Guardian families are generally interested in having the amazing qualities of the Bernedoodle in a pet (e.g. health, temperament, looks, lifestyle), recognizing the incredible value that they receive that’s being entrusted to them. They thoroughly understand the sacrifice of sharing their dog with us until the breeding agreement is fulfilled. We always want Guardian families to view this as a partnership, giving the dog a wonderful life filled with beautiful experiences.

What are Guardian Homes Responsible For?

Guardian homes are responsible for all “regular” pet parent costs including but not limited to: grooming, food, routine veterinary care, vaccinations, training, bedding, toys, etc.

Brighton Bernedoodles is responsible for all breeding related expenses and/or breeding related veterinary costs including but not limited to: prenatal exams, progesterone tests, semen evaluation, genetic testing, etc.

The Guardian assumes responsibility for the care and maintenance of the dog entrusted to them in terms of general health and well-being, appropriate socialization, measured stimulation, training, coat care, and other typical dog-related care and costs for the duration of their lives. Guardianship is not temporary- it is designed to be your forever pet as long as the agreement is maintained. Each dog must be kept in good physical and mental condition and he or she must be kept well cared for, fed, and groomed routinely.

Guardians are required to maintain a friendly and open relationship with us. We need to know how our guardian dogs are doing and we keep in touch regularly with our guardian homes. If you are planning on going out of town, we need to be informed in advance so we can make necessary arrangements should we have breeding plans for your guardian dog at that time. If communication is not maintained as part of our agreement, the dog may be removed from the home.

Guardians of females must notify us at the onset of a heat cycle whether we are breeding the dog or not during that cycle. We keep track of cycles to monitor her reproductive health.

Guardians must notify us of any emergency incident that affects the health and wellness of the dog entrusted to them. In addition to caring about each dog in our program, we also want to make sure a dog is in good comprehensive health for breeding.

Guardians must maintain vet records on our cloud-based filing system. This is a shared link that you can share with you vet, and it keeps your vaccination records all in one place. Guardians have given feedback that this is actually very convenient for them.

How Do I Become a Guardian Home?

If you are interested in being a Guardian, send Liesel a text message at 281-730-1752 letting us know of your interest. Let her know that you are aware of our Guardian Program and you can include any specific questions or concerns you have regarding your specific situation.

Once we’ve heard from you, we will send a link to the application.

Once we receive the application back, we will then schedule a phone interview and/or video call as you progresses through Guardian applicant process.

In order to be approved, Guardians must:

• have stable living conditions,

• a reliable and adequate income,

• and be able to adequately provide and care for an incoming puppy.

All family members in the household must be informed and happy to be Guardians

Our Guardian homes must be somewhere that dogs are allowed if you do not own your own home. (Written permission from a landlord is required).

What Are Some of the Other Requirements to Being a Guardian Home?

Guardian homes should have basic experience with dogs and be willing to socialize, exercise and care for your puppy. This includes teaching your dog basic manners and commands. Your dog must be an inside pet and never be left outside unattended.

Guardian homes must let the breeder know in the event of any serious illness or injury to the dog.

Guardian homes must only have other dogs that are altered (spayed or neutered).

Guardian homes must have no intention of breeding or running a breeding program or business and must reside for the duration of the contract within the specified geographical area that they signed on for. This is not a good program for those who do not have plans to stay in one place for a while. The breeders must be able to visit the home of the Guardian when/if necessary.

Where Are Your Guardian Opportunities?

Within a reasonable radius of Houston, Texas. Contact Liesel : 281-730-1752

We also have opportunities in Austin, Texas, Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

For Austin and DFW, contact Chelsea: 817-692-3148 

For Salt Lake City, contact Rockyroaddoodles@gmail.com

Generally speaking we have a wider geographical range of availability for female guardian homes versus male guardian homes.

What is it Like to Have a Male Guardian Versus a Female Guardian?

Mama Dogs

Guardian home opportunities are available generally more often for females than males.

Female guardian homes are committed in the program for a specified number of litters, typically four successful litters in her lifetime. Note: A successful litter is considered two or more puppies.

Guardians of female must notify us when their dog comes in season (in heat) whether we have plans to breed during that cycle or not. The actual breeding of the female will typically occur within a day, and she will ideally be returned to her home before the evening. Depending on the situation, she may need to stay with us a little longer. This is typically dependent on the flexibility and physical distance from us as well as the needs to accomplish the breeding.

During her whelping process (or delivery and raising of the puppies), a female is away from her home during the week prior to expected delivery and following the weaning of her puppies. Generally this process in total is around 8-9 weeks. All our dogs are whelped in caring homes with trained families or individuals who support this program with proficiency, competence, and compassion.

After the completion of the female guardian dog’s litters she is spayed by us and legal ownership is released fully to the guardian family .

Dad Dogs

Guardian opportunities for males are generally available for those who are in a closer physical proximity to us.

Males are generally not kept overnight but we do require close communication and a lot of flexibility from our male Guardian home owners.

Our dad dogs will naturally be engaged in the program more often than girls. After a boy’s vet visit, he goes back to his Guardian until the next meeting.

Guardians of males are required to keep in close communication with us and be flexible about his use. It is important to us that we work together to mitigate stress for him, so we work together for him to be in his usual Guardian’s home as much as possible.

What Breeds are Available in Your Guardian Program?

We have upcoming opportunities for male and female multigenerational Bernedoodles.

Our Bernedoodles range in size:

• Munchkin Bernedoodles are about 9-25 pounds.

• Petite-mini Bernedoodles are from 20 to 35 pounds.

• Mini-Bernedoodles are from 25 to 40 pounds.

• Medium Bernedoodles are from 40-60 pounds.

• and Standard Bernedoodles are from 50 to 75+ pounds.

How Often Do You Have Guardian Opportunities Available?

This depends widely on what we are aiming to breed and thus what we are keeping back within our breeding program.

Please contact us for most current availability and future plans.

Can We Buy Our Dog From the Guardian Program?

No, dogs in our Guardian program are not for sale. They have been genetically tested and invested in to ensure they are a high quality candidate for the program. Guardians may not “purchase” the dog from us as these dogs have been hand selected in advance in order to get the best genetics, color, structure etc. possible to advance our breeding program.

If you are interested in applying please be confident in your commitment to the Brighton Bernedoodle Guardian program.

What is Your Application Process Like?

The steps are as follows:

• Text Liesel at (281) 730-1752 or email us here letting us know you are interested in being a Brighton Guardian in Houston.

• We will set up a phone interview to answer your questions and ask a few of our own to determine goodness of fit for this partnership.

• We will send a simple application for you to return along with verification of a safe environment for one of our Bernedoodle puppies.

• If approved, you will be notified of current opportunities or your status on our waitlist.

• Once a puppy is matched with the criteria of your situation, a contract is signed between the Guardian and the breeder before the puppy is in possession of the Guardian.

• Once the contract is signed, pickup arrangements are made.

  IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Brighton Bernedoodles does not have puppies for sale at this time. For this, we defer to our amazing and well-known partners, Namaste Bernedoodles and Rocky Road Doodles.

• We currently have a Guardian Program waitlist that is growing daily. If you are interested in this program, sign up! The list changes all the time as peoples’ situations change, so add your name to the queue!