Thinking about becoming a Guardian

[BoomBoom]

I'm thinking of becoming a  Guardian for a local breeder. I was excited about it but the more I think about it the more nervous I get to actually do it. I know I will be a good Guardian mommy, but the thought of taking care of someone else's dog until she finally becomes mine completely scares me a little. Any one out there have good or bad experiences being a Guardian? I'm just trying to decide if  I really want to do this. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I thought about becoming a guardian but I decided against it. Too many rules and requirements for me. But ther is a group for guardian families:
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/guardianfamilies

[BoomBoom]

Thank you :) 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Me too, plus I knew it would be really difficult for me to send the dog back to the breeder to have (and raise) her puppies each time.  The guardian situation I was considering involved a female.  I know it works well for some though.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In addition to the reasons given by F and Jane, I also would not do this because I just don't want to have to live with an intact dog of either sex for several years. 

[BoomBoom]

Thanks ladies.

[Jennifer Tramell]

I have considered this and am not opposed to the prospect.  I look at it more sharing a dog rather than caring for someone else's dog.  My main consideration would be: are the requirements in keeping with how I would normally take care of a dog? 

If I'm fine with the specified requirements, my next question would be regarding gender.  Personally, I have no problem caring for an intact male.  I grew up with them and even now know many close friends and families who are very responsible pet owners with intact males.  I dogsit for many of them, including my breeder's stud dog.  To me, a well mannered intact male is no different than a well-mannered neutered male.

Caring for a female could be a little more of a hassle, but it's a twice a year hassle.  The negative is that you probably would miss your dog while she is having/raising puppies, but you would probably get to visit and get some puppy kisses (that would be a requirement for me - being able to visit my dog during the puppy time).

If I respected the breeder and had confidence in them and their dogs, being a guardian could be an economical way to get an excellent pet. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have been a guardian for Lyric, one of my three doodles and I OWN her--she does not belong to the breeder, but the breeder has a right to breed the female several times if she passes her health tests--most breeders would consider the dog to be YOUR dog, but will some strings attached. There should be a contract that you can look over before you make a decision. There are not that many requirements and many of them are good for the dog's health and should be done anyway. (like feeding high quality food for example.) You also get a gorgeous pick of the litter dog and there should be a reduced price--some breeders also return your money in portions as the pup has litters. OR the dog is originally free--

Yes, it is hard to have them leave for 8 weeks, but I was lucky in that I was retired and able to raise the litters here in my home (the breeder paid me for the work after the first litter when I proved I could do it!) But if you live close enough, you can visit and it is fun to see your dog transformed by mommy-hood.

I also kept one of Lyric's sons and he was intact and in a guardian contract for a few years--he is neutered now. That was fine too.

[Diane and Alma]

You inspire me.

[Traz, Karen & Dale]

We are a guardian family to Traz, a male Labradoodle.  My friend is the breeder.  When I talked about the requirements with my friend, it was a bit overwhelming.  Our first thought was a female, but then when she told us about the "puppy" thing, we decided that would be more than we wanted to handle.  Plus, having a pregnant female around for 3 litters within 5 years, didn't sound like a lot of fun.  We decided to accept a male.  Neutered or intact aside, you need to decide if you want the responsibilities of a puppy.  We have taken Traz to group training classes; beginning, intermediate and advanced..and he also passed his Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test.  All of these classes definitely helped all of us.  Traz has a great temperament and pretty well behaved, especially for his 1 year old age.  He still has his puppy moments when he gets bored, but all in all we are very proud of our boy.  The two "cons" of having an intact male are protecting him from other dogs and finding boarding for him if you want to go on vacation without him.  We stopped going to dog parks because he was attacked a couple of time.  Traz was not the aggressor, so we think it was because the other dog knew he was intact because he smelled the testosterone.  On one occasion, my husband was bitten trying to grab the collar of the dog to pull him away from our dog.  The 2nd "con" of boarding was a challenge.  Most places will not accept an intact dog OR if they do, the dog is isolated from other dogs.  Thankfully, we found a place that accepted Traz and he is able to interact with his doggy friends.  His daycare also has a lady that house/pet sits, so she will be watching him when we leave for a cruise this Saturday.  Good luck with your decision.  

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

I have a guardian girl, Maggie.  She is an absolute sweetheart.  She is my second doodle.  Bexter is my little male doodle that was about one year old when we got Maggie, who was also one.  They are both two now.  They get along great.  I think having Bexter also is good because when Maggie left to have her puppies, we still had him here at least.  I had all the same concerns that you do.  I think it really depends on the breeder.  For me, being a guardian is a perfect situation really.  We wanted a second doodle, but couldn't afford the cost of buying another from a breeder.  This way, we were able to get a health-tested dog with  EXCELLENT temperament for free (of course, taking care of her is certainly not free!)  I was at first paranoid about if I would get sued if something were to happen to her.  Also, at first my breeder wanted me to feed her a certain food (which was different from what I was feeding Bexter).  We started doing that, and then when my breeder did some research and of course got to feel more comfortable and trusting of me, allowed me to switch to Bexter's food.  I raise Maggie completely the way I do Bexter.  I certainly don't feel like I'm raising her dog - I feel like Maggie is MY dog, and my breeder seems to respect that completely as well.  Dealing with heats was something I was not used to, but with the help of doggy diapers, it is manageable.  And since she is gone much of the heat time anyway, I don't really have to deal with it that long.  When she left to have her puppies, we missed her a lot (especially my 7 year-old who is extremely close to Maggie), but our breeder allows us to visit as often as we like.  It was really fun to see the puppies too.  My breeder even will let me be there on puppy-pick day and when they go home with their new families.  It is neat feeling a part of something that makes people so happy.  I won't lie though - I will be happy when Maggie is done, spayed, and can just be our pet forever.  She is awesome and I wouldn't trade her for anything!  Good luck!