Match
Day.

Position is determined by the date your deposit was received and processed — not by when you submitted your application, when you first reached out, or how long you have been following Stokeshire. The deposit date is the official record.

Pick of the Litter families go first, in the order their POL deposits were received. Standard waitlist families follow, again in deposit order. If two deposits arrived on the same day, we use timestamp. The order is never adjusted based on preference, urgency, or additional offers.

Pick of the Litter (POL) is a premium placement position that secures first or early choice from the litter, ahead of all standard waitlist families. POL families are scheduled for their appointment before anyone else and choose before the standard list opens.

POL does not reserve a specific puppy. It secures first access to the available litter. The wider the choice you want, the earlier you need to secure your position.

If you are interested in POL for a future litter, contact us directly — availability is limited per litter.

No. We do not move families ahead of others for any reason, including additional payment. The match order exists to protect every family on the waitlist equally — it is what makes the process fair.

If having first or early choice is important to you, the right path is securing a Pick of the Litter position on a future litter. Outside of that, everyone works within the same system.

Litter sizes vary, and we only take on as many waitlist families as puppies reasonably available. Families toward the end of the list have a narrower range of choice — not necessarily fewer puppies, but fewer options for specific coat, color, or gender preferences.

We are transparent about this throughout the process. If we believe your position will not yield a good match for your specific preferences, we tell you before Match Day, not after, so you can decide whether to wait for the next litter or proceed with flexibility.

Many of the families who have told us their Stokeshire dog is the best dog they have ever had were not first in line.

If no puppy in the litter feels like the right match, your deposit can remain on our active list for a future litter. This is a real option — we would rather you wait for the right dog than take home one that does not fit.

However, passing on an offered puppy does not pause, extend, or refund your deposit terms. All deposits remain governed by the Reservation & Refund Policy in effect at the time your deposit was placed. If you are uncertain about your current deposit situation, contact us directly before Match Day.

Order is based on the date and time the deposit was received and processed, not the date an application was submitted. Deposits arrive through different methods (card, check, transfer) and process at different speeds. If two applications arrived on the same day, timestamp is the tiebreaker.

Application date, inquiry date, and length of communication with our team have no bearing on position. The deposit date is the only record that matters.

Yes — and for a decision like this one, we encourage it. If a partner, parent, or co-decision-maker will share the dog’s care, having them on the call means everyone hears our observations firsthand, asks their questions directly, and makes the choice together.

Keep the group to the people who will actually be making the decision. A crowded call with many voices makes it harder for us to guide effectively and harder for your family to reach clarity.

Contact us as early as possible — ideally before the schedule is finalized. We do our best to accommodate genuine conflicts, and in most cases we can find a workable solution.

If a conflict arises after the schedule is set, reach out immediately. We cannot guarantee a reschedule, but we will do everything we can. What we cannot do is hold your position indefinitely or skip ahead without communicating. If we do not hear from you within 24 hours of a missed appointment, we proceed to the next family.

Your Match Day appointment is a dedicated time we hold specifically for you. Because we work through families in order, missing your slot without communication may cause you to lose your place in line.

If you miss your appointment and do not contact us within 24 hours, we proceed to the next family and your match may be delayed or forfeited. If something comes up beforehand, reach out as early as possible — we will do our best to accommodate.

We open by reviewing your preferences and confirming which puppies remain available in the areas you care about most. Then we walk through our observations for those puppies — aptitude evaluation results, behavioral notes from the past several weeks, coat development, and what we are seeing in energy level and social confidence.

We share our recommendation: not just what is available, but what we believe is the best match for your household. You will have space to ask questions and arrive at a decision with real information behind it. Most appointments run 20–40 minutes depending on litter size and how many options we are working through.

Technology issues happen. If you are having trouble connecting, call or text us immediately at the contact number you will have on file. We will work with you to get connected — by phone if necessary.

The best prevention is testing Google Meet the day before. Make sure you can join a meeting, that your camera and audio work, and that you are on a stable connection. A failed setup that eats into your appointment time affects families scheduled after you.

Yes. Most families choose Google Meet, and in-person appointments are available — primarily for Pick of the Litter families. Let us know well in advance if you would like to come to Stokeshire in Medford, Wisconsin so we can prepare and build the visit into the day’s schedule.

