitally important they remain healthy. The puppies are socialized with puppy socializers starting at an early age. I will keep you updated with photos and video as they grow. We also have a Facebook page for the puppies, SBR Puppy Page and have a Puppy Cam that runs almost 24/7. Please be aware you will have you disinfect your hands and have clean shoes that you have not worn when around other dogs when you do arrive to pick your new puppy.
We all know vet costs can get expensive and puppies can get into all sorts of trouble. In your puppy pack, we send a certificate for 30 days free of pet insurance coverage through Trupanion, as long as it is activated within 24 hours of go-home.
For those of you who are unable to pick up your puppy when he or she is ready to go home, we can arrange to keep him or her for the period you need. You will be charged a boarding fee. Please note, the remainder of the balance due on the puppy must be paid in full at the time they would be ready to go home, even if you will be picking up the puppy at a later date.
Due to the abuse of a few in the past, we are not able to accept checks as a form of payment when you pick up your puppy. We do require payment 10 days before go-home and this can be paid by check or credit card. Please contact us if you would like to pay with cash on go-home day.
We encourage you to email if you have any questions.
Tracy
sbrjunction@gmail.com