Application
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    HIGHGARTH LABRADORS Puppy Adoption Application Adopting a puppy represents a long and serious financial, emotional, and ethical commitment. The average Labrador Retriever life span is 10-12 years. Each puppy is precious to us for his/ her entire lifetime, and we maintain contact with their families throughout those lifetimes. In our application process we are trying to assure that our puppies will have a lifetime of good guardianship and love from the families who adopt them. We also hope to alert and educate you to some of the important issues involved in providing a home for our puppies. Please read the application carefully and respond honestly. We are trying to safeguard the future of our puppies and well being of their families. We want to help you and your puppy to have a successful life together. We need to know how best to help you. If you have questions, please contact us.

    Name:


    Street Address:     


    City:                                                 State:               Zip:


    Email     Website:                                                                 Age:

    Phones:         Home:

    Email     Website:
    Age:

    Marital Status

    Work:

    State: Zip: Cell: Fax:

    Occupation:


    Spouse’s name, age, and occupation     Length of marriage.





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    Other adults (name, age, gender) who live in or spend substantial time in household     List those (name, age, gender, relationship to you) who might care for your puppy
    Children and Puppies Both children and puppies are well equipped to injure one another. Although we make every effort to teach our puppies how to interact with children, puppies and children have poor judgment. Without malice or bad intentions, children can injure puppies, and puppies can injure children. Children who provoke or injure animals often hide or deny it to parents. Most dog bites occur when children are playing unsupervised with the family dog or a neighbor’s dog. Over half of all dog bites yearly are to children below the age of 6. Even play bites have potential for damage because most bites are to the head, neck, and hands of the child. After biting a child, a dog is usually euthanized because no rescue organization will place the puppy. We will not place puppies in families with children younger than 6 years old. Who are the children living in your household (names, genders, ages)? Describe what you hope your children will experience in living with a dog. Have any of your children been bitten or hurt by a dog? If so, please describe.
    List other children who may interact with your puppy (age, gender, relationship to family).     If children will be interacting with the puppy, describe where the interactions will occur, the ages of the children, the length of time involved. Who will supervise the interactions of children and puppy?
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    Other Animals and Puppies Puppies can present a significant challenge for other animals in the household. Interactions between puppies and other animals in the family cannot be left to chance. Puppies are exuberant and lack social skills. They enjoy chasing, shaking, and biting animals smaller than themselves; and larger than themselves too! But the smaller are in greater danger than the larger, most likely. They do not understand that they can seriously injure or kill a small animal. Puppies should not be allowed to play unsupervised with small animals. Older dogs may resent intrusion of even the most charming puppy invader. In play puppies can tease and torment older dogs until the older dog reacts with anger. Older dogs can seriously frighten a puppy in ways that result in permanent damage to the puppy’s temperament. Older dogs can seriously injure or even kill puppies. Older dogs and puppies clearly need protection from one another for an extended time. Thoughtful planning can decrease the likelihood that a puppy will have unpleasant interactions with other animals in the household. Animals who have good experiences tend be calmer, more confident, and deal better with change. Careful management is essential to harmony. Describe animals currently living in your household currently (species, breed, gender, and age). What interactions have your animals had with puppies in the last year? Have any of your animals attacked or bitten a human or other animal? If so, please describe them. Have you ever consulted a behaviorist or trainer because one of your animals has a problem interacting with people or animals? If so, describe the outcome. Describe the dogs of your past. How old were the dogs when they entered your family? How old were you? How old were the dogs when they died and what was the cause of death? Childhood dogs
