A puppy from our breeding program?
What you need to know if you want to take a puppy from us is that we try to be very critical. We do our best to take the utmost care in breeding, caring for and socializing our puppies and would like to find our puppies an owner who will care for them as lovingly and carefully as we do for the rest of their lives. We think a number of things are important for our dogs, and we want puppy buyers to be more or less on the same page with us on the most important issues.
Our puppies only go to a new home where a sport will be practiced in the future. whether this is recreational or on a competition level, we don't really care that much as long as the dog gets an outlet in the form of sport! The Border Collie is a real working dog that should be chosen consciously.
Meeting us and our pack
We take a slightly different approach to placing our puppies than most breeders around us. We work with a waiting list and a buyers list. Everyone can be placed on our waiting list without obligation, but we also have our buyers list and we will go into that a little more in depth.
We would like to invite every serious potential puppy buyer who shows interest and where we feel good via email for a personal introductory meeting at our home or if the distance is too great (abroad) we can also make video calls, for example. During this introductory meeting, we would like to learn more about you, your family and the type of dog you are looking for (male, female, future plans,...) and you can ask us any questions you may have, get to know our dogs, and see what the puppies will grow up to. For you as a puppy buyer it is of course important that you have confidence in us as a breeder, but we as a breeder also want to have a good feeling with you as a puppy buyer. During the conversation we would also like to get an idea of your wishes regarding your future puppy, and what you do and do not want to do with it. As mentioned, we like it if the future owners are more or less on the same page with us, and in the introductory meeting, various topics are therefore discussed with which we want to get a picture of you as a (future) dog owner, what you are looking for and what you can provide. Based on this conversation, we both get an idea of whether a puppy from us is suitable for what you are looking for as a puppy buyer.
If the introductory meeting clicks from both sides and we decide to do business with each other, you will be added to the buyers list after a small down payment. That down payment is there for a reason, because this is the guarantee for us that we have missed a puppy and for you as a buyer a 'guarantee' that there may be a puppy for you. The day after the birth of the puppies, when we know how many males and females are to be forgiven, everyone on the buyers list will receive a telephone call to see if there is a puppy for them. If more puppies are born than the people we have on our buyer list, we will fall back on our waiting list. If you have chosen to be on our waiting list, it does not mean that if we call you that you will definitely get a puppy from us, in this situation there will also be an introductory meeting first and on the basis of this we will see together whether a puppy is available. of us suits you or not, with a mutual good feeling, a puppy will be reserved for you after a small down payment. The choice to whom we can offer a puppy and who not depends on several factors, such as wishes regarding the dog/bitch, any specific wishes regarding the character of the puppies, but we also let our feelings play a role. We do not use a 'first come, first choice' system and no fixed first/second/third/etc. spots on our buyer list. Just like our adult dogs, our puppies are part of our family for which we only want the very best, which is why we let our feelings play a major role in the placement of our puppies.
Puppy visits
If there is a puppy for you and you accept it, we will add you to a private Facebook group or whatsapp chat that includes all puppy buyers of the litter and owners from our previous litters. In that group we post updates almost daily about the development of the puppies and the ups and downs here in the house. The first 2 weeks after birth we do NOT want to have visitors because the puppies are still very vulnerable and we do not want to run the risk of viruses and disease, the balance in the pack must also be restored first, mothers will indicate to the rest what is and what not allowed before that peace is back in the pack, a few days will soon pass. The various pup buyers can also get to know each other via the Facebook group and / or whatsapp, which is of course super fun, so everyone knows a bit where their pup's brothers and sisters are going. A group like this is also very nice if there are questions or typical things your pup does. It is of course also great fun to be able to share photos and videos with each other.
