Biosecurity and Our Visitation Policy

We met Bree's Breeder at our mutual Vet where the Litter was getting their vaccinations and their Health Certifications; after sitting on the floor with all the newly vaccinated pups and making my choice, I brought Bree home. We spent some time introducing her to the pack, then put her into semi-isolation, but I didn't change my clothes. After all, there was no litter on the ground at that time and all my dogs were up to date on their vaccinations. I thought we were all good.

Three days later, Kona spent the night coughing; a run down to the Vet confirmed that she had Kennel Cough; three days later Dreama was coughing, a day later, it was our Callie and finally, poor little Bree was taken to see our Vet and put on medication as well. Cain and Roamin' caught a mild case and didn't require medication, but all the girls were on a 7 day dose of strong medications to recover.

Kona, Dreama and Callie were all vaccinated against Kennel Cough and had not been off our property in the ten days prior to becoming symptomatic. So, how did they contract Kennel Cough? Bree and I both carried the virus into our home; she shedding it through her nostrils and I because my clothing had caught some of the shedding of the litter of newly vaccinated puppies I'd been loving on at the Vets office. Kona was the first to be exposed and then exposed Dreama and Callie so despite the quarantine that Bree was placed into, she also contracted the cough. That is all it took for a virus to spread through our pack. Thankfully, we did not have a young litter of puppies on the ground at that time!

Diseases like Kennel Cough, Canine Flu and the deadly Parvovirus can be unknowingly carried on the hands, clothing and shoes of anyone and everyone. Each of these diseases have an incubation period of 3 to 10 days. A visitor today could result in a pregnant but vaccinated Dam being asymptomatic for a strain of Parvo but whelping a litter 10 days later with Cardiac Parvo who will all die within 48 hours of becoming symptomatic. Or a visitor tomorrow could result in a six week old litter contracting the non-Cardiac version and all die within 48 hours or have compromised health throughout their lifetime if they survive.

We totally understand that you may have read that only "bad breeders" restrict visitation; but the truth is that all good breeders understand the need for biosecurity if they take the health and safety of their dogs seriously. Large breeders who keep their dogs in concrete kennels/runs and have sidewalks that any visitors must walk to view (but not touch) their dogs can afford to take chances that breeders who don't own "a facility" but allow their dogs to live in the home and play in the whole of the property, cannot.

While we restrict visitation to only those who have reserved a puppy, we have video and photo pages here on the website where you can see our dogs and how we raise our litters; there is also our Facebook page which is updated more frequently. We don't just claim that our dogs "roam the property", you will see our dogs living their lives outside of kennels.

We don't just claim a "professional whelping room" but never allow it to be photographed or seen by visitors; we show you the litters in the rooms with their play-yard and outside in our puppy paddock growing, eating and playing with frequent videos and photos.

And when you have placed a reservation and the litter has been born and is 5 - 6 weeks old, you will be allowed to watch those puppies run in a large paddock of K-9 Kennel Grass to see how they move and stand and sit and be allowed to enter to actually handle the puppies before you make your choice. We simply ask that you wear freshly laundered clothing; make no stops between your home and ours (or change your shoes if you must make a stop); that you remove your shoes and sanitize your hands before entering our paddock.

Should you choose an Aisling Puppy, to help protect YOUR puppy from illness, we ask that you understand that the rules shown below are in place to protect all the puppies and dogs who live here with us. NOTE: Our COVID19 policies are seen below in RED font; slight changes may be made according to the changing CDC guidelines and infection rates at the time of appointment. Any changes to our Covid policies are not considered as grounds to void the reservation contract between a client and Aisling Labradors.

Visits are by appointment only and only after a Holding Fee/Reservation has been placed; we DO NOT make exceptions to this policy because you are here on vacation or for any other reason. Again, we are home not a facility. Thank you for your understanding.
During any visit here at Aisling, there will be only ONE party on the property during the appointment. Parties must wait in their cars and wait to be greeted at our gate and escorted on to the property. Please do NOT enter the gate until you are met there and have been welcomed in by one of us.
A Face Shield and/or mask may be required during the appointment during any reading/signing of documents. All appointments are conducted outside; there have been no confirmed cases of outdoor spread according to the CDC, however, we still practice social distancing.
Gloves may be required depending upon the level of COVID19 infections in your area of residence; If our supplies are not limited by lack of availability, we will provide them. IF you have your own, we appreciate your providing them for yourself.
During times of high infection rates, we will be LIMITING the number of those who attend appointments to TWO people per appointment; during low infection periods, immediate family members may attend the appointment (Mom, Dad, and minor children).
At any time, we may change an in person appointment to a Face Time appointment and clients may request or be offered this option if they have been exposed or are infected (this is an exception during this Covid era; we expect appointments to be attended in person). Please be aware that in our rural setting, FaceTime is NOT reliable and that calls may be dropped or unable to connect at all.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THESE POLICIES AT ANY GIVEN TIME BASED UPON CDC GUIDELINES AT THE TIME OF THE APPOINTMENT - ANY CHANGE TO OUR COVID POLICY IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS GROUNDS TO BREAK THE LEGALLY BINDING RESERVATION CONTRACT.
Please wear freshly laundered/clean clothing and make no stops on your way to your appointment; bring a change of clean soled shoes if you must stop between home and here.
We ask that you wait at our gate upon arrival for someone to greet you and walk you to the viewing area
You will be asked to enter our puppy paddock without your shoes
You will be required to sanitize your hands prior to handling any puppy - During the COVID19 crisis, we ask that you bring your own hand sanitizer to your appointment. A pocket sized bottle can easily fit in your pocket or purse. Thank you for your understanding.
Children will be required to sit to hold or handle any puppy and if asked to leave the paddock must do so immediately
Please do not bring anyone other than your immediate family to make your choice (No Aunts and Uncles, nephew and nieces or neighbors - exceptions are made when immediate family cannot attend and a friend is along for the drive). See COVID19 policy above.
While we understand that you would like your dog to meet the puppy, we cannot allow other dogs on the property even if they are vaccinated as even vaccinated dogs may be asymptomatic but contagious after exposure for 6 - 10 days.