A Guardian Home is a great opportunity for families to be a part of the future of Australian Shepherds here at Weeping Willows Ranch! In order to continue to give our future breeding dogs the best care possible, we have set up a guardian home program where we can place selected breeding dogs in their forever home while they still take part in our breeding program.
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Guardian home puppies require a 50% deposit of the full purchase price. Instead of paying full price for a puppy, you are getting the pick of the litter in temperament, conformation, coat color and health for half the price.
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Guardian home puppies will be evaluated, and health tested between 6-14 months old and then be assessed for our breeding program. We will pay for all needed health testing and evaluations. When we have the health test results, we will assess whether they qualify for our breeding program. This gives us the opportunity to find the best possible dogs to improve the development of the breed. If we choose not to breed a candidate dog for any reason, we will have them spayed or neutered at our expense, and the ownership of the dog will be signed over to you. If the dog does not join our guardian home program, that means you get the best Aussie Weeping Willows Ranch has to offer at half the cost! ​​
Guardian Home families are required to care for all other needs of their Weeping Willows Ranch Aussie, both physically and financially. Weeping Willows Ranch will pay for all breeding-related costs, and will care for all litters from guardian home dogs at our home. They will be your forever pet and spend their everyday life in your home, but every so often Guardian home dogs will spend time at our home for breeding, end of term pregnancy, and whelping.
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Requirements for a Guardian Home family:
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Live within 120 miles of Williams, AZ, or able to travel to and from our home within a few day's notice.
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Own a home with a fenced-in yard
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Own a reliable car
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No other intact dogs in the home
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Have experience owning an Australian Shepherd or other dogs
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Be able to properly care for, socialize, train, and regularly groom your puppy
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Be able to provide your dog with all its needs both financially and physically
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Keep in close contact with Weeping Willows Ranch
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Be able to detect a heat cycle (if female) and keep from being bred by any other dogs outside of Weeping Willows Ranch
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**We will provide training for heat cycle detection, pregnancy, post pregnancy care, and we will remain in close contact throughout the process**
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​Owning a Female Guardian Home dog:
Females can start breeding at 2 years old until they are 5-6 years old. Weeping Willows Ranch will determine during each heat cycle if they will be bred. Sometimes it could be back to back, and sometimes we may skip a cycle. If we choose to breed, your Aussie will stay with us for up to two weeks during the breeding process, and then will return home to you. After 4 weeks post-breeding, we will set up an ultrasound appointment for you to take your guardian dog to confirm pregnancy. If pregnancy is confirmed, at 8 weeks we will have her come stay at our home for the remainder of her pregnancy until the puppies are whelped (around 6-8 weeks). Guardian home females will spend around 8-12 weeks a year at our home. Guardian homeowners are always welcome to come see their guardian dog and puppies while they are in our care! When they have reached retirement age from our breeding program (around 4-6 years old), we then will have them spayed at our cost and full ownership will be transferred to you.
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For every litter your guardian home female produces, you will receive a refund amount of $100 per puppy sold in that litter at 8 weeks old when they go home.
Owning a Male Guardian Home dog:
​Males can start breeding at 2 years old until they are around 6-8 years old. They will stay with us for a few days at a time during the breeding process, then go home with you. When they are ready to be retired, we will have them neutered at our expense, and transfer full ownership to you.
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We ask all Guardian Homeowners they periodically take and send quality photos/videos of the guardian home dog so we can post and share them on our website and social media.