    Dogs I had as an adult
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    Home Environment Your home environment can be hazardous to your puppy, and your puppy can be hazardous to your home environment. How you plan and arrange your home can significantly influence how easily, happily, and safely a puppy can live with you. Before getting a puppy, you must puppy proof your household, paying particular attention to low lying hazards. Puppies do not know that they should avoid dangerous things, and commonplace objects can injure puppies. Every puppy owner eventually learns this but, tragically, that learning often comes at the price of the puppy’s welfare, health, or life. We urge our adoptive families to learn from the experience of others. Puppies can fall down stairways and drown in open pools and hot tubs. They can easily fall off decks and through the railings on decks. Garden tools and knives can be lethal to puppies. Electrical outlets and cords, edible objects, poisons, cleaning supplies, medications, glass etc. must be out of reach of the puppy. Baby gates and dog crates are essential for your puppy to avoid exposure to dangerous household items. Managing a puppy without a fenced yard is quite difficult. Puppies need a safe area to play and to potty. The best fencing allows air to pass through it but is sturdy. Good fencing for Labs should be at least 4 feet tall and start at or below ground level. Wood or chain link are good materials. Well constructed and installed woven wire fences will also work. We will not place our puppies in families who plan to use an electronic fence. Underground electronic fencing works by shocking dogs. It does not prevent other animals from entering. It is frequently unreliable. Riding loose in a car or truck is unsafe for puppies and dogs. Puppies will eat upholstery. Puppies can jump out windows or doors unpredictably. Puppies may compete with your driving (and win) or become a lethal weapon in an auto accident. Before getting one of our puppies, you must have a safe method of transporting it. Home:
    Do you live in a house or apartment    ? ____________Own or rent? ____________ How long have you lived in your home?____________________________
    Does your home have stairs? A deck, porch or balcony? If so, how will you prevent the puppy from falling?
    What are the zoning ordinances or covenants governing dogs and fencing in your area? How many dogs live in your neighborhood? Are they fenced?
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    Describe your yard. How much of it will the puppy have for play? Do you have a pool and/or outdoor hot tub? If so, how will you prevent your puppy from entering? What kind of fencing do you have? How tall is it? How large an area is fenced? What kinds of gate(s) are there and how are they secured? Describe how your puppy will be restrained safely in your auto. Does you vehicle have rear air conditioning? What are your plans for transporting your puppy during hot weather?
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    What Kind of Puppy is Right for You? Many problems can be traced to a mismatch between family expectations, living arrangement and lifestyles, and puppy characteristics. Often people choose puppies for wrong reasons. They choose the first puppy they see or seek to exactly replace another dog. Sometimes a mismatch occurs because the family has not realized how much individual puppies within a breed can differ. Sometimes a mismatch occurs because the family has not thought about why they want a puppy for their family. Sometimes a mismatch occurs because the family does not have enough experience to evaluate whether the puppy will fit what they want. We spend many hours with our puppies watching their personalities develop. If we can learn more about you and what you want to do with your dog, we can assess whether we have a puppy who is right for you. If we do not have such a puppy, we will tell you. But first we need to know more about what you want. What initially caused you to consider a Lab puppy? What Lab characteristics do you like best?
    What characteristics do you least like?
    Puppy gender preference? (M, F, either)     What has led you to prefer this gender?
    Color preference    ? (black, yellow, chocolate, no preference) What has led you to prefer this color?
    Describe your perfect puppy.




