Thinking of getting a mini Doodle at Almond Blossom

[Karin and Cooper]

Hi,

We are looking into getting a mini Doodle from Almond Blossom. We are #9 in the pick order. The mother is expected to deliver between 10-11 puppies. If anyone has gotten a puppy from a large litter, does it make a difference that you would only have 2-3 puppies to choose from? Do they do any kind of evaluation of their personalities, etc? Any help or advice would be appreciated. Would like to hear all about your experience with Almond Blossom.

Thanks!

Karin

[Liza, Halle and Finn]

Hi Karin!
You're going to love your doodle! Shelly & Julie from Almond Blossom are really terrific to work with. When we went up to pick out our pup, we had first pick, but we were wanting a male, and we wanted a light cream coat, so that eliminated all (Tula had delivered 10 puppies)but three puppies!! And trust me, it was hard enough choosing between those three. You'll be better off not having to pick from 10 or 11 because they are all going to be absolutely adorable! So once we had our picks narrowed down, Shelly, Julie & a trainer they had on site, went over the individual personality profiles of those pups, then we observed them with each other, and how they interacted with us, and finally made our decision! And we couldn't be happier! Kachi is everything, and much much more, than we were hoping for. We can't figure out how we lived without him all this time!!! Best of luck!

[Karin and Cooper]

Thanks Liza! I appreciate all the feedback. Tula is the Mom for our puppy as well. How old is Kachi? When did you pick the puppies? I would assume it would be before final pickup. Where are you located? We are in San Jose. We had 2 big dogs, lost the last one 2 years ago. It's taken us this long to think about getting another one. I will let you know what happens!

Thanks again,

Karin

[Liza, Halle and Finn]

Oh, I'm sure, if Tula is mommy, then Micah must be daddy!! Your puppy & Kachi will be related!! Kachi was born Mar 4, 2008. (He is 6 1/2 months old.) Shelly emailed pictures of the pups progress until we went on April 26th to pick him out & pick him up!!! We're located in Fresno, so we were about 100 miles away, but let me tell you, Kachi did not like that ride home! He cried practically the whole way. It was heartbreaking! It took us 5 years from the time we lost our last dog, and even then, my husband was not thrilled about the idea. But now... he loves this dog sooo much!! It's too cute!

[Karin and Cooper]

Yes, Micah is the daddy! I was on your page last night showing my husband and kids the pictures of Kachi. He is the cutest thing ever!

So I am eagerly awaiting a response from Shelly. I last emailed her on Wed. and Thurs. and she hasn't responded. She was going to pencil me in for the #9 spot but I am nervously waiting to hear if she can confirm that. I am wondering if Tula had her babies, they were due this week. It is going to be hard to wait until mid-November! That is of course if we are still #9. I'll let you know what happens.

[Elena Nayerman]

Hi. We have a baby boy from Almond Blossom! I never had to pick a baby from the litter without looking at him/her myself. It was a difficult way to "select" a puppy. But, we were lucky - our boy is awesome. You can e-mail them with a "wish list" and they will try to match you with the certain type of personality.. We live in San Diego and decided to fly there and rent a car to drive home together with puppy. The idea of flying a puppy in a cage didn't sound good to me at all. Now he is 9 months old, beautiful, playful, loving and curious. If you need any more help, let me know. Elena

[Karin and Cooper]

Thank you Elena! It's great to hear your experience with Almond Blossom. We are eagerly waiting for the day when we can pick our puppy out and take it home. Your dog sounds wonderful, I'd love to see a picture sometime. I'll post to the Almond Blossom group that Liza set up once I have some experiences to share!

Karin

[Jenny & Ruby]

Hi Karin!

Almond Blossom Doodles are wonderful. Julie made the experience so easy for us. Our Doodle, Ruby, came from Lily's 11/7/07 litter (Micah is the dad). There were 9 puppies in that litter, and my husband and I were originally 7th in the pick order. When we showed up, there were 6 puppies for us to choose from. Evidently, people decided at the last minute to switch to a different litter or a standard size, so you might find yourself moving up on the list!
Julie sent us pictures of the puppies every couple of weeks as they got older. A few times, there was a puppy with a cute little brown nose and hazel eyes in the pictures. I fell in love with her from the pictures, and I was just hoping she would be left. When we arrived for our appointment, she was one of the 6 left. Needless to say, she came home with us, and we adore her!
One a side note, a week after we got Ruby, my husband had a doctor's appointment. He overheard the receptionist talking about her new puppy, and of course they started talking about their similar experiences. One thing led to another, and we found out that Ruby and her doodle, Honey, are sisters from the same litter. They were at Almond Blossom one hour before we were there. Because we only live 15 minutes apart, Ruby and Honey have sister playdates. They are so cute together, but they don't look a thing alike :) Have fun with your doodle!

Jenny

[Karin and Cooper]

Hi Jenny,

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with Almond Blossom. What a great story! That is so neat how you found Ruby's sister. How funny they don't look anything alike! That is also so interesting how your pick # got moved up. We are loving the pictures that Shelly is sending, our kids are very excited. We haven't had a puppy in a long time so it's going to be really interesting! I'll post to the Almond Blossom Group when we finally get our little one!

Thanks again!

Karin

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Hi Karin
I believe we are picking from the same litter. Is it this Sunday, the 16th?

[Karin and Cooper]

Hi Carla,

It must be! We are picking up Saturday in the afternoon. We are supposed to be 9th pick, what are you? I think they have puppies available again for this litter so I don't know if we moved up in the queue or what. It's the Tula/Micah litter. Let's keep in touch, hopefully we can compare notes!

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Hi
I have no idea what number we are. We have been deliberating over a labradoodle, Golden retriever or goldendoodle. My husband took me to Almond Blossom the weekend before Halloween (as a surprise) just to see what a goldendoodle looked like. We saw Lily's litter. Then we looked at labradoodles. After deciding I really did not want the labradoodle I had emailed Julie last weekend to see if any of Lily's litter was still available (there was a male left at the time we saw her). She said they were gone but Tula had 2 males left. Bottom line is..Shelly sent me photos and we decided to go with the goldendoodle. I am excited and nervous. We lost our 12 yr old golden retriever 3 months ago. I am clueless about puppies. It's been a long time. But I guess it's like riding a bike, you never actually forget. Are you getting a boy or girl?
Yes, let's keep in touch. We are in San Mateo.
Carla

[Karin and Cooper]

I too am excited and nervous! We lost our last dog 2 1/2 years ago so I too am clueless about puppies, we haven't had one in 17 1/2 years! I'm trying not to worry. The pictures Shelly has been sending are adorable, it's going to be hard to choose. I assume we will get a boy because we are 9th pick. We are definitely OK with that. Lucky you that you got to visit Almond Blossom. We are in San Jose but haven't had time to make the trip over. My kids can hardly wait to get the puppy, they've had a count down going since they were born. Good luck this weekend and I will look forward to sharing experiences with our new puppies!