Professional, Ethical Breeders of Bernedoodles in Madoc, Ontario

Puppy Care

Excellent genetics are certainly important when it comes to choosing your new pup. However, how that puppy is raised during its early developmental weeks is equally important when it comes to bringing home a confident, attentive, capable puppy. In order to produce those traits, our Bernedoodle puppies are carefully raised following a well-structured curriculum until they head off to their new homes. We go above and beyond most breeders to truly empower our puppies and ensure they experience everything they can to prepare for any future lifestyle.

We have thoroughly researched and analyzed components of multiple breeding protocols to build our unique program and provide our pups with the most well-rounded education we can. We have moulded our program primarily around the amazing Empowered Badass Breeder Program, an advanced service dog curriculum that has taught us how to give our puppies a voice and set them up for success in their new life. We have also incorporated some wonderful components from the renowned Puppy Culture Program. Both of these curriculums are truly revolutionary and they have transformed our program in the very best ways.

The Badass Breeder Oath

I, Emma, have committed a great deal of time and effort towards learning everything there is about the Badass Breeder's Program because I believe in what it can do for our puppies. I now proudly hold the title of Certified Comprehensive Badass Breeder & Puppy Temperament Evaluator (more details on evaluations can be found below). To uphold these titles, I am required to abide by the BAB's Breeder Oath, which I take very seriously and will always strive to do:

LOVE - We truly love our dogs, our puppies, and our clients. We are committed to changing the stigma and changing breeding from bad to badass.

MISSION - We promise to stay true to the reason why we started breeding. Healing hearts and changing lives through the power of a dog is a gift and our avenue to truly help others.

LIFETIME RESPONSIBILITY - We are committed to taking 100% responsibility for every puppy for the entirety of its life and provide a 2-year contract/genetic warranty.

CLIENT COMMUNITY - We are committed to educating clients, both new and experienced, to building a cohesive, active community and we are open to feedback, both positive and negative.

PARENT STANDARDS - We promise to breed only health and temperament tested parents and to choose breeding pairs that accentuate and complement one another in these areas.

PARENT CARE - We promise to honour and respect our dams and sires and to keep them healthy and happy. We will always provide a safe and enriching environment, high-quality veterinary care, nutrition, living quarters, and lots of love.

PLANNED LITTERS - We promise to never contribute to overpopulation by being selective in our breeding pairs, and we will always strive to improve our lines.

PUPPY CURRICULUM - We promise to provide a structured curriculum to ensure our puppies learn that the world is safe, people are kind, and dogs are friendly.

PUPPY EVALUATIONS - We promise to evaluate puppies after 49 days and provide information to clients to ensure the best match is made. We promise to only let clients choose a puppy after they have reviewed all veterinary and temperament evaluation records and videos so they choose a puppy that best meets both their and the puppy's needs. We will guide and assist to ensure our puppies' voices are heard.

Each and every litter we produce is raised in the safety of our home with us, where we can provide continuous, loving care. All of our litters are born in our spare bedroom, which we've converted into our puppy nursery. I sleep right next to our puppies in our nursery every night for the first two weeks of their lives, so I hear every cry and movement those babies make. They are so fragile during their first few weeks of life, so it is important we stay close to detect and treat any signs of distress before they turn into an emergency situation.

The puppies stay in our nursery for the first 3-4 weeks, where they develop basic skills like being handled, crawling and walking. We begin nail trims at 1 week of age, and we continue with nail trims weekly until they leave our care. We play classical music at a low volume to introduce sounds in a stress-free way once their ears open, and to help keep mom happy and relaxed.

Early Neurological Stimulation

During days 3-16, our puppies experience Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) using the US Military's Bio-Sensor Program. ENS helps to stimulate the neurological system, which improves the growth and development of the puppy's immune system, cardiovascular system and stress tolerance. Studies show that performing ENS can also provide a greater resistance to diseases. Please Click Here if you'd like to learn more about ENS.

Early Scent Introduction

In conjunction with ENS, we perform Early Scent Introduction (ESI) with all our pups during days 3 - 16 as well. ESI is designed to enhance a puppy's ability to identify and react to specific scents. Dogs that are introduced to ESI not only have better scenting skills as adults to perform certain tasks or jobs, they have also proven to have a more optimistic attitude toward life and with that, fewer behavioural problems. Please Click Here if you'd to learn more about ESI.

