Starting to think about a new doodle

[Barbara Dudas]

Hi Everyone,

I hope you remember me as Chase's mom who battled liver disease and had to be put down in late April.  It has now been four weeks since we lost Chase.  I'm not going to lie, it's hard everyday without him.  We miss him so much and we still think we hear him in the house all the time (isn't that strange, how you swear you hear those big paws or tinkling noise of his collar?).  My neighbors have been so sweet telling us how much they miss Chase too.  The ones that I feel the worst about are Chase's two besties that lived behind us and would meet Chase at the fence several times a day.  They still stand at our fence and peer into our yard looking for Chase and it about breaks my heart. We have decided to wait until late summer / early fall to even look for a doggie but I am starting to think about it.  I don't know what the right time frame is but I think we will know when it's time.  I'm hoping some of you may have some input in this regard.  I don't even know where we would start.  While I love the idea of a rescue dog I have to admit I'm afraid of ending up with a dog that doesn't work out for us.  If we go the breeder route, how do we differentiate a breeder from a puppy mill?  In Pennsylvania where we live, puppy mills are rampant and I refuse to support that.  I've asked a few neighbors for suggestions.  One neighbor has the most adorable golden doodle and gave me the name of the breeder they used.  I took a look at their online page and did some googling and they don't appear to be a puppy mill.  My preference would be another labradoodle but I love goldens as well.  As we continue to look towards this, how do we even start?  We were sooo lucky with our Chase.  I don't think we will ever have a dog like that again, but I think we could find a really good dog that we would love.  I'm just not sure how to begin the process.  Again, I'm just starting to think about this and not considering looking seriously until late summer or early fall. I definitely want it to be after summer vacation when we know we will not be going anywhere for a while. When we do look I want to make sure we take the time to find the right dog for us.  I just know that we have a lot of love yet to give a dog and our house feel so empty without that four legged friend to share it with. We did speak with the breeder that we got Chase from and she tells us she is no longer breeding doodles, just full labs. Thank you all for your kindness during Chase's illness and if you have any suggestions in this regard I would love to hear it.

Barb 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I can tell you that if you adopt through a good private rescue group like Doodle Rescue Collective (DRC), they are more concerned about the dog not being the right fit for the family than you are, and they do a LOT of screening and interviewing to make sure it's a good match. There are many people here who have adopted adult doodles and I can't think of one that hasn't worked out beautifully for all concerned, myself included.

With breeders, start with the DK What to Look for in a Breeder guidelines: http://www.doodlekisses.com/notes/What_To_Look_for_In_a_Breeder

Run from anyone who can't measure up, and when in doubt, ask here. :)

Good luck in your search. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I do remember...and I can truly understand how difficult the past several weeks must have been for you.  Are you thinking about a puppy or an older dog?

[Amy and Annabelle]

I was so sorry about Chase. It is so heartbreaking.  I have lost 2 dogs. My 3 kids were devastated when our mini schnauzer died. It was less than a month after he passed that we rescued a Golden Retriever to help fill the void in our home. I probably would have waited a little longer, but was out-numbered and I am glad we didn't. Then we would have missed out on Charley. When he passed away from cancer 10 years later we were pet free for 12 years. Then we got Annabelle 2 years ago. Our kids are all grown now and I was more than ready. You will know when the time is right to welcome your new family member.

I say if you go the breeder route, look at the breeder guidelines link Karen gave and then go check out the ones you are interested in. If something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't and walk away. There are a lot of good breeders out there. One thing though, a lot of the good breeders have wait lists even before conception. I know I looked at one in my state and the wait list was 8 or 9 months long. But from what I hear, the wait is well worth it.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

This seems like a perfect time to be considering all this because there usually is a wait list for a puppy from a breeder.  And it may take awhile for the right adoption to come up as well, so getting your application in soon won't hurt either.  I feel that I would trust the DRC,  from all that Karen has told us, and again mentioned, they do a lot of investigating to be sure that the dog will go to a good fit so he/she is not given up or rehomed again.   I know that I will consider the DRC when the time comes for another doodle. I don't want to have to go through the puppy stages again if possible.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Barb ~ I am so sorry you and your family are going through this.  Losing our pets is so difficult.  After we lost our standard poodle, I was looking at photos of poodle mix breeds and came across the Australian labradoodle.  The second breeder I talked to on the phone happened to have a litter of chocolates that were born on the same day our poodle had passed. I thought it an omen, my husband not so much.  Long story short - Charlie came home to us on Valentines Day.  The moment I held him, I knew it was the right thing to do. He helped heal our broken hearts.  You will know when it is the right time and I will be watching to see photos when that time comes.  Hugs to you.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

So sorry for your loss of Chase.  Everyone handles this grief differently.  For some a week is too long to go without a dog in the house and for others it takes years to do it again.  There is no right amount of time.   Please try and remember that you aren't replacing him.  He will always be a part of your life.  There will become a time when you think of him you will be able to smile and remember the good times.  We lost our Sophie one week after her 5th birthday to cancer.  We, like you knew we would eventually want another but weren't sure when.  I just started doing my research to determine which breeder I wanted to look at when the time was right.  I knew there would be a waiting list so I wanted to start the process.  To make a long story short, life has a funny way of showing you when the time is right.  The breeder we chose wasn't going to have the exact puppy we wanted for over a year.  We got on her wait list in April for a smaller puppy that would be born in August.  If we changed our minds we could wait for the larger liter the following Spring.  Well, she called us at the end of April and told us that she thought she was going to have a cancellation from a liter that was exactly what we wanted ... AnnaBelle came home in May, only 2 months after we lost our Sophie.  I have to say, it is hard to be sad with a puppy in the house.  She was just what we needed.  So, I think that your new little doodle will find you when the time is right.  In the mean time keep reading and learning.   When you are ready,  I can give you a link to a breeder here in Ohio that I would recommend if you are interested just send me a friend request as we need to do it privately, not publicly.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Again, I'm so sorry about Chase.  The DK guidelines are a must read. But disreputable breeders can be clever.  From personal experience, I believe you need to visit the breeder and see the breeding dogs in the home setting or someone you trust has to have visited the breeder.  Finn's breeder holds one or two Open Houses a year.  I got a chance to meet her, her family, and many of her breeding dogs and their guardian families in a relaxed setting. I had the opposite experience when I visited a golden doodle breeder who despite a lovely website complete with health testing, etc. and cute puppies - would not let me see where the dogs were kept.  Her website stated in the home but it turned out the dogs were kept in a broken down barn without heat and non insulated boxes that were too small. She had a number of violations against her, yet she remains a recommended breeder on several golden doodle sites. If you decide to rescue, DRC is a great choice. You live close to me so I've sent you a friend request.

[Lynda Kamrath]

So sorry for the loss of your wonderful family member, Chase.   You might start working with DRC if you have a fenced yard and no small children at home.  But, you have some time, so take a good look around and you will find the perfect dog for you.  We have had several doodles and will be getting a sheepadoodle in July.  I love trying the different types of doodles.