Do you live within a one-hour drive of Elizabeth, Colorado, and want to help promote the Mi-Ki breed? Have you always wanted a Mi-Ki but weren’t sure you are able to make the financial investment? Royal T Mi-Kis is looking for applicants for our Guardian Home Program. We are offering this opportunity in order to promote breeding dog happiness and a healthy Mi-Ki gene pool without having to raise and maintain multiple dogs in our home.

What is a Guardian Home?

The Royal T Mi-Kis Guardian Home Program allows approved families, couples, or individuals within a short driving distance to host and care for a breeding/show-quality Mi-Ki in their homes during a dog’s reproductive years. At the age of breeding retirement, the host home gets to become the Mi-Ki dog’s forever home without an adoption fee.

Once approved, you will be paired with a breeding-quality puppy or young adult Mi-Ki that we would have traditionally kept in our own home. Rather than being part of a larger pack of dogs, the Guardian Program allows every puppy/adult dog to have the individualized attention and training that they deserve. For this reason, we particularly welcome retirees to this program or those who are able to work from home.

Females in our Guardian Home Program

After passing her health tests at one year of age, and during her second heat cycle, female Mi-Kis in our Guardian Home Program will spend 5 – 7 days with us for breeding. She will then be returned to her guardian host home during her pregnancy (which is a 63-day gestation.) About a week before delivery, the expectant mom will come to our home to get settled and prepare for her delivery. After whelping, the mother and her puppies will spend approximately 8 weeks with us until weaning. A female will typically have 3 – 5 litters, depending on breeding suitability.

Partnership Male Mi-Ki Stud Dogs

At this time we are only offering the Guardian Home program for females. Instead, we do offer a partnership program for quality show/breeding Mi-Ki males. We sometimes offer free breeding rights – a $1,500 value, for male dogs that we’re allowed to occasionally borrow for breeding. Examples of our partner studs can be found on the Our Dogs page.

If you choose to be a partner stud home, we test the dog with an Embark DNA test and will guide you through getting their OFA cardiac test, patella test, and CHIC ophthalmic exams. If authorized by line originators, you may be able to collect stud fees from approved Mi-Ki breeders. The going rate for a stud fee for Mi-Kis is $1,000 per litter. We will advertise your male as an available stud on our website and through Embark’s breeder program. STD testing may be required when breeding with outside females.

Females are usually brought to the male every other day for three pairings, so this partnership program is only available for homes within an hour’s distance from Elizabeth, Colorado.

Requirements for Female Guardian Homes

• Must live within a 1-hour driving distance of Elizabeth, Colorado
• Become educated regarding the signs of heat cycles in order to time breedings
• Must be willing to transport the Mi-Ki to us for breeding and whelping
• Be willing to be apart from the Mi-Ki during breeding, whelping, and through weaning (occasional visits are permitted during extended stays)
• Must be willing to keep the Mi-Ki healthy with an agreed-upon diet, veterinary care, dental care, vaccines, groomings, and exercise
• Must be willing to have breeding health tests performed and submit results to us (we pay for all reproductive related veterinary expenses)
• Must be willing to maintain pet health insurance through Trupanion
• Must provide a fun, safe environment, and basic behavioral training for the Mi-Ki
• Be willing to let us visit your home before approval and let us do occasional well-dog checks between litters
• Must protect the Mi-Ki from harm – i.e., predators, large dogs, children, loss, etc. (The value of the Mi-Ki must be repaid if the dog is lost, severely injured, or killed.)
• Must not travel with the dog during heat cycles
• The Mi-Ki must not be housed with or be allowed to breed with other intact dogs
• Be willing to pay the market value of the dog at one year of age should breeding not be possible. This may be due to the female weighing less than 4 pounds at maturity, or the dog does not pass breeding health requirements.

What Royal T Mi-Kis Provides

• A quality puppy or young adult Mi-Ki without an adoption fee
• Guidance for the care of the Mi-Ki
• Additional support for those who wish to participate in conformation or performance sports (encouraged but not required)
• Free groom and board when you choose to travel without the Mi-Ki. Many folks will decide it is convenient to take a vacation while the dog is busy with having a litter or breeding.
• We pay for all reproductive-related veterinary care including genetic and health testing for breeding soundness.
• We sign over registration ownership paperwork once the dog is retired from breeding.
• A clear legal contract so all parties involved fully understand the working relationship.

Thank you for your interest in partnering with Royal T Mi-Kis and ensuring that this breed will remain healthy for generations to come!