QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR PUPPIES

1. DO YOU HAVE ANY PUPPIES AVAILABLE? We rarely have any puppies "available." Please read below to learn more about our process, including how to join our interest list and waitlist. 
2. HOW MUCH ARE YOUR PUPPIES? Our puppies are not inexpensive. We strive to breed only the highest quality Cavaliers. All of our breeding parents live in our homes, have extensive DNA testing and all recommended testing for heart, hips, eyes and patella. Puppies are priced based on the lineage of the parents, colors and more. Prices begin at $4300 unless otherwise stated in the litter announcement. 
3. CAN I PUT DOWN A DEPOSIT? Our deposit fee is $500; however, we only accept deposits from families who have applications in place and have confirmed a desire to purchase a puppy from a specific litter. We don't recommend deposits from families who are on multiple waitlists or who have a desire for an immediate puppy. Please read more below about our process. 
4. HOW OLD ARE YOUR PUPPIES WHEN THEY COME HOME? We never release puppies prior to eight (8) weeks but we strongly suggest puppies stay with mom an additional week, as needed. If a puppy is underweight or shows any signs of illness, they will remain with us until the vet advises it is safe for them to move to their new home. We post a "Going Home" date within the first few weeks of the litter's birth.
5. AM I ALLOWED TO CHOOSE MY PUPPY IN PERSON? Absolutely. Read more about our selection process below. 
6. DO YOU SELL DOGS WITH BREEDING RIGHTS? The majority of our puppies are not sold with breeding rights. If you are interested in breeding rights, please send us an email. Please also learn more about our Breeding Mentor Program if you are not currently breeding. ​
7. ARE YOUR DOGS AKC REGISTERED? Absolutely. All of our breeding pairs are AKC or EKC (European Kennel Club) registered purebreds. We will gladly provide pedigree copies to anyone who is on our interest list. We do not post these publicly as scammers steal them and use them to defraud others.
8. DO YOU SHIP YOUR PUPPIES? Yes, we ship our puppies in the United States using an in-cabin flight nanny. We do not ship our puppies in cargo. Prices for shipping a puppy vary based on location and dates but you can expect to pay approximately $900 (and up) for this service. Of course, we can also assist you in traveling to and from beautiful Charleston to pick up your puppy. 

QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR PROCESS

1. HOW CAN I PURCHASE A PUPPY? We rarely have available puppies. Seriously, almost never. If you are interested in one of our puppies, we suggest you join our interest list. You can join an interest list by emailing us and including your contact information (phone and location) and any other details you want us to know. There is no cost to join an interest list. Once you are on the list you will receive emails about upcoming litters or other relevant information related to our program. If at any time you wish to be removed from the interest list you may simply respond "remove." 
2. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN INTEREST LIST AND A WAITLIST? Those on the interest list are under no obligation to purchase a puppy from us. Once a pregnancy has been confirmed, we will offer a limited number of spots to those on the interest list (in order) to join an official waitlist. To be placed on the waitlist you will be asked to complete an online application and participate in a brief phone interview regarding your puppy preferences and lifestyle. Once approved, you must place a $500 non-refundable deposit when you select a puppy. We do not suggest joining the specific litter waitlist unless you are 100% confident you wish to purchase a puppy from our program.   
3. I'M ON THE WAITLIST, NOW WHAT? Congrats, you are now an approved home who has confirmed they wish to purchase a puppy from our program. Our waitlists are created when a breeding is confirmed. We don't allow more than four (4) people on any specific waitlist to avoid disappointment when litters are small. Placement on this list requires a $500 non-refundable deposit. While the deposit is not refundable, you do have several choices:
   1. You may choose a puppy from the litter and the $500 is applied towards the purchase price. 
   2. You may pass on a puppy from the litter and use the $500 to be placed on an alternate (future) waitlist. 
   3. You may sell / transfer your deposit to another family who has been approved from our interest list (we will help put you in touch). If you choose to do so (perhaps you found a puppy through rescue or another breeder), it can only be transferred to a family we have approved and for the actual amount of your deposit (i.e. you can not auction off or sell your deposit to the highest bidder). Please note that only your deposit is transferrable, not your place on the interest list.
4. WHY IS THE DEPOSIT NON-REFUNDABLE? By the time you have placed a deposit with us, we have invested significant time in updating you, assisting you with breed and puppy selection and conducting multiple interviews to help match you with the perfect puppy. This deposit represents the value of our time. Please understand that we can not make exceptions to our deposit policy. We've provided the option to transfer your place in line to another approved family but we can't not bear the time, expense and hassle of refunds because you have found another puppy or changed your mind. Please consider this before moving from the free interest list to the paid waitlist.
5. WHEN WILL YOU SEND ME THE PEDIGREE AND TESTING INFORMATION FOR A LITTER? All information on our breeding parents is available on our landing page on Good Dog. Please look under " Moms & Dads" on the left side of the page. From there, you can choose the parent dog to view records for. You can find our GoodDog page here. 
6. WHEN WILL WE HEAR FROM YOU? We email everyone on the interest list when a pregnancy and number of puppies are confirmed and when the puppies are born. Those who have moved to our waitlist will get more specific information related to choosing their future puppy.
7. WHEN CAN I CHOOSE MY PUPPY? We do not guarantee placement of any puppies until they are thriving (4 weeks old). We allow families with a deposit in place to choose their puppies around 6 weeks old. You are welcome to choose your puppy in person (based on the location of mom at that time), by FaceTime or other live video mechanism or by email with our assistance. 
8. WHEN WILL I GET MY PUPPY? Puppies do not go home until they are between 8-9 weeks old. We do not hold puppies beyond 9 1/2 weeks for boarding or training, as we feel the puppy is best suited to acclimate to your family and your environment. If you are unable to accept your puppy by 9 1/2 weeks we will gladly transfer your deposit to the next available litter of your choice. The "Going Home Date" is always announced by week 4.
9. WHAT IF I DON'T GET A PUPPY? We've worked hard to devise a process that is fair to everyone but not everything is within our control. Sometimes sonograms don't correctly report the puppy count, unfortunately some puppies will not survive and sometimes there simply isn't the puppy you were hoping for in this litter (it never fails when everyone wants a female we will have a full litter of males). Please know that if you do not get a puppy from the litter after being placed on the waitlist, we will give you the option to roll over to the waitlist for our next litter or sell your deposit to another person who is in line behind you. We also work closely with several breeding partners and try to make sure everyone gets matched with their perfect puppy, even if it isn't one of ours. 
10. WILL I BE ABLE TO MEET THE PUPPY AND PARENTS? Absolutely. All approved homes with deposits in place are invited to meet the puppies and parents before and during the puppy selection process (although there is no obligation to do so and we can Facetime / Zoom for our out-of-state families). We cannot allow meeting of the puppies until they are thriving and weaning from mom. Please note that the meeting place will depend on the litter, as our parents often live in guardian homes throughout the Charleston area. You will meet the mother and puppies in their home to see their environment, our enrichment programs and how they are raised. Lastly, please expect to remove your shoes, sanitize your hands and take other precautions to help protect the puppies from illness.      

QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR PROGRAM & PROMISES

We never make a promise we can't keep. Here is our commitment to our clients, our community and most importantly to our beautiful canine companions: 

1. We DNA test every dog that we breed. Every prospective parent is provided a copy of this testing before placing a deposit. 
2. We DO NOT breed "at risk" dogs. It's not enough to run the DNA tests, a reputable breeder also has to rely on them when making tough decisions. We don't hide DNA results that we don't like and attempt to convince customers that there is little to no chance their dog will develop the disease. Instead, we simply never sell a dog that is at risk for a known genetic condition with the exception of IVDD (please read the related blog post). When shopping for your next puppy, please make sure to ask for and review the DNA of the breeding parents to make sure you aren't supporting a breeder who is knowingly putting a puppy at risk for a future genetic defect that they know will not occur until long after their health warranty has expired.   
3. We don't overbreed our dogs. Did you know it's possible for a female dog to have up to 18-30 litters in a lifetime? This is how puppy mills make a fortune from a single female. We don't allow our female dogs to have more than four litters during their lives. Many have less. The decision on how many times to breed a female dog is based on how well the dog responds to whelping and raising her pups, the recommendation of our canine reproductive specialist and the feelings of the home where that dog resides. We don't breed simply because we have a waitlist for a certain type of puppy; however, we won't breed if we don't have a waitlist because we aren't interested in breeding more puppies than we have loving homes. 
4. Every parent dog lives with a loving family. We are a large family and we all have dogs in this program; however, none of us has more than two dogs in the household as these are our family pets. When we ran out of space in our own homes, we started using well chosen and heavily screened Guardian Homes to provide our dogs with the life they deserve. Our dogs do not live in runs, kennels or cages and all puppies are socialized right here in our own homes. 
5. Our dogs do not end up in shelters. Part of working with our program is signing a contract that states that you will never allow one of our dogs to end up in a shelter. We volunteer in our local shelters to get dogs out - we do not want to be responsible for one going in. Lives change, circumstances change and dogs change. If you have a puppy or dog from our program that you can not keep - for any reason at all - you simply call and we will handle getting the dog back to us. This includes our senior clients who are concerned about passing before their pup - no more worries, as we will help you with an estate plan that leaves the dog back to our care so that you can live worry free that he/she will always be well loved. 
6. Our dogs are properly socialized.  We blend the best of the Puppy Culture, AKC Canine College and Avidog programs. You can also rest assured that both our breeding dogs and puppies are regularly exposed to children, other dogs, cats and household noises. 

MORE QUESTIONS?

HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? Prospective owners have lots of questions and we are happy to answer them. Please make sure to read and search our blog as we've shared lots of information on this breed, our breeding parents and more. You can also find additional information on our social media pages where we create albums with information about our parents. Still can't find what you're looking for? Send us an email at [email protected].