Guardian Homes
High Desert Labradoodles is always looking for Guardian Homes for our Australian Labradoodle dogs. A Guardian Home is where our canine companions have been specially placed to have the daily love and nurturing that they deserve and still be a part of our breeding program. They remain our dogs and we make all major decisions for them, but they are part of your family. At the end of their breeding career, they become solely yours.
How It Works
The puppy/dog lives with you and becomes a member of your family, while we retain breeding rights. Once the dog is finished with its breeding career, it will be spayed/neutered and all rights will then be transferred to you.
As a Guardian Family, you would be responsible for normal pet care, such as feeding, grooming, normal vet visits, flea/tick prevention, monthly heart-worm, training, and toys. We will be responsible for any breeding-related expenses such as breeding fees, ultrasounds, microchips, and hip/elbow, eye testing, or anything else associated with breeding.
Female Guardian Dogs
Generally a female dog cycles every 6 – 8 months. After they are one and a half years old we will begin their testing to see if they qualify for our breeding program with a variety of different tests done by trained professionals as well as personality and behavior tests conducted by us to ensure they are the best dogs for breeding.
We typically begin with their first breeding around two years of age. Once we decide to use them for breeding, we expect that you will contact us at the very start of her heat each time whether we are breeding that cycle or not. We will determine the most optimum breeding days and coordinate to have her here for breeding. She then returns to you and you can enjoy watching as her body changes over the next 7 weeks. One week before her due date, she will return to our home and deliver her puppies and remain with them for about 6 weeks.
We breed our females once to twice per year after they have been tested and we breed them 2 to 5 times total depending on our specific breeding plan for each dog and their overall health. We solely reserve the right to make the decision on the longevity of each breeding dog and is not up to guardians.
Male Guardian Dogs
For our studs, the commitment may be higher as we can use our studs more frequently. Generally, we ask that our studs live in Bend / Redmond / La Pine area to make this process smoother for everyone involved, but are open to Guardian Homes further away depending on the situation.
Our studs go through similar testing as outlined above and we may begin using them around one and a half years old. Once our optimum breeding days have been determined we will ask the stud to be delivered for a short window of time and then picked back up to allow rest for the stud between breedings.
Breeding appointments usually last one hour and are scheduled every other day during the needed breeding time. If a stud boy lived further away than the Central Oregon area then we would discuss the best breeding options for us and the stud.
We do not allow Guardians to be involved or watch the breeding process out of safety for our other dogs, puppies, and the breeding dogs themselves. We use our stud boys for an average of 4 to 7 years, but we reserve the right to make the decision on the longevity of use of each breeding dog.
Benefits of Guardian Families
- You will be receiving the best Australian Labradoodle available! In order to be part of our breeding program, our dogs go through extensive health testing to be accepted.
- You can watch as the dogs grow and change during pregnancy.
- Knowing that your canine companion is blessing people all over the country (and in some cases world) with producing the best possible puppies for their families.
- We do not charge our guardian families, so you are receiving an Australian Labradoodle for no cost to you. We do have a required standard of expectations for food, supplements, & grooming. We also expect a commitment to continued transportation of the dog to us when needed and communication with us.
Guardian Program Requirements
The following items are requirements for any home to be considered for our Guardian Program. If you do not meet the following criteria then being a part of our Guardian Program may not be for you. Contact us if you have any questions regarding our requirements.
- You must live in Oregon. # (We will consider anyone in Oregon, but in unique cases will consider Northern California, Southern Washington, or Idaho, but your ability to drive to us to deliver dogs year-round will be a large part of our decision as snow over the mountain passes need to be factored into every placement as well as the specific city you live in. Transporting our breeding dogs to us in Bend, Oregon is a non-negotiable part of our program.)
- Own your own home. # (If you rent we will want a letter or email from your landlord stating that dogs are allowed on the premise)
- Have prior experience owning, raising, and training a dog, or be willing to hire a dedicated and approved trainer. # (We consider new dog owners, but will require more extensive training for the dog potentially)
- Have a fenced yard for the dog’s safety. # (This can be negotiable based on the situation and setup of the home)
- Commit to feeding High Desert Labradoodle-approved food (we will instruct what we would like as main food and additional supplements for breeding dogs) as well as vitamin supplements. These are added costs to your budget, but non-negotiable so please understand this before applying.
- Commit to providing approved food to the dog and to give the dog 30 minutes of exercise per day (walking, fetch, swimming, etc).
- Commit to providing training for the dog. If we are dissatisfied with the progress of the dog, High Desert Labradoodles reserves the right to request training and obedience classes at your cost. Completion certificates will need to be submitted to High Desert Labradoodles for our records. We require registration to Baxter & Bella using our promo code for all breeding dogs and highly encourage one puppy class for socialization purposes.
- A willingness to accept and follow High Desert Labradoodles recommendations for the dog/puppy’s basic health care and vet care such as vaccine schedules, the use of certain medications, etc.
- Commit to driving the dog to us for breeding purposes or testing when we request.
- Commit to not move out of current state while guardian dog is still in our program. If a move is necessary you must communicate with us immediately to discuss as a change of scenery can greatly affect our dogs and we want to ensure you are staying close for our breeding needs. If this is not possible then we reserve the right to have the dog with us until its breeding use has been completed.
- Understand the process involved with caring for intact males or females and commit to assuming those responsibilities.
- Make sure no other intact dogs are on your premises to prevent unwanted mating or viruses (this includes avoiding dog parks until the dog has completed their breeding program).
- A willingness to maintain open lines of communications with High Desert Labradoodles with any matter related to the dog/puppy by providing us with a monthly update on the dog/puppy at the first of every month. This includes a monthly photo of the puppy e-mailed.
- Notify High Desert Labradoodles of new contact information if there is any change in telephone number or e-mail address.
- Allow High Desert Labradoodles to potentially visit your home to review the environment or invite you to our premises to interview if we desire.
- Commit to love and cherish this puppy/dog for many years to come and will provide them with proper nutrition, veterinary care, obedience training, and exercise they need to have a full and happy life.
(# – Exceptions may be granted based on each individual circumstance. Exceptions are solely at the discretion of High Desert Labradoodles.)
Why Guardians?
Being a Guardian Family is so much more than just a quality Australian Labradoodle. Our Guardians are the heartbeat of our business. We work extremely hard to ensure every one of our breeding dogs is in a loving & caring environment. A newly chosen breeding prospect has been chosen as the finest quality that High Desert Labradoodles has to offer.
These puppies/dogs have been carefully selected and are considered by our long list of criteria to be the complete package of an Australian Labradoodle in order for us to use in our breeding program.
As a Guardian Family, you will receive a gorgeous new puppy and a puppy that will make a great family pet due to the wonderful temperament of the Australian Labradoodle. A puppy chosen for the Guardian Family Program will go through strict medical testing and screening before officially becoming a breeding dog.
Please contact us at hello@hddoodles.com or apply today if you feel our Guardian Family Program is a good fit for you!
The $500 deposit is not required for Guardian Home applicants. The Guardian Program is a successful and responsible way to breed select dogs that can live a great life in a family home forever. We love and appreciate our Guardian Families so very much and we look forward to hearing from you.
For our current Guardian Homes, you can find our FAQ page here: