Question 1

Do Cobberdogs shed?

Accepted Answer

Australian Cobberdogs are considered a low-shedding breed. Unlike many traditional breeds, they generally do not leave hair around the home. Regular grooming and coat maintenance are still essential to keep their coats healthy, mat-free, and comfortable. We genetically test all of our breeding dogs so can predict the coat types when we have a confirmed pregnancy.

Question 2

What sizes do we breed?

Accepted Answer

At Daley Connections Australian Cobberdogs, we breed a range of sizes including miniature, small medium, true medium, large medium, and standard Cobberdogs. This allows us to help match families with a size that best suits their lifestyle and living arrangements. 
Learn more about the sizes we breed here.

Question 3

What colours do we breed?

Accepted Answer

We breed a beautiful range of colours including red, caramel, cream, white, black, chocolate, and parti-coloured combinations. Coat colours and markings can vary significantly between litters, making every puppy wonderfully unique. We use our knowledge of genetics and statistics/probability to predict the colours in a litter. Sometimes we do see anomalies, such as entire litters that are the same gender or colour. We prioritise temperament above every other factor when we allocate pups. 
Learn more about the colours we breed here.

Question 4

Are Australian Cobberdogs hypoallergenic?

Accepted Answer

While no dog can ever be guaranteed to be completely hypoallergenic, Australian Cobberdogs are widely regarded as a low-shedding, allergy-friendly breed. Many families with mild dog allergies find they tolerate Cobberdogs very well due to their fleece coats and minimal shedding. However, allergy sensitivities vary between individuals, so we always recommend spending time around the breed where possible. We also offer samples of our breeding dogs' coat (sent via post) to see whether it causes any allergic reaction before you commit to purchasing from us.

Question 5

Are Cobberdogs good with children?

Accepted Answer

Australian Cobberdogs are widely recognised for their gentle, affectionate, and patient nature, making them excellent companions for children. When appropriately socialised and raised within a family environment, they often form incredibly strong bonds with children and thrive on inclusion and companionship. It is important to remember that every dog requires training, and the time you invest in your pup's training will make an immeasurable difference when your puppy matures into adulthood. We expose all of our litters to children of all ages in preparation

Question 6

Are Cobberdogs suitable for first-time dog owners?

Accepted Answer

Cobberdogs are often well suited to first-time dog owners due to their intelligence, eagerness to please, and trainable nature. However, like all dogs, they still require consistency, structure, training, and ongoing commitment. Families who are willing to invest time into training and relationship-building are typically rewarded with an exceptionally loyal and responsive companion. It is easy to allow poor habits to form in your puppy because 'he is cute' but this can result in problematic adult behaviours. We include five individual 1:1 lessons for all of our puppy buyers because we acknowledge the importance of responsible dog ownership and training. All buyers have a contractual obligation to ensuring their puppy, at the very least, attends a puppy training program.

Question 7

How much exercise do Cobberdogs need?

Accepted Answer

Cobberdogs enjoy regular exercise and mental enrichment, but they are generally adaptable to a variety of lifestyles. Daily walks, playtime, training sessions, and opportunities for social interaction are important for maintaining both physical and emotional wellbeing. As highly intelligent dogs, mental stimulation is just as important as physical activity. We can usually tell if a puppy might have more energy than others in the litter, so we ensure we place these pups into active households where their needs will be met.

Question 8

Are Cobberdogs easy to train?

Accepted Answer

Yes . Australian Cobberdogs are highly intelligent and naturally people-focused, which often makes them very responsive to positive reinforcement training. They typically enjoy learning and thrive when training is consistent, engaging, and reward-based. Early training and socialisation are key to developing a confident and well-mannered adult dog. Your dog should never stop learning and training should continue well beyond puppy school.

Question 9

Can Cobberdogs be therapy or assistance dogs?

Accepted Answer

The Australian Cobberdog was intentionally developed with therapy and assistance work in mind. Their calm temperament, emotional intuition, trainability, and strong human connection make many Cobberdogs highly suited to roles within therapy, education, emotional support, and assistance work. While not every dog will be suitable for specialised work, the breed is well known for these qualities. We always ask our applicants to disclose their intentions regarding this, as we must be very specific with the dogs we select for these roles.

Question 10

What is a typical Cobberdog temperament like?

