​ My dogs and I share a love for swimming  in our pond. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING is more fun to them than when i swing that gate open and they all run down the path to the pond.   With that joy, comes exposure to things in the water, like Giardia.  It is a common parasite found in ponds and streams no matter how swimmable they are.   Giardia is self limiting in healthy adult dogs, meaning treatment is rarely necessary.  Puppies on the other hand, are still developing their gut flora and may get loose stools if they contract it- then your veterinarian will want to treat it to help them along.  

Our puppies are stool checked by an IDEXX lab before they go home.   Most litters get a negative result, but in the event the puppy has been exposed, we send the pups home with the treatment.  It clears up quite nicely in 5 days.  

Its important to remember, that all puppies can get things that are out there in the world just like children do.  I believe humans with the strongest immune responses are the ones who played in the dirt when they were kids, and the same goes for puppies.   I take a holistic approach to raising dogs, few vaccines, few drugs, rare antibiotics, some raw green food daily, no poisons on their skin, and lots of dirt digging as pups.  i start them off at 3 weeks old with raw fermented goats milk to enhance the development of good gut flora and a healthy immune response.   My goal is to prepare them well for whatever microscopic things they may encounter when they leave here.  You should expect your puppy to “get things” in their baby life.  We want for our pups to go to homes that are not so paranoid as to never let them be DOGS. 

 I know you are choosing your breeder carefully, but i am also choosing my pup’s forever home carefully too.  I need to know you can relax and let them be dogs. 

https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/article/dogs-and-water-and-water-borne-diseases-summertime-tradition 
​https://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dog-health-giardia-intestinal-bug-ask-a-vet

​Midas was my first of the breed, and he came to me when he was six months old. His second or third day here, during our hectic dinner hour, he came up to me and sat looking up at my face. Calm and observing. I looked down at him and gazed back. I was thinking that the breeder must have trained him to do this because it's the first thing I train my dogs to do; look at my face and focus on the command. So I asked her and she said "No, I didn't train him. That's a trait born into him." Amazing! Midas and I shared so many of these eye-to-eye contact moments as he matured, but one was extra special. 

I had been in grad school at the time, and my life was one big hectic "hurry up and get on to the next thing".  One day, I was on a road trip with Midas, and noticed he was sitting next to me gazing at my face while I drove.  It FELT like he was reading my mind, searching for my thoughts, and it felt GOOD.  We traveled miles while he gazed only at me.  So I pulled over, and gazed back at him with curiosity what might happen.  His eyes never left mine.  This continued for five or ten minutes (amazing!) until a warm feeling of energy flushed over me.  I felt truly "seen" on a soul level, and LOVED.  I thought to him, "I love you too Midas". So with that he wagged his tail and began to look out the window (intuition /telepathy).  As I drove away, I felt "high", elated, my thoughts were sharp, and the endorphins were flowing through my brain. Euphoria.  No drugs, just a little curly fleece dog.  How long had it been since I had felt this way?  How amazing was it that a dog could bring about this state of bliss, simply by looking?  It was this experience that left me committed to this breed, to a deeper appreciation of it's importance in our current harried, social media world of disconnection.  Midas reminded me what divine unconditional  love FEELS like, and the art of relationship being one where no words are necessary.  Just be.

​He's my furry spiritual teacher.

Pretty cool to see for this wonderful breed! The Police department in Greensboro has added an Australian Labradoodle to the force as a therapy dog, there to help kids calm down and feel more comfortable. 
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Our new 8 x 24 puppy play yard just opened!  

​We are so excited for them to have a place of their own to run and play, with a metal roof, and thick turf flooring to keep them clean.  More climbing toys and activities on their way...

​Human grade dog food comes frozen and looks yummy enough for a human to eat!  No meat byproducts in this! 

​Holistic options rather than more chemicals for fleas and ticks! 

​A natural flea, tick, and mosquito 24-hour prevention with a safe amount of garlic for dogs!

One of the puppies from our recent Paris & Midas litter!

We at Touchstone would like all our potential puppy buyers to see this video prior to adopting a puppy from us.
​Thank you!