19/01/2025
Written 5 years ago but practiced for many years before:
Blacknblue Puppy Picking Process
Sometimes I wish I bred black Labrador Retrievers, so that they all would look alike and no one would be able to pick a pup just by looks alone. Granted, when looking at pups the first of our senses we use is our vision. We see pups and we automatically make a decision about which one is most appealing to us. I do it too. However, I do not do it when actually picking a pup and making a commitment to it for the next 12-15 years! I want to know what that pup is made of and what makes it tick!
Our process is fair to each interested party and above all, fair to each one of these little lives we take so much pride in providing to loving homes. We do the very best we can possibly accomplish to match the correct person or family to each of our pups, or retiring adult dogs for that matter. Sometimes we are wrong, then we make it right. We have even been known to have a pup here till after her first birthday because the right home never presented themselves to us till then.
You will never read on the Blacknblue Aussies page, as a caption for photo after photo, that “this black tri female and this blue merle male are available” at 2 days of age. That is just ludicrous! How can we manage to know at 2 days old which pup is already spoken for by a waiting party? What that implies is that people have been able to pick their pup long before 2 days of age and in fact, some have likely been waiting on a list for a number of years for a certain colour and gender, long before the litter has even been bred. Sorry, not on my watch!
Those that do encourage people to pick a pup at such a young age are also the same people who take a deposit from an interested party as soon as they show interest. By simply emailing some breeders, you are compelled to send a deposit, sight unseen, to hold your spot on a list that no doubt includes some folks that have been waiting in that same holding pattern for many years. I have mentioned to people on numerous occasions over the years that “I am a breeder, not a banker”, so keep your money till you at least meet the live, 4 week old pups and then tell me if you are still interested. If you are still on board, I will graciously accept a deposit to signify your commitment to “a pup”, not a blue merle male pup, not a black tri female pup, just a pup that will fit your lifestyle to the best of my ability at the time they leave us in your hands. That’s also why my deposits are non-refundable - not so I can keep your money for extended periods of time, but to show your commitment to our breeding program. If you meet the litter and show your interest by making a deposit, you will indeed have a Blacknblue pup when they are ready to leave after 8 weeks of age. If you shop elsewhere in the interim and decide you don’t want the Blacknblue pup after all, tough luck! ONCE in all the years we have been Blacknblue Aussies this particular issue popped up where we were asked for a deposit to be returned and the party was reminded that the receipt they received for their deposit stated that the deposit was in fact non-refundable, and although it wasn’t what they wanted to hear, they accepted it on principle. I did, however, offer that deposit to be here, still in place, if ever they decided to return to us for a pup at a later date. And that is exactly what would happen if they did return here to acquire a new family member. Having said that, if we deem you unworthy of one of our pups after the deposit has been accepted, it will be returned to you in full with an explanation as to why you are getting it back. Sometimes small details crop up to change our minds, that’s just life.
No two homes are ever the same and no two pups are alike, so how can we as breeders ever pretend to operate as “cookie cutter” assembly lines? I can’t even imagine attempting it.
We put so much time, effort and love into these little creatures that we only accept certain people to gain a position of owning one. Why then, would we allow people to pick a pup strictly by colour alone? This is not a first come, first served scenario, at least not at Blacknblue Aussies. Pups are not “made to order” on the basis of colour or even gender but if that’s what you prefer as a buyer, you will need to do more research on breeders to find one that operates in that fashion. We do not and we never will.
Thank you for allowing me to clarify what seems to set us apart from many other breeders.
Aussies since 1994, we are proud to have produced happy, healthy, sane examples of a wonderful breed
