Guardian Home Program
Here at Black Barn Kennels, we strive to produce quality German Shorthaired Pointers, who are both excellent hunting dogs and family companions. In doing so, we treat all of our dogs as members of our family. This means they are hunted, they cuddle with us on the couch, get daily exercise, and live in the house with us rather than in a kennel. In order to continue growing our breeding program responsibly, we can only own so many dogs of our own! But we also know the demand for a quality GSP is more than we can keep up with now. This is where our Guardian Home Program comes in.​
A Guardian Home is a family that owns a Black Barn Kennels puppy/dog, and that dog gets to be a part of our breeding program! This allows that puppy to live with and be raised by their family, and only comes to our kennel to be bred and to whelp their puppies. It also allows us to continue to grow our breeding program responsibly, and keep the quality bloodlines our breeding program already offers.
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We have the ability to select 1-2 puppies (usually females) from each litter that we whelp. This puppy and it's family will be identified around 7 weeks old. Don't worry if you've never had an intact female before -- we will give you a packet on everything to expect and how to best care for her!
Please let us know if this is something you are interested in.
More Details:​
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Each Guardian Home dog will undergo genetic health testing as a puppy, and PennHip or OFA Hip testing, and OFA elbow testing around 1.5 years of age. All of these tests must have positive results in order for the dog to begin in the breeding program.
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We prefer that our Guardian Families live within 3-4 hours from Black Barn Kennels.
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Black Barn Kennels is financially responsible for the following:
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OFA and/or PennHip Tests
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Genetic Testing
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Any complications/vet visits that might arise during whelping
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Guardian Families will receive one of three options of their choosing with each litter their dog has:
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Compensation for the price of a puppy (cash or check)
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A puppy from the litter
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A puppy from a future litter
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(if the litter is 4 puppies or less, the family will receive compensation of half of the price of a puppy)
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Your female will have a maximum of 4 litters with us, and will not be bred in back-to-back heat cycles (most females have a heat cycle approximately every 6 months). It is our discretion which cycles she will be bred on, however we will be respectful & mindful of the family’s plans, including hunting season if applicable.
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The Guardian Family is required to keep careful track of their female’s heat cycles, and notify BBK of them. No worries if you’ve never had a female in heat before – we can help you to understand what this will look like!
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Your female will come to BBK within the first few days she begins bleeding, and will stay with us for approximately 10 days. She will then go back home with her family during the remainder of her pregnancy (we will provide you with information on activity levels, what to expect, etc. during her pregnancy!). She will then return to BBK 5-7 days prior to her “due date” and stay with us until she has weaned her puppies (usually around 5 weeks old). We will work with the Guardian Family on transportation to and from BBK at the time of breeding and whelping.
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BBK will provide access to a camera so that the Guardian Family is able to watch their dog whelp and care for her puppies!
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It is prohibited that an intact male live in the same household as a Guardian Family with an intact BBK female.
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Black Barn Kennels owns the dog while it is still of breeding age. Once the dog is done being bred, the AKC ownership will transfer to the Guardian Family. We will not require that your dog be spayed/neutered once finished breeding; this is up to the family.
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The Guardian Family is expected to cover all basic dog-related expenses. They are expected to do basic obedience training, potty training, keep the dog in their home, make sure the puppy is well-socialized, well-exercised, and keep the dog current on routine veterinary care. We recommend that your dog eat Diamond Naturals food, however this isn’t a requirement.