Guardian Homes
Could You Be One of Our Guardian Families?​
Have you ever dreamed of welcoming a beautiful Australian Labradoodle into your family, but perhaps never imagined it could be possible?
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Our Guardian Family Programme offers a unique opportunity to welcome one of our carefully selected breeding dogs into your home at no purchase cost, whilst helping us preserve and improve future generations of Churchills Australian Labradoodles.
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At Churchills, our dogs are never kennelled. They are raised in family homes, surrounded by love, everyday life, muddy walks, cosy sofas and everything that comes with being a cherished family companion. Our Guardian Programme allows us to continue breeding exceptional Australian Labradoodles whilst ensuring every one of our breeding dogs enjoys exactly the life they deserve: as a much-loved member of their own family.
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For us, being a guardian family is about so much more than simply providing a home. It is a partnership built on trust, friendship and a shared love of dogs.
As a guardian family, your puppy will live with you as your own. They will be part of your daily life, your holidays, your adventures and your family memories. In return, they will occasionally return to us for health testing and, when the time comes, for breeding responsibilities.
Once their breeding career is complete, they retire from the programme and continue living with their guardian family for the rest of their life, exactly where they belong.
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We are looking for families who can offer:
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• A loving home where their dog will be a true member of the family.
• Time, commitment and patience to raise a well-socialised, confident and happy puppy.
• A secure garden and plenty of opportunities for exercise, enrichment and adventure.
• A commitment to positive training and maintaining good manners and recall.
• Regular grooming and ongoing care to keep their dog healthy and comfortable.
• A willingness to maintain regular contact with us and work together throughout the dog's time in the programme.
• A home where someone is around for the majority of the day.
• A location ideally in Essex or local boarding counties.
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Our guardian families come in all shapes and sizes. Some are families with children, some are couples and some live on their own. What they all have in common is a genuine love of dogs and a desire to give them the very best life possible.
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All breeding-related costs, including health testing, breeding expenses and retirement spay costs, are covered by Churchills Australian Labradoodles. Guardian families remain responsible for the normal day-to-day costs associated with dog ownership, such as food, insurance, vaccinations and routine veterinary care.
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Many of our guardian families tell us that becoming part of the Churchills family has been one of the most rewarding decisions they have made. They enjoy all the benefits of owning an exceptional Australian Labradoodle whilst playing an important role in helping future families experience the same joy.
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If you think you could offer one of our special dogs a loving forever home, we would love to hear from you.
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How Does The Guardian Programme Work?
From time to time, we place exceptional puppies and young adult dogs into carefully selected guardian homes.
These are often puppies that we believe have the potential to become part of our future breeding programme. Rather than living with us, they enjoy life exactly as every dog should, as a much-loved family companion in their own forever home.
As a guardian family, the dog lives with you as your pet. They are part of your family, your holidays, your walks, your adventures and your everyday life. You will be responsible for all the normal aspects of dog ownership, including training, feeding, grooming, exercise, insurance and routine veterinary care.
In return, Churchills Australian Labradoodles retains the dog's breeding rights and covers all breeding-related costs, including health testing, breeding expenses and retirement spay or neutering.
We view our guardian families as partners and friends. Open communication, trust and mutual respect are incredibly important to us. Many of our guardian families remain lifelong friends and enjoy visiting us, attending group walks and becoming part of the wider Churchills family.
Female Guardian Dogs
Female guardian dogs remain living with their guardian family throughout their lives.
As a guardian, you will need to monitor and report seasons when they occur. As a season approaches, we ask that you keep a close eye on any changes and let us know as soon as you notice the first signs.
During a season, females must always be exercised on lead and kept away from off-lead dogs. This protects them from unwanted attention and ensures their safety at all times.
When the time comes for breeding, your girl will visit us for health testing and mating. She will then return home to you for the majority of her pregnancy.
As she approaches her due date, she will come to stay with us to have and raise her puppies. She remains with us while she nurtures her litter, and once the puppies are weaned at around eight weeks of age, she returns home to her guardian family.
Our guardian families are always welcome to visit and spend time with both mum and puppies during this special time.
Once she has completed her breeding career, usually after up to four litters and before six years of age, Churchills Australian Labradoodles will arrange and pay for her retirement spay. She then continues life exactly as before, living with her family forever.
