Absolutely!  In addition to a huge number of testimonials, our Owners are available to personally speak to you about their experience with Red Shadow Kennels!

If you want to see what our Owners think of us, visit us here.

If you want to speak with any of our Owners in person, let us know. We would be happy to set that up for you!

As breeders, we have an incredible opportunity to influence a dog for their entire lifetime.
Current research in puppy development has given us insight into when critical systems are developing and when we can have the greatest impact on them.
While we can’t create a puppy who is fearless, we can influence their development to such a point that they are resilient to fear.
With our training and guidance, puppies are more willing to try new things and will recover faster from adverse events.
Not only will this result in a better behaved puppy, but with better coping mechanisms, the puppy will suffer less stress over it’s lifetime and should live longer.
If you want to see the work we do on a week-by-week basis, click here.

The cost of raising puppies varies from breeder to breeder.

Some breeders choose not to compete the Sire or Dam in Conformation or Performance.
Some choose to limit the amount of health testing they do.
Some make do with a minimum amount of medical care during pregnancy.
Some limit the amount of medical care the puppies receive.
Some compromise on the quality of the puppies living conditions.
We don’t compromise. The thousands of hours we put into this are a labour of love.
However, every cent that comes into our kennel from our teaching or breeding program is spent on food, medical, training and our breeding program.
Our motto at Red Shadow is “If we are making a profit, we are not doing it right”

Every owner is different just like every dog is different, but here are a few things we think are good for both!

1. A willingness to learn.  Our educational seminars and support programs will keep you current.
2. Financially ready. We estimate that the first 5 years of ownership will cost you between $5,000 and $10,000.
3. A fenced yard or dog run. A good fence will keep your dog in and the coyotes and thieves out
4.  An interest in working with your Toller. Smart dogs like these need to be busy.
5. An active and ongoing relationship with us. We support our owners for the dog’s entire lifetime.

A puppy’s body isn’t the only thing growing in the first 10 weeks. Their little brains are growing too!

Their eyes, ears and skin are feeding the brain a barrage of information on things they have ever seen, heard or felt before.
In the process, they are learning about their world. They are learning that humans are good, food is good and even the family cat can be pretty good!
They are also developing their emotions. They are learning to be happy, to be sad and to be afraid.
Unfortunately, their entire body doesn’t grow in a linear fashion. During those first 10 weeks, they enter a developmental “fear period” where their brains tell them that world is a very, very scary place.
One of these fear periods happens between week 7 and week 9.
We don’t know when a puppy will go through it or how bad it will be, but we do know that the puppy will wake up one morning inexplicably terrified. This fear period lasts approximately 5 days and we manage this time carefully. Puppies stay within the security of their littermates and we do our best not to expose them to any sudden sound or experiences.
If a puppy suffers an adverse event during this time, their fear reaction will last their entire life.
So yes, our owners have to wait a little longer and, yes, it is more time consuming and expensive for us, but puppy rearing done well is not going to be cheap or easy.
The difference between those 2 weeks and a lifetime is a pretty easy decision to make.

If you think you and your family are ready, here is what you need to do to apply:

1. Contact us here and ask for one of our Puppy Packages. We will send you an email with  a Questionnaire!

2. Complete the Questionnaire  completely and return it. This questionnaire is our first impression of you and  gives us the details we need to match a puppy.

3. We will book you for a conference call. We want to know you better and gather more information. Have your Questionnaire with you so we can go over it.

4. We will take a couple of days to review what you have given us and determine whether we have a suitable puppy to offer you

5. For families that live locally, we may ask you out for a visit.  Regardless of the distance, all applicants are welcome to visit us.

Because of the large number of inquires we get, the application process can sometimes take several weeks to complete. We ask for your patience during this time.

Yes we do and it isn’t as scary or dangerous as you might think!
Our commitment to our dogs is to feed them the same higher quality, human grade food that we enjoy. What surprises most people is that the average Toller costs $1.00 a day to feed, make this diet cheaper than most grocery store kibbles!
We do not expect our owners to feed raw, but we hope they will. To get them started, each owner must attend our Canine Nutrition class and each puppy is provided with 6 pre-package meals!
If you are not currently one of our owners and want to learn more about raw feeding, contact us here. We will let you know when our Canine Nutrition class is open to the public!

Every one of our dogs lives in our home and is a member of our family. They  enjoys a lifetime of the very best food, accommodation and enrichment that we can provide.
Weekends are spent in the lake, in the park or enjoying a day of dock diving at a local facility. There is also ongoing training and competitions.

To say that our life revolves around them is not an understatement.

Before doing a breeding, we run every health and genetic test available on the parents to be and limit the number of times a dam is bred.
We pay strict attention to their dietary and exercise requirements before and after conception. Our first commitment is to their safety and the health of the puppies.

Our Kennel was registered in 2012 as a breeding Kennel with the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC).

We have not yet lost any of our puppies to old age, but we have lost dogs where fencing was not adequate.
Our dogs have been killed by vehicles, stolen by thieves and have run off on their own.
Our owners were devastated.
In each case, a fence would have reduced or eliminated the chances of this happening.
A secured fence isn’t just to keep your dog in. It also keeps wildlife out.
With our experience in Veterinary Emergency Clinics, we have seen the trauma a coyote can cause..often.
In rural areas where fencing isn’t as common, coyote attacks are the second most common cause of death for dogs in emergency.
Dogs even twice the size of Tollers are still not strong enough to survive a coyote attack.

We trust our owners completely. We know that they put a lot of time into training their dogs.
We also know from experience that we can’t trust our furkids to always do the right thing.
Think of it this way. Fences make good neighbours. They also make excellent protection for your dog.

No. We consider the purchase of a puppy from us as significant as adopting a child. We would not want a child shipped unaccompanied in cargo either!

We make the trip worthwhile for the owners. We provide 7 hours of classes on Nutrition, Immunology, and Grooming as well as completing the ownership transfer!

Red Shadow Kennels has a Mentor Program for new breeders who are interested in entering the world of dog breeding.
We will select a suitable dog from one of our litters and help our owners gain experience in kennel specifics such as training, conformation, grooming, performance competitions as well as on marketing, health and canine reproduction.
Owners who have completed our program will be able to start their own kennel, support and market their dogs and have experience in competitions.

We don’t roll like other breeders.
Two years seems to be what most waitlists are up to now.
That doesn’t work for us.
We understand that lives change. The commitments you can make now may not be ones you can make two years from now.
Plus, you become a part of our family when we offer you one of our puppies.
We become disconnected from our approved families over those 2 years and they become strangers to us.
We don’t like that.
So let’s do it this way. Let’s place a puppy with you when you are ready for one and when we have one to place.
Sounds like a good idea, right?