Accepted Answer

Australian Cobberdogs are known for being affectionate, intuitive, intelligent, gentle, and highly people-oriented. They typically thrive on human companionship and enjoy being involved in everyday family life. While individual personalities will vary, the breed is generally recognised for its calm nature (on the other side of puppyhood), emotional warmth, and strong desire to connect with people. Because of their high aptitude for learning, an under stimulated Cobberdog can be destructive or dysregulated. Learning how to recognise these cues in your puppy is critical. We provide all of our owners with a guide explaining how to teach and reinforce calmness in your puppy.

Question 11

What sets Daley Connections apart?

Accepted Answer

We are deeply committed to ethical, purposeful breeding with a strong focus on health, temperament, early development, and lifelong support. Our puppies are raised using evidence-based enrichment and socialisation programs designed to help them grow into confident, resilient companions. We are not a backyard breeder, we do not have 'accidental' litters and we plan every mating using all of the data available to us (demand from the market, purpose, DNA of parent dogs, structure/conformation of parent dogs, temperament testing, etc). We health test all our breeding dogs. We build lifelong relationships with our buyers. Pups are raised in our home, by us. They are gradually and developmentally immersed in family life to prepare them for their new lives when they join you at 8 weeks old. We undertake crate training, basic obedience training, calmness training, scent work and meal etiquette with our pups. When they leave us, they are proficiently toilet trained to use the dog door for toileting (remembering we commenced toilet training at just 2 weeks of age) and that they are familiar with our premises and set-up. We expose them to a myriad of underfoot surfaces, sounds, textures and scents to form strong foundations for our buyers. We invest all of our time into our pups, around the clock. We do not mass produce pups and ensure every single puppy born into our home is given love, care, premium diet, healthcare and attention.

Question 12

Are we legitimate breeders?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We are committed to ethical, transparent and evidence-based breeding practices.Our breeding dogs undergo comprehensive health testing before entering our breeding program, including DNA screening and hip and elbow assessments. Every mating is carefully planned with the goal of producing healthy, well-tempered puppies while maintaining the long-term genetic diversity of the Australian Cobberdog.Our puppies are raised in our home using a structured early development and socialisation program, receive ongoing veterinary care, and are matched to families based on temperament and lifestyle, not simply colour or gender preferences.We are proud to be registered with  an international registry committed to preserving and improving the Australian Cobberdog through responsible breeding, accurate pedigree records, and great breeding standards.We encourage prospective owners to ask questions, visit our website, verify our registrations, and take the time to choose a breeder who openly shares their health testing, breeding practices, and lifetime commitment to every puppy they produce. We are also members of Responsible Pet Breeders Australia and RightPaw, both of which require annual screening and compliance with Codes of Conduct. Our annual registration with the Victorian Government's Pet Exchange Register is maintained and our source number is RB190291.

Question 13

What health testing do our breeding dogs undergo?

Accepted Answer

Our breeding dogs undergo comprehensive DNA testing through Orivet Genetics and an annual health screening to check their heart, lungs, weight, joints and teeth/gums. The DNA tests to ensure the dog doesn't carry any of the known, testable inheritable diseases in the breed.

We use the PennHIP evaluation scheme to ensure our dogs have good, tight hips and no evidence of osteoarthritis. We also assess all breeding prospects' temperaments against the Empowered Breeder Temperament Assessment.

Question 14

What is PennHip and why is it important?

Accepted Answer

PennHip is an advanced method of evaluating hip health and is considered the gold standard in canine hip assessment. It helps breeders make informed decisions aimed at reducing the risk of hip dysplasia. The procedure involves visiting a specialist vet who performs a series of radiographs while the dog is under a general anaesthetic. The scans and measurements are sent off to the United States where they are evaluated and scored. Rigorous research shows us that dogs with loose hips are at a significantly increased risk of developing canine hip dysplasia. Therefore, if one of our breeding prospect results come back with evidence of loose hip joints, we remove them as a breeding candidate. This is often a very hard decision when the dog may be perfect in every other way, but we see it as our role to play in ensuring we are enacting due diligence when breeding dogs.

Question 15

Why do we focus so heavily on temperament?