    Describe your perfect adult dog (they do grow up)

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    ☐ Companion
    ☐ Agility
    ☐ Hunting
    ☐ Obedience
    ☐ Therapy
    ☐ Seizure Alert
    ☐ Service/Assistance ☐ Breeding ☐ Tracking
    ☐ Conformation showing ☐ SAR
    ☐ Rally
                   ☐ Flyball ☐ Freestyle Dancing
    ☐ Protection
    ☐ Bed Warmer
    ☐ Exercise partner
    ☐ Connection with nature
    ☐ Companion for another animal. Possibly neighbor dog/play dates. ☐ Enjoy Lab beauty
    ☐ Improve my health
    ☐ Experience canine joy ☐ Enjoy caretaking ☐ Dog love
    ☐ Loving a dog

    WHY DO YOU WANT A LABRADOR? (Check all that apply)

    ​     Others
    ☐ Will do CGC
    ☐ Enjoy bonding through early, good and consistent, and positive training ☐ Early morning companion
    ☐ Greeter when I come home
    ☐ Happy to walk with me
    ☐ Tail wagger
    ☐ Swimming, water sports and Dock diving?

    What habits might you find particularly annoying in a puppy?

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    Caretaking and Teaching Puppies Teaching and taking care of a puppy offer significant opportunities for both frustration and satisfaction. Issues such as housetraining, playbiting, and leash walking can create opportunities for harmony or opportunities for fights. Having the right equipment and the instruction can spell the difference between success and more problems. Puppies require tremendous time and attention for learning. Having enough time to spend with a puppy is another significant factor in helping a puppy blend happily in your family. When your puppy becomes an adult, he/she will still need a great deal of time and love. We try to understand what help you will need if you adopt one of our puppies so that your new family member will be a joy rather than burden. In asking the following questions, we are hoping that you will think through some of issues invoked in caring for a dog so that we can help you have the best experience possible with your new puppy. What books have you found most useful in understanding Labradors or dogs generally? Describe how you will potty train your puppy? If you do not know, how will you find out? Teaching a dog how to walk on a loose lead is very challenging for most families. Describe how you will do it.



    ​     WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND USEFUL IN TEACHING DOGS? Other? (please describe) ☐ Leash corrections?
    ☐ Newspaper spanking? ☐ Luring?
    ☐ Electrical fencing?
    ☐ Scolding ? Harness? ☐ Praise?
    ☐ Rewards/treats?
    ☐ Positive reinforcement? ☐ Head halter?
    ☐ Prong collar?
    ☐ Electronic collar? ☐ No jump harness ? ☐ Shake can?
    ☐ Timeouts?
    ☐ Food?
    ☐ Clicker?
    ☐ Chain collar?
    ☐ Crate toys? Other? Please describe
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    What instruction have you received about how to teach dogs? What is the maximum amount of time each day that your puppy will be alone? Describe how and where your puppy will spend its time when you are at work? How much time will you have each week for teaching your puppy new skills? Describe where will your puppy sleep? Describe how you will you exercise your puppy?
    How will you show affection to your puppy?
    What kinds of food will you feed your puppy?
    Will you spay or neuter your puppy? If so, when? Under what conditions would you breed your puppy?     Have you considered special financial planning that would help with puppy medical emergencies or costly treatment (pet health insurance, a special bank account/”piggy bank”)? What will happen to your dog if you die or are disabled?
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    REFERENCES Name, address, and phone number of your veterinarians: Name, address and phone numbers of 3 people who know how you interact with animals: My application and deposit indicate my good faith intention to adopt and care for a HighGarth puppy. My application is true and accurate. I have not intentionally omitted or misrepresented information. If I have intentionally misrepresented myself in this application, I expect that my application will be rejected and my deposit forfeited. If I decide not to adopt a puppy, I will forfeit my deposit. Otherwise, my deposit will apply to the cost of adoption, due in full when I accept the puppy. Signature of applicant_____________________________________________Date___________ Signature of applicant_____________________________________________Date___________ Revised 06 11 03
    HighGarth Labradors
    C/O Conrad & Kate Fulkerson 742 Robert Gentry Road Timberlake, NC 27583 336.364.7619 highgarthlabs@aol.com

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    Why HighGarth ?
    The name of our kennel and our farm comes from several sources. Garth is Gaelic for meadow. Many years ago while traveling in the north of England we stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast, High Garth Farm. There was a centuries old house with thick masonry walls, the cattle stayed in quarters that were actually under the house, and the family who had lived there for many generations worked their herding dogs in caring for their livestock. The people, the animals, and the land existed as one. Conrad’s grandfather, Raleigh Aaron Shoemaker, called his farm in northwest Missouri Highland Place and Conrad has many happy memories of being there as a child. In the distance, one can see his hometown of Plattsburg, MO. Finally, our farm in Person Co., NC, near the villages of Timberlake and Helena, is on the slope of a large elevation called Mt. Tirzah. The terrain is very rolling and reminiscent of the mountains. A central feature of the farm is the high meadow sown in Orchard Grass that we harvest each summer for hay. The dogs take us for walks in the pastures, the trails along the Flat River, and through the thousand or so acres of the nearby Hill Forest. We love visitors and being able to offer some time in a slower, quieter place.
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