Wanting to find an adult Doodle for my family

[Julia]

Hi, I am new here and would love some of your wisdom!

 I have a young family (2 boys, 4 & 7) and we know we want a doodle . My husband and I both grew up with dogs, but haven't owned any as adults and as our family is still quite young, we feel that we would be better suited to a dog that has already been housetrained and is past the puppy stage. ( I know we would have to still train an older dog,etc.) 

I have been searching Petfinder for months and nothing is coming up, plus, as much as I love the idea of rescuing a dog, I'm not sure that would be the best fit with my young kids.

 So... the couple of options I have found have been adopting a retiring breeder, or becoming a part of a guardian program and I would love to hear your opinions on these two options. I have found a retiring breeder from

 (what looks like) a reputable breeder. She has told me quite a bit about the dog (a male) and thinks we would be a good fit. (Large fenced property, stay at home Mom, kids.), but the problem is that we wouldn't be able to meet the dog before adopting him as he is on the other side of the country.

The other option is becoming a guardian family to a 2 yr old breeding female. Obviously we could meet her beforehand to see if we are a good match, but there are a lot of things to consider starting a relationship with a breeder like that.

I would just love to hear from some more experienced doodle owners. Thanks in advance!

[Julia]

I know what you mean about getting over-excited. I'm completely there! I am in grad school part time, but have been spending all my *study* time on-line researching doodles! I feel a lot of pressure, though, to make a sound decision because we have 2 young kids with whom the dog is going to have to fit,as well. Also, although my DH and I both grew up with dogs, we haven't had any as adults,and I'm a little nervous about the responsibiltiy, you know?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Whatever you choose, dk members will be here to support you and offer advice - probably more than you even want! :-}