Guardian Home Program
Our Guardian Home Program
At Pacific Northwest Doodles, we believe every dog deserves a loving home—not a kennel. That’s why we raise all of our breeding dogs and puppies in real homes with real families. Dogs raised in a home environment are better socialized, more confident, and ultimately make the best companions—whether they go on to become family pets, therapy dogs, or service dogs.
To continue offering well-loved, well-adjusted puppies while maintaining the genetic diversity needed for a healthy breeding program, we partner with Guardian Homes.
What’s a Guardian Home?
Our Guardian Home Program allows families and individuals to be part of something meaningful—helping raise future therapy dogs, service animals, and loving family pets—while welcoming a Pacific Northwest Doodle into their home at no cost.
Guardian families receive a free breeding dog, and in return, we retain breeding rights for a set contract period. The dog lives full-time with their Guardian family, receiving the same love and care as any family pet. This is not a foster program—the dog is your dog. Once the breeding term is complete, full ownership is transferred, and the dog remains with your family for the rest of their life.
How It Works
Guardian dogs live with their families for their entire lifespan
We retain breeding rights for a set number of litters or years, clearly outlined in a contract
Once the breeding term ends, ownership is officially transferred to the Guardian
All vet care related to breeding is handled by Pacific Northwest Doodles
Our Guardian network helps ensure we never have to raise dogs in kennels. Instead, each dog is raised in a home filled with love, attention, and proper socialization—right from the start.
Available Dogs
We have several dogs coming available in the next few months. To be contacted about upcoming puppies, or to get updated information as one becomes available, please fill out an application.
Often times the guardian applies and is selected before we even get a chance to post them on our website, so even if we don’t have what you are looking for listed, we might have something available in a few months that would fit your needs, so fill out an application and lets get connected!
We have some coming up that we haven’t posted yet so if you don’t see what you are looking for, please feel free to fill out an application anyway! We oftentimes find a guardian home before we even post them as being available!
Misty – Adult Female Cavalier
Misty is a calm, affectionate girl who thrives on companionship and loves being near her people. She’s gentle, easygoing, and would be a great fit for a retired individual or a low-key family looking for a loyal, loving companion.
She gets along well with other dogs but is equally happy as the only pet—as long as she’s getting plenty of attention. Misty is house trained and does great with a dog door. Without one, she’ll need a little help learning how to ask to go out, but she’s quick to learn with consistency.
She sleeps peacefully through the night and doesn’t need to be crated when you leave—she’s calm, trustworthy, and content to relax until you return. Her favorite things? Treats, walks, and belly rubs.
Misty is ready to settle into her forever Guardian Home, where she can be spoiled with the love she deserves.
Please fill out an Application to get started.
All Guardian Homes must live within 1 hour of Boise, Idaho.
Please be as specific as possible. We are very particular about who gets to be a guardian home and not everyone is a good fit. If you aren’t accepted into our Guardian Program, perhaps purchasing a puppy might be a better fit.
What’s the difference between Guardian Homes and Puppy Nanny Families?
Guardian Homes
Purpose: Provide a permanent, loving home for one of our breeding dogs.
What They Do:
Raise one of our breeding dogs (usually from puppyhood) as their full-time family pet.
Allow Pacific Northwest Doodles to retain breeding rights for a set period (outlined in a contract).
Once the breeding career is complete, full ownership is transferred to the Guardian family.
The dog lives with the Guardian family for life.
Think of it as: Giving a breeding dog the opportunity to live a full, family-centered life instead of being housed in a kennel environment.
Ideal for: Families who want to be part of our program long-term and are located within driving distance of Boise, ID.
Puppy Nanny Families
Purpose: Raise a single litter of puppies in their home from birth to around 6 weeks of age.
What They Do:
Temporary care for one litter at a time, in their home.
Follow our structured training, socialization, and care protocols.
Receive hands-on training and ongoing support from the Pacific Northwest Doodles team.
Puppies return to us at 6 weeks for continued training and evaluation before going to their forever families.
Think of it as: A temporary, nurturing role focused on the critical early weeks of puppy development.
Ideal for: Stay-at-home parents or individuals with flexible schedules who love puppies and want to help raise well-adjusted dogs without a long-term ownership commitment.
FAQ’s
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We maintain the strictest standards with our guardians in how they are cared for. Our guardian dogs are members of the family and we want to ensure their owners are a good fit, as well as the ability to have a good working relationship with us. We have an extensive interview process. All guardian homes will sign a contract that outlines expectations and requirements. Guardians must live within 2 hours of Boise, Idaho and be willing to drive the dog to our home or vet for occasional testing.
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There is no cost for our guardian dogs. You are responsible for the daily care and routine costs associated with owning a dog. Food, Supplements, training, vet care, and regular grooming. We do require all guardian homes to feed an approved dog food. Your puppy comes with 30 days of free pet insurance with Trupanion and most of our families opt to stay on that. We pay all costs associated with reproduction/breeding including extra supplements, tests and reproductive vet bills.
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For some, the initial cost associated with having a well bred dog is too high, and for others, they just want to be sure they are getting the pick of the litter. We occasionally will keep back a female or male from a litter and that is the puppy they wanted. In exchange for us being allowed to have breeding rights, they get the dog they wanted at no cost. Our guardians get to be a special part of our program without having to do the work of raising puppies.
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It depends on the guardian dog. If you have a stud dog, we would only need him occasionally for about half an hour, up to a couple of days at a time max. (Rare that we would have them that long, only would happen if we needed to travel with him out of state). If you have one of our females, we would have her for about an hour or so when she is first bred, and then for about 7 weeks for puppy delivery.
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Poodles, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and Cavapoos
The best way to find our most up to date info on what we have available or to be on a list to get a dog or puppy is to fill out our guardian application below.
Be sure to let us know that you are looking to be a guardian home and tell us a little about yourself. We get a lot of inquiries and are looking for just the right home for our babies and adults. Pacific Northwest Doodles reserves the rights to refuse guardian home status to anyone for any reason. We work very closely with our guardian homes and have extremely strict standards. Even if you think you fit each of our requirements, the working relationship is very important and we need to make sure we have great communication and relationships with all of our guardians.