FAQ

What are you looking for in a new owner?

We are looking for loving and enthusiastic owners who are able to provide adequate time to train, exercise and socialise their dog.

Puppies in particular require a lot of patience and understanding, people describe having a young puppy like having a newborn baby in the house - they are not wrong!

You do not need to have past experience with dogs, lots of our new owners have never owned a dog before, we are here to offer as much help and support as you need any time of the day.

We have young children / we are expecting a baby, are your puppies good with children?

We love the thought of our puppies being brought up in a family enviroment with children. However, the idea of very young children and a puppy vs the reality can be quite different.

We prepare a puppy with as much socialising and training as possible while they are growing and developing with us, but the puppies leave us for their new homes at a crucial period in their life and they will require a lot of time, patience and consistent training from their new owners until they have fully 'mentally' developed which is about 2 years old.

Puppies are hard work, they will jump up, mouth and they love to play 'chase' with young children and children's toys... although this is normal and part of the puppy's development, it can be quite overwhelming for small children and their parents trying to control the situation and train the puppy all at the same time.

If you have very young children or are expecting a baby in the near future, our advice would be to wait for a puppy to join your family as it will be a more pleasant experience for you all.

Do you have a waiting list?

Yes we keep a limited General Waiting List which enables serious prospective new puppy owners the opportunity to secure a puppy from us.

How does your General waiting list work?

When it comes to how to ensure that you are considered for a puppy from one of our litters, the best way is to join our General Waiting List (GWL).

To be considered for our GWL we would ask for you to get in touch with us, giving us as much information about yourself, your set up and what you're looking for in a dog.

Once we review this, and if we feel this is something we can help you with, we will discuss with you in more detail about our GWL and the litters we may have planned for the near future. It's important that we find the very best homes for our puppies and equally as important that you feel that we are the type of breeder you have been looking for.

To secure a placed on our GWL we require a £100 deposit - please note that GWL fee is non-refundable, although it will be deducted from the cost of any puppy that may be purchased. Families on our GWL will be notified and given first refusal of any available litters / puppies ahead of announcing these on our website.

We have commitments already booked, is there a time limit on your GWL?

No, there isn't a time limit on our GWL, we appreciate that some families may have commitments already booked ahead of joining our GWL, or maybe the timing of our current litter isn't quite suitable for you this time round. You may stay on our GWL for as long as you want, we also occasionally have a puppy that becomes re-available from a litter, that one of our GWL families fall in love with and choose to bring home sooner than they had originally planned.

We are on the waiting list, now what?

How very exciting! Your £300 deposit secures your place on our General Waiting List (GWL), each families place is in order of when their deposit was received.

You will be regularly updated on our nursery plans, so you can consider and get excited with us about our future litters. You will be able to see the announcements of a confirmed pregnancy, the birth of our puppies and then can make a decision about whether this litter looks suitable for you. If you're keen to proceed with this litter, then we will move you onto their Litter Specific Waiting List.

Families on our GWL will also be accepted on our 'Owners Only' Facebook group where you will be able to see past puppies and interact and ask questions from our lovely owners of our doggies.

Do you provide weekly puppy updates?

Families who have chosen to move across from our GWL to our Litter Specific Waiting List will be given weekly puppy updates which will include photos and videos of the pups, mum and our nursery set up. It's an incredibly exciting time for us all and we love sharing the experience and the puppies milestones with potential new owners! Again, at any point during the process you are welcome to ask us questions or speak on the phone.

When can we view the puppies'?

We allow puppy viewings once the puppies are about 9 weeks old and once the Puppy Of Choice deposit has been placed.

Other breeders allow puppy visits from about 4 weeks old, but we believe not only is there a high risk of bringing bacteria to very young puppies with weak immune systems, but it is also very stressful for the mother to have strangers in the house and for them to be moving around her babies.

Our process has always been with our dogs and puppies best interest and safety at the centre of what we do.

When do we place a deposit on a chosen puppy?

Once the puppies have been born, for those of you who have secured a place on our GWL, we know you will be keen to secure a specific puppy. Here at Bouncy-Doodles, puppy choosing happens at 9 weeks old.

We have a few reasons behind this, firstly, as the puppies get older we are better able to advise you on temperament and personality to suit your family, as well as coat type and potential size of the dog.

