The Ivy Meadows Difference

Here at Ivy Meadows, we are committed to being different.

You may ask yourself, different than what? And well, I’m going to share that with you.

Some of what puppy families don’t always see—but breeders do, and know to be true—is how differently  breeders can choose to raise, house, treat and train their dogs, if they do that last bit at all.

As breeders, we get to see the inside scoop, so to speak, of how dogs are living behind the scenes. We also see how much—or how little—is actually being done with puppies to prepare them for the rest of their lives.

And that is where we pledge to be different.

Our dogs are not just a means to an end. They aren’t our cash cows. They are loved, they are enjoyed, they are trained, and they go on adventures. Our dogs enjoying their lives is extremely important to us.

That standard does not begin when a dog enters our breeding program, and it does not end when their breeding career does. Our dogs’ value to us has never been determined by their ability to produce puppies. They are ours to love and care for first.

We have many priorities here that we hold strongly to.

We breed with the goal of bettering and preserving the breed as a whole. We strive for correct conformation that allows our Aussies to move and flow as they should—free of pain and able to easily move, turn and pivot as they are meant to as a breed.

We strive for excellent temperaments, and we strive to give our dogs the best lives we truly can. Lives full of enjoyment, adventure and simple, positive challenges that help them become more resilient, confident, stable and well-rounded.

We are strongly committed to giving every single puppy the very best start to life that we can, and just as committed to ensuring they are placed with those who will continue to give them the very best lives.

Sure, we do ENS. We do ESI. We keep our puppy areas clean and disinfected. We stay on top of deworming, veterinary care and parasite protection—but we do not stop there.

Our puppies are held, played with, loved on and challenged in positive, age-appropriate ways every single day.

They are groomed and have their nails trimmed every few days. Not only because it is important for sanitary and safety reasons, but because it also begins preparing them for a lifetime of cooperative care. Puppies who are not introduced to these things early can sometimes struggle much more with grooming later, particularly having their paws and face handled or their nails trimmed.

When we send our puppies home, the work is not done. But we have worked hard to give them the strongest foundation possible before passing you both the joy of raising your puppy and the baton to continue the exposure, socialization and training that has already begun.

Our puppies are always started on potty training and crate training. On the rare occasions we have puppies staying beyond the typical 8–9 week go-home period, we continue progressing them in their training.

They are not forgotten about, ignored or simply penned up all day because they did not leave at eight weeks.

They are loved and worked with daily, just as we would with any puppy we were raising for ourselves.

This is also why we do not drop our prices simply because a puppy gets older. We know the work, dedication and love we continue to put into them. We also know there are families who, although they think the tiny puppy stage is absolutely adorable—because it is—also know just how much work a very young puppy can be.

An older puppy has had more time to learn, more time to develop bladder control and more time invested into their training, confidence and life skills. There are families who understand exactly what kind of head start they are receiving by being able to skip some of those more challenging early puppy stages.

Getting older does not make one of our puppies worth less.

A beautiful website, impressive pedigree, high price point or even health testing alone cannot tell you what a dog’s day-to-day life looks like or what a puppy’s first eight weeks have actually consisted of.

That matters.

We believe dogs are a gift, and because of that, they deserve so much better than what can sometimes become accepted as “good enough.”

If you are looking at breeders and trying to decide who to trust when it comes to your new addition, let me urge you: don’t choose someone solely because of price or location. Don’t choose them simply because they seem nice, or even because their dogs have some great credentials.

Yes, those things matter.

But what also matters is that you understand what you are paying for—and even more importantly, that the dogs and puppies involved are being given the lives they deserve, from the very beginning through the very end.

Ask how the dogs live.

Ask what is actually being done with the puppies.

Ask how they are socialized, handled and prepared for life outside of the breeder’s home.

Ask what happens to the dogs when they retire from breeding.

Ask whether the breeder is still there to support you after your puppy goes home.

Because dogs deserve better than being valued only for what they can produce.

And when you are trusting someone to raise and place your new best friend and companion, you deserve to know that your puppy has been interacted with, worked with, loved and intentionally prepared for life beyond the breeder’s home.

You deserve to know how your puppy is being raised.

You deserve to feel free—and encouraged—to ask questions, to reach out and to stay in contact with your breeder, both before and long after your puppy comes home.

And the dogs themselves deserve breeders who care about the lives they live just as much as the puppies they produce.

We are committed to being the difference.

To doing all we can to preserve and protect our breed.

To continually learning, growing and doing better than the status quo.

And to giving our dogs and puppies the lives they are so incredibly worthy of. 🤍