Frequently Asked Puppy Questions

We do accept deposits on our puppies as soon as they are posted on our upcoming litter page, or when they have been born. But, we do not allow anyone to choose their puppy until they are about 8 weeks of age or until we feel that we know our puppies well enough to give you important information about their overall size, coat type and personality.

We like to avoid having you choose only by appearance because there are so many additional factors that are important to consider in order to get a good fit for your family and lifestyle.

When we are ready for the selection process to begin we take new pictures of the puppies and post them on our website. 

You have the option of coming here in person to meet the puppies or selecting from the pictures on the website, and utilizing Facetime while speaking in depth with us about your family and our puppies' individual traits. We will do our best to help you make the best choice for your specific needs and preferences.

Rest assured that if you are one of the last people choosing, we will not sell a puppy to a family that we do not feel will be a good fit for one reason or another. We always reserve the right to refuse to sell a puppy to anyone for any reason if we do not feel it is in the puppies best interest.

If when it is your turn to choose a puppy, we do not have a good fit based on gender, color or personality issues - you will have the option of having your deposit refunded or you can opt to place it on another litter or puppy that is coming available. Our deposits are non-refundable for any other reason. 

This is a very good question that we hope to clearly answer for you.... Puppies change every day! You will be able to see the development of a litter of puppies from the first day they were born all the way through the first month and a half. Thing that can change and develope are:

COAT TYPE
The first reason we wait until they are 8 weeks of age is due to their physical development.
The puppies physical characteristics amongst litter mates can vary tremendously. Coates can range from straight coats, wavy coats and curly coats.

OVERALL SIZE

The second reason is so that we can offer opinions on the overall estimated adult size of the puppies. Although we cannot guarantee what the puppies size at maturity will be - we can offer some advice on the topic because we have had time to evaluate their development in comparison to their own litter mates.  Size issues can vary quite a bit even in the very same litter of puppies. This can happen for several  reasons such as family genetics.
Standard poodles can range in size from about 15" at the shoulders to about 30" at the shoulders which is the size of a Great Dane!  You can have one puppy take after a small poodle in their lineage and another one take after a larger one.

PERSONALITY
The other reason that we wait so that we can help you to choose a puppy that has a good personality and temperament for the individual needs of your family.
By waiting it gives us the opportunity to watch how the puppies interact with each other.  This gives us a lot of insight into which puppies may have a more dominant temperament or which ones may be more laid back etc...
Choosing according to personality is very important because each different family has different needs. 

This is a very good question, but unfortunately has no cut and dry answer. Doodles are crossbreed dogs, which means they are not "Standardized". Simply put the puppies in each litter can have a variety of looks or coat types. If a breeder states their puppies are hypoallergenic - use caution. Each person's allergies can be very different from the next person who also suffers from allergies.  In general further along in blends are more recommended  for anyone with allergy or asthma concerns that are dog related. 

 It is quite normal for your puppy to be nervous for the first day or two, which may affect his appetite. You should expect him to eat normally within a few days. 

We recommend that you offer more-than-enough food 3 times a day. Simply fill a large bowl and give it to your pup for 20-30 minutes. Take away anything that was not finished at the end of each feeding. By measuring small portions out for your pup, they will not have the extra nutrition needed during times of growth. Puppies that are fed a limited amount of food when growing can become more destructive in your home as they may chew on things, trying to find something to stop their hunger pains. Puppies who grow up without being heavily restricted, often can be free fed as adults.

Your puppy's stool should continue being firm after being switched if you are feeding a good quality food. Foods that contain more fillers and ingredients that simply pass right through without being digested will produce more stool than better quality foods with less fillers.

Your puppy cannot make wise decisions for him- or herself.  Therefore, you have to make decisions that will likely impact the physical and mental health of your puppy.  

Carefully supervise young children approaching and touching your puppy.  Young children can often be a bit clumsy and brutal around dogs, especially if they are not around dogs that much in their daily life.  See this INFOGRAPHIC for how children should approach and play with any dog.

Understand your puppy's exercise limitations for its age.  If you love to jog or bicycle, the formula is 1 minute of exercise for each week of age of the puppy.  A 9 week old puppy should only be walking or slow jogging for 9 minutes! Use this exercise poster from Avidog/Zink to understand what exercises are age appropriate.

Understand your puppy's physical limitations in terms of potty training and do not punish your puppy for mistakes.  A young puppy, 8-12 weeks old, will have to eliminate every 2-3 hours if it has free access to water and/or food. This GRAPHIC will help you remember when to potty your puppy and how the timing changes with age.

Properly socialize your dog and understand what socialization is.  Many people think that socialization is getting dogs to play with or interact with other dogs.  This is NOT socialization.  Download this checklist for socialization activities and see this INFOGRAPHIC on socialization.

Be a responsible dog citizen and do not let your dog approach another dog unless invited to do so. Do not assume the other dog is friendly and do not assume that your dog will be friendly to a completely strange and unknown dog.  See this INFOGRAPHIC  on dogs in need of space and be aware of what the levels of reactivity look like in both your dog and other dogs.

Learn about the developmental phases that a puppy goes through its first year of life.  Do not expose the dog to potentially scary circumstances during any fear phases and do not purposely force your dog to do something they are wary of doing. This CHART will help you keep the developmental phases in mind.

Learn the signs of stress and fear in your dog so that you can remove your dog from the circumstances causing these.  Stress behaviors are numerous and are LISTED HERE.