Once our puppies reach around 3-4 weeks of age, they are moved from our bedroom into our dining/main room, where they will experience more frequent traffic with our family and our other dogs. Once in our dining room, we set up our puppies to begin their potty training using pelleted bedding. We begin to potty train from a very young age and they do very well with it!

During this time, our puppies continue working on basic skills like walking and navigating around their pen. They start experiencing new toys and exposure activities to improve their confidence and stimulate their senses. Each day comes with a new activity or experience for them. The daily curriculum allows us to teach our puppies valuable life skills like problem-solving, conquering fears, perservering and learning to be curious and optimistic when experiencing new things. Please follow us on Facebook or Instagram to see lots of examples of our daily curriculum.

We begin Daily Handling Exercises with each of our puppies at 3 weeks of age as well. These exercises help encourage our puppies to be willing, compliant and capable of accepting different types of touch, handling and sensation. These traits are especially important for those that may be looking for a therapy dog prospect or for families with children.

We also start introducing our puppies to a variety of soundtracks designed to prepare them for life outside our home. We find these soundtracks make a significant difference in our puppies' confidence levels and they help with their move into their new homes, which are filled with all sorts of new sounds and experiences.

Soundtracks we use include the following:

Busy street & traffic sounds
Thunderstorms and wind
Fireworks and cheering
People talking & laughing
Heavy machinery & engines
...and more!

Click Here to read more on desensitizing using sounds, along with other tips and tricks for when you bring your puppy home.

Once our puppies reach 4-5 weeks of age, we really start to step up our curriculum! By this age, our puppies start spending time in our puppy playroom, where they have a spacious spot to play and work on our daily curriculum. Our puppies continue their potty training in our playroom, but they also have their own fully fenced outdoor potty/play area that is directly attached. The outdoor area is now more spacious and has a more secure, puppy-proof wooden fence. Our puppies are never outdoors unsupervised.

Our puppies spend a great deal of time outdoors as well once they are old enough, weather permitting. A surprising number of breeders do not introduce their puppies to the outdoors before they head off to their new homes due to fears of contracting parasites from the ground. While we believe that parasites are to be taken very seriously with young puppies, experiencing the outside world before going home is just as important. We have a very effective parasite prevention protocol that we follow to account for any outdoor risks, and we have never had any issues doing it this way. We are thrilled that's the case because our puppies love playing outside and we believe it is such an important step to preparing them for their new homes.

During the puppies' last few weeks in our care, frequent handling of each puppy continues of course. We also start introducing more challenging stimuli and activities to help them learn in a safe, controlled setting before heading off to their new homes. We begin crate training around 6 weeks of age. We start by breaking the litter up into smaller groups for short time periods, with groups of 3, then 2. Once they're ready to spend some time on their own, we then introduce the crate and break it down into 30 minute intervals to start, and gradually stretch it out to 3-4 hours by the time they reach 8 weeks of age.

Although we work hard to set a solid crate training and potty training foundation, we in no way guarantee they will be crate/house trained once they come home between 8 and 9 weeks of age. They are young and new to life, and a big transition like moving does cause some regression in their training, so all puppies do require ongoing effort and practice to solidify those habits. You will receive a puppy training information booklet to provide you with lots of tips for making that transition into your home a much easier one.

Puppy Temperament Evaluations

We conduct thorough temperament evaluations with each of our puppies around 7.5 weeks of age, before any selections take place. This test helps to gather as much information as possible about our puppies, so future families can feel confident and informed when making their selections. I am proud to share that I am certified as a Tier 2 Puppy Temperament Evaluator, which means that my evaluation techniques have been assessed and I've been awarded the highest tier for my abilities to execute evaluations and score them accordingly. When evaluating our puppies, we look at important traits like energy, assertiveness, confidence, human focus, drive, etc so we can both honour our puppies and help each new owner select the pup that best suits their wants and needs. Video links and detailed score sheets are sent to each family prior to selection day, so there is lots of time to learn about each puppy beforehand. Puppy evaluations are conducted around 7.5 weeks of age and selections will typically take place the first weekend following.

