Letter to Prospective Buyers

Dear Prospective Buyer:

Here at Blindfaith Retrievers, we work hard to produce quality puppies. We are careful to plan a breeding that guarantees the best in health, temperament and ability and we are proud to have bred our females to some of the finest Field Trial Champions and Master Hunters in the country. One of the things that sets us apart from many breeders is that our females aren’t just “brood bitches”. Our girls all do the work and most are highly titled.

Our whelping area is second to none in design and cleanliness. The whelping box is 4′ by 5′ with “pig railings” which keep a female from rolling over on the pups and accidentally suffocating one or more. The sides are adjustable, allowing the female to come and go without harming herself, while keeping the puppies safely confined to the box.

The whelping box is cleaned several times daily until the puppies are given free access to the whole whelping pen; then it is cleaned daily as needed. The pen has a concrete floor which is lined with newspapers and a secondary layer of shredded newspapers which helps keep the puppies clean. When they are four weeks old, this is replaced with a thick layer of pine shavings. We have found that this seems to make the chore of housebreaking easier since it has a similar feel to the ground outdoors.

At three weeks of age we begin introducing the pups to solid food in the form of a gruel made from ground Pro Plan  puppy food and warm water. We begin with one feeding per day. As the puppies grow and we continue the weaning process, we increase this to two feedings per day, then three. Ultimately we feed the puppies individually in specially built “puppy stalls” which allow us to call them all to their meal but keeps them separated while they eat.

We weigh the puppies every two days to chart their growth until they reach two to three weeks of age. Then we weigh them twice a week until they are seven weeks old and are ready to leave. This allows us to intervene if a puppy is not getting his share or is not eating well for some reason. We will bottle feed if necessary to supplement a pup’s nutrition. This also gives us the information necessary to increase the amount of food according to the puppies’ rate of growth.

We use feeding time to teach the puppies to come to whistle and voice. We also take advantage of it as a time to introduce them to duck and goose calls, loud noises and gun fire. As a result, our pups make a positive association with all of these things and do not startle easily.

At five weeks of age they are completely weaned. At this time, we open the whelping pen up to give them access to a 10′ by 12′ play area. The floor is covered in pine shavings and there are a number of toys to play with or around. There is a large fiberglass tube which they learn to go through and a Little Tykes playground set for them to climb on.

We spend plenty of time socializing our puppies. Friends, relatives and prospective buyers are welcome at any time to come play with the puppies and, as a result, they are outgoing and responsive. We introduce the pups to basic retrieving with dummies, pigeons and ducks when they are 5-6 weeks old.

Our pups are seen by our vet, Dr. Brad Cooper of East Lake Hospital for Animals,  when they are three days old to have their dewclaws removed. They are checked twice or more for worms and parasites before they are 5 weeks old (if the litter is positive for infection they will have completed treatment at 7 weeks before they go to their new homes); they receive their first shots at 6 weeks and are again checked for any concerns.

New owners pick up their puppies at 7 weeks of age. We provide a week’s worth of Pro Plan Large Breed Growth formula, a “puppy packet” which provides information and pictures, our guarantee and registration papers.

We are always glad to hear from our buyers and do our best to provide any support or advice that may be needed.

A deposit, usually $200, is required to reserve a puppy. The deposit is nonrefundable as long as we have a normal, healthy puppy of the type reserved  to provide the client.

Sincerely,

Bill and Marcia Butikas