Our Program
How We Raise Our Puppies
At Queen City Farm, we raise well-socialized family companions for active families — Australian Shepherds built to thrive in a variety of venues. Every puppy gets a full nine-week head start before going home: Early Neurological Stimulation, Early Scent Imprinting, and the Puppy Culture protocol from day one, all on our 50-acre working farm.
In Our Home
Never kenneled
Early Neurological Stimulation
Days 3–16
Early Scent Imprinting
Novel scents daily
Puppy Culture
Week-by-week
50-Acre Farm
Livestock & novelty
PAT & OFA Eyes
Vetted, matched, ready
It Starts With The Parents
Everything below only matters if the parents are right. Before we ever breed a litter, both dam and sire have to clear a bar higher than the Australian Shepherd breed standard asks for. We health test beyond what's required, earn CHIC numbers, evaluate structure in the AKC and UKC show ring, and select for the kind of biddable, stable temperaments that make Australian Shepherds truly versatile. If a dog doesn't meet our standard for health, structure, or temperament, they don't breed — full stop.
- Health tested beyond the Australian Shepherd breed standard
- CHIC numbers (Canine Health Information Center) on our breeding dogs
- OFA hips, elbows, and eyes — plus full Embark and UC Davis genetic panels
- AKC and UKC titled in conformation and/or performance
- Sound structure evaluated by multiple breed judges
- Stable, biddable temperaments — never reactive, never overdriven
Born and Raised In Our Home
Our puppies are born inside our home — in a whelping room next to our bedroom, where we hear every breath of those first delicate weeks. They are never raised in an outbuilding, garage, or kennel. From day one, they grow up to the sounds of a real household: coffee grinders, vacuum cleaners, conversation, footsteps, dishes, doorbells. By the time they leave us, ordinary family life is already familiar.
- Whelped and raised inside our home — never kenneled
- Hands-on care from birth, with daily handling by name
- Exposed to household sounds, smells, and rhythms from day one
- Living alongside our adult dogs, our family, and our routine
Early Neurological Stimulation (Days 3–16)
From days three through sixteen, every puppy receives Dr. Carmen Battaglia's Early Neurological Stimulation protocol — five short daily handling exercises that gently challenge the developing nervous system during its most plastic window. Early Neurological Stimulation is linked to stronger heart rates, better stress resilience, improved problem-solving, and greater disease resistance later in life. It's a small daily investment that pays dividends for the next twelve to fifteen years.
- Tactile stimulation, head up, head down, supine, thermal — daily
- Builds stress resilience and cardiovascular function
- Performed by hand on every puppy, every day, days 3 through 16
- Research-backed protocol developed by Dr. Carmen Battaglia
Early Scent Imprinting (Days 3–16)
Alongside Early Neurological Stimulation, each puppy is introduced to a new scent every day during the same critical neurological window — leather, lavender, fresh grass, wool, herbs, livestock. Early Scent Imprinting builds scent discrimination, curiosity, and early environmental confidence. By the time their eyes open, they have already learned that 'new' is interesting, not scary.
- One novel scent introduced per day, days 3 through 16
- Builds scent discrimination and olfactory confidence
- Encourages a curious, investigative mindset
- Lays the groundwork for nosework, tracking, and farm life
The Puppy Culture Protocol
From birth to placement, we follow Jane Killion's Puppy Culture protocol — a structured, week-by-week curriculum that gives every puppy practiced exposure to the skills most dogs spend months learning. Startle and recovery exercises, barrier challenges, problem-solving puzzles, novel surfaces, manding (offering a sit to ask politely for what they want), and crate work are all built into the program. Every week has a milestone. By eight weeks, our puppies have a head start no kennel-raised litter can match.
- Startle-and-recovery exercises to build emotional resilience
- Barrier challenges and problem-solving puzzles
- Manding (default sit) and early impulse control
- Crate introduction, potty training foundation, and litter box training
Fifty Acres, A Puppy Gym, And Constant Novelty
Our puppies grow up on a real working farm in Falmouth, Kentucky. They hear tractors, lawnmowers, livestock guardian dogs barking at coyotes in the distance, and the everyday rhythm of a place that's always doing something. They meet our sheep, goats, hogs, poultry, rabbits, and barn cats — calmly, on lead, with us present. Alongside the farm, we run them through our purpose-built puppy gym and introduce something unfamiliar every single day — wobble boards, tunnels, ramps, novel objects, new textures, new people, new sounds. The Puppy Culture philosophy of constant, intentional novelty runs through every part of their day. By the time they go home, the unknown isn't scary — it's just another Tuesday.
- Calm, supervised introductions to sheep, goats, hogs, poultry, and rabbits
- Daily exposure to tractors, lawn equipment, weather, and farm sounds
- Purpose-built puppy gym with wobble boards, tunnels, ramps, and obstacles
- A new unfamiliar object, surface, or sound introduced every single day
- Constant, intentional socialization with people, places, and novelty
PAT Tested. Vet Cleared. OFA Eyes. Guaranteed.
Before any puppy goes home, every member of the litter completes a formal PAT (Puppy Aptitude Test) evaluation alongside our own observations from nine weeks of daily handling. Every puppy is seen by our veterinarian multiple times during their nine weeks with us, and examined by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist for OFA eye certification before placement. We pair each puppy with the family whose home, lifestyle, and energy genuinely fits that individual dog. Every Queen City Farm puppy goes home with a written health guarantee — covering hereditary conditions and a full two-year guarantee on hips and elbows — plus age-appropriate vaccinations, deworming, microchip, Early Neurological Stimulation, Early Scent Imprinting, and Puppy Culture documentation, a starter pack, and a lifetime of breeder support.
- PAT (Puppy Aptitude Test) evaluation at 7–8 weeks
- Multiple veterinary exams during the puppies' nine weeks with us
- OFA eye exams by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist
- Written health guarantee against hereditary conditions
- Two-year guarantee on hips and elbows
- Matched to home and lifestyle — never first-come, first-served
- Vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped, with lifetime breeder support and take-back guarantee
See The Puppies We're Raising This Way
Our current and upcoming Australian Shepherd litters are all raised on this same program — from day one to the day they go home.