SPAY/NEUTER: We require spay/neuter at or before 1 year of age. If you're a breeder you should probably look elsewhere. This might seem hypocritical at first glance, but we have a take-back provision in our contract. Any puppy from our home always has a home here, and will never experience the fear and burden of life at a shelter. Taking back an unaltered dog into our home poses significant risk to our own dogs due to canine STDs and the possiblity an unaltered dog could be pregnant. Sadly, many well-intentioned folks don't remember to spay before the first heat cycle, and suddenly their barely-adolescent dog is pregnant by multiple studs of unknown heritage. Spay surgery while pregnant is exceedingly risky, and several canine STDs such as brucellosis can be transferred to humans, which poses an unacceptable risk to our family. Because we take cradle-to-grave "original home" responsibility for the puppies we create, puppies must be de-sexed.