Over the years, we have learned many things about the care and protection of our puppies. We LOVE having people in our home to meet and play with our puppies as this helps them get a healthy amount of people socialization.

 

This also allows you the opportunity to meet us, meet our dogs and see where the puppies are born and raised. We used to have a very open door policy, allowing anyone who wanted to see our puppies to come by for an appointment. However, our number one priority is the health and safety of our puppies and our adult dogs. We followed all of the biosecurity protocols recommended but still found ourselves dealing with a sick puppy. In 2016, one of our litter of beloved puppies were the unlucky recipients of a virus which caused extensive care from our veterinarian.  Fortunately, all the puppies survived and are thriving today but it made us reevaluate our priorities.  To provide a great customer experience or to provide the safest environment possible for our babies, the choice was simple.

 

But we think we’ve come up with a great compromise to achieve both, beginning in 2021 we will follow this protocol for "visits" to Farmstead 51:

1. If we have puppies under 6 weeks old, we will not allow visitors to our home. We are happy to provide a "virtual visit" with prospective families or those who have a deposit placed so they can see the puppies or our raising environment.

2. For families with a deposit on a specific litter, we will hold 2 "virtual visits" when the puppies are 5 and 6 weeks old and 2 "in-person visits" when the puppies are around 7 weeks old. The puppies will have two rounds of vaccinations and a good start to a healthy immune system. This special time is for families who are getting a puppy in that litter.  They get to meet and play with the puppies and their parents. It lasts about 90 minutes and provides time for an informational chat and plenty of time for questions and answers. 

3. If you have are attending an "in-person visit", we will have bio-security protocols in place to minimize germ transfer between humans and puppies. These will change from time to time based on current recommendations from the medical community. A "virtual visit" is always available should you choose that an "in-person visit" isn't right for you or your family. 

4. If we do not have puppies, we will allow families with a paid deposit to visit us, meet the parent dogs and see where the puppies are born and raised. We will not allow any visitors if we have puppies under the age of 6 weeks old, in heat or pregnant females.

 

Puppy selection occurs when the litter turns 7 weeks old and puppies can go to their new homes at 8 weeks old.

 

Thank you for respecting our desire to maintain the health and welfare of our wonderful Farmstead 51 puppies!