Accepted Answer

We are  often asked why we temperament test our puppies and how it helps our new owners. We place pups based on temperament as this sets both the puppy and their new family up for the highest level of success (rehoming a puppy that doesn't suit a family is incredibly traumatic for the humans and the dog so we mitigate this by working tirelessly to match pups with the most family). When we temperament test pups at 6.5 weeks of age, we look at the following traits:
assertiveness, confidence, motivation level, nerve strength, touch tolerance, energy level, sound sensitivity, sight sensitivity, prey drive, human focus, tenderheartedness, and dog friendliness.
Based on each puppy's results, we then allocate pups using the information you provided in your application. For example, some pups are more sensitive to being handled and don't enjoy it as much as others (touch tolerance), so we wouldn't place this puppy in a home with children (because children naturally want to handle puppies). If a puppy is showing high assertiveness, we wouldn't place it into a home with another dog as it may try to dominate. Some dogs who have higher energy are better suited to a working role as they have stamina that will allow them to work longer hours. It's a little bit like a jigsaw puzzle, piecing together temperamental traits with lifestyle, family situation, gender, colour, etc. Whilst we always do our absolute best to honour your preferences, we kindly ask that you remain open minded and flexible. We guarantee you will absolutely love your new puppy!

Question 16

How often do our dogs have litters?

Accepted Answer

We only breed thoughtfully planned litters in response to demand and always prioritise the health and wellbeing of our dogs. Most of our breeding dogs have 2 or 3 litters. If a dog doesn't enjoy motherhood after her first litter, we have her desexed and do not breed her again. In Victoria, the law stipulates that a dog cannot be bred more than twice in an 18 month period.

Question 17

Where are our puppies raised?

Accepted Answer

Our puppies are raised within our home environment where they are exposed to everyday household sounds, experiences, and structured enrichment from an early age. When they are born, they are raised in a climate and sound controlled room. When they are around 4 weeks old, they transition into our living room where they have an indoor/outdoor pen.

Question 18

What is our Guardianship Program?

Accepted Answer

Our Guardianship Program allows selected breeding dogs to live as cherished family companions in carefully chosen homes while remaining part of our breeding program. This enables us to maintain the highest standards of welfare and avoid kennel-style breeding environments. If you are interested in guardianship, please email us directly.

Question 19

Why do we only breed selected pairings?

Accepted Answer

We carefully select pairings based on health, temperament, structure, and overall compatibility to continue improving and preserving the qualities we value in the Australian Cobberdog. All of our matings are pre-planned in advance to ensure we are producing the best offspring possible.

Question 20

How do we socialise our puppies?

Accepted Answer

Our puppies are exposed to a wide variety of sounds, surfaces, environments, handling experiences, and enrichment activities during their critical developmental stages. Follow our social media to see regular videos of us doing this in practice!

Question 21

What is ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) and ESI (Early Scent Introduction)?

Accepted Answer

ENS involves gentle handling exercises performed during early puppyhood to support neurological development, stress tolerance, and resilience. We follow a structured curriculum o
ESI exposes puppies to different scents during early development to encourage confidence, scent awareness, and neurological stimulation

Question 22

Are puppies exposed to children, noises, and everyday life?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Puppies are raised within a family environment and gradually introduced to common household noises, surfaces, people, and experiences in a positive and controlled way.

Question 23

Are our puppies toilet trained?

Accepted Answer

Our puppies begin toilet training from an early age and are introduced to structured toileting routines before going home. Whilst are puppies are 95% toilet trained by the time they leave, it is very normal for them to have accidents at their new home when they are still learning the routines, how to get outside, etc. Remember to take your puppy outside to toilet after every meal, drink or play. If your puppy is sniffing about, it's a good indication they need the toilet.

Question 24

Are our puppies crate trained?

Accepted Answer

We introduce puppies to crates in a positive way to help support smoother transitions into their new homes. We promote continued crate training when our pups go to their new homes, because it is invaluable for continuation of toilet training, self-regulation, when your dog visits the vet, or groomer.

Question 25

What training have puppies started before going home?

Accepted Answer

Puppies are introduced to basic foundations such as recall, sit, leave it, handling exercises, and confidence-building activities. We invest a lot of time into calmness training, too. When we've completed allocations, we will regularly send you videos of your puppy engaging in training with us so you can see how we teach certain skills.

Question 26

What is the cost of a pet puppy from us?

Accepted Answer

Our pet puppies are $6500AUD.

Question 27

What is included in the pet puppy price?

Accepted Answer

Our puppies come up to date with vaccinations and parasite prevention (worming), microchipping, health records, pedigree documentation, puppy insurance for four weeks, training resources, puppy show bag containing grooming supplies, some food and a lifetime guarantee of breeder support. Refer to 'Our Difference' to learn more about what we offer.

Question 28

How does the application process work?

