partner families

PARTNER FAMILIES

We have plenty of incentives to make being a partner family exciting and worth while for everyone involved if you choose to take us
up on those offers.

People often refer to the agreement as a co-own, this is a false term. The dog will be owned by myself (the breeder) and you (the buyer)
are basically a foster family. You do not "own" the dog until the contract is fulfilled. We have been taken advantage of and burned in the past and so this is to protect out breeding program in a legal manner.

This partnership is NOT for anyone who thinks they want to start breeding dogs. These dogs are not allowed to reproduce for you,
they are only a pet in your home, they may only be used for breeding by myself or for other established breeders. So if you think
partnering with me in this way will allow you to have puppies of your own, this is not the agreement for you. You need to contact me
about breeding rights which is different and we are happy to mentor you.

So assuming a foster family partnership is what you are interested in we can proceed.

The first question you may ask is Why foster out some of our dogs?

Here I will explain how you can live with one of my show quality Aussies as a pet and I also get to keep the dog in my breeding program,
or at least grow them out and see how they turn out in a year or two.

If you look at it from a breeders point of view. We can only keep so many dogs ourselves and do them any justice. Sometimes a really nice show/breed quality puppy comes along that is just an outstanding example of the breed or may have rare and desirable blood lines we need to preserve. Sometimes we would rather not keep every puppy ourselves for many reasons. It takes a lot of time to raise a puppy. That is time a lot of us are short on. Sometimes we have more than one puppy in a litter that is outstanding. It's best to try and only keep one puppy at
a time to give it the most attention possible. Sometimes we have several males already in our home and a male puppy would interrupt
the natural order already established. What ever the reason, we'd like to be able to watch the puppy grow up, and keep it close by so
that we may be able to use it in our breeding program in the future.

If you look at it from a buyers point of view. There are a couple advantages.

The first is price. We offer foster puppies for as low as $500 which is simply the application fee. This means instead of $2500-$3500 for a show quality puppy, you are paying a lot less if you agree to all the terms.

You get a puppy that is of higher quality than the average pet. Only the best of the best!

Your puppy will likely go on to become a finished champion or get titles in other areas. If you like to brag about your puppy, this is one
good way to do it.

While we can not guarantee which pups will be pet quality and which ones will be show/breed quality, the reality is that when pups are
show/breed quality, we will ...

First hold them back for ourselves and our breeding program, this includes partnership puppies.
Second we may offer them to other breeders for their breeding program.
Last we will sell them as pets at a higher than normal price if no other option comes our way.

We try not to offer them for sale as pets to be spayed or neutered if we do not have to. That being said we really have no control over
which pups are show breed quality. If you are set on only one colour, it may be several litters before we have that particular pup available
on a partnership, it must fit my needs as well as yours. If your considering a partnership for the discounted price, you may have to settle
for a pet quality pup of regular price or wait even longer for your puppy if you are not flexible on colour and gender. I will not place a
puppy in a partner home unless it is what I need for breeding.

The contracts vary with each situation. It's something that must be discussed at great length. Every possible scenario must be clearly
outlined so there are no misunderstandings between the buyer and the breeder. The contract must be considerate of both the buyer
and the breeders needs when it comes to the dogs role in each persons lives. That is why each contract is drawn up individually.

For me a partnership should cover a few basic points:

1. YOU MUST LIVE RELATIVELY CLOSE!
I am in Midland, about 45 minutes north of Barrie.
You must live close enough to me that the dog can travel back and forth to Midland with little hesitation.
This is the #1 hardest thing to find in partner families. You must understand that females are only viable for breeding for about 7 days
during their breeding cycle. When she starts her cycle we MUST get her and the male together within a few days, this allows him
time to settle in and relax enough to breed (yes many males will not breed if they are not comfortable). Females only cycle 1-2 times
a year, sometimes as much as every 6 months but sometimes every 8 months or even only once a year. If we miss a breeding it is a
long wait until we can try again so missing a breeding because a partner family is not able to get us the dog is 100% not acceptable
and are grounds to end the partnership and take the dog back into our care with no compensation at all to the partner family. If you
live within about 2 hours of me I can often arrange to pick the dog up myself, but farther than that and I am away from my own dogs and the
farm for too long traveling and so we need the partner family to do some of the driving. You MUST be willing and able to drop all plans
and travel in all weather. We do not take holidays, birthdays, sports events, weddings, dinners, kids after school activities or any weather
as a good enough reason to not bring the dog back to us when we need it. This is our business and traveling to us is not optional in the
agreement. You MUST be willing to make us a priority or the partnership will not work. We will do as much driving as possible and be
as accommodating as possible to your life but we are under a very short time line to make things work. We do try and give you as much notice as possible, but sometimes the girls have their own agenda.

