Puppy Adoption Day
It's arrived! It's finally time to bring your puppy home. We want you feeling prepared and confident about this exciting day. So, here is the best process to follow to make sure your adoption day goes smoothly.
1 day prior to visit
Please text BOTH 209-217-7116 & 209-273-8881 to confirm you will be coming the next day and an approximate time. We will message you back. If you don’t hear from us, please follow up with another text message to ensure we will be home and ready for you and your family.
NOTE: Due to poor cell coverage in the mountains it can take a while for messages to reach our phones. In most cases we get them immediately. However, don’t feel bad about texting us again if you don’t hear from us.
Day of Visit
Two to three hours before your visit: Please text BOTH 209-217-7116 & 209-273-8881 in the same message between two and three hours before your arrival. Things can happen day to day so we like to have this “day of” message so we can make sure any of our last minute errands have been completed and have plenty of time to make it home for you.
30 minutes prior to arrival: Please text those numbers again to let us know you are 30 minutes away. This is typically when you reach Jackson, CA. We love having this last message to double check the gates are open, parking space is available and our doodles are secured. Our address for pickup is listed in our passworded Depositor Portal. You will receive this password once your application is accepted and deposit is received.
While you are here: Remember when you are here your phone probably won’t work. If you need to let someone know where you are, please give them my cell number. I can also provide you with our home number upon request. If you do give our number out, please let us know to ensure we answer incoming calls.
Clothing & considerations before visiting
You are visiting a dog breeder with dogs. There will be excited doodles ready to put their happy paws on your nice white pants so please wear rugged, durable, comfortable clothing that you won’t mind pee, poop, or dirt stains on. Please wear laundered clothing that hasn’t been around sick or injured animals prior to your visit. Please wear comfortable closed toe shoes (athletic shoes are best). Essentially, we live in the forest with rocks, tree limbs and other wonderful things from nature. It’s imperative that your family dresses for safety and pays attention to where they walk. It's essential you and your family do not climb over the rocks to get into our grass area. Please use the steps to come into our grass area and stay away from any tools or machinery.
Arriving Safely
Deer Car Whistles are a great idea for driving in deer teRRitory
The drive up to Pioneer is beautiful and picturesque with towering pine trees and many breathtaking views. However, lurking behind the trees are darting deer just ready to prance into your lane on the road. Please be aware if you see one deer there is likely more to come from either side of the road. Being alert and on guard is ninety percent of the battle. We all have deer whistles on our vehicles. They are under ten dollars and a great thing to have on your vehicle that can be bought online or a local auto parts store. We want you to be safe and have a wonderfully enjoyable ride here and home.
What to Bring
Travel Carrier - We recommend a wired, powder coated crate that has two doors and folds together for easy storage. In most cases we do have additional crates for forty to fifty dollars, depending on our cost, we only ask for reimbursement or we do provide crates with our full service puppy package.
Water & Bowl - We do have water bottles that we can send you home with in case you forget. Next, we recommend the soft water/food bowls for travel; however, a small cup works just fine too.
Towel or Blanket - We will provide you with Mom's scented blanket but some additional towels or a blanket is a good idea for the ride home.
10 to 12 inch Collar - Your puppy will be microchipped with a tag for their collar. This tag has an eight hundred number to call if your puppy gets lost. We've only had one puppy escape their family on the first day. The good news is she was found in less than 2 hours because she had a collar and tag on. We never plan to have our puppy stroll away but having identification from day one is so important just in case.
Additional Person to Hold Your Puppy - It's your puppies first day with you and they are going to want to meet you and be with you. Yes, they can ride in a crate that is belted in but they would much rather sit with you and snuggle.
Full payment is required when you select your puppy. If your final payment is cash we allow credit card payment that we credit back when cash is received. We accept all major credit cards through our website, Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay, most Cryptocurrencies or Cash App. We do not accept personal or business checks for the final balance on pick-up day. If you prefer to pay with check please make payment arrangements prior to final visit so the funds can clear before pick-up. Please be aware that there will be a 3% fee for using credit cards that is charged by Stripe our processor. We no longer accept PayPal.
What Comes with Your Puppy?
About Our Puppies
Your puppy will be low to non-shedding and low to no dander. They will already have their first round of shots and be micro-chipped with the life-time membership paid by Sugar Pine Labradoodles. All puppies are de-wormed & parasite-free (if you do have a positive poop test we will reimburse the medication and poop test). They come with a Fur-Code collar tag for easy identification if your doodle is lost, and come with a genetic health guarantee spanning from two years to eight years dependent on certain qualifications being met.
Some puppies we de-sex, provide basic puppy manners training, and we can hold your puppy longer for special situations for a nominal fee. We crate train your puppy, socialize them with children including neighborhood children and visiting children plus many family and friends, we groom them on a regular basis, brush their teeth and clip their nails. Your puppy will be handled and nurtured from day one. We have full time staff that adheres to a strict schedule of human interaction and contact. From an early age we tug on their ears and tails, take their food away, put our fingers in their mouths, and touch their paws to help prepare them for the "real" world. We do daily activities to help them learn to adjust to fearful situations too. Puppies are exposed to numerous sounds from birth including sirens, laughter, car engine sounds and honking,, numerous kitchen and laundry room appliances, crying-screaming babies, vacuum, blow dryers, electric garage door, knocking and doorbells, large group chatter and loud startling sounds. We work closely with our Vet to ensure healthy, well adjusted, amazing pets. Many of our past puppies have gone to families with very bad allergies*.
Photos
We welcome you taking photos of your experience here at Sugar Pine Doodles. Please bring your camera or cellphone and take as many photos as you like. Please be aware that we do not have good cellphone reception, but you can always use our internet password.
Small Children & Puppies
Do we allow small children to visit our puppies? Yes, we do. We've had many visitors come meet our puppies and even handle them. We just ask that your children keep our puppies and possibly your future puppy safe.
What does this mean? It's essential that visiting children are supervised by you, they sit while holding puppies, they are gentle and they listen and understand their parents. Plus, it's essential that all children visiting are safe. We have ongoing projects so it's not safe for children to explore our property, run through the rock areas, play near the rock edges on the grass or climb on things. As long as your visiting children understand it's for their protection and they listen we love having them visit too.
Puppies love to run and play. Part of this running and playing is nipping and running off hoping they will get chased in return. It's very normal for a puppy to do this because this is how puppies play all day with each other. Part of puppy training as a puppy grows and develops is to train a puppy to not behave this way with children. Please explain to your visiting children that a puppy chasing and nipping will essentially stop once they stop running. The simple process of running can make a puppy excited and ready to follow and play. For this reason we do not want children running around the yard and we prefer they wear long clothing covering their legs incase a puppy nips them. Tiny puppy teeth are sharp and can hurt on bare, uncovered skin. We can say that all children love visiting and playing with our puppies and are over the moon when it's time to take their new puppy home. Starting good manners with puppies builds confidence and a lifelong, healthy relationship with dogs.
