Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about our Puppy Finding & Training Service, choosing the right puppy, training, bringing your puppy home and what to expect along the way.
Should I get a puppy?
Getting a puppy is a big commitment, so it's important to think carefully about whether a puppy will fit your lifestyle before making a decision.
Puppies need time, consistency and attention, particularly during their first few months. You'll need to consider how long the puppy will be left alone, exercise and training, holidays and childcare, ongoing costs such as food, insurance and veterinary care, and whether you're ready for a commitment that could last 10–15 years.
Our Puppy Finding & Training Service can help you choose a breed and puppy that suits your family and lifestyle, but the training doesn't finish when your puppy comes home. We'll give you the foundations and ongoing support, while you'll continue building on their training as they grow.
How old are the puppies that you work with?
For our Puppy Finding & Training Service, we usually collect puppies from their breeder at around 8–10 weeks old, once they are ready to leave their litter.
Puppies then typically live and train with us for around four weeks before joining their new family, although longer training periods can be arranged where required.
For our one-to-one training service, we can work with puppies from around 8 weeks old once they are living at home with you.
How do you select our puppy?
Once we've agreed on the right breed for your family, we'll search for suitable litters from responsible breeders and assess the information available to us, including relevant health testing, the parents and how the puppies have been raised.
When choosing an individual puppy, we consider temperament, confidence and how they interact with their littermates and environment. Where possible, we'll use photographs, videos and information from the breeder to help identify the puppy we believe is best suited to your family and lifestyle.
We'll discuss everything with you throughout the process, but the final selection is based on suitability rather than simply choosing a puppy because of colour, markings or appearance.
Can you guarantee the health of a puppy?
No breeder or puppy-finding service can guarantee that a puppy will remain free from health problems throughout its life. What we can do is take sensible steps to reduce the risk when helping you find your puppy.
We look for responsible breeders and check the relevant health testing for the breed wherever appropriate. We also consider the health of the parents, the information provided by the breeder and the conditions in which the puppies have been raised.
Once your puppy is with us, we monitor their health and wellbeing closely and arrange their routine veterinary care during their stay where required. If we have any concerns, we'll discuss them with you and seek veterinary advice.
Our aim is to help you make a well-informed choice and give your puppy the best possible start, but no one can responsibly promise that a puppy will never develop a health condition.
Can we find our puppy and bring it to you for training?
No. We don't offer residential training for puppies that families have sourced themselves. Our puppy training is provided as part of our complete Puppy Finding & Training Service, and we only take puppies that we have sourced and selected ourselves.
This allows us to be involved from the beginning, from identifying responsible breeders and checking relevant health testing through to helping select a puppy that we believe is suitable for your family and lifestyle.
If you already have a puppy or dog at home and need training support, we offer a separate one-to-one training service for local families.
How long do you keep the puppies and what training do puppies receive whilst they are with you?
Our standard Puppy Finding & Training Service includes around four weeks of training in our family home. Longer training periods can be arranged where needed, including for puppies travelling internationally.
During their stay, we focus on the foundations they'll need for everyday family life. This includes crate training, toilet training, settling calmly, basic commands such as sit, wait and come, an introduction to lead walking, and age-appropriate socialisation and everyday experiences.
Puppies live alongside us as part of the family rather than being kept in kennels, so their training is built into normal daily routines as well as dedicated training sessions.
Every puppy develops at a different rate, so we don't promise that a young puppy will leave completely trained. The aim is to establish strong foundations that you can continue building on at home, with our ongoing support after your puppy comes home.
What training methods do you use?
We use positive, reward-based training to teach puppies what we want them to do and to build good habits from an early age.
Training is kept appropriate for the puppy's age and development, using food, praise, play and repetition to reinforce the behaviours we're looking for. Because the puppies live with us in our family home, much of their training happens naturally throughout the day as part of normal routines.
We don't use harsh or punishment-based training methods. Our aim is to build confidence, encourage calm behaviour and give each puppy strong foundations that their new family can continue once they come home.
When you collect your puppy, we'll explain how we've been training them so you can continue using the same approach at home.
What do we need before collecting our puppy?
Before collection, we'll make sure you know what you'll need so your puppy's first few days at home are as straightforward as possible.
The main essentials are a suitably sized crate, food and water bowls, a collar and lead, bedding, puppy-safe toys and the food your puppy is already eating. It's also worth preparing a safe, puppy-proofed area of the home before they arrive.
We'll give you guidance before collection on the equipment we recommend, feeding, routines and how to continue the training we've started. Keeping things consistent during those first few days can make the transition into their new home much easier.
You don't need to buy everything marketed for puppies — a relatively small number of well-chosen essentials is usually enough to get started.
How long can a puppy be left alone?
Young puppies shouldn't be expected to spend long periods alone. When they first come home, they need regular toilet breaks, interaction and supervision while they adjust to their new environment and routine.
We introduce puppies to short periods of being settled independently during their time with us, including becoming comfortable in their crate. Once home, this should continue gradually rather than suddenly leaving them for several hours.
How long a puppy can comfortably be left will depend on their age, individual temperament and how accustomed they are to being alone. If you regularly need to be away from home for long periods, you'll need to consider suitable arrangements for your puppy during the day.
Building independence gradually helps a puppy learn that being left for short periods is normal and that you will return.
Still Have a Question?
Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.