Adopting a retired breeding female

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Hi all.  We have a one year old mini goldendoodle who we love.  She loves other dogs and so we are thinking of adopting a 4 year old female breeding dog from Hale's Labradoodles that they are retiring.  Anyone done this before?  Or have any feedback positive or negative?  Thanks!

[Adina P]

Do you get a chance to meet the dog beforehand and see what you think of her? That would be important to me--meeting her to see if you think she's a good match.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Oh, she's not house or obedience trained. I think that might be harder to do at an advanced age . It also might mean she is not all that socialized.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's very common with breeding dogs. We've had many retired breeding bitches come thru rescue, and none of them have been housebroken or socialized. They are also sometimes not good with other females.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Does this mean these dogs are kept in kennels? To look at most of the web sites the implication is that the dogs are kept in the house or in guardian homes? Not so, I guess. A quote from the website:
"Our Australian Labradoodles are home raised with myself my husband and my 3 children. All our Labradoodle dogs and puppies must be kid friendly and well socialized. They all are raised with the meticulous care needed to produce well rounded happy healthy puppies. Our children are with the dogs every day in the yard and at play. "
I guess it doesn't specially say inside the house..

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I just looked at this and was thinking the same thing.......
If this were a true statement, house training wouldn't be needed.
I noticed they have a large breeding stock, with many in guardian homes. Obviously those are their forever homes. I wonder about the socialization of the dogs that live there. That is the big thing I would ask.
But then again, people rescue doods all the time with socialization issues and work through them. You never know what you will get!

[Heather Hale]

Hello,
I am courios why would you say not so??

[Kelly-Orchard View Labradoodles]

It sounds like you need to ask more questions of the breeder, Amanda, so you can know more about the type of training the dog needs. "House training" does not necessarily mean "potty/house broken"...it could, but it could also mean learning household manners and rules ie staying off furniture, getting into garbages, etc. These types of things have nothing to do with socialization, by the way. All dogs have faults and this breeder sounds like she's being forthcoming about the girls she is retiring. Ask more questions, visit the breeder, meet the dogs, then make your decision. :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think Adina's suggestion is good. But the idea of a relatively young, healthy trained dog seems like a good one.

[Heather Hale]

Hello all,
I have read the thread and everyone makes great points. I am the breeder mentioned. What I had discussed with Amanda was my dogs are all crate trained and go outside to go potty but they do not have free access to the whole house. That is not possible when you have multiple dogs and puppies. So house training would be necessary. You could not just take her home and turn her loose in your home without properly teaching her what you expect. It doesn't matter what I have her do and what she knows here, she would need to learn in her new home. She would not even know where she lived at first. I explained that when you adopt an older dog that that does not mean no or even less work. What that means is different work. An adult dog knows its family and its home. When you take a dog out of his or her home where they were raised there is a period of transition. I hope this helps...=) and all those questions are great ones to ask.. Good looking out for your doodle friends....=)
Heather

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I'm impressed Heather and it was so nice of you to respond. You can understand what happens at some of these places so it is always nice when a breeder comes on to explain. Rare.
I also went to your page, read, and saw pictures. Speaking of pictures--a dog would get lost in that beautiful big home ( snicker ) so I can see why they don't have complete access. Yes, there is an adjustment in any new home--for the dog and the new owners. Just a different set of challenges.

Best wishes to your retiring girls.

[Heather Hale]

Thank you for your thoughts...=) So many things get lost in translation and it really is a disservice. That is my house, my yard, and those are my kids, and my dogs on my website. The testimonials are from real people most of which have been here personally. I have been breeding dogs since 97 and Labradoodles since 01. It is a constant fine line in maintaining balance as a breeder. For the average pet family they potty train 1 maybe 2 dogs every 10 to 15 years. As a breeder, I am constantly raising a puppy. So you could see the need to limit access to my entire home. I pride myself on the cleanliness of my home and my dogs. Again thank you for your thoughts.. They are nice to hear..

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am very glad that you have answered some of the questions that were raised. Communication is the main thing. I hope you realize that the discussion raised questions but that no one, certainly not I, meant to disparage you or your program. I think it's very good that you pointed out , to potential adopting families of your retired breeders, that some retraining work would be needed. I have always enjoyed visiting your website.