APPLICATION PROCESS

Our Application Form serves as a brief “get to know you” for us to understand what your desires and goals for a borzoi are. Once your application has been received, we’ll move through the following steps:

SCREENING PROCESS

1. Your application has been submitted and has been approved on paper.

2. We will conduct a phone or Zoom interview.

3. We will contact your references, including your current veterinarian.

4. We will perform a home check IN PERSON, either by ourselves or a local borzoi person acting as our representative. These are typically done after a confirmed breeding (covid safety precautions will apply if still relevant at that point in time).

5. We will either approve you for a puppy, let you know what steps to take to become approved, or decline.

PLACEMENT PROCESS

1. Approved applicants are added to our "applicant pool". This pool does not operate on a first-come first-serve basis, as we make no guarantees that the right puppy for a home will be in any given litter, and in some instances, prospective homes may need to wait for a following litter. However, we do try and respect how long an applicant has been in the pool when making matches.

2. When a litter is confirmed on ultrasound, we will reach out to those in the applicant pool to verify interest in the litter. Once puppies are born, we will update approved applicants on the available number of puppies in the litter and move on to the matching process (see below).

3. We do not require deposits. Any party (including us) is free to back out at any time during the placement process, and we welcome ongoing and transparent communication. We will do our best to keep each applicant informed as to whether we think we will have a puppy for them.

4. Payment is due upon pickup. See PRICING above for details.

5. We don't have payment plan options, however, we are open to discussing this with approved applicants.

MATCHING PROCESS

It is very important to us to set homes and puppies up to succeed with the best chances possible! To inform our matches, we rely on careful observation and evaluation of our puppies, including the following guidelines:

1. Beginning at 6 weeks old and every two weeks thereafter, puppies are evaluated for conformation. This helps us to select for which puppy(ies) we will keep, which puppy(ies) are suitable to show/performance/breeding prospect homes, and if any physical abnormalities are noted. We make an effort to have unaffiliated, experienced borzoi or other sighthound breeders examine our litters around 8 weeks old for outside input.

2. Puppies are evaluated by a veterinarian at the time of at least their first two rounds of vaccinations, including evaluation for heart murmurs, palate deformities, umbilical hernias, how teeth are erupting, testicles dropping (if male), and stool samples to check for parasites prior to go-home.

3. Around 10 weeks old, puppies will have third-party temperament evaluations. We will make notes on their assessments as well as our own temperament observations to include in the puppies’ go-home guides. Temperament plays a primary role in informing home placements.

4. After temperament evals, we will finalize matches based on predicted suitability. We make matches based on the goals of each home, the home environment, the puppy's aptitudes, drives, and other aspects of their behavior, as well as physical traits desired by the home. We make no guarantees on show/performance/breeding suitability.

   • We value the trust our homes place in us to select the right puppy for them, and want you to be a part of the selection process by continuing to update us on your desires before and after puppies are on the ground. We may have one specific puppy in mind for you, or several good fits to choose from, depending on the litter.

   • If an applicant is drawn to an individual puppy, they are welcome to tell us! If that puppy is otherwise available and a great fit, we will do our best to honor these matches.

5. Homes that we have tentatively matched a puppy to will receive a copy of our contract to review (available earlier upon request), and the opportunity to officially accept/decline the puppy placement.

6. Puppies go to their new homes at 12 weeks old. We can arrange for longer boarding if needed, however, we strongly recommend sticking to 12 weeks so you can begin developing a bond and allow your puppy to get to know their new environment before their critical socialization window closes at 14 weeks.