PLEASE NOTE: We do allow people to visit when they want to meet a puppy or puppies to potentially purchase one.

We often get asked why we don’t allow visits. This is not surprising given the number of “what to do when buying a dog” websites that advocate for visiting the breeder and meeting the puppy parents before purchasing a puppy or getting on a Waiting List. The problem with these sites is their priority is the buyer, not the health and safety of the puppies or the breeder. Below are the reasons we don’t allow visits from families that have not placed a deposit. Please remember that our puppies are home-raised in rooms in our house. This means you can’t come visit the adult dogs or me, without also visiting our puppies and their Mom(s).

Safety of the Puppies:

• Puppy’s immune systems are very immature. Many unsuspecting visitors have brought disease (parvovirus, distemper, etc) with them when visiting puppies, the result of which could be the death of the entire litter. I personally know several breeders who have lost entire litters to parvovirus brought in by visitors.
• Stressed out Moms create stressed out puppies. A new mother is emotionally charged and in hyper-protective mode. When a stranger comes to visit, Mom(s) becomes stressed causing her body to create cortisol, which goes into the milk. The puppies consume this cortisol-rich milk and become stressed themselves.
• Panicked Moms can hurt puppies. When a stranger comes to visit a mother dog’s state of mind changes rapidly. She feels threatened and moves quickly to assess the threat. Many Moms have unintentionally stepped on or crushed a puppy in their urgency to get out of the whelping box to assess the threat.
• I don’t ‘own’ the puppies. All the puppies are sold to families. I am simply the guardian. However, I have been entrusted with the care of these puppies for the first critical weeks of their lives. As guardian of other peoples’ dogs, I must do everything I can to protect them. If one of the puppies was yours, I’m certain you would expect me to do that for your puppy.

Safety of my Dogs and Family:

• People that email me are strangers. I don’t know anything about you other than the fact you emailed me with basic information (which may or may not be true) about yourself and your family. I am inviting you, a stranger, into my home. This creates a threat to the safety of my dogs and my family.
• We have a normal family life. We have family activities, responsibilities and commitments. Inviting strangers into our home interferes with our ability to live as a normal family.
• Time spent with visitors is time not spent with puppies and my dogs. Raising puppies and dogs is a very demanding 24/7 job. Every minute I spend with visitors is time not spent working with and caring for your puppy so that you have the best puppy possible or enjoying and caring for my own dogs, which is why I breed to begin with.
• We are not a petting zoo. Some people think visiting puppies is a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I will not compromise the health and safety of my puppies, my dogs, and my family so someone can snuggle with puppies. Only serious and committed buyers are worthy of that compromise. So, how can we help you have confidence we aren’t a puppy mill or a fake website asking for your $500 deposit? We are very happy to provide references of families who have our puppies as well as our Veterinarian (who knows us VERY well).We thank you for your understanding that we will not compromise on the health and safety of our puppies and hope you see this as a positive quality of a reputable breeder.