Buying an Otterway Puppy | Otterway Labradors

The Steps to owning an Otterway Puppy

When purchasing a puppy 'back in the day' we would visit the breeder and pick our puppy. We can all remember being told to pick the puppy that picks you! With the regulation of breeding in an attempt to prevent 'Puppy Farms' and 'Backyard Breeders' the process of buying a puppy has changed.

Breeders registered with their State Canine Controlling body, (for us, Dogs Victoria) are required to abide by a strict Code of Conduct covering ethics, responsibilities to our Labradors and to our puppy families.

A Breeders commitment to their puppies and Puppy families does not end with the sale of the puppy. We are responsible for supporting our Puppy families for the lifetime of the dog. It is therefore very important we ensure the homes our puppies go to are suitable and likely to be forever homes. To be able to assess a puppy's potential home and match a puppy to your family there are steps we take. If you have any questions regarding the process please don't hesitate to ask.

Contact us for a Puppy Application
We will advise of the availability of a Puppy
We will select the Puppy we assess to be most suitable for your family at around 6 weeks of age, once their personalities and temperaments are developing
We will arrange a Puppy Visit for you with your Puppy around this time. During the Puppy visit you will:
- Meet your Puppy
- Select his/her Registered Name
- Pay your Puppy deposit
- Receive copies of contracts for perusal prior to signing upon Puppy handover
- Have the opportunity to ask any questions you might have with regard to taking Puppy home.
Puppy handover day! An appointment will be made for you to pick up your Puppy when he/she is around 8-9 weeks old. Your handover appointment will be 1-2 hours and you will have the opportunity to discuss feeding, sleeping, settling into your home, exercise limitations for a Lab puppy, vaccination and worming schedule. At Puppy Handover you will receive your Otterway Puppy Pack which contains items to assist with settling puppy into your home that he/she is familiar with such as a toy, a blanket with Mum and litter mates smell, a bag of food and other items. You will also receive a comprehensive folder with Puppy's registration papers, parent's health check results, vaccination card, worming schedule and more.

After handover

You will be able to contact us at any time for support and advice.

You will have access to the private Otterway families Facebook page. This will contain reminders for your puppy and litter siblings for their vaccinations, health checks and other age appropriate reminders. It is also a forum for families to share their adventures with their Otterway Puppy, to arrange catch ups etc.

Despite all of the best intentions, adequate health checks and testing, nutrition and care that goes into a litter, sometimes things go wrong and a puppy will be affected by a condition or disease.

Please be assured that if this were to happen, we will support you and you will not be left on your own!*

*Conditions are outlined in our contract of sale of Puppy; sometimes afflictions are caused by inadequate care or accident which Otterway cannot be held responsible for. Any cost associated with the care of Puppy will be borne by the purchaser and will not be reimbursed by Otterway unless expressly stated in writing.

Veterinary assessment with provision of results by the registered Veterinarian to Otterway Labradors must occur in a timely manner prior to any agreement to financial reimbursement.