We have some exciting future litters planned for mid 2024 and late 2024/early 2025 with happy go lucky Nigella and the ever sweet sporting wizard Valkyrie. More information will be released as we firm up our plans.
If you are interested in a puppy from our current litter or our future plans, please read through the information below, and the information on our puppies page before making contact.
Would you like to join our waitlist? Our first priority for puppy placements will be with Show, Breeding and Sports/Performance homes. Whilst we love and encourage families who want a furry companion, our first priority homes are the future of Lappies in Australia, and the reason we are able to offer other families a well bred and loved companion. Anyone looking for a puppy ASAP and not willing to wait or get to know us, I encourage you to look elsewhere
If you've read this far and are still interested, thank you! I encourage you to read through thisarticle before making contact. For more information on what we expect from potential puppy owners and if you are happy to wait, please get in touch by heading to our profile onRight Pawand filling in an application, or completing our contact form on our website. We will send you a copy of our Puppy Information Pack which covers some basic information about lappies, how we raise our puppies and what you can expect from us. Open communication is very much encouraged and we are more than happy to answer any questions you may have, our preference is to develop and foster life long friendships with our puppy owners and we are extremely fortunate to have already welcomed such wonderful people in to our Ehana Family.
If you are desperately wanting something sooner and don't mind where your lappie comes from, there are generally litters available almost all year round and you can find them on Dogz Online.
A word of warning Fake puppies and scammers have become a big worry, not just within Australia but around the world and thanks to Covid creating more demand than ever, this market has exploded preying on vulnerable people who just want a new companion to love. No one wants to fall victim to a scam and I'm sure just about everyone knows of a friend or family member who has been conned out of thousands of dollars worth of iTunes gift cards, paid a deposit on a puppy only to discover it never existed or been left a multimillion dollar bitcoin fortune from a long lost relative and just have to provide bank details to receive it. It's horrible, humiliating and heartbreaking.
For lappies in particular, we know of at least one unregistered breeder and I've personally seen lots of scam Facebook groups offering 'Finnish Lapphund puppies 4 sale', amongst a plethora of other breeds '4 sale', usually with stolen pictures. It can be hard enough sifting through what's real and what's fake, let alone finding a responsible registered breeder...so how do you as a buyer get reassurance that you're dealing with a real person? You can start by looking for breeders on websites likeRight Paw, who individually verify every person on their website via facetime calls, membership numbers, health and vet reports, or by using websites like DogzOnline who will only list ANKC registered breeders. For lappies, you can look on the Finnish Lapphund Club of Victoria's website for a list of member breeders.
Finnish Lapphunds are still a relatively small breed within Australia, and we have a rather close-knit community where most breeders regularly talk to each other, so facebook pages such as the FLCV can give you assurance that you're dealing with a real person who can be vouched for by a community of lappie lovers.
Above all else an in person meeting is ideal. Of course this isn't always possible, things like Covid restrictions or a breeder with new puppies on the ground may mean that a breeder is not be able to meet you in person. Some ways around this can be facetime calls or regular updates through videos or emails, but sometimes it's not always possible to put hours aside in a day to contact every person via facetime who is waiting on a puppy, so expecting daily updates can be unreasonable. In the past, I have organised for a trusted friend or another breeder to meet potential owners on my behalf if I have been unable to do so, then once puppies were old enough to have visitors, invited the families over. At the end of the day, someone not willing to meet with you AT ALL (either in person or through a videocall) or make any kind of compromise or effort to have you meet another owner, is a big red flag and you should proceed with caution. Asking for any kind of payment through things like bitcoin should also be a big red flag.
