Thank you for your interest in a puppy. As a breeder, I have a responsibility to the breed and to the individual puppies to place them in the best possible home for their breed and personality. As potential owners, you have the responsibility to think through all the implications of getting a Swedish Vallhund puppy: Swedish Vallhunds can live for 14, 15, 16 years or more, can you provide a loving home and medical care for that long? Swedish Vallhunds can be barky, they are active, they want to be involved in everything, can you provide appropriate outlets for their energy and make them a part of your family? They need regular mental and physical exercise, can you provide that? Owning a dog costs money, from high-quality food to veterinary care to training classes to the unthinkable emergency, can you afford these?
This questionnaire helps me determine which, if any, of my puppies might be suited to your household, and your goals for a new puppy. By carefully answering each question, you will have to examine your present life situation, and how it would be affected by taking on the responsibility of raising and socializing a puppy. In addition, your answers will help me determine the puppy personality that might fit best with your specific environment, needs, and abilities. The questions in this application have two purposes. The first is to give you a strong sense of my priorities as a breeder in terms of what I look for in potential homes, and the second is to provide me with insight into whether or not I can make a compatible match between you and a current or future puppy. Making the best possible match between human(s) and dog is one of the most important aspects of my breeding program.
I do my best to screen potential owners to ensure a good match between the puppy and the buyer. My husband and I love every puppy we bring into the world. We put an enormous physical, emotional, and mental investment into raising our puppies, we get to know each puppy's individual temperament and preferences which, in conjunction with getting to know prospective owners, will help us try to match the most suitable puppy to the most suitable home. However, no puppy goes to its new owner as a trained, well-mannered finished product. It is up to the puppy buyer to complete the job we have started. The new owner is responsible for the further development of the puppy's personality, through socialization, training, appropriate life experiences and stimulation, and love. In an effort to ensure that our puppies are going to receive the love and care they deserve and will require throughout their lives, we ask potential buyers to complete this questionnaire honestly in order to be considered for a puppy.
Please be aware that I require potential placements to commit to positive reinforcement, aversive-free training and welfare practices. The specific conditions around training are outlined in my sales contract, but we ask that buyers agree that the puppies will be reared without harsh correctives like choke chains, prong collars, electric collars, or similar. Not only are Vallhunds a biddable, willing breed unlikely to benefit from correction-based training, but all litters will have been raised using practices that encourage the puppies to be enthusiastic learners in a reward-based system. If you have any questions or would like to know more about my rearing and training philosophies, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Additionally, please know that I will not place two puppies from the same litter in the same household at the same time, nor will I place puppies in houses with dogs currently under eighteen months of age. I also, except in very specific circumstances, do not place puppies in homes with children under the age of 7.
Please note that I do not keep a waiting list as such, I keep a list of interested people, but I want to match the right puppy to the right home. I do not operate on a “first come first served” basis (although those higher on the list do get first consideration), I do not take deposits, and there is no guarantee that I will have the right puppy for you (we often do not make the final determinations about which puppy goes where or even if we have a suitable puppy for a given home until after their evaluations are done around 8 weeks).
We have made every effort to ensure that our puppies are free from inherited defects, by screening for inherited problems known in our breed, but dogs are living creatures with many different variables, so we cannot guarantee that a puppy will never develop a health problem. What we CAN guarantee is that we will be there for the owner and the dog for the life of the dog, and our contract specifically outlines what the options are should a problem arise. Other than in exceptional circumstances, all puppies are sold on Limited Registration and a non-breeding contract. All puppies will have been microchipped, CERF/OFA eye tested and/or DNA tested for inherited eye issues, examined by a veterinarian, vaccinated and dewormed appropriately, and started in clicker training. Puppies MUST be returned to us if at any point in their entire lives the owner is unable to keep them.
Puppies at Alkemi are raised using the protocols created in Puppy Culture. Potential homes are encouraged to familiarize themselves with Puppy Culture and its philosophies.
Please answer each question honestly and in full. I know it's a long form, but it really will help me to determine a good match. Please email me with any questions to
amandalowery@gmail.com This puppy questionnaire is only the FIRST step in our interview process, it DOES NOT imply that you will automatically be entitled to one of our dogs. We reserve the right to decline a sale to any applicant.