What makes us different from all the hundreds of other Cavapoo breeders? (Hundreds? Well, I don’t know for sure that there are hundreds, but there are a lot! The Cavapoo breed is becoming more well known and popular so people are jumping on the breeding bandwagon. Plus there are a lot of people that have known about the Goldendoodle and Labradoodle, but just found out there is something just as cute and smart, but in a smaller package!)
So what does make us different than most?
- I (Jennifer) am an absolute dog lover and experienced dog person (with a background in veterinary assisting, breeding, showing and rescue & as a service dog puppy “foster”)
- We are established. Our first purebred Cavalier litter arrived in 2009, with our first Cavapoos arriving in 2010. (Although I had raised and shown Shelties for years before this.) We are in this for the long haul because we love it!
- We specialize in Cavapoos! You won’t find umpteen different designer breeds here. (Yes, we occasionally have a purebred litter of Cavaliers or Poodles) Cavapoos are what we do! (We no longer raise Aussaliers. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have enough interest).
- Our puppies are always raised in our home with us; no exceptions. They are born and raised the first few weeks in our living room/dining room area. When they have outgrown that, they have puppy pens set up in our puppy room (part of the house), but still spend time in the living area and outside (weather permitting). My kitchen becomes the grand playroom!
- Our puppies are given Early Neurological Stimulation between 3-16 days of age. Introduced to the litter box at three weeks. Given age/developmentally appropriate toys, stimulation, and training as they grow. We try to introduce puppies to many sights, sounds, feels, stimulation, people, etc while they are here to give them a good foundation for you to continue to build on. We have found out about an amazing way of raising puppy called “Puppy Culture”. And although we have not implemented every aspect of it (we’re still learning ourselves!) we are trying to use more and more of their training techniques into our puppy raising.
- Each puppy goes through our de-worming program, given age-appropriate vaccinations, thoroughly examined by our veterinarian and has a stool sample checked before going home. Puppies are also started on litter box training at around three weeks of age and introduced to the crate before leaving here. Each adopter will receive a puppy packet of helpful information, puppy health record, health check-up sheet (from our vet), health guarantee, food sample, a couple toys, a homemade baby blanket and pictures of mom and dad for you to take home with your puppy.
- Our adult dogs and older puppies growing up here (as part of our future breeding program) are much-loved family members and are known, loved and treated as individuals, not “machines”. They take turns in the house with us (our house is small and not big enough for the whole crew). The dogs have their own comfortable, heated, cozy house where they stay warm and dry when they can’t be outside playing in their dog yards on their toy structures or with us.
- We do things with our dogs! Some of our dogs have gone through basic obedience class and have gone on to earn their CGC (Canine Good Citizenship title from AKC) One is currently working on his advanced title. More would go through class but the class is local class is limited each year. We also visit a local rest home with a church group and usually take one of the dogs with us.
- We have a close, working relationship with qualified veterinarians and their amazing staff who take care of the needs of our dogs and puppies.
- All of our breeding age dogs are health tested for normal hearts and patellas by either a qualified veterinarian and then OFA certified.
- All of our dogs have had genetic testing done for their breed specific diseases (Cavalier disease panel, Poodle disease panel) through Paw Print Genetics, Orivet or are “cleared by parentage”.
- We offer a health guarantee on each puppy and a lifetime of support.
- We are not a big “business”. It’s just my husband and I doing everything to raise you an amazing puppy. We do not have employees. My husband helps with clean up, building/maintenance, feeding, etc. I am the midwife, blog post/website writer, in charge of correspondence, vet appointments, puppy care, dog training, photography, etc.
- We have a very informative website. I try to have as much organized information on there to make this journey easy and helpful for each person.
- I’m super transparent about what goes on here (maybe too much sometimes); sharing the good, the bad, the funny, and the yucky stuff.
- I try to be really good at communication and getting back to people via their emails, phone calls, application responses etc. But please remember I am human and occasionally miss something, so don’t give up on me. Just try again!
- I am active with puppy pictures, updates on daily happenings, videos and blog posts on our website/blog, our Facebook page (Pinewood Kennels; look for the apricot Cavapoo wearing sunglasses), our Instagram page (@pinewoodcavapoos) and YouTube (Pinewood Kennels Cavapoos). Each litter gets its own page on the website and is updated weekly, so you will see each litter as it is introduced and grows up here.
- We are on the “approved breeders” list in a number of the Facebook Cavapoo groups, have a testimonial page on our website from happy adopters and a list of references should anyone want to talk with one of our adopters.
I hope you will see the difference and choose to get your next furry family member from us even if it entails a bit of a wait. And thanks for checking us out!