Q. What is "fostering"?
A. Taking one of my best dogs into your home, but not neutering or spaying
that dog. You must keep them intact for breeding to my dogs, but also keep
them as beloved housepets.
Q. Why would you foster your dogs?
A. Because the Standard Poodle gene pool is shrinking and the only way to
keep us from constant inbreeding is to have more dogs as options for
breeding. In order to do that, we must have large kennels or place dogs in
homes who are willing to keep them intact for future use. I am choosing to
place them as 'fosters' so that they can get the individual attention they
deserve, yet still be able to pass on their genes to future generations.
Q. How does a dog come into this program?
A. At times I will have a litter of puppies with a very special puppy. These
are my "picks" the puppies that I would like to keep. For various reasons, it
just might not be the right moment to add these dogs to my home since I
already have dogs I am currently showing/training or wish them to have more
individual attention. At that time I will begin the hunt for the perfect
foster home. These will always be located no further than 6 hours from Little
Rock, Arkansas. The only reason I limit the distance is so that I have access
to the dogs as needed for breeding. I have family in Arkansas that I
visit several times a year and with us being in the Military, this is the best
option. This really is a large area to have fosters, from TX, LA, MS,
TN, MO, and OK are all options for foster homes.
Q. Is there a cost I must pay to foster?
A. There is a fee of 300 dollars to foster. This is my cost to raise
that puppy to 8-12 weeks of age. Shots, Worming, Tail and Declaw
removal, Food, Toys, Basic Obedience training (sit, down, come, stay will
already be imprinted on the puppy), etc.
Q. What am I responsible for if I foster a dog?
A. You are responsible for the daily care, yearly vet bills, or expenses that
might occur if the dog hurts itself while living with you. In short, what you
would if you adopted a dog from a shelter or bought a pet from a breeder.
Q. Do you pay for anything?
A. YES! When the dog turns 2 years of age, I will pay to have all the health
test needed to certify that dog as 'breeding quality'. If all the health
testing is completed and comes back normal, then they might be bred at some
point and become an active part of our breeding program.
Q. What if it doesn't pass the health testing?
A. I will ask you to please have the dog spayed or neutered and it will
become fully your family's dog. This is a way for me to have access to them
for breeding, but if they are not breeding quality I do not have to find them
a home. Your home is their home for their entire life.
There may be
other reasons I choose not to use the dog you foster in my breeding program.
Because you will live near me, we can constantly evaluate the development of
the dogs temperament, structure, and health and decide if that dogs genes are
truly needed in our gene pool.
Q. Can you explain how this will really all work?
A. The dog will be placed in a foster home where it will remain for it's
entire life. At age two, If I DO decide that this is a dog with
everything I am looking for, then I will have all of the required health
testing done at my expense and only AFTER that comes up clear and in good
order will I begin to review everything I know and observe of this dog to find
the best mate possible. All costs related to breeding will be mine. The
foster dog will return to me for breedings. If it is a bitch then it will
also return to my home to whelp the puppies where they will all stay until the
puppies are weaned at six weeks, at which time the foster dog will return to
your home. If it is a stud, he will come to my house to breeding to my
females or have semen collected and shipped to the girl in question. Once
this is done, he will be returned to you.
I will never breed more than three litters from a single bitch, nor will she
be bred past the age of six. There will be many times that after only a
single litter the dog will be spayed and retired from my breeding program.
Studs will likely have their semen collected and frozen but might also be kept
intact for up to 10 years. Standard Poodles are gentlemen. They are not like
many breeds and with very little training understand that they do NOT mark in
a home, especially their home. Oh sometimes they will lose their minds and
pee in a home with a girl who's in season and ready to breed, but we will not
be fostering males in homes with intact females so this will never be an
issue. They are good with other dogs and neutering rarely changes a Standard
Poodle who is well trained and well socialized. The only reason to neuter a
Standard Poodle is for health concerns.
At the time that the foster dog ends it's breeding career and is spayed or
neutered, all registration paperwork will be prepared to show that the dog is
completely and wholly owned by you.
Q. What is the difference between fostering and co-owning then?
A. Co-owning a puppy is a different matter completely. The pup in question
will hopefully have a long and successful show career before it, you
will likely whelp and raise the litters and you will hopefully become a great
asset to the poodle breeding world. Right from the
beginning, both parties (and in some cases more than two parties) will be
registered as co-owners of the dog and for the rest of it's life will share in
all of the decision making, costs of breeding and owning the dog, trials and triumphs of owning the dog.
The foster program is for those who are NOT interested in breeding, but are
willing to help me out in my breeding goals. A Co-ownership is for those
who ARE interested in breeding.
