Adopting a Puppy

OUR ADOPTION APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN.  

Our waitlist is open again, and there is some availability with some litters.  Check our upcoming litters page
It has been a bit of a wait, but 
our responsible breeding program takes time and patience, and we know our puppies are really worth waiting for. 

Follow our FB page to keep up to date with further announcements.  Thank-you for your interest, understanding, patience and support. 

Ridgy Didge Puppy Adoption Process

Please note: at this time, we are no longer sending puppies overseas.

We love our pups and the Cobberdog breed, and work hard to carefully match puppies to families, to ensure best possible outcome for the dog and family. Understanding the full commitment involved with adopting and raising one of our puppies will help make this process satisfying for both you and Ridgy Didge. 

There are 2 important steps to BEGIN the Puppy Adoption process...

FIRST:  Please read ALL the information below on this page carefully BEFORE going to the next step. To download & print the Ridgy Didge Puppy Selection and Adoption Process, click HERE.

SECONDLY:  Connect with us so that we can begin communications to see if a Ridgy Didge puppy is a good match for your family and circumstances.  We will email you an adoption form with all further details and requirements.  The process involves application, approval, deposit, waitlist, allocation and balance payments and pick-up. See more below.

 

 

PLEASE NOTE:  When applicants are approved for adoption, we do our very best to match pups to families, but it is important to understand that if your wish for size, sex and colour is VERY specific, then it may take longer for nature to provide us with your perfect puppy.  If there is a price increase before we can match you to your puppy, and you do not wish to wait any further, we are happy to refund your deposit. 

 

Application to Adopt

Read this entire page before getting in contact. 

  1. Contact us when you've read the whole page and want to continue, CLICK HERE  to open and complete a short form to email us and begin communications to apply for adoption.
  2. We will respond and send further details of our adoption process and costs schedule for you to consider, and an Adoption Form to complete and submit.
  3. When application to adopt is successful, we will proceed and request a non-refundable booking fee to confirm your position on our waitlist.
    This will go towards your total puppy cost.
  4. Once booking fee is paid and confirmed, you will go on the waiting list for a puppy that best suits your wish-list and circumstances. 
  5. Once the puppies are born, we will request a confirmation deposit to confirm your position.  This will also go towards your total puppy cost. 
  6. Once puppies are allocated around 6 weeks, we will send you an invoice for balance of payment. This will include any extra freight costs for flying a puppy interstate.
  7. We will only refund your payments if we are unable to give you the puppy you have requested on your application form. We can’t refund your deposit if you change your mind; you can however move your deposit to another litter at another time.

Our Waitlist

Please see our blog about our waitlist, to help you understand why this needs to be in place when it is reopened.

Our Puppy Allocation Process

We did a special blog on this subject, to give you full insight into why we wait 6 weeks before allocating puppies to families.  You can see it here.

When our puppies have had their vet check at 6-7 weeks and we know they are all healthy we will allocate puppies to those who have paid their deposits. We are careful to consider the temperament of each puppy and match it to the right family.

We get to know the temperaments of our puppies early as they all have ENS (Early neural Stimulation) every day from birth. This is just a fancy term for a lot of handling and imprinting from birth. This time also gives us opportunity to look at their coats and see which type of coat they will have.

We will send photos of the litter so you can see them as they grow. This ensures there are no surprises for you by the time you are allocated your puppy. You are welcome to visit your puppy once you know which one is yours, and to take photos.

Your puppy will be ready to go to you around 8-9 weeks of age with plenty of information on puppy care, along with a vaccination card and other important paperwork.



Full Purchase Price, Inclusions & Exclusions for Puppies

When our waitlist is open, puppy prices will be provided in the information that we will email to you when you make an inquiry to adopt a puppy.
We do send puppies interstate and all training and transport costs are charged depending on timeframes and puppy’s travel destination.
Pease read the inclusions and exclusions carefully.

Inclusions

The purchase price for a Ridgy Didge Cobberdog INCLUDES:

  • comprehensive vet check
  • vaccination appropriate for age
  • microchipping
  • worming program as advised by veterinarian
  • MDBA registration number
  • guarantee for health for all the genetic canine diseases that were screen-able for your pup’s parents. (See our Genetic & Health Screening page) 

Exclusions

We are unable to guarantee the health of our dogs for problems outside of those we test and screen for, after they leave us at Ridgy Didge.  These include 

    • improper behavioural management, and
    • disease or injury from improper care, such as issues arising from environment and diet.

Please see our blog about protecting puppy's hips as hip joints continue to form until the puppy is 18-24 months; apart from genetics, hip and elbow problems can arise from improper nutrition and exercise, and lifestyle stresses.

 


 

Puppies go home at 9 Weeks

We are sorry but we can’t hold onto puppies for you after they are nine weeks of age. This is a crucial bonding time for young puppies once they leave their litter mates, so very important for them to start early training. The only exception to this policy would be extenuating circumstances for families unable to collect their puppy at nine weeks.

Socialising and Training your Cobberdog

We look for people who want to commit to training their pup and care for their Cobberdogs as part of the family.

Cobberdogs are very intelligent and playful, and while puppies are very cute and cuddly they will become naughty and destructive without training and stimulation. They really do need socialisation, taking out in the car to the beach, to a cafe for coffee, to Saturday sports where possible. They also need to go to puppy school as soon as age permits so both you and your puppy learn good dog language and behaviour.

Care of your Cobberdog’s Coat

Your Cobberdog pup is a low shedding dog so will need clipping 3 to 4 times a year to maintain a nice tangle-free coat. This of course depends on how short you want to keep the coat.
If you want to have your dog's coat professionally trimmed by a groomer, it can be up to $90 for a medium dog. This needs to be done 3 to 4 times per year. Clipping can be done by owner, even with scissors.

In addition to this your Cobberdog will require brushing and ear cleaning once weekly.  See this page for much more about Cobberdog coat care.

Our Guardian Program

With each litter of puppies we select the pup we think will have the best qualities for breeding into the future. We then test the pup for inherited diseases to make sure they are really going to carry on the best qualities. From there we choose a responsible family who fulfils our conditions and would like to give these pups a wonderful forever home. This means that the guardian takes the pup we choose at 9-10 weeks, with no purchase charge, and cares for the pup in their home, while we retain breeding rights for a set period of time.

At the end of the set breeding period the dog is desexed and the contract finishes. 
We do keep male pups in guardian homes but not as frequently.

Click here for more information about our Guardian Program.

 

 Contact Ridgy Didge