Accepted Answer

Families complete a detailed application through the RightPaw website so we can learn more about their lifestyle, preferences, and what they are seeking in a companion. If we believe we can meet an applicant’s needs and preferences, we will be in touch. Please note that submitting an application does not automatically qualify you for a puppy.

Question 29

Is there a waitlist?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Due to demand and our intentionally small breeding program, we often maintain a waitlist for future litters. This helps us to understand the demand and breed accordingly. We will not breed our dogs if the demand is not there.

Question 30

When do puppies go home?

Accepted Answer

Puppies generally go home at approximately eight weeks of age. If you are unable to collect your puppy in the allocated timeframe, we encourage you to defer to a later litter. We can board puppies for up to 10 weeks of age. This incurs a cost of $55/day to cover ongoing training, food, worming treatments and veterinary appointments.

Question 31

Can pups be transported interstate?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We are happy to assist families with organising safe interstate transport options. Typically, interstate transport ranges in price from about $200 - $800. We will always confirm the price with you before making the booking.

Question 32

Can we visit your premises?

Accepted Answer

For the health, safety, and wellbeing of both our puppies and their mother, we do not allow in-home visits during the puppies’ early developmental period (prior to vaccination). While we completely understand the excitement of wanting to meet the puppies in person, this policy is in place for several very important reasons.

Young puppies have immature immune systems and are highly vulnerable to infectious diseases and environmental pathogens that can unintentionally be carried into the home on shoes, clothing, or hands. Maintaining strict biosecurity practices during these critical early weeks is essential for the health of the pups.

In addition, frequent visitors can create unnecessary stress for the mother dog during a time when she is naturally protective of her puppies and focused on nurturing and caring for them. We prioritise providing a calm, stable, and low-stress environment to support both maternal wellbeing and healthy puppy development.

As our puppies are raised within our private family home rather than a commercial facility, maintaining the privacy and security of our household is important to us.

To ensure families still feel connected and involved throughout the puppies’ journey, we provide regular updates through photos, videos, email communication, social media litter groups, and FaceTime or video calls once puppies have been allocated. We love sharing your puppy’s growth and milestones and strive to make the experience as personal and interactive as possible while still prioritising the safety and wellbeing of our dogs. We also offer a visitation day when pups are 7 weeks old. We have very stringent protocols in place but do welcome visits if you are purchasing a puppy from that particular litter.

Question 33

What happens if we can no longer keep our dog?

Accepted Answer

Part of the contractual agreement you will sign stipulates that if you can no longer care for the dog, or you wish to relinquish ownership, that you contact us so we can facilitate the rehoming process.

Question 34

What health guarantee do you provide?

Accepted Answer

We stand behind the health of our puppies and are always available to discuss any concerns or questions throughout your dog’s life. We also offer a written guarantee outlined in your contract, in relation to the health of the dog you purchase.

Question 35

What do puppies eat?

Accepted Answer

Our puppies are raised on premium-quality nutrition to support healthy growth, development, and overall wellbeing. During the weaning process, we transition our puppies onto Lyka and strongly recommend continuing this diet for at least the first few weeks after bringing your puppy home. Maintaining dietary consistency during this transition period helps minimise the risk of gastrointestinal upset associated with sudden dietary changes.

Question 36

Why do we feed our puppies raw, fresh and lightly cooked meals?

Accepted Answer

At Daley Connections Australian Cobberdogs, we believe nutrition plays a fundamental role in shaping a puppy’s long-term health, growth, development, and overall wellbeing. For this reason, we choose to feed our dogs and puppies a diet consisting primarily of real, fresh, nutritionally balanced raw and lightly cooked foods.

Dogs are biologically designed to thrive on fresh whole foods, and there is a direct link between quality nutrition and digestion, coat condition, immune function, dental health, growth, energy levels, and overall vitality. During the critical stages of puppy development, providing species-appropriate nutrition helps support healthy brain development, musculoskeletal growth, and gastrointestinal health.

Our puppies are raised on carefully selected meals that are balanced to meet their nutritional requirements and support optimal development. We prioritise high-quality ingredients free from unnecessary fillers, artificial additives, and heavily processed components wherever possible. We do not feed processed kibbles, as they are unregulated in Australia.

We also believe that introducing puppies to a variety of fresh foods from an early age helps promote healthy eating habits, confidence around food, and digestive resilience as they mature.
While we understand every family will make feeding decisions based on their own lifestyle and preferences, we are always happy to provide guidance, education, and support regarding nutrition to help families make informed decisions.

FAQ