February Farm Recap: Puppies, Placements & Big Changes

February Farm Recap: New Puppies, New Homes & Big Changes at Prancing Pony Farm

February felt like it lasted about forty-five minutes. Between a new litter arriving, puppies heading to their forever homes, phone consultations, construction crews, and a few goat surprises I definitely did not plan for — it was one of those months where you fall into bed every night genuinely tired in the best possible way.

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting inside the whelping box with Cameo’s eight puppies. Most of them are piled up asleep. A couple are trying to figure out what I’m doing. They don’t know — they’re just little potatoes right now — but this is actually part of the job: spending time with them, talking, moving around them, being a normal human presence they learn to find completely unremarkable. More on that in a minute.

First, the recap.

🐾 Cameo’s First Litter: Eight Beautiful Puppies

About two weeks ago, Cameo delivered her very first litter — and she has been absolutely incredible. Eight healthy puppies, all thriving, and this first-time mama took to motherhood like she’d been doing it her whole life. Dad is Sevro, and I’m really excited about this combination.

A few of these puppies are already reserved, but I do have some available. They’ll be ready to go home in mid-May — which brings me to something I want every out-of-state family to hear.

✈️ The Shipping Window: What You Need to Know Before Summer

This is one of those things I wish I could put on a billboard.

Airlines won’t transport live animals when temperatures exceed 85°F at any point along the route. In California, that window typically closes in late May and doesn’t reopen until early September. That’s roughly three months where air shipping isn’t an option.

Here’s why that matters right now:

• Cameo’s puppies will be ready mid-May — right at the edge of that window. Out-of-state families need to be in touch with me soon so we can coordinate timing.
• My older puppies (almost 16 weeks and five months old) have an even shorter window. I’ve had a lot of inquiry calls lately, and I genuinely don’t think these will be available much longer.
• Planning a summer puppy? We need to talk about your options.

I run my own puppy shipping coordination service — you can find the details here on my website. I handle all of it: the airline booking, the vet appointment for the health certificate, communication with the layover kennel, everything. It costs a bit more than if you made all of the arrangements yourself, but it runs smoothly because I know exactly what needs to happen and I’ve built relationships with the right people along the way. After years of coaching clients through the process themselves and watching things go sideways with inexperienced shippers, I started managing it directly — and it’s made a significant difference for everyone.

What if you miss the airline window? I’m actively looking into reliable ground transportation options for families who need to move a puppy during the summer embargo. I’ve used ground transport in the past and have very specific standards for what qualifies as a reputable shipper — I won’t work with just anyone, and I’ll share more about that as I get options vetted. Watch for updates on that front.

Another option worth knowing about: A surprising number of my clients have flown into Fresno (the airport closest to me, about 45 minutes away), rented a car, and driven home with their puppy. It’s a great middle ground — you get the bonding experience of a road trip without doing the full drive both ways. We’ve had families come from all over the country (and even from Canada!) this way, and it works beautifully. If you’ve been wondering whether this is feasible for you, reach out and we can talk through the logistics.

💜 Puppy Placement Stories: The Best Part of This Work

Tom, Cindi & Jimmy

Tom has been on my waitlist for over a year. His story is one I’ll remember for a long time.

Tom has kept companion livestock guardian dogs for three decades — always Kuvasz, a breed he loves deeply. His most recent companion, Polo, was diagnosed with cancer shortly before Tom contacted me. When Tom first reached out to me, he was already thinking ahead and decided he wanted a Maremma as his next companion dog— but he wasn’t ready to bring a new puppy home while Polo was still with him. He wanted to give Polo his full attention.

So he made a reservation. Not for a specific puppy — just a spot, for when the time came.

Over the next year, I updated Tom every time a new litter was on the way. He’d check in with me, I’d check in with him. Three or four litters came and went. Each time: Not yet. Still with Polo. Then, about a month ago, Tom called to tell me Polo had passed. He was ready.

He told me he wanted the youngest puppy I had available — he has an older golden retriever named Gidget at home, and he wanted the full experience of raising a young pup. I walked him through my current litters and we landed on a puppy from what is now my nearly-four-month-old litter. Tom took a few weeks to clean and prepare his home, I kept him updated with photos and videos, and then — the very day those puppies turned 12 weeks old — Tom and his wife Cindy made the drive.

One thing I want to highlight: Tom didn’t choose Jimmy. I did. That’s how my puppy placement process works at Prancing Pony Farm. I gather information about your family, your lifestyle, your other animals, what you’re looking for — and then I make the match based on temperament and fit. Your input matters enormously, but the final decision is mine. It’s how I ensure the best outcomes for both the families and the dogs. Tom was part of the conversation every step of the way, and he trusted me with the decision. I’m confident we got it right.

