We feel that giving out puppies the very best start in life, puts them on the road to living their very best lives. Our puppies are given the finest care. Their parents are fed homemade food that includes baked chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, oatmeal, rice, and blueberries, so even in gestation, our puppies little cells are getting the best nutrition. Our adults and puppies are also given a tablespoon of Plain Greek yogurt mixed with ground pumpkin seed every day. The yogurt is good for dental health and provides Probiotics while the pumpkin seeds are high in zinc and are a natural dewormer (although we also regularly worm our dogs and puppies).

All of our dogs are loved beyond words. They are our family. My two sons and I are home almost all the time with our little pack, playing with them, giving belly rubs, and just hanging out. We enjoy going on long walks with them around our neighborhood, and we love taking them with us on family outings up to Sedona, Prescott, Cave Creek, ect. Bringing our fur family makes everything so much more special and fun.

Our puppies come into this world surrounded by love. We have relaxing Enya music playing softly in the background, and our family is a team of experienced birthing attendants that give our birthing mamas 100% of our attention throughout their entire labor. Each puppy is such a blessing and we make certain that mama and puppies have everything they need.

For the first twenty-one days of our puppies lives we have someone “on watch” at all times. It is very easy for mama to lie on one of her newborns and suffocate it accidentally. The first three weeks of a new litter are exhausting for us, but we love it. Our family is a united team and I couldn’t do it without my guys.

At three weeks, our puppies are ready to explore their world. There is always one little adventurer that starts crawling out of the newborn tent, so we set up the puppy playpen equipped with a potty pad litter pan, a soft comforter that is washed regularly, and some toys. Right away the puppies get the idea of going potty in their litter pan, but we start taking them out in the soft, green grass throughout the day, as well. Their playpen has a doggy door on it, so they start getting the idea of going in and out of their door pretty early on. Before long, mama has taught them how to go in and out of the House Doggy door. Potty training is a natural step for our puppies.

At four weeks, they start on a loose mixture of yogurt, ground pumpkin seed and Gerbers baby oatmeal. In increments during the coming weeks, I grind up some of their puppy food and add that to their oatmeal mixture. They are slowly phased off of the mixture until they are comfortably eating their kibble. (Nutri Source).

I have done a lot of research on store brand dog foods, and I will be honest… they stress me out! There are so many recalls and I personally have a friend who lost her dog due to that batch of bad food that came out of China a few years back. I hate giving my dogs kibble, but I do still give it to them. Making their homemade food just helps me ensure that they are getting some REAL protein and vegetables. Plus, they LOVE it! The best brand of store bought food that I have found and can afford is Nutri Source. It has never been recalled and has been rated better than Royal Cane and Blue Buffalo. It is also made right here in the United States. The small and medium breed puppy food has very small sized kibbles that are perfect for tiny mouths. Good nutrition is key to good health, so it’s best not to skimp when it comes to which brand of dog food to serve.

Our puppies are given an abundance of love and attention. They are played with throughout the day and held in the evenings. We work with them on their basic commands of sit, stay, lie down, and come. If they are with us long enough, we start leash training. The more time and energy that is put into a puppy, the better dog it will be. We want our puppies to have the very best lives ever, so we do all that we can to give them the very best start in life.

Letting go of our puppies is never easy. We become completely attached to each and every one. They all have their own distinct, sweet-loving personalities and every single puppy finds a permanent home in each of our hearts. I wish we could keep every single puppy, but in order to give the best lives to our adult dogs, that is just not possible. I don’t want my dogs in kennels, or outside all day. They are a part of our family, and so, in order to ensure that our pack gets the most from us, we all understand that we have to let our puppies bless some other family’s life. We have standards that must be met, but I don’t post a questioner for prospective owners to fill out. I feel that talking with and getting to know those that are interested in our puppies works best for me. Even after getting a very clear view of what type of home and family our puppy is going into, and feeling comfortable and confident that out little fur baby is going to have a fantastic life, I admit… after the smiling goodbyes are made, there are tears and great heartache. I fret and worry and pray that the new family will love that sweet puppy as much as I did. It is excruciating. It feels very unprofessional admitting that, but it’s the truth. I love and care for every puppy as if it were my own flesh and blood child, and if ever a day came where it didn’t crush me to let a puppy go, I don’t think it would be worth doing because raising these puppies and giving them the best start in life is all about love. There is nothing in the world more pure than the love of a dog, and thinking of the joy that the puppies have brought me, my family, AND their new families, helps the heartache ease once I hear how well our little baby is doing. It feels so amazing to hear how head over heels in love the wonderful new owners are with their new best friend, and to know that we gave that little puppy the best start in life that we could.

We only plan a couple litters a year because we put our all into each puppy. The money that we receive goes towards my sons’ college education fund. Erik will be starting at Grand Canyon University next Fall studying his passion…Computer Science. Evan has a couple years of high school left, but will be attending GCU when the time comes.

My little nephews made our dogs some Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats.  They also added 3 tsp. of Saffron oil to help preserve the treats for a little longer (not that they lasted very long).  haha  Our pack loved them!

With this litter of pups, we still have the puppy pen set up according to the Misty Method, with the sleep area, feeding and play area, and potty area all separated, however, we have incorporated a litter box over the papers section this time around. (The puppies naturally want to keep their sleep and feeding area clean.)  They instinctively head over to the potty area to do their business.  Occasionally, they don’t get their back feet all the way in the box and will get some potty on the paper, but that is rare.  We take our puppies outside every couple hours from the time we wake in the morning, until bedtime, so they don’t potty inside that often.  If they need to go, they whimper and we take them out.   They prefer to do their business outside. This method makes potty training a very natural and easy process.  During the night, I was getting up every 3 to 4 hours to let the puppies out, so there was minimal mess in the litter box, however, this past week, (starting at 7 weeks of age) I have not gotten up with them every time they whimper.  Once they realize I am not getting up, they stop whimpering and potty in their litter box.  I am happy to say that it is very easy to clean, and I am really impressed with how well this has worked out for us.  The Misty Method basically allows puppies to potty train themselves.