** Note: All pups from this litter are currently reserved.
A Bittersweet Goodbye
Hey everyone! It’s Joel here with our final pupdate for week seven – our last week with these incredible pups from our Spring 2025 litter. I have to admit, this one hits me right in the feels.
You know, breeding our dogs is almost a five to six month process in its entirety, and we really started planning for this litter way back in January. So when we get to this point, it’s kind of bittersweet. We’ve spent countless hours with these pups one-on-one, watching them grow from tiny newborns to the amazing personalities they are today.
But here’s the silver lining – they’re all going to absolutely wonderful homes, and we couldn’t be happier for all of you new puppy parents!
Clean Bill of Health from Dr. Megan
Great news! Dr. Megan, our fantastic mobile vet, was here today and gave every single puppy a complete examination. If any of these pups were staying here in Grand Junction, we’d recommend her to anyone without hesitation – she’s been absolutely wonderful to us and all our dogs.
What the Vet Exam Included:
- Complete physical examination
- Eye, ear, and teeth checks
- Overall health assessment
- First set of vaccinations
- Individual health records for each puppy
Dr. Megan’s verdict? All pups are good to go and ready for pickup this Sunday!
Each new family will receive complete health records including weights and all immunizations given up to this point.
Final Weigh-In Results
Our pups have officially outgrown our scale! Here are the final numbers:
🏆 Biggest Boy: Blue Puppy at 16.96 pounds
🎀 Littlest Girl: Hot Pink at 12.6 pounds
It’s amazing to see how much they’ve grown over these past eight weeks!
The Pet Insurance Talk: Why We Strongly Recommend It
Before you take your new family member home, I want to have a serious conversation about pet insurance. As both pet owners and breeders, we get a lot of questions about this topic, and I’m going to be completely transparent with you.
Why We Recommend Pet Insurance (Especially for Puppies)
I can’t tell you how many times we’ve gotten calls from puppy families saying things like:
- “The puppy ate a battery”
- “The puppy chewed a lamp cord and got shocked”
- “We had an unexpected accident or injury”
And when they didn’t have pet insurance, it cost them quite a bit of money.
Real Stories from Our Own Dogs
Gunner’s Magnet Incident: When Gunner (who’s not part of our breeding program) was a puppy, he swallowed a couple of magnets that had to be surgically removed.
Ginger’s Toxic Treat: When we first got Ginger as a puppy, she got into a very large Costco-sized can of macadamia nuts and had to be hospitalized for three days. I didn’t even know macadamia nuts were toxic to dogs – but they absolutely are!
We were so grateful we had pet insurance for both situations.
Our Honest Reviews of Pet Insurance Companies
Important Note: We get nothing out of these recommendations – we’re not affiliated with any of these companies. These are purely our experiences as dog owners who have tried policies with every single company we’re about to mention.
1. AKC Pet Insurance
Why We Chose Them for Our Breeding Dogs:
- Only company we know that offers breeding coverage and complications from breeding
- Provides free 30 days of coverage when you register your pet with AKC (which we ask you to do anyway!)
- Covers just about anything at no cost for that first month
- Gives you time to evaluate other policies
The Reality:
- Premiums are slightly higher, but that’s expected for comprehensive coverage
- For non-breeding animals, they were also higher than some others
- We haven’t had a claim yet, so can’t speak to that experience
- We’re keeping our breeding females with AKC
Pro Tip: Register your pup with AKC when you get home for immediate free coverage!
2. Healthy Paws
Our Experience:
- We had our dogs insured with them for quite a while
- Really liked their service overall
- Good claims experience – they handled everything smoothly
- Excellent customer service – never had problems with them
Why We Left:
- Premiums went up significantly every year compared to other companies
- It was strictly a cost-savings decision – nothing wrong with their service
Bottom Line: Great company if cost isn’t your primary concern.
3. Trupanion
What Makes Them Different:
- Only company that works directly with vets (like human insurance)
- You pay a co-pay at the vet’s office
- Vet bills insurance company directly and waits for payment
- All other companies require you to pay upfront and get reimbursed later
The Downside:
- After about six months, you could never change your deductible for that animal
- If your financial situation changed and you wanted different coverage, you had to cancel and start over with waiting periods
- Really didn’t like this inflexibility
Claims Experience: We had one claim with them – process was fine, but the policy limitations were frustrating.
Important Reminders for All Insurance Companies
General Coverage Notes:
- No breeding coverage (except AKC) – all others are strictly accidents and illness
- Age matters: Just like with people, older dogs = higher premiums
- Puppies are relatively inexpensive to insure – nothing’s cheap these days, but it’s fairly reasonable considering coverage
- Shop around: Visit their websites and compare plans
How Most Work:
- You pay the full bill at your vet’s office
- Submit the claim online
- Get reimbursed according to your policy terms
- Some are faster than others with reimbursement
Our Final Thoughts
After eight weeks of watching these puppies grow, learn, and develop their unique personalities, we’re confident they’re ready for their next adventure with you.
Remember:
- All puppies have clean bills of health from Dr. Megan
- Complete health records will go home with each pup
- Everyone is cleared for pickup this Sunday
- Seriously consider pet insurance – it’s worth the peace of mind
This has been an incredible journey, and we’re so grateful you’ve followed along with us. Thank you for choosing one of our pups to be part of your family!
Ready for Pickup Sunday!
We can’t wait to see these amazing pups start their new lives with their forever families. It’s been our absolute pleasure sharing this journey with you through our weekly pupdates.
Until next time!