2. YOU MUST HAVE A FENCED YARD.
I am counting on this dog being safe and not running away or getting hit by a car. We have seen accidents happen to the most diligent
families and we do not want any hard feelings. So a secure fenced yard is necessary.
If you live in the country, you still must provide a fenced in area for those times you can not be outside with your dog. If you can not
provide proof of a fenced area then you do not qualify for a partnership. Electric fences are 100% forbidden and if we find evidence
of any such device we will immediately reposes the dog with no compensation to you.

3. YOU SHOULD HAVE PROOF OF PET INSURANCE.
While the dog is in your care you are 100% responsible for all costs including accidents. Accidents can be very costly.
Emergency vet care, broken bones, surgery etc can run you many thousands of dollars. Because of the dogs potential value to us,
we do not want a strain on finances to mean the dog gets second rate care. We also do not want to burden your family with outrageous
costs you can not reasonably afford and would not put into a pet. So to protect everyone involved, we ask our partner families to have
pet health insurance. (while the dog is in our care for showing/breeding/testing etc we are responsible financially for anything that happens).
If you are very well off financially and wish to discuss not having insurance we are open to discussion but we must know the dog will
be well cared for.

4. YOU MUST FEED RAW or TLC kibble may be negotiated.
I'm sorry but diet is not really negotiable. My dogs all eat raw and when a dog comes over and eats kibble several things
happen. Your dog is not happy eating his kibble because he can see and smell the raw food, so your dog chooses not to eat well and
that is not good for your dog. Next your dog poops huge gross piles of kibble poop and my dogs think it is a treat, disgusting to see them
try and eat it and I don't want to have to smell it or pick it up. Raw poop does not smell and is small and easy to pick up, and if left outside just disintegrates and blows away in a few days. I like it that way. If there is a really good reason for you to feed TLC kibble I'm happy to at least discuss it at some length but the dog will not be eating it when it is with me, that part is not open for discussion, so you must do raw in some small form so the dog is comfortable eating it when it is with me.
So if you won't feed raw at all, I will not place a dog with you for partnership. Sorry.

5. YOU MUST AGREE TO MINIMAL VACCINATIONS
We live a clean natural lifestyle and while I am not anti vaccine I am minimal vaccine. I expect all partner families to abide by this.
Partner family dogs come back to my vet for all basic care, so this should not be a problem but if you plan to enroll in classes and they
insist on extra vaccines the dog does not need you may be forced to seek out different classes even if it means traveling farther from
your home. We will not over vaccinate our dogs, specially the ones we plan to use for breeding purposes.

6. YOU MUST AGREE TO MINIMAL/NO PARASITE PREVENTION
Again in following a natural clean lifestyle for our dogs we do not use any type of poisonous parasite prevention on our dogs unless it
is 100% necessary and we have no other alternatives to work with. You MUST agree to this and must contact us before you do anything
medical to the dog. Again this dog should be coming back to me for all medical care so it should not be an issue but if for any reason
your vet needs to see the dog we expect this clause to be respected. If you are of the old school mind set that the dog needs to be on these poisons, then regardless of pet or partnership, I am not the breeder for you.

7. The buyer pays us an agreed upon price for the partnership opportunity. The price is something to discuss when you contact us.
The price will be decided upon based on what I get out of the arrangement. Length of partnership, what you may plan to do with
the dog while in your care in the way of titles and advertising etc Some dogs go for free if I get to use them for a longer period of time,
and some may go for full price if I only get one litter or 1-2 stud services because after all the cost of testing I'm not really getting
anything out of the deal.

8. The dog is in my name as the owner on all registration papers. It will only be transferred to your name once the contract has been
fulfilled and the dog has been spayed or neutered. That way I have total control over what happens with the dog while I intend to breed it.
My name must be on all paperwork including veterinarian care as the owner and you as a partner family only, but my name must be on
there to prove ownership and to give me complete access to all medical paperwork and decisions. The dog should only need to see
your vet for emergencies otherwise it will come back to my vet at my cost for all health testing, vaccinating etc So it saves you money. We will arrange for the dog to come to me for the day to do all necessary vet care at my cost.

