First, fill out the adoption form on our website, and submit it. Anna will contact you via e-mail when the form is received. We will then correspond by e-mail or phone. If it is mutually decided that one of our puppies is right for your family, you will then need to send a deposit (see prices page). Unlike other breeders, we do not accept deposits on a litter until close to time for the mother to give birth (unforeseen things do happen). If the type of puppy you want is not born, we will gladly hold the deposit for a future litter.
Balances are due IN CASH ONLY when you pick up your puppy. If you are shipping--payment in full, including shipping costs, must be made when the pup is 7 weeks old, to prepare for the shipping at age 8 weeks. See "prices" page for methods of paying the balance.
These numbers stand for the type of cross the puppy is:
F1=50% poodle, 50% golden retriever. Coats are usually long, slightly wavy, and require brushing about once per week, especially behind the ears and the belly. This type coat is very beautiful, but will shed in some dogs. This coat is usually allergy friendlly (regarding dander allergies, not saliva), but not always.
F1B=75% poodle, 25% golden retriever. This is an F1 goldendoodle bred to a poodle. Coats are usually loose curls to tight curls. Requires more thorough brushing several times per week to avoid matting. This coat can often require professional grooming, and can have the 'sculpted' look --mainly with the tighter curled dog. Shedding is practically non-existant, and the coat is very hypo-allergenic.
F2B=62.5% poodle, 37.5% golden retriever. This is an F1 goldendoodle bred to an F1B goldendoodle. This cross is used to obtain the better qualities of the F1 and the F1B. Pups from this cross will have coats ranging from a coat like an F1, to a coat like an F1B. But most of them will fall somewhere in the middle. These 'middle' type pups will have a thick wavy coat that doesn't matt quickly, and there will be little to no shedding, and very allergy friendly.
Personalities of these different crosses are virtually the same.
Regarding hybrid vigor, these crosses all have either parents or grandparents of different breeds, so therefore hybrid vigor will be high in each of the above three crosses. Of course, a pup is only as good as the parent that produced it, so genetic testing is still very important in all the parents.
Standards are a cross between a Standard Poodle and a Golden Retriever. They are typically fairly tall, and appear very large partly due to their long shaggy coats. They weigh about 50-80 pounds, usually.
Mediums are a cross between a Miniature Poodle male and a Golden Retriever female. Or, they may be a cross between a miniature Goldendoodle male and a standard Goldendoodle female. Toy sizes are not used by us for this cross--because the resultant pup can sometimes exhibit poor confirmation (short legs with long back). They usually weigh 30-45 lbs.
Miniatures are a cross between a Miniature Poodle or Goldendoodle male and a miniature Goldendoodle female. These dogs usually weigh between 18-25 lbs.
Several things are taken into consideration. First, we analyze your adoption form regarding environment, experience with puppies/dogs, number and ages of children, etc. Then, we determine your desires for color, coat type, size, and temperament. When the pups are about 7 weeks old we start making preliminary selections. These decisions are based on temperament testing that we perform on the pups at age 49 days. You will be notified by e-mail of our thoughts. We will gladly incorporate any of your wants/needs into the selection process. If there are several puppies that would work for several different homes, the family whose deposit was received first will get to choose from those pups.
Pictures of the puppies are posted when they are born, and every week thereafter. Also, we will usually post a video of the puppies playing at about 5-6 weeks. To reduce the chance of spreading disease (see next question), we only allow people to see the pups on the day of pick up. If for any reason you are not happy with your puppy when you see him, there is no obligation to take him, and your deposit will gladly be refunded. Because of our selection process, we are confident that you will be overjoyed when you see your pup. We also provide an extensive reference list--feel free to contact these past buyers, it will ease your mind.
Please see our visitation policy.
Our preferred method of correspondence is e-mail. Anna replies to e-mail messages daily, but often doesn't listen to phone messages but about once per week. Due to very busy schedules for both Charley and Anna (these dogs take a lot of our time!) e-mail just seems to work better. Of course, there are times when you just can't replace talking in person, we understand that--and sometimes we will need to talk to you in person also. We will be glad to discuss with you any questions, issues, concerns you may have by phone. And of course, we are always available by phone or e-mail to our past customers. Our e-mail address is: info@loveabledoodles.com. If you would like our phone number, we will gladly provide our home number via e-mail, along with best times to call.
CKC registration papers, two year health guarantee, health record, microchip, link to baby pictures on-line, toy that smells like mom/siblings.
The pups are immunized with a five-way vaccine at age 6 weeks. Their next shot will be due at age 9 weeks, after you have the puppy home. We also deworm the puppies at age 2, 4, and 6 weeks of age. Your vet will decide if further worming is necessary after you get the puppy home. We have all our puppies microchipped at age 6 weeks. We do recommend you start flea and heartworm prevention at your first vet visit.
"Iams Smart Puppy". This is a food commonly found in discount stores such as Wal-Mart, grocery stores, and pet specialty stores. It is nutritionally sound, and recommended by our veterinarian. If you prefer another food, just switch your pup over slowly--taking about a week. Please do not feed cheap foods with a lot of 'fillers'. Use a vet recommended food.
Our puppies are born in our kitchen. They stay in our home the entire time. If we happen to have more than one litter, they may go to our attached garage (it's heated and cooled). But, they are brought inside daily for playing/interaction with us. If the weather is nice, they may go to our outside nurseries during the day for fresh air and play. The indoor and outdoor puppy nurseries are set up so that the puppies have to walk through a doggy door to go outside and potty. They do not potty inside where they sleep. This makes future crate training much easier. The pups are weaned from their mothers at age 6 weeks. We continue to play with them on a daily basis until they leave us for their new homes at age 8 weeks. Temperament testing is done at age 49 days.
Yes, please e-mail us if you would like a copy.
Your puppy must live in your home--not outside. Crate training is the method we strongly suggest for house breaking. We prefer you start obedience classes with your puppy, and require it for first time dog owners. If you have young children, they must not treat the puppy as a toy. The children should be taught how to properly treat the pup, and should be supervised at all times with the puppy. Even though goldendoodles love children, no pup should suffer the abuse that some kids can dish out--it will definitely be detrimental to the puppy's developing personality.
Any dog can become a huge 'pain in the butt' by developing unwanted habits. With the goldendoodle, you are starting out with a wonderful, loving, intelligent breed. There is no reason except for poor training that these puppies will cause any problems in your household. It is imperative you know how to properly crate train and obedience train your dog.