For families traveling significant distances, confirm your in-person request early, as Match Day logistics are planned around the virtual-first format. Walk-in visits on Match Day without prior arrangement are not possible.

The 72-hour window begins at the time of your appointment — not when you tell us your decision, and not when the checkout link arrives. You receive the link promptly after your appointment, but the clock started when the meeting began.

72 hours is enough time for most families to complete checkout comfortably. If you anticipate a financial or timing complexity — a bank transfer that takes time, a conversation you need to have before committing — tell us during or immediately after your appointment. We would rather work with you than lose the match over a preventable delay.

After 72 hours without checkout, your matched puppy may be released to the next family. We do this to keep the process fair for everyone behind you.

Three inputs. Weeks of daily developmental observation, the aptitude evaluation completed between day 49 and day 56, and the household context you gave us when you applied.

Those become twelve described traits per puppy, which we read as a pattern rather than a ranking. There is no winning score and no best puppy — each profile suits some households better than others, which is the entire purpose of matching. The full evaluation is published on the evaluation page.

This comes up more than people expect, especially for families who have spent weeks building an attachment to one puppy and then find themselves uncertain in the moment. It is a sign you are taking it seriously.

Our team will guide you. We ask clarifying questions, reflect your own stated preferences back to you, and share directly what we recommend and why. Most families who enter the meeting uncertain leave with clarity, because having our observations alongside your preferences makes the picture cleaner than photos ever could.

The 72-hour checkout window gives you space to sit with the decision after the call. You do not have to say yes out loud during the meeting — you need to complete checkout within the window.

It happens, and it is one of the most common points of anxiety in the weeks leading up to Match Day. Watching puppies develop and feeling drawn to a specific one is a natural part of the process.

What we can tell you honestly: we have placed hundreds of puppies. Families who came in certain about a specific one and left with a different one almost universally describe that puppy as the right choice in retrospect. Not because they settled, but because a match made using temperament data and knowledge of their household turned out to be more accurate than an attachment formed through a camera lens.

If the puppy you have been watching is available at your turn, we tell you immediately, and share whether we believe they are the right match for you. If they are not, we tell you that too.

Both. We will tell you what we recommend and why, and we will not be vague about it. If we believe a specific puppy is the strongest match for your family based on everything we know, we say so directly.

The final choice is always yours. What we ask is that you hear our reasoning before dismissing it. We have spent weeks with these puppies and know things about their individual personalities that photos, videos, and names will never reveal.

Gender preference is one of the most common — and in our experience one of the most overweighted — factors families bring to Match Day. For most households, individual temperament and training are far more predictive of how the dog will live with your family than sex alone.

We respect genuine preferences and will work within them. If a strong gender preference limits your options in the litter, we tell you honestly whether we believe there is a good match within that preference, or whether we would encourage you to consider a puppy you might otherwise overlook.

We will never push you toward a dog you do not feel right about. We may ask you to explain your preference so we can factor it into our guidance intelligently rather than as a filter.

We will not push you toward a dog that does not feel right. If none of the available puppies in this litter genuinely fit your household, your deposit can remain on our active waitlist for a future litter.

This is not a common outcome, but it is a real one, and we would rather honor it than have you take home a dog that is not right. Before Match Day, our team will have a sense of whether the litter can realistically serve your preferences, and we will tell you if we have concerns about availability.

Training enrollment is added at checkout and should be decided before or during your Match Day appointment. Doodle School and Bootcamp slots are limited per litter — waiting to decide after checkout means risking availability.

If you are on the fence, our recommendation is to enroll. Families who invest in training in the first weeks consistently describe their experience — with the dog and with the transition home — in different terms than families who do not.

You do not need it fully figured out before Match Day. Mention it during your appointment and we will walk through the options, timing, and what each program includes before you reach checkout.

Both are covered during your Match Day appointment and added to your checkout. Doodle School and Bootcamp are available exclusively to Stokeshire families.

Flight Nanny transport can be arranged for families not local to Medford, Wisconsin. Pricing and logistics are discussed at the appointment and added to final checkout. If you already know you want training or transport, note it before your appointment — it helps us plan.

