Buying a puppy
How It Works
From the first phone call to the drive home — and what we expect to be ready on your end.
Five Steps
Tell us about your place
Call or text Michael at 423-540-6566. What stock do you run, how many acres, what does your fencing look like, and what's been getting at you? That conversation decides whether a guardian is the right answer at all — and if it isn't, we'll say so.
Get your setup ready
Fencing, a dry shelter, and a small pen inside or beside the stock area where the pup can start out. This is the part people underestimate. Have it done before pickup day, not after.
Reserve your pick
A $200 deposit holds a specific puppy and comes off the $500 total. We'll point you toward the pups whose temperament fits your operation, and you choose from those. Deposits aren't required for same-day pickups.
Come out at eight weeks
Pickup is at the farm in Newport. You'll meet the parents, see the barn the pups were raised in, and get a walk-through of feeding and the first few weeks. Plan on staying a bit — this isn't a hand-off in a parking lot.
The first year
Your pup goes home with records, feed, and our number. The adolescent stage around four to ten months is where guardians are made or ruined, and that's exactly when we want you calling.
Have This Ready First
A guardian pup dropped into an unprepared place is how good dogs end up rehomed.
Fencing up and walked
Five-foot field fence minimum, no gaps under the bottom wire, gates that latch positively.
Shelter in place
Shade, a dry windbreak, and somewhere out of the wind. They'd rather sleep outside than in a barn, but they need the option.
A starter pen
Small area inside or beside the stock so the pup can see, hear, and smell the flock without being trampled.
A vet lined up
Know who you're calling before you need them, and make sure they're comfortable with a large guardian breed.
The care & training guide goes deeper on all of this.
Bring on Pickup Day
- A crate or a truck bed with a secure kennel — these pups are heavy at eight weeks
- A collar and lead (we'll size it with you)
- Water for the ride home
- The balance, in whatever form you arranged
- Questions — bring all of them
Coming from a distance? See pickup & transport.
Start With a Phone Call
Tell us what you're running and we'll tell you what we'd put on it.