Welcome to HighSeas Newfoundlands!
We are a small CKC registered kennel located in Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia on 10 acres that give our Newfs lots of room to exercise and play.
Our main priority in breeding Newfoundland dogs is health. Our first Newfoundland, Rio, came to us from Élevage Pattes Douces in Québec where, in 2008, two of their dogs had the honour of being on the list of longest lived Newfoundland dogs from all over North America, as recognized by the Newfoundland Dog Club of America.
We hope to produce puppies that will continue in the tradition of Rio’s ancestors and be your best friends – healthy and happy for many years!
Our Breeding Philosophy
It is very important to us that our puppies have the best possible start in life. They start life as house pets and live with us in our home. In planning a litter we focus on health, temperament, and structure:
Health
We test all our breeding dogs for 7 health certifications known to be problematic for some Newfoundlands. These are hips, elbows, patella, heart, eyes, thyroid and cystinuria. Our health guarantee is for 4 years against any of these issues which may be passed on genetically. All our puppies are screened by a cardiologist and general veterinarian and found to be healthy before they are placed.
Temperament
We have only chosen to breed dogs with excellent temperaments. Temperament issues in any prospective parent are an exclusion criteria for us. In our breeding program we try to ensure both parents are very even-tempered and good with other animals and well socialized prior to breeding.
Each puppy born at HighSeas has formal temperament testing done at 7 weeks of age by a behaviorist who has never met them before. We will send you the completed evaluation in your puppy package. We also make an effort to have lots of visitors to see the pups throughout their time with us first so they get used to handling by a variety of people including some early training. They see our adult dogs every day and meet a variety of animals around our farm. Once they’ve had their vaccinations, we encourage you to attend puppy socialization, obedience classes, professional grooming and possibly doggy day care. In the first year of life it is of utmost importance for a puppy to be exposed to different people and animals in a positive way so they become comfortable and confident.
Structure
Both parents are selected for excellent conformation that adheres to the standard type for Newfoundland dogs. This is important for showing dogs but also for the function the dogs must perform. Their body structure must be balanced and strong so they can be active working dogs. For Newfoundlands this might include water rescue, carting and draft work, and obedience or tracking. Some of our dogs are also on a drill team and are excellent dancers!
Over the years we have been members of the following dog clubs, and we abide by their codes of ethics in our breeding program.