Guardian Families

Our current Guardian OpportunitIes

Our Guardian Family Program is how we ensure that all of our mamas and papas are loved members of a family where they get completely spoiled with love and attention - FOREVER! Since we are not a kennel and do not want to be, we can only having so many dogs in our house before we run out of room on our couch and bed! This is where our wonderful guardians come along!

Guardian home families receive a top-quality puppy at no cost to you. Our puppies will become part of our guardian's forever family. While the puppy resides with your family we will retain breeding rights and they will become a future mama/papa in our program once they are old enough and health testing is completed.

Our guardian families are responsible for the regular vet, grooming, and feeding costs just as they would with any other dog. We offer free grooming for the dog while they are part of our program as long as we are available, you can pick up/drop off at our home, and they are mat free! When we are available and able to, we are also more than happy to watch our guardian dogs when their families leave for vacations. We will cover all costs relating to breeding such as health testing, reproductive testing, whelping, etc.

If for any reason we decide not to have the dog become a mama or papa in our program, then the guardian family will be required to spay/neuter the dog and they will remain your family pet. Dogs that are used in our program will be spayed/neutered at our expense once they retire from our program and then remain in the care of the guardian family. You must live within 3 hours of Syracuse, Indiana. If you live over 30 minutes away, you must be willing to drive to meet us. 

What is a Guardian Family?

Male Guardian Pups

Female Guardian Pups

Choose an option for more info

How it Works

Grooming

We require that you have no unaltered dogs in your home. All other dogs that live in your home, both male and female, must be spayed or neutered. 

Family

Fencing

We only consider families that live within 2 hours of Syracuse, IN (46567) for guardian placements. If you live farther than 30 minutes from us, you must be willing to meet partway. We do prefer that all male guardian homes live within 30 minutes of us. You must plan on staying in the area for the next 5+ years. 

Location

Our requirements for Guardians

We require that you keep the dog well-groomed. Brushing must be maintained to prevent coat matting! You can bring the dog to a groomer of your choice at your expense, or bring the dog to us to be groomed for free. We will not continue to offer grooming if the dog is consistently brought to us with matting - we are not professional groomers trained to handle matting. 

We require that you have a way to keep the dog safe inside your yard. Preferably a physical or invisible fence, however, other options can be discussed. If you do not have a physical fence, you will need to go outside with female guardian dogs when they are in their heat cycles to prevent stray dogs from entering your yard, or alternatively you may bring them to stay with us during their cycle. 

We require that you are consistent and committed to training with the dog. We will enroll you in up to 4 training classes at no charge. You must bring the puppy to each class and continue to work on the training skills they teach you at home as well. Training is super important for any dog, but especially a dog in our program! At the end of their classes, they will take and must pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test! If you wish to continue beyond this point and earn therapy dog certification, we will support you in doing so!

Training

Let's Get started

Ready to join The Doodle Cove family as a guardian home?

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Female Guardian Pups

Most of our guardian dogs will be females. All of our females must be fully health tested to clear them for breeding. This involves a few vet appointments for hip and elbow x-rays, cardiac and patella physical exams, and eye exams. These appointments will typically take place between 12-14 months old, however we may decide to do them as soon as 4 months old. When we schedule an appointment, we will let you know when and arrange a time to pick them up and drop them back off. 

She will not be bred until at least her second heat cycle - typically around 18/24 months old. During this time before she comes of breeding age, we ask for regular updates and photos as well as occasional visits to maintain a relationship with her. It is important for the guardian family to take precautions to prevent unintentional breeding with any neighbor dogs during any of her heat cycles. The guardian family must notify us immediately when she goes into heat.

Once she begins a heat cycle that we plan to breed her on, we will set up an arrangement for progesterone testing and breeding to take place. Typically she will remain with you during this time and we will just pick her up for quick vet visits, but occasionally we may decide that it is in her best interest to stay with us for a few day until the breeding is complete.

After being bred she will remain with you throughout most of her pregnancy except for any needed prenatal vet appointments such as pregnancy confirmation. Around the last week of her pregnancy, we will have her come to our house to prepare for whelping and get comfortable. She will remain with us until the puppies are ready to go home and then will return home to you! After 1-4 litters depending on how she does/enjoys being a mama, we will have her spayed and she will remain as your family pet. 

Male Guardian Pups

Occasionally, we will have a male puppy to place in a guardian home. All of our males must be fully health tested to clear them for breeding. This involves a few vet appointments for hip and elbow x-rays, cardiac and patella physical exams, and eye exams. These appointments will typically take place between 12-14 months old, however we may decide to do them as soon as 4 months old. When we schedule an appointment, we will let you know when and arrange a time to pick them up and drop them back off. 

He will not be bred until he reaches maturity, typically around a year old. During this time before he comes of breeding age, we ask for regular updates and photos as well as occasional visits to maintain a relationship with him. It is important for the guardian family to take precautions to prevent unintentional breeding with any neighbor dogs.

Once of breeding age, we will notify you as soon as one of our females goes into heat to give you a heads up on an estimated date that we will need to breed him. Once our female is ready for breeding, we will pick him our and bring him to our house or the vet depending on the individual dogs and what they would be most comfortable with. After the breeding he will return home to you. Depending on the situation, we may do an addition breeding within the following day or two. Occasionally we may have breedings that need to happen last minute with very little notice. Once we determine that we want to retire him from our program, we will have him neutered and he will remain as your family pet.

Unaltered males may decide to mark places if they are untrained. It is important to ensure he is well trained, and be aware that marking could be a possibility that would require corrections/additional training to stop. 

You fly to us

We can meet you at South Bend International or Fort Wayne International airports for free. 
OR 
We can meet you at Indianapolis International, O’Hare International, or Midway International airports for $200.


The airline will charge you a pet fee (usually around $100). You will need to call the airline to add your pet to your ticket and then check in at the desk once you have puppy. On your way home, puppy will lay in their carrier under the seat in front of you!


You can also hire an outside flight nanny to fly to us for you, however, we will not be responsible for arranging the travel or any damages/accidents that happen after puppy is in the flight nanny's care. 

It is important to not let puppy down on the airport floor where they can pick up viruses and parasites! Bring a pop-up travel playpen to let puppy play before takeoff or during layovers. You can also put potty pads in it to let them potty while at the airport (do NOT let them use the airport dog potty areas!)

Travel Playpen

Travel Carrier

We fly to you

We can personally fly your puppy to an airport near you for $850 (Unless the price of the ticket and pet fee exceeds this at which point it would be handled on a case by case basis.) This cost will be due when your puppy is 3 weeks old so that we have time to make travel arrangements. Due to the nature of airline cancelation policies, this fee is non-refundable for any reason. You must be flexible on days, times, and airports while we work to get each puppy home!

yes, i offer videography services as well. reach out to learn more.

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