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Our next litter will be our Ruby litter, likely to be in the second half of 2023. We are just working out details and will announce these when available.
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Our Sapphire litter will likely not be until late in 2023 or early 2024. Details to come
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How do I apply for a puppy?
Please refer to the Contact page on this web site for contact details for me, and a link to our application form.
Many people who contact me, have never purchased a pup from a registered breeder before, and are very confused by the process, and not sure of the steps to take.
I am more than happy to answer your questions and help you through the process, so please feel free to email me in the first instance.
Many people who contact me, have never purchased a pup from a registered breeder before, and are very confused by the process, and not sure of the steps to take.
I am more than happy to answer your questions and help you through the process, so please feel free to email me in the first instance.
Things to consider
If you are looking for a Finnish Lapphund puppy soon, please be aware that current demand is high, and you may have some wait.
Please be cautious when buying a puppy, and don't be seduced by immediate availability for such an important decision as to the origins of your future long term family member. While the majority of Finnish Lapphund breeders in Australia practice responsible breeding, we have had a handful of situations of unethical practices and fraudulent scams.
Things to look for and consider:
Please be cautious when buying a puppy, and don't be seduced by immediate availability for such an important decision as to the origins of your future long term family member. While the majority of Finnish Lapphund breeders in Australia practice responsible breeding, we have had a handful of situations of unethical practices and fraudulent scams.
Things to look for and consider:
- Does the breeder's practices and values align with your own? This is a difficult thing for anyone else to judge but you. Some people are ok with commercial scale breeding where there are pups frequently available, some would prefer a more boutique approach where the breeder only has pups available once or twice a year. Some people would prefer a breeder who is very hands on, while others are ok where the pups may be raised by family members, friends or employees. Some people would prefer a breeder who has a tried and true method, others would prefer a breeder who is constantly seeking to improve their approach to puppy raising and researches modern methods. Consider what your own values are and align yourself with a breeder who matches them.
- Is the breeder honest and up front regarding the health of the breed, and their own dog's health results? Have the parents of your future puppy been appropriately health tested prior to breeding?
- Does the breeder seem to be knowledgeable about the breed, and able to provide you with both the good points and the bad points? Are they able to provide you with information about problems you may encounter, and breed needs, so you can make an informed decision? Are they able to explain anything about the expected temperament of their available pups and explain how this will be breed typical or how it may vary?
- Is the breeder able to describe for you how they raise their puppies, and provide you with reasons for their approach?
- What comes with your puppy? Does the breeder just provide you with pup and at most a vaccination certificate? Or do they provide you with information and documents to ensure you can provide that pup with ongoing care? Do they offer lifetime support, and have you been able to gain any information from others who have purchased a pup from them as to what that support is like?
- Does the puppy come with a written contract? Does that contract require you to return the pup to the breeder if for any reason in the future you cannot care for it anymore? Does it offer any kind of health guarantees or return policies?
- Are you required to pay a deposit prior to knowing if there is a puppy available for you? Is that deposit refundable if there is not a puppy available? Be very cautious about making financial commitments if you have any questions or doubts what so ever.
- If you have interest in participating in shows or dog sports (agility, obedience etc) does your breeder have experience in this (or involve those that do in their breeding practices) to ensure they help you purchase the right pup, and help you get started? Can they describe to you how the qualities of the planned litter may be ideal for what you are after, and equally can they describe to you the shortcomings?
- Does the breeder attempt to ensure they place the right pup with the right homes to suit their lifestyle, or do they just let buyers pick whichever pup they prefer the look of?
- Are they a member of their State Canine Control body (Dogs NSW, Dogs Victoria, Dogs Queensland, etc)? Do they provide a registered pedigree issued by that body? Do they fulfil all the government regulatory requirements of breeding in their State of residence and are they able to describe to you what these are? Please be aware that stories of "I'm not a registered breeder, because they just try to control you" is code for "I don't want to have to follow industry guidelines and ethical standards."
- Is their price range typical in the breed, or do they have excuses for why they charge significantly more than average? While there may be some valid reasons in some limited circumstances, "rare colours" is not a valid reason and almost always a warning sign of an unscrupulous breeder in it for the money.
- And importantly, are you welcome to visit where the pups are raised, and pick up your puppy from that location? Unless the area concerned is in some kind of lock down, a pick up location in a public place such as a car park should raise immediate alarms.
