Apply to Become a Guardian Home

A Guardian Home is a home who adopts a dog from a breeder. 

The dog returns for breeding 3-5 times (situation dependant). 

The breeding cycle takes a few weeks each time it is returned. After these matings, at a few years of age, the dog is theirs to keep.

A breeder needs a certain number of dogs to keep diversity in the lines. 

However, due to council regulations or home spacial requirements, we can only have usually a few located at the household. 

The purpose of breeding is to improve the breed. Any other reason is wrong. 

To improve the breed we should only be keeping the best pup from the litter to breed. Sometimes there isn’t even any great pups from the litter, and in this case none should be kept. 

Remaining pups should be sold as pets for homes with Limited Pedigree Papers. 

As a breeder, sometimes we have lineage that we have spent years tracking down and we want to preserve that line. For example, we waited 4 years for our current boy from a breeder friend. To this effect we need to breed him with one of our girls. However, due to council regulations we are only allowed 2 dogs on our property. This is where a Guardian Home comes in. 

A Guardian Home is beneficial to the breeder because we are able to preserve and use the lines still. 

Generally we would pick the best pup from each litter to use for breeding (if there are any outstanding ones) and the rest, if there are any remaining, would be sold to pet homes. Breeding is not a profitable exercise and the purpose of selling any remainders would be to attempt to recoup the costs of breeding. Remember that a stud fee alone can be several thousands of dollars per litter, as well as medical costs which can be several thousand per litter too. 

1. The dog is sent to a Guardian Home

2. The owners check the dog at 6 months to see if the dog is bleeding (like a period).

3. 6-7 months after that the dog will bleed for the second time. The day that the bleeding starts, the dog needs to come back to the breeder for some blood tests to measure where in the heat cycle the dog is.

4. The dog is taken back by the breeder for a week to get successful matings.

5. For the duration of the pregnancy, the dog is returned to the breeder, or remains with the Guardian Home (case dependant). Gestation (pregnancy period) is 63 days.The dog gives birth.

6. The dog stays with the pups for 8-10 weeks.

7. The best pup from the litter is kept by the breeder and if there are any remaining they are placed with breeder friends or sold to pet homes. Generally this is not a profit making exercise and remaining pups (notoriously small litters, often of one pup) are sold in an attempt to recoup breeding costs).

8. The dog is returned to the Guardian Home.

9. The dog will return for another breeding in 6-7 months a further 2-4 times (case dependant). But no more than twice in 18 months. In this case they will miss the heat cycle and wait for the next.

10. After the breeding program is done (3-5 litters, case dependant) the home keeps the dog.

The gene pool for Cavaliers in Australia is quite small. Cavaliers have been seen in royal portraits for a few hundred years - but only came to prominence in Australia less than 100 years ago. 

The first ANKC recognised Cavalier was imported into Australia last century.

This means that to get variance in your lines you need a wide variety of unrelated dogs. 

The purpose of breeding is to improve there breed, so to this effect variance and diversity is paramount from the ground up.

From a litter you may choose the best dog and breed that.

And then 2 years later choose the best one and breed that onward. And so on and so forth until you have acquired several dogs over a decade or so.

A pedigree document (a sort of birth certificate for dogs) has a family tree on it. 

Seeing as the gene pool is so small in Australia it can take a very long time, a lot of money, and a lot of networking to find a second dog that is completely unrelated to yours. 

Generally unrelated dogs are preferable unless you’re doing a specific type of breeding called Line Breeding. 

As breeders waiting for top and quality stock (best of the litter has to match a number of conditions), we can wait several years for a good quality dog. So they take a long time to build up, and then they compound as they are bred and eventually you’ll get the dogs you require for a quality breeding program. 

1. The guardian home keeps an eye on the bleeding, once daily from 5 months old to check when the dog has come into heat (and is therefore ready to be mated).

2. Keep open communication with the Breeder.

3. Will house, feed, and cover any expenses arising in the dog, the way that they would in any other circumstance.

4. Will desex the dog after the breeding program ends.

1. The breeder will provide the dog for the Guardian Home. 

2. The breeder will let the home know when approximately to expect bleeding and the dog to come into heat.

3. Will carry out the breeding process.

4. Will pay for all breeding expenses.

5. Will keep open communication with the home.Will forfeit the dog after the 3-5 litters (case dependant) to the home.

1. Both breeder and home fail to openly and effectively communicate.

2. When boundaries are not kept reasonable (both sides).

3. If the breeder fails to remind the home to check for bleeding.

4. If the home forgets to report the bleeding.

5. If the home or the breeder isn’t returning correspondence.

Both parties sign an agreement which dictates the specific terms, however, normally this is grounds for repossession. 

The Guardian Home should essentially adopt the dog like any other circumstance.

Sometimes there is an adoption fee; it's determined on a case by case basis.

The Guardian Home should be prepared to pay for general food, vet and housing bills.

The Breeder will pay for any breeding costs.