Welcome to Holmes Family Labs

The basis of any great breeding program starts with an amazing foundation and here at Holmes Family Labs, that’s just what we’ve done!
Firstly, we are a completely kennel free breeding program. We’ve accomplished this by creating an amazing Guardianship Program. Our Guardian program allows our breeding dogs, both male and female, to be fostered by loving forever homes while still maintaining status as a breeding dog for a contracted number of litters. The Guardian Homes provide a puppy with a loving forever home and also support the Breeder’s breeding needs through the Guardian Home Program. This program allows us to continue to follow our passion in breeding because as our males and females retire as we do not re-home retired breeding dogs. As our Parent Dogs come to age, they are extensively DNA Genetically Health Tested by: Embark, PawPrint and/or Canine Health Check. Holmes Family Labs has an extremely high standard to pass these DNA Genetic Health Tests as we feel it is of outmost importance to only breed healthy Lab Puppies! After the potential Parent Dog has passed the DNA Genetic Testing, when they become of age they will then be evaluated for Orthopaedic Testing via Orthopaedic Foundation of Animals (OFA) and/or PennHIP. Through out this coming of breeding age process, all Parent Dogs are constantly monitored for their temperament, disposition, skills and training capabilities. We retire potential Parent Dogs prior to breeding if they are not outstanding in the above process. 

We take the health of our puppies seriously and offer a comprehensive health guarantee for every puppy we sell. Our puppies are up-to-date on vaccinations and come with a clean bill of health from our veterinarian. We're confident in the quality of our puppies and stand behind them 100%.

Holmes Family Labs Puppies are raised following the wonderful Bad Ass Breeder (BAB) Program. This rearing program is aligning breeders by a common code of ethics to rise together. A beautiful thing is happening, breeders are acknowledging their worth and power to create dogs that heal hearts and change lives. And in doing so, the public is taking notice at our unity, our standards and our passion. Puppies are raised to believe in themselves and be the best they can be through guiding emotional responses, meeting their innate needs in order, building confidence through intentional and purposeful curriculum and handling that aligns to their sensitive developmental benchmarks and lastly evaluating each puppy prior to placement to ensure their voice is heard and they are honored and respected not only with their breeder but with their new human as well. 
Holmes Family Labs is helping raise the standard in the breeding world on what a forever family should expect from their new Puppy. Below we will break down our Lab Puppies: Curriculum, Development, and the Evaluation Processes.

Early Neurological Stimulation Exercises Day 3-16
1. Tactical stimulation (between toes)
2. Head held erect
3. Head pointed down
4. Supine position
5. Thermal stimulation
Benefits:
1. Improved cardiovascular performance (heart rate)
2. Stronger heart beats
3. Stronger adrenal glands
4. More tolerance to stress
5. Greater resistance to disease

Early Scent Introduction Day 3-16
Expose the puppies to a different pungent
scents each day. We hold them close and
let them smell the item. Chart the reaction:
Positive: Puppy actively engaged with the
scent (don’t let them touch the item)
Neutral: No reaction noted
Negative: Puppy moved away from scent
Benefits:
Nose awareness and confidence! Great for
hunting, tracking and diabetic alert dogs (to
name a few).

Handling & Desensitization Exercises

Weeks 1-2
Day 1-3: minimal handling
(weights, ribbon change, head
to toe check and return to dam
asap
Day 4-14
Gently run your fingers along
their body offering them your
nose and mouth to smell. Hold
them close to heart and face.
Wait for calm energy and then
return to dam,

Week 3-4

1. Rub ears
2. Cover eyes
3. Open mouth and run fingers on gums
4. Rub belly in circular motion
5. Run hand down back
6. Run hand and fingers along tail
7. Touch all paws
8. Run fingers around neck and under collar
9. Touch nose
10. Tap nails

Week 5

1. Rub on and tug ears
2. Cover eyes
3. Open mouth and run fingers on gums
4. Rub belly in circular motions
5. Run hand down back and back up again
6. Tug and twist (circular motion) on tail
7. Touch all paws and push in between pads
8. Tap nails
9. Run fingers around neck and tug on collar
10. Touch their nose

Through Weeks 6 and beyond we repeat Week 5 increasing time and pressure to build tolerance.

