A competent breeder will put the safety and health of their dogs ahead of trying to sell pups. Parvovirus is a virus that can kill pups quickly, is highly contagious, and is spread through the environment (it can live 5 years in full sunshine), so can easily be brought onto a property on the soles of shoes, dust etc.

Cider Fields is fully approved as a Breeding and Rearing Establishment. We are also accredited members of the PIAA, and abide by the strictest Codes of Practice for a licensed, professional breeder. This code requires the highest level of care and facilities for our dogs, which is important for pups which are going on to demanding therapy or assistance roles, and also for pups which become valued family members. We are happy to have a FaceTime or WhatsApp walk through of our facilities at any time, but have to put our pups first safety wise.

Given the prevalence of the deadly parvovirus, and how simply it can be transmitted with devastating consequences, and how easy it is to meet pups and see your puppy’s home and litter on a Face Time or WhatsApp meeting, I am sure you will understand that we have to be very careful, so we have strict quarantine guidelines to keep our dogs and puppies safe.

Having said that, we like our puppy families to meet their pups, but we need to ensure our pups are protected from disease, particularly deadly parvovirus. For that reason, we restrict visits to people who have a deposit on their pup already, and have very strict quarantine protocols in place. Although our adult dogs are fully vaccinated, pups who have not completed their vaccination course are very vulnerable to disease. Because parvovirus can live for many years in soil or dust, it can be unintentionally brought onto a property by someone who doesn’t even have a dog. We have a weekday morning every fortnight when you can visit your pup once they have had their first vaccination plus a week for that to work.

To minimise exposure risk, we have the following rules.

  1. No visits to pups less than 6 weeks of age (when they have their first vaccination)

  2. Maximum of one visit per pup before they come to you.

  3. We have one visiting day per fortnight, as we have to sterilise thoroughly afterwards.

  4. Visits are to your own pup whom you have paid a deposit for.

  5. Maximum of two adults. (Sorry, no children at the moment as we are building our house so still a construction site at the moment)

  6. No dogs to be brought onto property - no exceptions.

  7. Cleanly laundered clothes and no dogs handled the day you come.

  8. We use an F10 hand wash when you arrive, and you will need to remove your shoes.

Thank you for understanding and helping us keep puppies safe