Jimmy is home now. Gidget is slowly warming up to the situation. Tom keeps sending photos. 💜

Lisa & Leo

Lisa in Oregon reserved a puppy from Parma’s litter back in early February. She happened to be in the process of reserving right when I ran my Valentine’s Day promotion — free shipping coordination, free airport delivery, and a complimentary Dial course. (That’s a $250 value for all three.) She was already committed to getting her puppy before the promotion launched, but because she was in that window, I honored it for her.

Once we had everything arranged, I drove Leo (I have an Arabian horse named Leo, so I love this name choice) to the vet for his health certificate exam and then to the airport two days later. I filmed him doing clicker training at both places, and the videos are on my YouTube channel. Here was this puppy in completely unfamiliar, potentially overwhelming environments, and because he had a clicker, some treats, and a clear communication system he already understood, he was wonderful. Curious. Calm. Engaged. That’s what good early training does for a dog’s confidence.

(If you’re not already familiar with clicker training, the Dog Trainer Foundations course through Karen Pryor Academy is what I recommend to all my puppy families. Leo’s airport adventure is basically a case study in why.)

Leo arrived in Oregon without a hitch. Lisa has been sending me the most wonderful updates — I have screenshots of messages she’s sent that make me want to frame them. She told me he’s the smartest puppy she’s ever seen, that she loves him, and that she wanted to thank me for breeding such a wonderful dog.

I’ll take that. 💜

Melissa, Julian & Mabel — A Pennsylvania Sheep Ranch

Melissa runs a serious operation — with around 170 sheep and some goats, a full staff, on a 135 acre working sheep ranch with its own rhythms. Her adult livestock guardian dog, Squeaky, has been doing the job alone for years. But Squeaky is getting older, and Melissa knew the time had come to build a team.

She’d tried adding a partner for Squeaky through another breeder a few years back, and it went badly — the dog killed one of her sheep and badly injured others and had to be returned. That experience understandably made her cautious. But Squeaky can’t work forever, and waiting wasn’t the answer.

Melissa wanted to bring on a new LGD to help Squeaky out, and thought maybe a younger female would be a better fit. We had a discovery call and talked through everything. I gave her an honest picture of the pros and cons of different ages and genders of dogs, and I also made a suggestion: don’t bring in just one dog. Bring in two.

Here’s the thinking I shared with her: Squeaky is an older girl. She may not have the energy to shepherd a younger dog through a full bonding period on her own. And frankly, Squeaky won’t be around forever — if Melissa’s goal is a sustainable working team, the smartest move is to bring in two dogs who already know and trust each other. That way they can lean on each other through the transition, rather than relying entirely on an aging dog who’s also managing 170 sheep.

Melissa understood immediately. A few days after our call, she came back and reserved Julian — a three-year-old neutered male I’d been waiting to place in exactly the right home — and Mabel, a seven-month-old female from Aurae’s August, 2025 litter, who will be his working partner. They’re heading to Pennsylvania together in a couple of weeks.

I want to say something about Julian specifically, because adult dog placements deserve their own kind of care.

Julian has been living here since he was born. He knows these dogs. He knows this livestock. He knows me and everyone here on my farm. When an adult dog changes homes, everything changes at once — and some dogs handle that transition harder than others. It matters enormously that the home is right and that the person on the other end understands what an adult dog needs. Melissa already has years of experience with livestock guardian dogs. She knows they need time. She’s not expecting Julian to step into Squeaky’s role on day one.

And the single biggest factor in Julian’s successful transition? He’s going with Mabel. A dog he already knows. A dog he already works alongside. When two bonded dogs go somewhere new together, they have each other — and that makes everything easier.

If you’re interested in an adult or older adolescent livestock guardian dog, please don’t wait for availability to come to you. Either reach out immediately when you hear about a dog — Melissa reserved Julian within days of our call — or get on my priority reservation list so I can match you proactively. These dogs are placed carefully and go quickly.

Both Julian and Mabel are making the trip to Pennsylvania through my shipping coordination service.

Darin & His Future Pups

Darin is building a new goat farm and doing it right — planning months ahead. He has children who he wants to experience raising puppies, so he wanted the youngest dogs possible. We had a couple of consultations, and even though his goats won’t arrive until May or June, he reserved two puppies — a boy and a girl — from Cameo’s litter before they were even born.

The timing aligned perfectly. Twelve-week-old puppies ready in mid-May, right when his goats are arriving. That’s not luck; that’s what happens when you think ahead and communicate early.

I also mentioned to Darin that I occasionally have extra goats available — buck kids from breeding seasons, or adults I don’t need in my program anymore. I can’t hold free goats (if there’s an opportunity to sell them, I will), but if the timing works out, I’m happy to send some home with him. His puppies are being raised with goats from birth, after all — it’s a natural fit.

