placement Process
In order to streamline our placement process, starting from 2020, we started working from a priority waitlist. People who have properly answered the questions in our inquiry form will be vetted for suitability based on responses, and those who qualify will be contacted with information on whether or not the waitlist is currently open to reservations.
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We require a reservation deposit to be placed on the waitlist because in years past, we have had issues with managing massive waitlists of people who do not bother to notify us when they've obtained a puppy elsewhere and people backing out at the last minute, wasting a lot of not just our time, but depriving other potential homes of welcoming a beautiful puppy to their family. This deposit is non-refundable unless we're unable to provide you with a puppy within the specified timeframe.
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Our waitlist starts about 6-12 months before a planned litter is born. We only take 2 deposits per litter planned to minimize the risk of there not being a puppy for those waiting. If there are more puppies available than there are reservations for, people further down on the list may be "bumped" up to an earlier litter if they so wish.
Step 1: Get on the waitlist.
A perfect family companions, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are highly sought-after family dogs because of their docile, gentle and happy nature. They get along well with kids, other pets and owners, young and old. Thus, we get a high volume of inquiries on a weekly basis.
We only work with people who are interested in obtaining a puppy from us because they respect and appreciate our breeding practices regarding health testing and how our puppies are raised, not those who are shopping around, looking for a bargain or an instant puppy. A puppy is a lifelong commitment, and the cost of care will greatly outstrip the cost to purchase them in the first place. We spare the time to create relationships with our pet people who understand how much work, effort, time and money it takes to breed healthy, beautiful Cavaliers.
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We breed primarily with the goal to keep something to show, thus, we do not breed litters specifically for the pet market. We don't stinge on costs associated with breeding - from health tests done by board-certified specialists to importing chilled or frozen semen from around the world to ensure that our girls are bred to the best matches that we can find, whether it be health, temperament or type.
Often, our puppy owners also love the type and look that we breed for. We show and breed primarily from European and UK lines that are smaller in size and prettier in heads than American/Canadian lines. Breeders in Europe have also been consistently MRI-scanning their breeding stock for many generations, giving us more background info on MRI status and prevalence of syringomyelia behind our dogs.
Step 2: When puppies arrive...
When the litter is born, we post photos on our Instagram page and notify people on the waitlist whose turns are up that puppies have arrived. We do not, for the most part, allow people to choose their own puppies as we breed primarily for ourselves and believe in matching temperaments with the right homes. The only time people are allowed to choose their own puppy is if there are two that are very similar in temperament that are available. Although we take into account preferences based on colour or gender, we prefer to work with people who are flexible because it is in our puppies' best interests to go to a home that is the perfect match based on fit than based on looks or gender.
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Therefore, we do not operate our list solely on a "first-come, first-serve" basis. We thoroughly assess which homes are most suitable for which puppies, and so far this has proven to be a very successful way of matching homes. Because our puppies are raised in our living room, we are with them 24/7 and know them all very well, so we are able to make homing decisions based on their temperaments.
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Once the puppies are 7-8 weeks old, prospective owners are invited to our home to meet them and their mother (sometimes their father too, however, we do ship chilled and frozen semen to breed our girls to on regular basis). We start to offer puppies to prospective owners on the waitlist once we are sure that we will not be keeping them to show. Typically, this might be anything from 6 to 10 weeks of age. We are generally able to offer boys at a younger age as we don't keep as many boys, so most of them don't make the "cut".
Step 3: Puppies are health-checked and ready to go home!
Prospective owners are given a chance to decide on which puppy they'd prefer if they are being offered more than one. Otherwise, we match puppies with homes and each puppy is assigned to a specific home. Puppies will be able to go to their forever homes from around 9 weeks old, after they have been health-checked, microchipped and vaccinated by our vet. All of our puppies go home with a complimentary 30-day pet insurance policy from Trupanion.
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If the prospective owner decides that the timing of the current litter is not right for them, they can defer their deposit to a puppy from the next litter. The deposit can be deferred only once.
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Most of our puppies go to their new homes at between 9 and 12 weeks of age. Sometimes, people may have to wait a couple of weeks past this while we decide which puppy to keep (these are usually girl puppies). Occasionally, we also have available older puppies (4 to 12 months old) and young adults (1 to 3 years old) that we have kept to assess for show potential or have shown but have decided not to keep for further showing or breeding.
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Our young adults are priced from $3,500 whilst our puppies are priced from $4,000.
Ready for a puppy? Send us an inquiry. Please answer all the questions as thoroughly as possible. Remember, we'd love to know more about you!
