How we raise our puppies
In the house, from the first day
Our puppies are born in what used to be the dining room. It has a whelping box, a sofa for whichever of us is on night duty, and a door to the kitchen. At three weeks they move into a pen in the kitchen, which is the busiest room in the house. From four weeks, on every dry day, they spend afternoons in a fenced run on the lawn. It has grass, a paddling tray, a tunnel, a plank and things that clank. There is no outside kennel block.
We follow the Royal Kennel Club and Dogs Trust Puppy Socialisation Plan and keep its checklist for every puppy. It goes home with you in the puppy folder. We use parts of Puppy Culture as well. From day 3 to day 16 we do a minute or so a day of gentle handling known as Early Neurological Stimulation. The research on it is mixed. We do it because it gets every puppy handled calmly every day, not because we think it makes super-dogs.
Week by week
- Weeks 0–2: Bramble does the work. We weigh them daily, keep the room at 26 °C at first, do the daily handling from day 3 to 16, and introduce a new smell each day from day 3.Birth to day 14
- Weeks 3–4: eyes and ears open. They move to the kitchen pen and start toilet training on a separate litter area. First soaked food, recorded sounds at low volume, and different floor surfaces.Days 15–28
- Weeks 5–6: the garden run, collars, first visits from approved families, children (ours and theirs) under supervision, the vacuum cleaner and washing machine, grooming and nail trims, short crate naps with the door open, the first car ride, microchips.Days 29–42
- Weeks 7–8: an independent temperament assessment, then matching. Short periods alone, a harness and lead in the garden, a trip to the village, the litter eye screen, the vet check and the first vaccination.Days 43–56
- Going home: from 8 weeks and a few days, by appointment, one family at a time, with an hour to go through everything.From day 57
What's included
Every puppy goes home with
- Royal Kennel Club registration and the signed transfer of ownership
- Five-generation pedigree
- Copies of both parents' hip, elbow, eye and DNA certificates
- Microchip, transferred to you on Petlog the day you take your puppy home
- First vaccination (Nobivac DHP + L4) at 8 weeks, with the vaccination card
- Wormed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks, plus a flea treatment, all recorded
- Vet health check at 8 weeks, with the written report
- BVA/RKC/ISDS litter eye-screen certificate
- Four weeks' free insurance, starting the moment you leave
- The Puppy Contract (RSPCA / Animal Welfare Foundation), plus our own contract of sale
- Puppy pack: 2 kg of the food they are on, a blanket that smells of Bramble, a toy, a collar and lead, and our puppy folder (diet sheet, routine, socialisation record)
- Our phone number for the dog's whole life, and a promise to take them back at any age
Price
£2,200 for every puppy, dog or bitch. We take a £300 deposit after your visit, and it is fully refundable until matching day. The £1,900 balance is paid by bank transfer before collection. We never take cash in a car park, gift cards or payment to anyone but us.
Why 8 weeks and a few days, not sooner or later
The law in England says 8 weeks is the minimum, and we agree with it. Between 8 and 12 weeks a puppy is most ready to bond with new people. Each extra week with us is a week of socialisation you miss. So our puppies go home from 8 weeks and a few days, after the first vaccination and the litter eye screen. The second vaccination is at 10 weeks with your own vet.
