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!

[BG and Gavin]

Hi Julia - Welcome to DK!  You should join the Canadian Doodles group and the GTA group and post there as well.  Also maybe the breeders group.  There are a number of good breeders in Ontario and several more on the border of Michigan so I am sure you will be able to find an adult dog without looking halfway across the country.

[Julia]

Thanks Brucegirl, where would I find the breeders group and GTA group?

 

[BG and Gavin]

On the main page you will see groups on the top in orange - click on that and click on all groups, then you can enter a term in the seach bar or skim through all the various groups.

Here are direct links to get you started:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/torontodoodles

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/Breeders

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/guardianfamilies?commentId=206524...

[Julia]

Thanks again, I just went to look at the breeders group and it looks like I can't join because I'm not a breeder. I know we aren't suppose to ask about specific breeders here, but I wonder if there is anyway to get information about Ontario or Michigan LD breeders from people more experienced than me?

I have contacted all the Ontario breeders I could find which seem to be reputable and haven't found a single adult yet. There is a breeder In Michigan I found who may have a retiring breeder, but I'd love more info on the breeder before making a 6 hr journey with my young family in tow.

[BG and Gavin]

Julia, since we are not allowed to discuss breeders in the main forum, I will send you a friend request and then you can tell me who you are looking into and I can give you some recommendations.  I have come to know a fair bit about different breeders and have been on this site for two years.  I also live about 2.5 hrs south of the GTA.

[Adina P]

The breeders group is FOR breeders---perhaps BG meant the Recommended Breeders group.

[BG and Gavin]

Yes - try this link instead http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/ownerrecommendedbreeders

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

There are quite a few people here that are Guardians so they will be able to give you advice on this. if the female goes to the breeder to have her pups and stays there til the pups are homed, then that may be a good option for you. Assuming you and your boys are ok with her being out of your home for 2-3 months. If the breeder wants you to whelp her, and raise the puppies, then that is a lot of work, especially when you have young kids. There was a discussion on here a while back about the pros and cons and responsibilities of being a guardian

Just because a retired dog is from a breeder, it doesnt necessarily mean the dog wont have issues. If it really is a good breeder and the dog has lived in the house 100% of the time, then it will be well socialized and should be fine.

Recued dogs can have issues, but many dont. You should contact Doodle Rescue Collective http://www.doodlerescue.org/ who are very active on here. they often have dogs available that never get listed on petfinder as they are so in demand.

Also, some breeders may have older puppies that are already potty trained etc - my breeder for example had 1 pup left from Coopers litter, who was going to go into a breeding program, but didnt. She found a home at about 5 or 6 months old

[Julia]

Thanks for your reply. The retired breeding dog has always been inside with the family and isn't crated (the breeder says he doesn't like his crate, but has always been a *gentleman* in the house), so I would assume he has been well socialized. Would you ever adopt a dog you haven't met?

 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I wouldn't get a sight unseen adult dog unless I had a longer standing knowledge of the breeder - like they were a member of dk and I had seen their posts and contributions.  Often breeders' dogs are not as well-socialized or house broken in terms of regular family life.  My worries would be that the breeder 'exaggerated' to me about how well house broken or socialized to children and outside things the dog really was because these two items would be huge for me and once the dog arrived ......  However, that being said, there is a lot to be said for a dog past the puppy destruct stage.

I got an older pup -3 1/2 months for my first doodle and he was easy to house break, but he was still a puppy and did puppy mischief.  I also got an adult doodle rescue from the shelter and he is really a wonderful dog with no issues.  He did lift his leg in the house at first.  We 'fostered' another shelter poodle mix who was about a year.  He was not neutered, housebroken and had some fear issues.  We worked hard over several months and he became trustworthy in our house and RV except at night.  We solved that by crating.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Look on the top of the main page, there are tabs. Click on group and all are listed there and there's also a search box.

Good luck to you!!!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I wonder what sort of breeder would send a dog half way across the country to people they have never met to re home a retiring breeder?  Where did this dog live? Is it even house trained? I certainly wouldn't take in a dog that had not been at least previously vetted or fostered and I would want the owners/rescue organization to check me out thoroughly too. 

Good luck with your search for an adult dog.