How we raise our puppies
Because we care about our puppies and are deeply committed to doing everything we can to ensure their health, we know when they are born that we have done all we can to get it right. Their parents’ status regarding known recessive disorders is known via Vet checks, DNA testing, and X-rays of their Hips and Elbows. We also have their eyes and heart checked, and they are groomed to get them used to a brush.
Their mothers are pampered and kept stress-free and healthy throughout their pregnancy, and their babies are born in a warm, comfortable, stress-free area in our home.
The puppies live with us, are loved by us, raised under foot and get the best food and health care. They are fed a natural, raw diet, and we only use natural products to limit chemical exposure.
We do not have to use chemicals for fleas or ticks as we have never seen these on our property or any animal that lives here.
When our precious puppies are born, they are held and caressed by us, so they get used to being handled by humans. We pay special attention to their ears, feet and toes and give them a light brush daily. This makes it much easier as they get older to groom them, trim their nails and clean their ears as they associate this with love and comfort and a normal daily occurrence. We take the time, beginning when the puppies are very young, to perform Early Neural Stimulation.
In the first few weeks, our puppies spend a great deal of time with mum in a big whelping box in our family room. She nurses cleans and loves them, and we can make sure she is looking after them well. They get used to a variety of household sounds and people coming and going, including loud noises, so they are not nervous or easily scared.
Once they are three or four weeks of age, mum will naturally start spending a little more time away from her babies to encourage their weaning process. They are naturally weaned off their mum onto a natural canine diet. Once they are mobile, we take them out to the garden individually and with their siblings, and we give them individual free time and cuddles in our house.
We encourage their natural instinct for cleanliness and begin their early toilet training, which makes it easier for you when they come home. They get used to big hands, little hands, men’s hands, women’s hands, deep voices, high-pitched voices (our kids yell, squeal, and laugh), and all the bustle of a regular household.
At the appropriate age, we begin light training and assessment activities.
As we approach home time, we will ask you for more information regarding the type of household and environment the puppy will be coming home to. This helps us replicate as best we can the environment the puppy will be going to while its Mum and litter mates still surround the pup.
It’s a good idea if you send us an old T-shirt or similar that a family member has worn for a few hours to enable us to introduce the scent of this person to your puppy, too. This helps the puppy and the family have a smooth and less stressful homecoming. If your puppy is travelling, we get it used to the travel crate and take it for car trips to reduce their stress levels at home time. Everything we do is designed to keep both the puppy and you happy and reduce stress. We are very careful to find homes for our puppies that will take over where we left off in preparing them for a long, healthy, quality life with care and responsibility that ensures the puppies have the best chance of a wonderful future. We provide lots of notes and support to help our puppy buyers achieve this.
Great Mates Visitation Policy
We understand that puppy buyers are often advised to visit the home of the breeder before they decide to purchase a puppy from them to see Mum and Dad and where we raise our puppies.
However, for us, the harsh reality is that we receive an average of 10 to 15 email or telephone puppy inquiries per day for puppies and out of these inquiries, at least 50% want to visit. Most visits take at least 1 hour, so we would need to be available for 5 to 7 hours per day just to host potential puppy buyers in our home. This would leave us with very little time to look after our dogs and to tend to our puppies and it is a huge disruption to our lives.
We are also very concerned about having people on our property, as we do not know what diseases or viruses they may bring. Visitors also expose our mums and Bubs to the stress of strangers at a time when they should be stress-free.
There are also security risks for us, as we know of unscrupulous people who have posed as puppy buyers and then come back to a breeder’s home and stolen their puppies and belongings.
So sadly, as we really do raise our puppies in our home, it is simply not possible for people to come to our home until they are ready to pick up their puppies.
Adoption Process
To apply for one of our beautiful Australian Cobberdogs, you will first need to fill out the Puppy Application Form, which can be downloaded here: Great Mates Australian Cobberdog Puppy Inquiry Form.
We will assess your application and correspond with you via email and phone to discuss what you are looking for in a puppy and when you will be ready for the puppy. Based on your requirements, we will work out what is best for you and your family. All of our pet puppies will have all vet work done prior to going home to you. We do sell breeding puppies if you want to breed these wonderful dogs, but we only sell puppies for breeding to Master Dog Breeders and Associates registered breeders. You can find out about becoming a registered breeder here.
We require a booking fee to secure a puppy. (SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BOOKING FEE.)
We take regular photos of our puppies, which we can email to you, or you can find them on our website and Facebook page.
You can contact us anytime with any questions, tips, or advice you may need about preparing for your puppy to come home.
Great Mates selects your puppy based on what you have told us about your preferences and what we know about the puppies. We try to match each puppy with the home that will suit it the best. For that reason, we do not allocate puppies to you until they are 6 weeks old, as this is when their personalities really show through.
We want you to be happy with your puppy, so we also ask if you are happy with our selection. We spend 24 hours a day with the puppies and their parents, and we know their personalities well. We are very happy to work with each family and help them pick the puppy with the qualities best suited for them!
Puppies must be fully paid for when they are 6 weeks old or two weeks before they are due to come home. If you are picking your puppy up from our home, we accept the full cash payment at the time of pick up. We are happy to organise transport for your puppy to your home at an additional cost.
Additional Booking Fee Information
Pet Puppies
As there is a high demand for our puppies, we have a waiting list. We have a cost on this of $50, which enables us to see you are prepared to make a commitment to wait for a reasonably short period of time before we can provide a puppy for you. When a litter is born, and we let you know your puppy is in that litter, we require a $500 booking fee. As soon as we receive your booking fee, we will email you our puppy notes to help you to learn more and get ready for your new baby to come home. The booking fee is non-refundable because we would have told other puppy buyers that the puppy was unavailable, and we then had to find a suitable new home for that puppy in a shorter amount of time and we have provided you with our resources. We understand that life can be unpredictable so we are happy to apply your booking fee toward a future litter. We are also happy to apply your booking fee to a future litter if the timing of the litter doesn’t coincide with your family’s plans.
Our current Australian Cobberdog Pet Puppy prices are available on request.
Breeding Puppies.
If you would like one of our puppies as a breeding prospect, we will require a $1000 booking fee when the puppies are born to secure a puppy. The booking fee is non-refundable because we provide time and resources to those purchasing a breeding pup, and there are often higher expenses for health checks and support.
Please email us for the current price of our breeding puppies.
Stud dog Service
Our boys can provide a stud service to approved girls, and semen can be transported worldwide for artificial insemination.
Please contact us for further details and current pricing.
Still have questions – Call or email us!
All of our puppies will go home with up-to-date vaccinations and up-to-date deworming. All puppies are microchipped. They will bring home a puppy health care card showing the puppy’s growth and milestones from birth to home time, a puppy contract, a registered pedigree issued by the Master Dog Breeders and Associates, a vaccination and vet certificate, and a new puppy kit including a toy they’ve played with and smells like their mum. They will also have a 6 to 8-week free insurance policy with Petsure. They will be well-socialized with children, people and other dogs.
We are breeders who want to keep in contact with our puppies and their families after they go home. We want to make sure our puppies are living their best lives, and we are always available for any questions or help our puppy’s families require. We love to receive updates and photos so we can share the joy you will have watching your puppy grow into a well-adjusted and well-mannered adult dog.
We are just a phone call or an email away. We are experienced in raising dogs and have lots of experience and advice to offer. If you have any questions about the Great Mates Australian Cobberdog Adoption process, please call or email us.