When the puppies are around 2/3 weeks, the puppy buyers can come to visit for the first time, and after that we would like to see you more often during various visits. If you want to bring someone (brothers, sisters, grandfathers, grandmothers, nephews, nieces, neighbours, friends, etc.) you can always do so, provided that this is indicated in advance. After 6 weeks, when the character of the puppies is clearer, we determine which puppy best suits which buyer. We think it is important that our puppies get a 'golden basket' and that owners are satisfied with their dog; we want to prevent the dog from being disappointing at all times and that it has to be rehomed or worse, ends up in a shelter! That is why we want to determine together which puppy goes to which puppy buyer. After all, we are working with the puppies 24 hours a day and know them like no other, we see the characters forming within a litter. Of course we do this in consultation with the puppy buyer and we base our choice on the wishes of the puppy buyer. If you have developed a strong preference for a particular puppy during the visits, we will do our best to take this into account when matching owner and puppy. However, we cannot give any guarantees; if several people 'fall in love' with the same pup, we will probably have to disappoint someone. That's why it's nice when people try to keep an open mind.
Pick up day!
When the puppies are 8 weeks old they can move (or from 15 weeks if they go abroad) to their new owners. They are really ready for a new challenge in their young lives. Of course it is very tempting to want the puppy in the house earlier; maybe it just falls in a week you have off or on the weekend, or you're just really looking forward to it. But we think the limit of 8 weeks is very important. The puppies learn a lot from their mother, littermates and the other animals in our household in that last week. They learn to behave like dogs, develop their bite inhibition, and learn dog language through the afternoon from Mom and our pack. And also in the last week we are still busy with the socialization ourselves and we take them on the road to gain different experiences. Of course we will report this in detail in the Facebook group. And if you like that, you are also welcome to join us on such an outing to help; taking a litter of puppies to the market or station is quite a job for several people :-).
From the day the puppy is 8 weeks old, he or she can be picked up. We prefer that this happens somewhat spread out, a maximum of 2 puppies per day. This way it also remains clear for the mother dog and we ourselves think it is very important to be able to give every puppy buyer sufficient attention, after all, it is not nothing to have a new puppy in the house.
On the day you come to pick up your puppy, you will receive the dog passport, a general care manual and a folder with personal information about your puppy. You will also receive a puppy package and a bag of food that the puppy is used to with us. The family tree and the accompanying DNA certificate are often still in the making with 8 weeks, we receive them later from the Raad van Beheer. We like to personally bring these to everyone's home at a later date, if we have the opportunity to do so. This way we see the puppy again and the environment where he will spend the rest of his life. We use our purchase contract for our puppies and we will fill this in and sign it when you pick it up, just like the application form for the title deed, you will also receive the latest tips from mothers (a form that we have made ourselves which states exactly when your puppy must be dewormed, vaccinated,.. and how much food the puppy needs, how best to convert this to a food that you want to feed yourself in the future,...). We would also like to handle the legally required registration of the dog on site, to ensure that this is properly arranged. Often this is something that people forget to register when they return home, making it a lot more difficult if the dog runs away to find out where it belongs.
And finally the payment. For people who want a puppy from us, a deposit of € 250 has been made, the remaining purchase amount of your puppy can be paid to us when you pick up your puppy. This can be done in cash or by bank transfer (the money must then be in our account when you leave with your new housemate).
The puppy now lives with his new owners, now what?
And then you have your puppy at home! That often takes some getting used to for both parties, for us it is suddenly very quiet in the house and you as a puppy owner suddenly have eyes short. It is wise to take a few weeks off in a row to ensure that the puppy can get used to you and his new environment. During that time, you can then start practicing being home alone. It is nice for the dog if this can be built up slowly and he or she does not have to be alone too often and not for too long during the first few weeks.
After the move you will undoubtedly have questions about feeding or care, or just want to share with someone how wonderfully sweet and fun your puppy is. We are always open to this and we will do our utmost to provide you with advice. After the puppies have moved, the Facebook group and/or whatsapp chat will also continue to exist, so that everyone can stay in touch with each other. The development of the puppies from the same litter is of course more or less the same, which is why it can be very useful to have the group as a 'sounding board' for questions or for sharing experiences. Of course we remain an active member ourselves and we try to answer all questions as much as possible. And even if you don't have any questions, we would of course be very happy to receive photos and we would like to hear from time to time how 'our' puppy is doing in his or her new home!
And don't forget, we can always be reached if you have any questions, no question is too crazy. Better 1x too much than not.