Your checkout total includes the remaining puppy balance after your deposit, plus any add-ons you have selected — training (Doodle School or Bootcamp), transport if applicable, and any other enrollment fees. Deposit amounts vary by puppy and are applied to that puppy’s price before checkout, so the total you see already reflects what you have paid.

We send a direct checkout link after your appointment, and your next-step page walks through checkout and everything that follows. The link itemizes everything clearly before you complete payment. If anything looks wrong or unexpected, contact us before completing it.

Yes. Afterpay and Klarna are available at checkout for eligible families who prefer to pay over time. These are third-party platforms and their approval decisions are outside our control — not every transaction or amount will qualify.

If you plan to use a payment plan, tell us before Match Day so we can factor it into the checkout process. Discovering eligibility issues inside the 72-hour window creates avoidable stress.

If checkout is not completed within 72 hours of your appointment, your matched puppy may be released to the next family in line. Deposit terms in this scenario are governed by the Reservation & Refund Policy you agreed to when your deposit was placed.

We do not want this outcome any more than you do. If you run into an issue inside the checkout window, reach out immediately. A brief communication can often preserve the placement where silence cannot.

Post-checkout refunds are governed by our Reservation & Refund Policy. Once checkout is complete and a puppy is placed, the deposit and placement fee are generally non-refundable except in circumstances covered by the policy, such as a significant health event.

This is why we invest as much time as we do in matching before checkout. We want you to be certain before you complete payment. If you have doubt going into checkout, contact us.

Full puppy pricing is published on our Puppy Pricing page. Deposit amounts vary by puppy and are applied to that puppy’s price before checkout, so the amount you see is what remains.

Training add-ons: 4-Week Doodle School is $5,600. Bootcamp is $200 per day. Transport fees are calculated based on destination and method. All are optional and itemized clearly before you confirm payment.

Once you are matched, your next-step page is where everything lives: completing checkout, coverage and care admin, and preparing your home for the first days. After checkout is complete, your puppy continues with the litter through their remaining weeks of development, enrichment, and early socialization, and we keep posting updates so you can watch them grow.

If you enrolled in Doodle School or Bootcamp, your puppy begins their program at the appropriate age and we stay in touch with training timelines throughout. If you are arranging transport, logistics are confirmed in the weeks following Match Day so everything is in place well before go-home.

Your litter page is the primary reference for all timelines. We also send courtesy updates by email as milestones approach.

Puppies go home at 8 weeks — the developmentally appropriate time for the transition. If your puppy is enrolled in Doodle School, which begins at 8 weeks and runs four weeks, go-home takes place after program completion at approximately 12 weeks.

Exact go-home dates are published on your litter page and confirmed closer to the date. Please have your home prepared, your vet appointment scheduled, and your schedule clear for the first few days. The transition week is one of the most important in your puppy’s life.

Every Stokeshire puppy comes home with current veterinary records and health documentation, a welcome packet (feeding guide, early training tips, socialization schedule, vet check recommendations), access to the Stokeshire App, and an invitation to our alumni family community.

Your puppy’s health guarantee is in effect from go-home. Specific terms are detailed on our Health Guarantee page.

Every puppy goes through a transition period — often described as the three-three-three pattern: roughly three days to decompress, three weeks to learn the routine, three months to feel fully at home. Behavior in the first days is not representative of the dog you will have at three months. Do not judge the match in the first week.

If something concerns you beyond normal transition behavior, contact us. We stand behind every placement and take it seriously when a family feels uncertain. We will work through it with you.

Our commitment does not end at the door. Stokeshire families have access to our team for questions, training support, and guidance throughout the dog’s life. The Stokeshire App provides ongoing resources, and our alumni community connects you with other Stokeshire households.

For families who want structured ongoing support, we offer consulting and advanced training programs. For families with occasional questions, we are a call or email away.

If at any point in a Stokeshire dog’s life circumstances change and the family can no longer provide appropriate care, we accept the dog back — no questions, no conditions, no surrender fee.

This is not a policy we hope to use. It is a commitment to the dogs we breed: we bring them into the world with intention, and we remain responsible for their wellbeing for the full length of their life, regardless of what changes for the families we place them with.