My name is Bruce Murch. Our family operates Covenant Farm Puppies on a small farm in Central Virginia. We began by breeding Labrador Retrievers, then added English Mastiffs, and then the hybrid of the two, the Mastador. Our family has been breeding excellent quality puppies since 2007. 

We are a family of nine home-schooled adult children, with 28 grandchildren and counting. This breeding program has been a family affair from the outset, and my children have been replaced by grandchildren as the Dog Chore Technicians.

I lost my beloved Beverly on December 19, 2020 to pancreatic cancer, after nearly 40 years of marriage. She was The Puppy Lady to so many of our puppy folks, and it’s been impossible to replace her influence in the breeding program. But her love for the dogs and puppies, and for me and her family, is an aura about this place that stays with us.

Though most of our puppies end up as simply family companions, many are also in service, including search & rescue, PTSD therapy, Alzheimer’s therapy, mobility support and medical alert. Many are also working retrievers and field/hunting companions.

We also do several rescues a year. Whenever we are approached to help with a rescue, we do what we can to help place them using our 3,000+ Facebook friends and their network of friends. We also do re-homes each year, pairing dogs with the perfect families for their needs. Some of these dogs originated with us, but many have not.

Our web site can be found at http://covenantfarmpuppies.com

This blog is a response to the many requests from our 900+ puppy owners to make our advice public, in a form that can be easily accessed. Over the years, we have done our utmost to study canine health from a mostly holistic perspective. We are not opposed to the use of pharmaceuticals or chemicals when absolutely necessary, but our advice always seeks a natural remedy first.

We have been through some very trying times over the years (as any breeders will sooner or later). We have battled an outbreak of parvoviris and canine herpes virus. We have had first-hand experience with a wide range of medical emergencies and crises. We have developed protocols to deal with these things. In some cases, our veterinarians have sought our advice on our natural protocols.

This blog should benefit both dog/puppy owners and breeders. I don’t know everything, but I know what I know. If I can’t answer a question, I always try to find the answer. I am always learning and as I do, what I learn will be posted here and added to the body of knowledge.

I hope you will find these blog posts interesting, informative, funny and challenging.
It’s all about the dogs!