Autumn Branch Farm Portuguese Water Dogs

At Autumn Branch Farm, we are dedicated to breeding healthy and happy puppies. Our breeding program focuses on genetic health, temperament, and conformation to the breed standard. We take pride in our dogs and strive to match puppies with puppy-owners for the benefit of both.

All of our puppies are raised in our home with love and care. They are exposed to different sounds and experiences to help them develop into confident and well-socialized puppies. We provide all necessary vaccinations and deworming before sending them to their new homes.

We are committed to breeding only healthy dogs that meet the breed standard. Our breeding dogs undergo genetic testing to ensure they are free of any hereditary diseases. We carefully select breeding pairs to produce puppies that will be healthy and have desirable traits.

We value our customers and are always here to help. We provide ongoing support and guidance to our puppy owners to ensure a smooth transition for both the puppy and the family. We are always available to answer any questions or concerns.

We use the Puppy Culture program! It's very time intensive but gives many benefits to our puppies throughout their lives! Puppy Culture is a socialization and training program specifically developed for puppies from birth through the end of their critical socialization period. 

Early neurological stimulation builds additional pathways in the brain, helping your puppy become a better learner throughout his/her life. Special, age-appropriate exercises and tasks help the puppies get used to things like nail trimming, being groomed on a raised surface, and asking for attention in an appropriate way. Called "manding", the puppies learn that petting and attention come to those who sit politely, not those who jump and bark! 

Exercises to prevent resource guarding (food aggression) and the beginnings of clicker training are both very helpful for new owners. Our puppies are exposed to a myriad of sights, smells, sounds, and different types of people. 

Our puppy enclosure is thoughtfully laid out with a den, a play area and a potty area. The potty area is a litter tray filled with alfalfa pellets, and covered by artificial grass. This gives the puppies a scent (grass) and a texture to seek out as a potty area. Puppies won't come home to you fully house trained, but it's an excellent head start! We send all puppies home with a baggie of the alfalfa pellets and a square of the artificial grass. You can set these up in your yard where you want your pup to potty and he/ she will instantly be attracted to that spot.  You will still need to be vigilant to bring your pup to the spot after naps, meals and playtime as young pups can't "hold it" very long. They will come to you with the idea already ingrained that there are areas to keep clean (their den/bed/crate), areas to play, and areas to potty. This makes house training so much easier than starting with a puppy raised in a cage,  or a traditional kennel set up, where they have no choice but to pee and poop in their sleeping area.

Puppy Culture also provides work sheets and handouts that help you through each week of the critical socialization period, ending around 12 weeks old. As your breeder, we are a lifetime resource to you, so don't hesitate to reach out to us if you ever have a training question or need assistance with something.