We put a lot more focus on socialization during our pups' last few weeks with us as well. Proper socialization is just as important as desensitization so our pups get to meet lots of adults, children, other dogs and cats. Under-socialized dogs can become fearful, aggressive and inflexible, no matter how friendly and outgoing their parents are. This is why our puppies are handled daily from day 1 and introduced to a number of new faces during their time with us.

We put the same effort into every puppy we produce as we would with a puppy we'd be raising as our own because we know this will be your next family member! We want to set our puppies up for success and provide them with the very best start we can. Our puppies head off to homes all over the country, so being prepared for that nerve-racking trip, wherever it may be, is an important step we like to make sure our pups can handle. Please Note: We do not ship our puppies as cargo as it is too stressful for them, and we like to meet the families our pups are going to whenever possible. If you are unable to travel here to pick up your puppy, we are happy to fly/drive with our puppies to their destination, or help you connect with a trusted flight nanny service if required. Contact us to discuss rates for hand delivery within Canada.

Puppy Selections & Go-Home Day

We now conduct our temperament evaluations around 7.5 weeks of age, which means puppy selections will take place between 8 and 9 weeks of age moving forward. Selection visits are scheduled on the first weekend following puppy evaluations. While we realize waiting so long to choose your future puppy is suspenseful, picking around 8 weeks of age has many advantages:

It gives us the chance to gather information on each puppy's traits, including energy, assertiveness, confidence, tender-heartedness, human focus, drive, etc. This allows us to honour our puppies and give them a say in the type of home they go to, while helping each family choose the perfect fit for their family, lifestyle and goals.

This process is essential for anyone looking to purchase a puppy for therapy, service or facility dog purposes. If our puppies are being selected to perform specific tasks, we need to make sure that lifestyle is the right fit for them.

We can now complete the puppies' first vet appointment before any selections are made, so you can be informed of any health concerns that we may have missed.

Families now only need to travel to us for one visit as opposed to two separate weekends. We will assign generous time slots to each family so there is no rush to make your selection and prepare for the trip back home with your new addition.

Families get to bring home their new furbaby the day they choose them! Nobody will need to go through the sadness and anticipation that comes with meeting and selecting your puppy, then having to leave them here for another two weeks!

For families that are unable to make it to the 8 week in-person visit & pick up date they've been assigned, we can still do selections over video calls and plan for another pick-up day. All visits/calls are scheduled in the order of our Waiting List.

Protecting Our Puppies

Although our puppies are exposed to all kinds of activities and human interaction during their time within our home, we still need to be very careful about keeping our puppies safe. There are canine diseases that, when passed on to a puppy, are quite often lethal. We strive to eliminate this risk as much as possible by creating a safe, bio-secure environment for our puppies.

All families purchasing a Foxboro Doodles puppy will be asked to come visit and select their new puppy around 8 weeks of age, once temperament evaluations and vet checks are both complete. These visits will always take place on a weekend. Appointments are booked in the order deposits were received and you will be selecting your puppy in person at that time (video calls are scheduled for those that cannot visit in person). When planning a visit to our home, we ask that you please abide by the following guidelines to keep our puppies safe:

Unvaccinated Dogs

Please do not visit any unvaccinated dogs, or dogs you do not know are vaccinated, within 48hrs of visiting our home. If you are visiting a friend with a dog, be sure to ask if that dog is up to date. Please do not bring any dogs with you when you visit our property, even if they are vaccinated.

Dog Parks or Vet Offices

Please do not visit any dog parks or veterinary clinics within 48hrs of visiting our home. A vet office may seem like a safe place for puppies, but there are often viruses lingering at both dog parks and vet clinics that could harm young pups with younger, weaker immune systems.

Other Breeders

Under NO circumstances is anyone to visit any other breeder within 1 week of visiting our home. Even if it is a personal friend, please do not visit any dog kennel or property where a litter of puppies may have been. Doing this could put our puppies at tremendous, unnecessary risk!

Clean Shoes and Clothing

Please always wear clean shoes and clothing when visiting our property. Clothes must not have been worn while touching any other dogs (your own pets included) and shoes must not have been worn where any dogs have been. Most canine diseases are tracked in by footwear.

Remember: Just because a dog has been vaccinated doesn't mean they haven't picked up something on their muzzle or paws along their travels. It won't affect them because they are already vaccinated, but it puts our puppies at risk if you bring it in on your clothes or shoes when you visit. Please be extra diligent in helping us protecting your future family members.