Day 1-3: Minimal touching of the babies. To ensure mom can get her bearings and settle in with her new babies properly, we do not interact with the puppies other than changing collars and giving them an overall check.
Day 3-16: ENS and ESI. During days 3-16 we do early scent introduction and early neurological stimulation. Early scent introduction is beneficial because it helps produce puppies with superior noses and impressive scent recognition. Early neurological stimulation is beneficial because it improves heart rates, creates stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, greater resistance to disease and increased stress tolerance.
Day 17-24: Increased handling exercises. During these days the puppies begin to move around more, their eyes are open and they are curious. They have begun to recognize voices and find safety in our presence. This is when we begin to handle the puppies more, we play with their toes and we touch their ears and eyes. We begin to desensitise them to touch and allow them to feel safe and secure.
Day 25-28: Introduction to food. Although we are still working on handling exercises and desensitisation, we have also begun introducing the puppies to food. At around 3.5-4 weeks of age the puppies now have full mouths of teeth which means mom no longer wants to feed them as often. It also means they are now ready for food! We start the introduction by creating puppy mush with blended food, water and formula. Eventually they transition to hard kibble.
Day 29-56: Desensitization to common stressors. During this period as well as throughout the entire time the puppies are with us we work on introducing them to common stressors they will encounter in life. This includes grooming, we work on bringing the clippers near them and getting used to the sound of them as well as brushing, bathing and blow drying. We touch their eyes, ears, toes and in between their paw pads to get them used to touch. We play sounds that commonly they are afraid of such as sirens, fireworks, babies crying, traffic, horns, trains, planes, thunder and rain. During this time we also bring the puppies on car rides so that they enjoy it with their new families.

We imprint all of our puppies to the recall of “puppy puppy puppy”. In effect, this is actually their “name” and not their assigned “litter name” that we may have referred to throughout our correspondence. This is a lifesaving tool we are giving you, so what can you do to ensure your puppy continues to have this vital recall?

1. Practice twice a week with a high value treat that they never get otherwise (cheese, chicken, hot dog, etc.). Wait for them to be distracted by something (focus is not on you) and then call, “Puppy puppy puppy!” As soon as your pup gets to you, have the biggest “puppy party” and give them the treat. That is it!
2. Do not ever use “puppy puppy puppy” as a punishment (to put them in their kennel, call them from inside, etc.). It has to be 100% positive EVERY single time!
3. No not overuse this command. Your dog will learn very quickly to ignore you if this command is overused – twice a week and no more (unless your dog is in a life-threatening situation).
4. How long should you keep reinforcing this command? We recommend doing this for the rest of your dog’s life.
5. When can you use this command? If your dog bolts out of the door, won’t recall when off leash, and /or could be in danger, etc.

Through out there beginnings we keep an eye on the following traits and around Week 6 we official evaluate our Sheepadoodle Puppies for:

Follows Naturally: These pups can be motivated to work with and for their human, be human-focused and truly enjoy human companionship more than most other things. “Wait for me!”
Natural Eye Contact: This is generally a genetic trait (long gaze) and some people really need a puppy that “looks” at them. It makes them feel worthy and special and they equate eye contact with love. “I love you!”
Plays Rough with Littermates: These pups could be assertive / dominant pups with other dogs and that might need to be taken into account when placing with other dogs in the home (ask questions – is their other dog dominant? Be careful some people don’t really know what that means so ask different questions. “Is your dog bossy with other dogs? Always in charge? How do they play with other dogs? Etc….Please note human dominance and dog dominance are two different things. “I da boss!”
Intense with toys: These pups freeze when you place your hand on them when they have a high-value treat, toy or food. They growl at littermates when they have a high-value item and could even bite. My main concern with puppies that exhibit this behavior, is that this could escalate to resource guarding. If you can’t catch any potential issues at three weeks, you can help rewire some thinking and behavior with flooding and trade up exercises (see below) and have a successful placement (with education to new owners). “Mine mine mine!”
Melts into your arms: These pups are compliant and could be submissive. They are generally not strong-willed pups. Some puppies “melt” into your arms not for the desire of a connection, but because they do not have the confidence to say anything about it. Make sure you can identify a puppy that “melts” with another puppy that seeks you out to crawl into your lap and loves to be held and cuddled. These pups are great for people wanting and needing a “velcro” puppy. They desire a very close relationship with their dog. They need their heart healed and they want physical contact with their dog (not everyone does) “You are my whole world!”
Often on their own: These pups are happy to be alone and entertain themselves. They are not needy or demanding and can be great companions for a busy family where they are left home every day while parents are at work and kids at school. Now, it doesn’t mean these dogs don’t have their needs and enjoy being with humans, but they are more independent (could be called aloof) pups. “I love “me” time!”
Lacks problem solving skills: These pups want everything done for them! They get frustrated easily by a challenge and either vocalize in displeasure or give up easily. Make sure you are empowering these pups and lure them through challenges (you may have to make it easier for them). Do not rescue them. Do not place these pups in homes where the owner wants to train and / or loves to train (therapy, agility, obedience, service, etc.) “I don’t wanna!”
Determined / Nose-Driven: These pups will work and work at a challenge and generally love to use their nose. You pick up a toy they had; they continue to “look for it”. Nose to the ground and tracking things or nose turned up air-scenting. These traits can be great for dogs that are needed for nose work (hunting, diabetic alert dog, search & rescue etc.). Make sure owners know that the pup could go “tone deaf” when hot on the trail of whatever they desire! It is important they honor this desire with hide-and-seek games and other fun nose games. “I find! I find!”

Have questions or want to learn more about our puppies? Contact us today and we'll be happy to help. We're passionate about connecting our puppies with loving families and look forward to hearing from you!