What should I look for in a breeder? There are a number of things to keep an eye out for, hopefully these tips help you make the best decisions for you and your family. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Health testing Does this breeder health test their dogs? Health testing doesn't mean a vet check, it's an intricate system of non invasive tests to determine if a dog is suitable for breeding. The ANKC has guidelines breeders can follow, at a minimum, you should expect to find a lappie breeder who performs and can provide evidence of: -Hip and Elbow X-rays and Scoring -Ophthalmic eye exams every 2 years -DNA screening for known inherited diseases. Clear by parentage results should be confirmed via DNA test every few generations. Support for the life of your puppy Adding a dog to your family is a big commitment that can last 12-15 years, consider the kind of relationship you want with your breeder. A breeder should be providing support and guidance for the life of your puppy, personally I want to have a relationship with all my puppy owners, so if this isn't a priority for you, consider finding another breeder with a more hands off approach. You should feel a sense of reassurance when you take your puppy home, that you've got someone there to call on if you ever need it. Registration The Australian National Kennel Council is the only Australian dog breeding registry which is not only recognised by the Australian government but internationally recognised and an affiliate member of the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), the largest pedigree dog organisation in the world. You should be looking for a breeder who is registered with the ANKC, via whichever state they reside in (Dogs Qld, Dogs Vic, Dogs NSW etc) and has a valid membership number/prefix. Registration doesn't mean their dogs are registered with the local council or the pup has a microchip, it means their dogs are registered with the ANKC and have a piece of paper (mains or limit registration) that certifies that particular dogs family tree. In QLD for pups put on mains register, this 'parentage certification' is confirmed through DNA testing. All our puppies have certified parentage through DNA testing.
You can check a breeders prefix (for us, that's EHANA) or their membership number, to see if they are an ANKC member here. In Victoria, any ad offering a puppy for sale must be accompanied by a source number and the puppy's microchip number (unless that puppy is too young, in which case a vet certificate stating that must be obtained). You can check a breeders source number (for us that's RB100100) on the Pet Exchange Register. Contract? Does the puppy come with a contract outlining your responsibilities as the owner and the responsibilities of the breeder? A contract is created to ensure that both parties understand their rights and obligations but most importantly, is created to keep the welfare of the puppy and protecting the breed as the top priority. Most breeders will also have a clause about the return of the puppy/dog if you ever find yourself in a position where you can no longer care for it. How they raise their dogs and puppies? Do they provide you with information on how they raise their puppies and explain their methods? Are the puppies kept in a clean environment? Do adults look well groomed and happy? Are they kennel dogs or are they kept in the home? Are their dogs provided adequate nutrition and plenty of shade and fresh water? Do they compete is any sports or conformation showing? Are you able to meet the parents of the puppy? These are just a few of the types of questions you should ask to learn more about the kind of environment your new puppy will come from and what kind of start in life they have had. Choosing your puppy I won't let you choose your puppy, especially not when it's based off things like colour, I will take your preferences on board but at the end of the day, I will be selecting the most suitable home for each puppy based off a number of different reasons. You should be cautious of a breeder who constantly has puppies available and is willing you give you any dog at the drop of a hat with little to no screening. Don't be alarmed if a breeder asks you questions, this is a good sign! You should expect to be grilled about your lifestyle, hobbies, what you want to do with your dog, why you chose lappies, what people are in you household, the type of work you do, whether you live in an apartment or house etc. It's important to be honest when answering these questions, there are no right or wrong answers but just keep in mind that a lappie may not suit everyone. Most breeders match dogs temperaments and personalities to families based off these answers and if you've fudged some information, you are setting yourself and the puppy up to fail. If you tell me you want to train in obedience and agility and lead an incredibly active life, I'm likely to place my more lively, stubborn or active puppy with you, assuming you're going to have the tools at your disposal to handle it. If you've lied or lost interest, then a few months go by, the puppy hasn't attended a single class or attended one or two but you got bored and decided to quit, and it has turned in to a menace. You're pulling your hair out in frustration, blaming me for giving you an out of control puppy who is ruining your life, all because you weren't honest in the beginning about what you would realistically be able to do with your puppy. There is a reason for our methods and it's always what is in the best interests of the puppy, we want to set them and you up for the best chances of success.