Is there such a thing as a breeder being "too professional?"

[catherine grose]

I'm on waiting list for a miniature goldendoodle puppy due in July and i am suddenly worried about my choice of breeder. At first i though a professional breeder would be best (and certainly the easiest to find when i began my search online) but now i wonder "Is there such a thing as being too professional?" Does this make them a "puppy farm"? Should i be looking for puppies that are treated like family? He/she will be my very first pet so this question may be a mix of ignorance and last minute nerves.

Any straight talking advice would be appreciated.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I guess it depends on what you mean by professional.  I always felt like Guinness's breeder was professional because she had a great deal of knowledge about Doodles and breeding, had integrity in all our our dealings, communicated well and in a timely manner, was committed to the health and well being of her dogs and their puppies and could talk about training and behavior intelligently....and followed through with her own dogs.  She had goals for her line (in this case it was producing dogs with therapy work temperaments).  That said, she only bred one or two litters a year and raised the puppies in her home with her family.  When we went to meet Guinness her young daughter was carrying him around and it was clear that he got lots of socialization.  She kept the puppies in a room open to the kitchen so there was plenty of family interaction.  It was clearly the opposite of a "puppy farm", yet it was a very professional breeder operation.

[catherine grose]

Thanks. Yes, i think by 'professional' i mean slick operations with beautiful facilities and web sites but do they have colder attitude and less socialized dogs. How can i tell if a breeder is all professional attitude but no love, regardless of the years of experience and knowledge they have.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really think if you visit them you'll know.  It was clear to me with my Breeder.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Catherine -- Start with reading this and then compare your breeder selection.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/notes/What_To_Look_for_In_a_Breeder

[catherine grose]

Thanks, that was one of my starting point and my breeder checks most of those boxes but because i can't visit in person i'm getting worried that they are not 'family' enough. They house the dogs in kennels, does this make them bad? If i could visit i could put my mind at rest but until then im full of doubt that they are too slick and fancy to be loving.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

My personal opinion is I would want them in the house around the family being loved and played with!  You can also list the breeder name and ask people to PM you with any personal experience they have had with them, they just can't do it in the open forum.

[catherine grose]

Thanks for the tip, didn't want to break the rules on my 1st day!

And the more i dwell on this the stronger i feel about it, especially the being played with.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Honestly the kennels would alarm me.....too bad you can't visit.  I completely agree that visiting a place gives you a strong sense of the breeder.  Whenever I visited Peri, she was always in the breeders house/yard/etc...

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

Catherine, as a former breeder (of a different type of dog) I certainly understand that "fine line" sometimes between what may folks call "backyard" breeders and "professional" breeders.  Personally, I think that breeders who have a professional kennel, yet give their puppies lots of personalized attention daily, socialize them with cats, other dogs, and people shouldn't be ostracized because of this.  I've certainly also seen some people who breed their dogs, welp them in their home, raise the puppies in their home, and love them to pieces - - yet they know VERY little about quality breeding.  I agree with the comments from others that any breeder should know about the breed, should breed for quality and improvement of the line, should do health and temperament testing on the dame and sire, as well as on the pups. When you get a knowledgable breeder who really cares about the dogs and their puppies, that goes much further in my book than the physical location of their welping box.

[catherine grose]

thanks for the balance.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I raise pups for a breeder who is very much like the one Jane described--there are three of us including the breeder who raise the pups--that is because she wants them all home raised by people who are loving them and are there with them all the time. She has very high standards that we all have to meet.

In order to make a living, she has more than just one or two litters a year, but all the parent dogs are in guardian homes with their forever families until they deliver. No dog is ever in a kennel.

Believe it or not, the training starts as early as 3 weeks of age--my pups learn to go potty on paper that is in a tray and they get it after just a few days. they learn not to nip (although they don't always remember!) and not to bite pant legs, etc etc--when they go home, they are used to a house, they have been corrected (in a positive way) about going potty in an appropriate place (I say "GOOD GO PEE!" about a thousand times a day) and they have been redirected when the furniture becomes a chew toy. They have even been on a leash a few times and will come to me when I make a kissing noise. That comes in handy for the new parents if they keep giving them treats when they make that noise and the pup comes....they don't forget!

So, how could any of that happen in a kennel with limited exposure to humans?? This does not mean that the pup is all trained when it gets home, but it has had a good start.

[catherine grose]

Your description is perfect. Although the puppies in kennels see other dogs and are constantly supervised there is no way that they can have even a fraction of what you describe. I guess this wont doom them to being 'bad dogs' but it doesn't give them a start that has anything in common with our life together. Thank you all so much for helping me think through this problem and my fears.