Male Guardian Dogs
Male guardian dogs also live with their guardian families as beloved pets.
Guardians of male dogs must understand the responsibilities that come with owning an intact male. Good training, reliable recall and sensible management are essential throughout their lives.
From time to time, we may ask for your dog to visit us for health testing or to provide a stud service as part of our breeding programme. These visits are usually short, and he will return home to you afterwards.
Once his breeding career is complete, typically by around eight years of age, Churchills Australian Labradoodles will arrange and pay for his neutering. He will then continue enjoying life with his family as he always has.
Is A Guardian Home Right For You?
Being a guardian family is a wonderful opportunity to welcome an exceptional Australian Labradoodle into your home whilst helping us preserve the temperament, health and quality that Churchills Australian Labradoodles is known for.
If you can offer a loving home, are home for the majority of the day, live within a reasonable distance of us and are excited by the idea of becoming part of the Churchills family, we would love to hear from you.
Please complete our Guardian Family Questionnaire to begin the conversation.
Guardian Review
Being Roo's guardian family has been very rewarding. When she had her litter last year Michelle invited me to be there as her assistant during the birth. It was so lovely to be with Roo and see her five beautiful perfect puppies coming into the world. During the time she stayed at Michelles feeding and nurturing her pups we visited every week to be with Roo and get lots of puppy cuddles! My two girls loved seeing the puppies grow bigger and more playful each week. The time flew by and then Roo came home. She quickly settled back in and enjoyed being spoilt with heaps of fuss and long walks. Roo is a wonderful family pet, amazing with the children and full of character but she is also an amazing mummy which makes her even more special to us.
Guardian review
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Well...what can I say!!
We always knew we wanted a dog and needed to find the perfect breed to suit our family of 5 + cat!!
After weeks of research, deliberations, commitment planning and visiting breeders up and down the country we finally found the wonderful Michelle @ Churchills!
Firstly, her professionalism and love for these dogs and ensuring they are all homed with suitable families is second to non. Her guidance, support, information, knowledge and her continued love for dogs continues once they leave her home and she is so valuable to those new puppy parents if shes ever needed!!
We originally bought & homed ‘Jake’, love at first sight and instantly discussed/played with the idea of having a second dog,! However, the cost of these amazing breeds are not cheap, but worth every penny and knowing I didn't have the spare £2000, an alternative way to get round the expense was to be a 'guardian home'. I hinted and hinted about a guardian dog to my partner and Michelle and unexpectedly but honoured, we were lucky enough to be chosen as a guardian home for ‘Rosie’!!
So here she is!!
Right from the start, Michelle is clear, open and honest with the guardian contract and expectations to ensure the dogs are well cared for but also to ensure you know, feel and treat these dogs as your own and both the dog and michelle quickly became part of the family. Rosie settled in within hours and the actual contract expectations are not as daunting as they first sound! We appreciate Churchills undertaking all the required breeding health checks, pregnancy related costs and this puts us at ease knowing that we have a healthy breed and best care.
The thought of having to return the dogs for breeding, again is not as daunting as this sounds and in fact this is much less than we thought, only once in the Summer for routine health checks. After this, Rosie will travel to Churchills during planned breeding season later in the year for a few days and plenty of notice and planning is given, then Rosie will return to us to love and care for her during pregnancy, with the security of knowing Michelle is at hand for any advice or concerns to help you. Rosie will then return to Michelle for around 6-8wks where Michelle will do the hard part, birthing and litter care and I know we will miss Rosie dearly and welcome to visit at any time, but completely reassured we will be constantly updated and we know 100% Rosie will be in the safest well loved hands. Michelle, the professional that she is, will not intrude on your family dog time but is also at hand, she ensures the dogs are only used to breed based on the dogs health and goes by the dogs nature to breed and will stop at anytime that it would not be considered in the dogs best interest and is far from a money making regime but to ensure future puppies are healthy, pure labradoodle and to provide other families like us the joy of these amazing dogs. If anyone is considering to be a guardian home and wishes to contact me for any information relating to the process/expectations/contract/Churchills/Larbradoodles please feel free, it the best thing we ever did and I cant rate Churchills highly enough and so grateful for the opportunity.
Lyndsey