9. This dog will be show/breed quality. I will pick the puppies out of each litter that are show/breed quality at 8 weeks old. Only these
puppies may be available on partnerships. You do not get to pick which puppy is going on a partnership. I will offer on a partnership
only the puppies from each litter that would benefit me most in the years to come. So while it may be the puppy of your dreams, it may
also not be the colour or gender you hoped for.

10. As a show/breed puppy I will require it to be shown in conformation. You can elect to show the puppy yourself (this keeps the price
lower and increases the financial kick backs), or you can ask us to show the puppy which we are happy to do. We may also opt to send the dog with a third party professional handler if you do not want to show it and if we are too busy to get away. We are happy to do all the grooming required or teach you how to groom for a show. Our children and their friends have shown our dogs without any prior experience. It's really not hard and there are classes you can take if you wish. So if you were interested, we welcome you to join us. It's a fun social time. At the very least you must make the dog available for us to pick up when we go to shows so we can show it and obtain it's championship. We do not do many shows so it would only be a few times a year at best and sometimes not at all during the year. All costs associated with showing are paid by me.

11. The dog is to stay intact ( not spayed or neutered ) for a minimum of two years. During that time the dog must have it's eyes and hips
tested to see if the dog is suitable for breeding. We as the breeders bring the dogs back here for that testing and we cover the cost.
During the time the dog is not altered it is NOT allowed to reproduce in any way for you. It will be up to you to make sure the dog is
properly confined and not allowed to reproduce. At the 2 year mark I will re-evaluate the dog and decide if it is going to be of use in my
breeding program and stay intact for the duration of the contract, or whether it should then be spayed or neutered. I am the only one who
can make that decision. If I choose not to use the dog for breeding then I would end the partnership in which ever way we have agreed upon in the contract.

12. While the dog is intact and is being used for breeding, I am the one to make the arrangements. For you it is strictly a house pet and
companion. You may not offer a male to breed to anyone else's females, and you may not allow a female to have a litter of puppies.

13. While the dog is in your care and intact, you may NOT bring in another intact dog without my written consent. Even with the best of
intentions accidental breedings happen and there is no morning after pill or simple abortion like there is in people. If a female is bred
to another dog, the only way to not have puppies is by spaying. There is also a disease called Brucellosis which is a highly contagious
disease that renders animals sterile and is passed on through bodily fluids. Dogs who contract Brucellosis must be destroyed, so to
avoid these two devastating situations we must ensure the dog we entrust to you is not living with or frequently visiting other intact dogs.
It's simply to dangerous.

If at 2 years old the dog fails any of it's testing or I decide I do not need it in my program for what ever reason. Then based on the contract,
you will have first right to retain full ownership of the dog should you choose at the price agreed upon in the contract. It may be no extra
cost or full puppy price. Each contract will vary and is agreed upon before the dog leaves my home.

If at 2 years old the dog is clear for breeding then one of two things will happen:

FEMALES:
For female dogs I will arrange for her to go to the males house for breeding. She will be gone for around 2-3 weeks. Sometimes the
male lives with me, and sometimes it will be with another breeder. You have no say in where I send her for breeding. You may have
her back at your house during the majority of her pregnancy which lasts around 9 weeks. When she is close to her due date she will
then come to stay with me. This is not open for discussion in any way.
I will have the puppies here, I will raise them and I will place them in their new homes. This is not in any way negotiable. When puppies are
weaned at around 6 weeks of age, she is ready to go back to your home. She will only be bred once a year for a maximum of 5 litters and
a minimum of 2 litters. This is something to be agreed upon prior to purchasing the puppy and the more I get out of the deal, the lower the
price. In some situations where I get a larger number of litters, and where you are willing to show the dog and put titles on it, you will get a
percentage of each litter as a thank you for all you have done. There are a ton of possible opportunities. The more you are willing to
help out with her and put titles on her (obedience, conformation, frisbee, therapy etc) and the more you are willing to allow me to get from
her, the more I can give you as a financial incentive.
An example would be $100 from each puppy sold. Contact us to find out more.