What does on terms mean?
Every litter that a Finnish Lapphund breeder breeds has a purpose and intent for the future of the breed. Therefore, there will always be puppies that the breeder will want retained for future breeding use. That blood line would quickly disappear if they didn't.
In the past, and certainly still current practice across many breeders, those pups would stay living with the breeder. More and more, however, with restrictions in the numbers of dogs that can be kept, and genuine preference to keep numbers at home small and family-like rather than a kennel arrangement, breeders are seeking alternative ways of keeping a breeding program going.
As a consequence, for many Finnish Lapphund breeders (including myself), there will be a pup or two from any litter that is only available to an "on terms" home. That basically means a home that is willing to work in partnership with the breeder, to allow their girl pup to have a litter in the future, or their boy pup to be used at stud in the future. Critically, it means no desexing for at least a certain portion of time. This means that all breeding dogs have what all the others from the litter have, a loving family home.
There are different terms used to explain these arrangements, and breeders may describe them as "guardian homes" or some particular program. But the intent is largely the same.
There is not one standard set of contract terms that describe these arrangements, with a wide range of variation. Some breeders will still charge the standard puppy price, with a refund of some description if breeding goes ahead. Some give a discount price up front. For girls, some breeders only request one litter, some more. For boys there may be an arrangement to collect semen for freezing once they are mature (and health tested) and then desexed, for others the arrangement may be to keep them entire for longer for availability for natural matings.
If you live close to the breeder, some may request the puppy come to shows on occasion (they may show them or if you are interested yourself, mentor you in showing them yourself).
There really are a myriad of possibilities.
While there can be wonderful outcomes of these arrangements (some of the homes I have worked with have become very close friends) and it is often a lovely way to be involved in the breed community and future of the breed, like any ongoing relationship there can be challenges. So:
In the past, and certainly still current practice across many breeders, those pups would stay living with the breeder. More and more, however, with restrictions in the numbers of dogs that can be kept, and genuine preference to keep numbers at home small and family-like rather than a kennel arrangement, breeders are seeking alternative ways of keeping a breeding program going.
As a consequence, for many Finnish Lapphund breeders (including myself), there will be a pup or two from any litter that is only available to an "on terms" home. That basically means a home that is willing to work in partnership with the breeder, to allow their girl pup to have a litter in the future, or their boy pup to be used at stud in the future. Critically, it means no desexing for at least a certain portion of time. This means that all breeding dogs have what all the others from the litter have, a loving family home.
There are different terms used to explain these arrangements, and breeders may describe them as "guardian homes" or some particular program. But the intent is largely the same.
There is not one standard set of contract terms that describe these arrangements, with a wide range of variation. Some breeders will still charge the standard puppy price, with a refund of some description if breeding goes ahead. Some give a discount price up front. For girls, some breeders only request one litter, some more. For boys there may be an arrangement to collect semen for freezing once they are mature (and health tested) and then desexed, for others the arrangement may be to keep them entire for longer for availability for natural matings.
If you live close to the breeder, some may request the puppy come to shows on occasion (they may show them or if you are interested yourself, mentor you in showing them yourself).
There really are a myriad of possibilities.
While there can be wonderful outcomes of these arrangements (some of the homes I have worked with have become very close friends) and it is often a lovely way to be involved in the breed community and future of the breed, like any ongoing relationship there can be challenges. So:
- consider quite carefully the relationship you have built with the breeder and the level of trust in that relationship. You want to be comfortable it is someone you can work with happily and trust completely with your dog.
- ensure you feel that what is being asked of you is fair and reasonable and something you can manage in terms of time commitment and other demands
- think about if you are you confident in managing a girl in season, or an entire male dog, for some period of time
- don't even consider such an arrangement if you would not normally be comfortable with it but it seems to be the only way you can secure the puppy of your preference and timeline
- be incredibly cautious if this is the only arrangement a breeder has on offer, rather than only for select pups in a litter - it is very rare for all pups in a litter to be suitable breeding prospects, and if they are doing this at large scale across all pups in every litter I would be very concerned about their practices
- I personally am very dubious of arrangements where a breeder requires an inexperienced home to raise a litter on their behalf without active hands on support. I cannot speak for you, but if that is what is being asked of you, please progress cautiously.
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