What are your thoughts on this color?

[DJ]

Hi, I'm new and we have been planning on getting a doodle for a year now. I'm sure we all have in our mind what the typical doodle dog looks like. After finally finding a breeder I trusted the dog mom and dad finally had pups. It was a white doodle mom and red miniature poodle dad. I though for sure one of the pups would be that beautiful light tan color. All the pups came our medium apricot, which looks very dark to me. Also the breeder recently changed her allocations to 100% temperament testing. So she matches the puppy up with the family. So we no longer get to pick gender, coat, size. We can pick one characteristic but she said mainly we will get the puppy she says fits best with our family. So now I am having reservations about this litter. Not only it isn't the color I like but I'm paying $ 3,000 and get no say in what puppy I get. What is everyone's thoughts on this process? Thanks in advance!!

[DJ]

Ok thanks! Sorry to keep bothering you but you give good advice. You seem to know a llot about the doodle world. Would it bother you the position I'm in about the breeder basically picking the right puppy for my family? I get to give one characteristic I want but she can't guarantee it. I might have a chance to go to another breeder but she also places the right puppy for the right home. You get to chose between 2 pups. Should I just stay where I am? Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I know a lot about dogs in general, I've studied them for about 50 years, lol, and Poodles in particular. And I've been involved with dog rescue since 1998. But I'm the wrong person to ask about this situation. Jack was an adult rescue. When I've purchased puppies in the past, they've been purebreds, and I knew exactly what I'd be getting with any pup in the litter regarding color, size and coat. But with puppies from champion purebred show breeders, there is no choice anyway. They sell very few pet puppies, and when they have one available, it's basically take it or leave it. In each case, I met the parents, I knew the pedigrees, and I was thrilled to get any pup from those litters. 

I don't think I would ever buy a doodle puppy, but if I did, the "choosing" part would make me crazy, lol. There's so little you can really tell about any 6 or 7 weeks old puppy in terms of temperament, (They change from hour to hour and from day to day. Did they just wake up? Did they just get done playing? Maybe the breeders deliberately get them running around so that they'll be pooped out and "mellow" when the visitors arrive, lol) and then when you throw in the fact that with doodles, you can't even tell what size they will end up, or what kind of coat they will have, or even what color their nose will be, lol, that I don't see how you can pick, even given that option. There's just no way to know what you're getting anyway, and I think that in the long run, the chances are that you would be just as happy with a pup the breeder chose for you as one you chose yourself. But I'm probably in the minority on this. 

[DJ]

Thanks! Yes I agree I'm going to end up loving it to pieces no matter what I bring home. I'm just looking forward to having a puppy back in the house. My boys want a puppy so bad and I so feel like this breeder is trying to do the right thing. The parent dogs are cute and so far the pups are too. Will keep you posted!

[DJ]

And everything you said about trying to choose a puppy in the one hour you spend does not define that puppy. They could've been fired or just waking up etc. The breeder use to let people pick the puppies out. She just changed her allocations to all temperament based now and going forward.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I would want to choose my own puppy - meet it etc., however if I was working with a breeder and felt she knew the personality of the dog I needed, I'd be tempted to go with her selection.  Think about it this way, unless you had pick of the litter, you wouldn't have a full range of choice anyway. I would MAKE sure the breeder knows what my family life is like, what type of activities we would do, then I would rank the 3 most important qualities to me and also any deal breaker quality. For example, I want a social dog.  We spend a lot of time in our RV, I need a dog who would be comfortable doing that. But even more importantly, I need a less active dog - I am getting older and my dogs do a lot of sitting around.

[DJ]

Your right I was 5th on the list and she only had 6 puppies. But now with this method the list order doesn't help or hurt you. We have to fill out a huge questionnaire about my family at week 6 and we also do a phone interview. That way she knows everything she can about my family and what we do, interact, activities,etc. She gathers all of my information and the results of the volhard test and says which puppy would be best for my family dynamics.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And with young children, a shy puppy is a terrible choice. So often, people are drawn to a puppy who sits quietly or hangs back when the others are roughhousing, and people assume that puppy is the most "mellow" or "laid back" and that's what they want. But often, that puppy is shy or fearful, and those kinds of puppies need very calm, quiet, structured homes, just the exact opposite of what most homes with young children are, lol. Homes that are full of activity and noise are best suited for a puppy who is bold, outgoing, and afraid of nothing. But those are also the pups who might seem too active or "pushy" to the casual observer. 

A good breeder will have watched their personalities developing on a daily basis, and will know which ones would be comfortable and take things in stride in a busy, sometimes chaotic home, and which ones might withdraw or even lash out in fear. A person just seeing them for an hour on any given day couldn't know that. And any puppy of any temperament can also always have an "off" day. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think the most important thing is to work with a breeder you trust and feel comfortable with, and to like the parents of the litter. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I actually found the breeder's website, and the dam's father (the cream Poodle) actually has liver pigment and had red ears as a puppy, which have faded to apricot. Not that that tells us anything, lol. 

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Here's another coat fade example:

[Stacy]

I've said this before, but color and size aside, I have a hard time with the idea of a breeder deciding what sex of puppy I would get. That would just not work for me. I think temperament testing is great, but it's not the only variable. If I said I wanted a pomeranian and the magic dog selector said "I looked the whole world over and I picked the absolute perfect dog for you. I used my extra sensory powers and you are perfectly matched. Here is your Great Dane." It still wouldn't be the right dog, because isn't the dog that you want.

I am well aware that the breeder has spent more time with the puppies than I have, and I respect their suggestions. But I also think that there is something to be said for instinct, and love at first sight, and just knowing that that's the puppy you want to love for the next 15 years. I would just not enter into a contract with someone who said I didn't have any choice in puppy choosing. 

[JACKS MOM LORIE ANN]

My guess is they will lighten up :)

Have mom and dad had previous litters? So you can look at pictures.

From pup to adult pictures there is a picture of a gorgeous dark chocolate pup who turned gorgeous white-and I do mean white!

So it can go either way-

I'm wanting my Jack to keep his red but who knows?

Either way I love him...

I feel like you should definitely get exactly what you want especially for the $ but know that they change-as you can tell in the pix. from pup-adult...