Mama & Baby Care
All Fifteen Acre Farms dogs and puppies are housed in a low stress environment. They are never caged, crated, or confined in small spaces and are never deprived of food, water, or human contact. Each dog enjoys one of our 18 fenced yards averaging 1/4 acre or larger in size with multiple fresh water & feeding stations available at all times, toys to play with, sanitized igloo dog houses and livestock shelter's with fresh straw bedding in the winter, & the company of other dogs as well as their people because our family works here at home. All of our dogs & puppies enjoy exercise, sunshine, fresh air, & potty space at their leisure 24 hours a day. Our females whelp and raise their puppies in a 10' x 7' whelping space ALWAYS having access outside to a yard for exercise, sunshine, fresh air, & potty needs. Happy stress free mommies raise happy stress free babies that successfuly transition quickly and well from our care to yours. 95% of our placements are with families that live in a neighborhood, have a fenced yard, and have children that live in or visit their home regularly. We have placed MANY puppies as therapy dogs, medical alert dogs, and service animals for children with Autism, ADHD, and other physical and developmental challenges. Our dogs are successful in assisting military personnel with PTSD and enjoy training for water therapy to assist those with physical handicaps in children's hospitals and retirement communities. The puppies we produce here are well socialized, handled daily, fed quality food, & have 24 hour outdoor play & potty access as soon as they become mobile at 3-4 weeks of age. 90% of our buyers report back that their puppy was already potty trained and sleeping through the night at age 8 weeks. Another fine compliment we receive from our buyers is the art of tail docking here. We leave 1-2 vertebrae so our puppies have something to wiggle showing their families how happy they are to see them. We have MANY 2nd, 3rd, & 4th time buyers here as well as referrals.
Every litter born here at Fifteen Acre Farms Australian Shepherds is carefully planned and proceeded with a purpose in mind .... 1. to better the breed 2. for our puppies produced here to be a functional part of their new families as a medical alert dog, to assist with handicaps and other physical and mental obstacles such as Autism, ADHD, or PTSD 3. to be a beloved family member 4. to offer an impressive selection of PUREBRED AKC/ASCA registered Australian Shepherds from genetically health tested parents.
Each breeding begins with the careful selection and everyday care of our adult males and females. All of our dogs have 24 hour outdoor access to a LARGE fenced area with free will exercise, sunshine, fresh air, toys for stimulation, yard mates for play and companionship, and CONSTANT positive human interaction. Because our dogs are never confined to crates, cages, concrete, or small area's they have exceptional muscle tone, physcial development, and mental stimulation. They are provided with thought provoking toys and obstacle courses for play and exercise.
We feed, and recommend, quality MADE IN USA foods here including Nutrisource and dry Bil-jac. Our dogs always have food available to them and can eat whenever, and how much, they want and receive regular bathing and grooming. 1-2 weeks prior to whelping our pregnant mama's begin receiving a helping of Goat Milk Esbilac Powder on their food as a nutrient boost and continue until puppies are weaned. The puppies enjoy this boost as well on their daily helping of canned Nutrisource and/or dry Bil-jac beginning at age 3 weeks. Our mama's are also given 12 cc's of Pedialyte 3 times daily about a week before whelp until 3 weeks after whelp to prevent dehydration and 1 can of Nutrisource per day with 3-4 cc's of canine red cell. Lactating females have to produce about 100 oz of milk per day to feed a growing litter of puppies so all of these additives plus as much drinking water as they need, usually 1 to 1-1/2 gallons per day, and all the food they can eat is necessary for the females to maintain their weight and BMI while raising each litter of puppies.
Puppy care begins with a sanitary environment with clean fresh bedding changed and washed twice per day after the whelping mess is cleaned up and sanitized, nutrical ( a vitamin supplement) 3 times per day from birth to age 3 weeks, pedialyte 3 times per day for summer puppies to prevent dehydration, tails are banded and monitored and dewclaws removed at age 2-3 days, toenails are trimmed every 10 days from birth until they go home to prevent injury to littermates and damage to mama's milk bag, toys for stimulation beginning at age 3 weeks and regular sanitizing for the toys, cedar shavings for bedding beginning at age 3 weeks then removed and area cleaned and sanitized every 4-5 days with clean shavings reapplied, and all the dry food they can eat and water they can drink to keep little tummies full everyday. At age 6 weeks mama's are removed from their puppies to wean then each puppy is microchipped and first set of vaccinations and deworming are given. Our puppies are very mature for their ages and when they go home they already know how to use a doggy door to go potty outside because they have complete outdoor access from the time they are mobile usually at age 4 weeks. Our puppies have exceptional muscle tone from having the space available to them to be mobile and run and play and exercise at will because they are NEVER caged, crated, or confined to small spaces or concrete. In addition, our vets, and our buyers vets, have commented on the exceptional health of our puppies and lack of allergies because they are continuously exposed to outdoor elements like dust, grass, and tree pollen from the time they are born as the mama's bring these outdoor elements in on their skin and haircoats exposing the puppies and boosting their immune systems very early on.
When puppies are 6 weeks old I begin scheduling vet appts for health papers and booking flights for puppies that require air travel at time of placement. Puppies can fly at age 8 weeks and I usually book vet appointments for health papers the day prior to flight schedule. I also schedule puppies for pickup at age 7 or 8 weeks for buyers that are within driving distance and want to visit here for pickup.
In addition to this 7 day a week schedule, I am the bookkeeper for our VERY busy diesel repair shop & trucking company here onsite and we feed all of our employee's lunch everyday so I am in the kitchen Mon-Fri from 11 am to 1 pm. Also on the schedule from April - October is at least 2 full evenings EVERY week for all the lawncare for 18 fenced yards, all measuring 1/4 - 1/2 acre in size, that house our dogs & puppies PLUS the acreage around the shop.
When it's time for your new puppy to leave our care and join your family, air travel is available and is addressed on the Shipping page (click on the link above) or our buyers are welcome here for pickup and receive everything needed for immediate care during their visit including 6 lbs of puppy food, properly fitted collar & leash, toy, brush, & food/water dishes. Because of the way our puppies are raised here, they adjust quickly and well to their new families and we cover several topics at pickup including an obedience training lesson so the buyer can see the level of training their new puppy has and instruction on how to build on that training, grooming including a bath and lesson on properly trimming the nails and cleaning the ears, potty training, sleeping at night, and feeding.
Each puppy goes home with a packet of documents that serves as MY presentation to YOUR vet so be sure to take the packet with you to your next scheduled vet appointment. The packet includes AKC AND ASCA registration documents, health records with vaccinations & dewormings given here and schedule with dates to follow to complete puppy shots, microchip registration information, contract, copies of my USDA, State of Oklahoma, & AKC licenses and inspection reports, and copies of parents pedigree's, DNA profile, and lab reports for health testing. We appreciate that you have made your selection here and want you to leave here WELL prepared with your new puppy.