MALES:
For male dogs, when a female is in season and ready for breeding, he will come back here or go to the other breeders home for breeding
to their female. He will stay with us for around 2-3 weeks until she is finished breeding. When the breeding is complete, he goes back to
your home until the next time he is needed for breeding. We will agree to either a set amount of stud uses (usually 8) or a set amount of
time he will be left intact (usually until 6-8 years old). When the deal is fulfilled he will be altered at your cost and will remain with you as a
house pet.
If you are willing to show the dog and put titles on the dog and make him as worthy as possible as a stud dog, then we are willing to pay
to you a portion of his stud fee's to other breeders. The more worthy he is, the more they will want to use him, so the more money you
potentially could make :)
If you are not willing to do any of that work and he simply hangs out as a house pet, then other breeders will not choose to use him as a
stud dog for their girls and we have no incentives for you.
So the more you do with him, the more you could get out of it in the end.

Stud fee is the cost of a puppy, so no less than $2000 and for a male that others want to use, if you have helped to market him as a worthy stud dog we will pay up to 1/2 of the stud fee back to you. So you could potentially make $1000 every time another breeder uses him as a stud for their females. The more popular he is, the more you can make.

I do not allow the dog to stay with the buyer during breeding regardless of gender.
Partially because dogs only cycle every 6 months on average, we can not plan breedings around anything other than the dogs.
When a female is ready for breeding we generally bring her to the male. To avoid life getting in the way and not being able to transport
the female on time, or having a female who needs to be bred to your male on Christmas day for example, It's just easier to let the
breeders deal with all the different inconvenient possibilities. It's what we do.

While my children and in-laws understand if I have to skip a holiday dinner or a school play to breed dogs, I'm not sure your family would
like me at your place in the middle of dinner breeding dogs in the kitchen. Likewise things can and do go wrong. Sometimes dogs do
not co-operate for breeding the way we hope they would.
It takes experience to know when to step in and possibly do an artificial insemination. While my family accepts everything involved
in breeding dogs, I'm not sure everyone else's family would be quite so understanding. So to keep things under control, calm and
organized, all the breedings take place at a breeders house.

Same with puppies. Birth can be a wonderful experience with healthy live puppies.
It can also turn into a nightmare where we loose puppies or the mother if things go wrong and are not handled correctly.
A hundred things can go wrong during delivery as easily as they can go as expected. Sometimes experience and quick thinking is
needed. Sometimes a delivery is the last place the children need to be even though that's where they always want to be. To ensure the
safety and well being of mom and pups and to give everyone the best chance possible, puppies are always delivered and raised in my
home. My home is where I have the set up and experience to deal with all sorts of possibilities. This is absolutely not open for any type
of negotiating at all. The bitch MUST come back here and if we are nearing the date I want her back and you come up with excuses not
to bring her back and I have to travel to get her, the agreement is terminated as soon as I pick her up. Remember, because my name is
on all of her paperwork as her Owner, this is my legal right and is enforceable by law.

Likewise the raising of puppies is an art and a full time job and not all puppies make it the full 8 weeks. My home is on lock down for 8
weeks where I get very little sleep and people are not allowed in our home near our puppies. I would not expect any one else to make
all the sacrifices I make and to do all the extras I do. I would also not expect you to be able to make your home off limits to friends and
family as I have to. The safety of the mother and puppies is the only concern in my world.

I put pictures up of puppies each week, No mater how many people send me proof of the pictures they can take they are never what
I am looking for. This is my business and pictures are how I sell puppies. Since no one can take them the way I want, it is just one
more reason we do not allow others to raise our puppies.

So for everyone sanity, puppies are always raised here with no exceptions, so please don't even bother to ask. There really is nothing
you can say that will sway me, not even if your a vet tech and have delivered puppies before. These are my dogs, my breeding program
and I will be the one to deliver, raise and sell the puppies. Period!

If your dog is the parent to a litter of our puppies and you would like a second puppy added to your family, we are happy to give you priority
over other families if you are willing to agree to another partnership with another show/breed puppy.

If you would like more information on partnerships and all the in's and out's I'd be happy to discuss it with you so we can decide if it may
work for you or not. It may not be for everyone, but it can open doors and possibilities for us both.

Nothing is out of the question with a partnership. So if you have any questions on what may or may not be available, just ask. I'm happy
to answer all your questions and entertain all your thoughts on the process.

So if you think a partnership is at least worth discussing, then let me know. I'm happy to talk to you.

Thanks
Sue