About our puppy raising: Our goal with our puppy raising is to expose the litter to a wide variety of experiences that will teach them how to learn and give everyone a confident puppy to take home. Puppies are raised in the house and exposed to early scent training and early neurological stimulation during their first 2 weeks. As they grow, puppies are socialized with children, adults and other dogs. They are exposed to birds (pigeons, ducks and pheasant), blank guns (important for both hunting and pet homes to decrease noise sensitivity), decoys, water (weather permitting), car rides, collars and leashes, sherpa bags and crates, and puppy agility equipment. After about 3 weeks of age puppies will have a litter box, this makes potty training much easier once they go to their new homes. Weaning is done gradually so the puppies can still interact with their mother and develop skills needed to interact with adult dogs.
Puppies will be dewormed, given their first vaccine and a veterinary examination, and microchipped. I do not remove dewclaws as the dewclaw serves a function in protecting the carpal joint while the dog is in motion. Pups are also exposed to nail trims and grooming.
Provided all is well with the litter we invite visitors, by appointment, after the pups are about 3 weeks old. For those of you living a distance from us I will try to do at least weekly updates with emails, pictures and/or videos so you can see the litter progress.
Puppy testing and matching will be done between 6.5 and 8.5 weeks of age. Pups are evaluated by breeder friends for conformation and many traits including birdiness, confidence, activity level, etc. These evaluations, your preferences and my litter notes are then used to best match them with their new homes.
Woodecoy Golden Retrievers and Wirehaired Pointing Griffons 