Guardian Home Program

At Millie’s Goldendoodles, our dogs are first and foremost beloved family members. We believe that happy, well‑loved dogs produce the healthiest, most well‑rounded puppies. To ensure every dog in our program receives the individual attention and care they deserve, we intentionally limit the number of dogs that live in our home.

From time to time, we select a promising puppy to be evaluated for our breeding program in order to preserve and strengthen our bloodlines. We like to keep a close eye on these “pick puppies” as they grow, and many of them will eventually become part of our future breeding program. Because Goldendoodles thrive when they are raised as cherished family pets, we place these puppies in carefully chosen Guardian Homes.

Guardian families raise, love, and care for the puppy as their own. The dog lives with the Guardian family full‑time as a treasured companion, while ownership remains with Millie’s Goldendoodles for the duration of the breeding career. This arrangement allows our dogs to enjoy a wonderful family life while still contributing to the future of our program.

Our Guardian Home Program provides local families with the unique opportunity to welcome a high‑quality Goldendoodle into their home with no upfront cost, while partnering with us to continue producing exceptional, healthy, and well‑tempered puppies.

How it works for a female guardian dog - 

Once a female has passed all required health testing (covered by Millie’s Goldendoodles), she will officially enter our breeding program—typically around 18 months of age or older.

When she comes into heat, she will stay with us for 3–5 days for breeding. As her due date approaches, she will return to Millie’s Goldendoodles 7–10 days before whelping so she can settle in and prepare for delivery.

A female Guardian dog will remain with us for 7–9 weeks per litter to whelp, nurse, and wean her puppies. We ask Guardian families to commit to up to 4 litters total, and a contract will be signed outlining all expectations.

When she is retired from our program, Millie’s Goldendoodles will cover the cost of her spay surgery, and full ownership will be transferred to her Guardian family.

How it works for a male guardian dog - 

Once a male has passed all required health testing (covered by Millie’s Goldendoodles), he will enter our breeding program—usually around 1 year of age.

When a female is in heat, the male Guardian dog will come to Millie’s Goldendoodles for 3–5 days for breeding and then return home to his Guardian family after each visit.

We ask for a commitment of up to 6 breeding years, and a contract will be signed to outline expectations.

When he is retired from our program, Millie’s Goldendoodles will cover the cost of his neuter surgery, and full ownership will be transferred to the Guardian family.

In order to be considered for the Guardian Home Program, we require that you:

1. Live within 30 miles of 27055 for males and 60 miles for females
2. Fenced Yard
3. Own your own home.
4. Experience owning and raising a puppy.
5. The primary caregiver must have a schedule that will allow for the dog to not be left alone for extended periods of time and have flexibility for times of breeding.
6. Provide basic obedience training for the dog, either with classes or at home. Basic obedience includes, but is not limited to: sit, stay, come, down, walking on a loose leash, potty-training and crate training. Crate training is a must as the breeding dog will be coming to the breeder’s home for periods of time.
7. Maintain Health Insurance until ownership is transferred to the Guardian.   (typically, around $20-40 a month) 
8.  Provide Veterinary care as needed, including regular vaccinations at the Guardians expense. Administer and pay for:  Flea and Tick Control approved by Breeder as well as Heartworm Preventions approved by Breeder.  Guardian must provide the Breeder the dates of treatments and any vet care for the Breeders Records. 
9.  Keep dog well-groomed always. The dog will need regular brushing to keep coat from matting. 
10. Agreement that the dog will be an indoor dog only.  Will never be left in an unsupervised environment. 
11. No Smoking inside the home.
12. Have reliable transportation and willingness to bring the dog to us when needed throughout the year for breeding and health testing purposes. 
13. No plans of relocating in the next 5 years.
14. Regular grooming of the dog.
15. Willingness to feed diet of breeder's choice.
16. Maintain open lines of communication with Millie's Goldendoodles concerning any matter related to the dog.
17. Willingness to have a dog that will be needed for breeding.
    ​Females will have 4 litters. 
    For males, that involves willingness to bring male for breeding as needed within a 48-hour notice.
18. Be willing to notify breeder when the female dog is in “heat;” within 48 hours.
19. Have no other intact dogs in your home or yard (neutered or spayed dogs are OK).
20. Willingness to allow us to visit your home and the dog. Allow the dog to stay with us a few times a year. This ensures the dog will remain comfortable with us. We will do our best to arrange these visits around travel/vacation schedules as long as we don't have puppies on the ground.
21. Understand that breeder may need to make decisions about the Guardian Dog and you will have to respect those decisions. Examples may include, but are not limited to keeping a female longer, additional vet care, etc.  All decisions ARE always for the betterment of the dog.