But secondly, we like to make sure that every dog in our litter has been checked by our vet and has had a BAER hearing test, and a BVA eye test done by a specialist. As much as we try, sometimes life isn't perfect and we would hate for a potential new owner to bond with a puppy who we later find out has a health issue. We are keen not to disappoint any new owner or cause unnecessary stress and worry.

Once the pups are 9 weeks old and have had their health checkup and tests, we ask each of you who want to proceed to place a 'Puppy of Choice' deposit of £300. This will be in order of where you are placed on the puppies Specific Waiting List and before your first viewing (please refer to our Covid process below).

We ask you to place a deposit on a Puppy Of Choice as generally our puppies find homes very quickly, but not everyone can come and choose on a specific weekend as they may be away at the time etc. This way you have your choice of puppy and can choose a viewing day that is convenient for your family.

The £300 Puppy Of Choice deposit is 100% refundable up to 24hrs after your first visit if for whatever reason the puppy isn't (or even we as breeders aren't) quite right for your family.

What is your process around puppy choosing?

We believe it's important for families to choose their own puppy, however, puppies within a litter do not all have the same temperament and personality. It would be lovely, but also very naive, to think that the new owner would only need to choose what colour puppy they would like.

We know our puppies the best, after all, we have dedicated every moment since they were born watching and encouraging their development. By being so involved with their development and care and by choosing to wait until the puppies are more developed before puppy choosing, we have a much greater knowledge of the type of temperament, ideal home / family, set up and training they we benefit from.

Ahead of choosing we provide families with a great understanding of each puppy in the litter and what type of home we believe they will flourish in, this way families will be able to make an informed decision when choosing their puppy.

Can we view the puppies parents when viewing our chosen puppy?

Yes absolutely, we would be offended if you weren't interested in meeting our wonderful mummies, they deserve a lot of attention after all the time and dedication they have put into raising their beautiful pups!

Most of the time we use our own stud dogs, so you will be able to meet daddy too - but in some situations we may have used stud dogs that we do not own or they live with a Guardian family, of course if this is the case we will not have the father here to view.

When can i bring my puppy home?

You will be able to bring your puppy home once they are 11 weeks old and have been fully vaccinated.

What vaccinations will my puppy have had?

Your puppy will be vaccinated against Distemper, Hepatitis and the Parvovirus (DHP) - the core vaccinations - and be fully protected by the time they leave us.

Following the guidance of the vaccination manufacturers, if a puppy is 10 weeks old or older, one vaccination provides FULL immunity.

We believe in giving your dog the best possible protection against some awful and life threatening diseases, but we do not believe in needlessly over vaccinating dogs /puppies, particularly yearly boosters, which can cause cause major health problems in dogs. Going forwards we strongly advise a blood test called a 'Titre Test' to check your dogs' actual immunity against these diseases. This test means you can make an informed decision when it comes to boosters based on your dogs actual immunity and not the vet's diary.

Vaccination manufacturers' guidelines for vaccinating puppies clearly state: "A single injection should establish active immunity in dogs of 10 weeks of age or older. Where earlier protection is required a first dose may be given to puppies from 6 weeks of age, but because maternally derived passive antibody can interfere with the response to vaccination a final dose should be given i.e.at 10 weeks of age or older."

We do not vaccinate our dogs or puppies with Lepto 2 or 4. This is an extremely controversial vaccination that in our opinion offers very little to no protection and comes with more health risks than it solves.

When can i start to socialise and walk my puppy?

Straight away! Because our puppies will be fully vaccinated when you bring them home at 11 weeks old, you can start the incredibly important job of socialising your puppy to new sights, sounds, environments and other dogs and pets.

It's very important not to over exercise your puppy before their joints have fused together. Unfortunately over exercise can cause irreversible damage which includes dysplasia and deformities. Regarding walking, the rule of thumb is 5 minutes of exercise for every month of your puppy's life, up to twice a day on soft ground. So for a 3-month old puppy they must only be walked for 15 minutes, this can be twice a day.

What items do i need to buy before i bring my puppy home?

We provide a number of items that you will need for your new member of the family in your Puppy Pack, but we also email you a Puppy Check List with suggestions of items we feel are important to buy or think about before you collect your pup.

What type of food should i buy?