If you’re interested in buying goats alongside your puppies, I do take goat reservations with a $300 reservation fee to hold them through weaning. Just apply through my website and we can talk through what I have available.

🐐 Nature Wins Again: Surprise Goat Babies

I told everyone a while back that I was done breeding goats. Taking a break. Focusing on the dogs. I meant every word.

A couple of my bucks had other plans.

About five months ago, they broke out of their pen and visited the does. I suspected one doe might be pregnant. The other two? Complete surprise. Three does — two Nigerians and one mini Nubian — have now produced six kids total. Only one girl in the bunch, because of course.

They’re adorable, and I’ll be listing them on the website soon. I’m planning to sell them unregistered for simplicity’s sake, but if someone specifically needs a registered doeling, reach out and we can discuss it. In the meantime, feel free to contact me if you’re interested before they go up on my herd website.

This is, for the record, at least the second time I’ve announced a breeding break and then had surprise babies anyway. At this point I’m just going to accept that this is part of owning goats.

🚧 Construction, Big Machines & Why It’s Great for My Puppies

Last week, Noe Torres and his crew from Torres Landscaping arrived to build something we’ve needed for years: a proper road running alongside the Puppy Parlor.

It’s decomposed granite and gravel, beautifully graded and compacted, running the full length of the pastures from the road to the back of the property. No more driving on the grass, no more sprinkler ambushes, no more rough tracks. It looks incredible and I couldn’t be happier.

But here’s the thing I really want to highlight about this project: all week long, my puppies have had front-row seats to a full construction operation.

We’re talking dump trucks hauling load after load of gravel. Heavy grading equipment scraping and leveling the earth. Massive compactor rollers — those loud, low-frequency machines that shake the ground while they pack material down. An excavator moving dirt. A crew of workers coming and going all day, every day, right next to the puppy pastures.

For over a week. Right there.

And my puppies? Totally unbothered. Curious, even. Give us our popcorn, let us watch the show.

This is not an accident, and it’s not just because my puppies are somehow magically calm. It’s because early exposure to normal, varied, unpredictable life experiences is one of the most important things I can do for these dogs. They live outside with the goats as soon as they begin to crawl well enough to navigate the dog doors in the Puppy Parlor. They hear my son’s ATV every evening on the feeding run. They hear traffic from the road, farm machinery from nearby farms and orchards, delivery trucks, our golf carts, the yard crew every week. Seasonal cannon-like bird deterrents from the surrounding orchards. And when construction projects happen — like they regularly do on a working farm — the puppies don’t miss it.

A couple of years ago, the neighbors across the street bulldozed and removed an entire twenty-acre almond orchard. Two weeks of trees crashing, equipment roaring, earth moving — directly across from my puppy pasture. The adult dogs and puppies watched the whole thing like a nature documentary or a Jurrassic Park movie. Not scared. Not reactive. Just watching.

That kind of broad, early, real-world socialization is part of what makes these dogs adaptable, confident, and resilient in their new homes. It’s also part of what makes clients like Lisa say her puppy is the most impressive dog she’s ever seen at this age.

My Puppy Parlor helps too — inside, it looks and sounds more like a home than a barn. Normal walls, cabinets, a refrigerator, a microwave. The puppies hear all the sounds of a house from a young age. They go outside and they’re in a working farm environment. They get both worlds, very naturally.

I’m planning a more detailed post soon on socialization and what I actually do — and don’t have to do — to raise resilient livestock guardian dog puppies. But for now, just know: the road construction has been excellent for the puppies, and I’m not even a little bit sorry about the noise. I welcome it!

Something I’m Learning: The Power of Asking for Help

There’s one more thread running through all of February that I want to acknowledge — though I’m going to save the full story for its own post, because it deserves more than a paragraph.

I used to try to do everything myself. The farm, the animals, the marketing, the cleaning, the shipping logistics — all of it, by myself, because that’s just what you do. Right?

Except it wasn’t working. Not the way I wanted things to work.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve slowly — and sometimes reluctantly — learned to build a team. To let things go. To accept that someone doing a job at 80% of my standard still frees me up to do the things only I can do. To recognize that paying someone doesn’t cost you — it makes you, when it frees up the hours that move your business forward and helps you achieve your goals.

I’ll be writing about this in detail soon, because I think it matters for a lot of small farm and homestead owners who are running on fumes trying to do it all alone. For now, just know: February was the month it really clicked for me how far we’ve come, and how much better things run because of it.

Ready to Bring Home a Maremma Sheepdog Puppy?

If anything here has you thinking that could be us — whether it’s Cameo’s new litter, one of my older dogs or other available puppies, or getting on the reservation list for a future placement — the best first step is just to start a conversation.

📧 Contact me here | 📞 Schedule a free discovery call

The families in this recap didn’t wait. Their dogs are already home, or on the way.

FAQs