Your puppy will have been weaned onto a 100% raw diet from 3 - 4 weeks of age, we provide enough food to cover the first 10 days that your puppy is with you. It is important that you continue to feed them the food we have provided and recommend for a minimum of 4 weeks, they will have experienced a lot of change over the first few weeks, which can be incredibly stressful for them. The last thing they need is a change of diet which can also create upset tummies!

We highly recommend you continue to feed your dog a raw diet throughout their life, which consists of meat, vegetables and fruit! The raw diet is species appropriate and 'fresh', unlike the commercially processed dry pet foods which can cause obesity, chronic digestive problems, kidney disease, allergies and cancer! A nutritious diet is key to a good immune system and a healthy dog. I am always shocked when people look for a cheap alternative to feed their beloved member of the family, but when you calculate how much they are willing to spend a day, it's the equivalent of a roll of toilet paper! We understand the importance of a healthy diet and good quality food, it is as important to them as it is to us!

We use several different raw diet suppliers, the food is bought online and sent straight to your door frozen. The food we buy is already pre-prepared, we just defrost over night and spoon it straight into our dogs' bowls when its food time - easy!

How toilet trained will my puppy be when i take them home?

Your puppy will have a good understanding of toilet training by the time they leave us!

We start toilet training with the puppies from two weeks of age with a litter tray and puppy pads, and eventually get them used to going to the toilet outside. You must expect accidents while they are very young and potentially even the occasional accident up to a year old. Getting a good toilet routine in place from day one is key to successfully toilet training your dog.

How much grooming will my puppy need?

You will need to set a consistent grooming routine for your dog and you will need to thoroughly brush your dog once every 7 - 10 days. To maintain the length of your dogs coat, you can either go DIY style, which we are happy to give advice about, or use a professional groomer every 8 - 16 weeks. Groomers cannot work magic, if your dog becomes matted they will have to be clipped short. Your puppy will leave us with a full grooming kit and we will demonstrate how to groom your dog on handover day.

Will my puppy come with a contract?

Yes, all of our puppies leave us with a contract.

Our contract is in the interest of both parties and for the wellbeing and future of the dog. This is a strict, legally binding, no breeding contract, which also covers key things like if your dog needs to be re-homed in the future, or the circumstances under which the puppy may be returned within a week for a full refund, if your vet finds any health related problem that we did not have diagnosed prior to them leaving us.

How important is pet insurance?

We do our very best to breed healthy dogs, but we cannot guarantee the health of your dog forever more, this is why pet insurance is very important! Our puppies leave us with 4 weeks' free pet insurance with Petplan, when that comes to an end it is up to you to provide appropriate cover for your dog against illness and injury.

How can i settle my puppy into their new home?

We provide a detailed Puppy Folder and Information Pack that provides you with a puppy routine, lots of useful tips and advice regarding how to settle your puppy, as well as a number of important subjects like crate training, toilet training, walking, socialising, grooming, the raw diet, vaccinations and flea and worming etc.

Our puppy handover can take up to a couple of hours. We spend a lot of time going through the Folder, the detailed Information Pack and how to use the items in your Puppy Pack . We also show you how to groom your dog and some basic training. We want to make sure that you feel confident when bringing your puppy home and that you have had any questions answered.

What will be in my Puppy Folder and Information Pack

Some of the items included in our Puppy Folder and Information Pack are - a full set of grooming tools, a folder with all of your puppys' personal information which is also packed full to the brim with helpful content that will guide you through, not only the first few days, but years of your dogs' life.

More information on our puppy packs can be found on the " Puppy Pack" page.

How do we contact you?

You can make contact with us by sending us a message via our contact form. When making contact with us for the first time, please do tell us a little about yourself, your set up and what type of dog you're looking for.

If you do not hear back from us within a few days, please do re-submit a form, we would never intentally not reply to you.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Covid-19 update. 2022

As a result of Covid, the pandemic and with vulnerable family members, we have not been providing viewings in our home. Since early 2020, we have instead been speaking with potential new owners either via phone or video calls. All puppy viewings have taken place via video calls.

We are happy to provide details of our independent vet (who has also visited our home many times) and a list of families details who have both experience of visiting our home before Covid and since only providing video calls. Both our vet and past puppy owners are more than happy to speak with any potential new owner.

FAQ