Disappointing Day = No Puppy

[Patti Golden]

Yesterday I was supposed to pick up my F1 English Goldendoodle puppy but things didn't work out that way.  It was a 5 1/2 hr. trip to Mt. Juliet, TN.  A friend of mine went with me.  We stopped for lunch and to fill up with gas right before we got to the place so we'd be ready to go when we picked the puppy up.  I'm not sure what I expected to see when she showed me the puppies but there was absolutely nothing about them that drew me to them...to say it bluntly.  I brushed that off to perhaps being tired from the drive and we took both boys out and played with them ; then took them outside to play.   They pooped a lot and the breeder said the stools were looser than she'd like and would send him home with a round of antibiotics.  What?  I know Giardia is common in puppies but to take one home with antibiotics?  Is this normal?  That was one red flag.  The boy I thought I would like turned out to have the straighter hair and when I picked him up I had hair all over my shirt. She told me all puppies shed.   The 2nd boy had a bit flufflier coat and didn't seem to shed much at all.  We played with them a little over an hour because I wanted to be sure.  I had hoped one would choose me but that didn't happen - that itself was disappointing.  Then the breeder started getting a bit frustrated and she finally said she didn't want to rush us but she had only scheduled an hour for us and that most people only take 30 min. to pick out a puppy.  She said she had another appointment in 20 min.  Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I would think since we drove 5 1/2 hrs. to get there that she would have at least informed me of this "minor" rule.  I mean what if traffic had been bad and we had been 2 hours late?  I was still having trouble deciding on which puppy I wanted, which was another red flag to me.  Something just didn't feel right.  She said she'd give us another 20 min to decide.  She kept hovering over us so we finally asked for a few min. private to talk about it, which turned out to be maybe 2 min. at most.  I was frustrated to say the least.  I went to my car to get a drink of water and came back.  The husband came out now and followed me back and asked if I'd made a decision.  To make a long story short, the breeder made the decision for me.  She took my deposit out of her pocket and gave it back.  She obviously wanted to see me leave.   This was a bit heartbreaking, but rather a relief.  I did not want to give this breeder my money.  I was all set to forfeit my deposit but kept trying to talk myself into one of these puppies.  They were cute after all, but looked more like backyard puppies in my opinion.  They seemed really small to be standards.  They were smaller than the mediums we'd seen the day before at same age.  They had not been socialized much either.  They were friendly but you could tell they hadn't been handled and played with that much.

Now, some of you told me not to visit other breeders before I went to pick my puppy up.  I did not heed that advice and my friend and I had visited a breeder the day before.  There was a HUGE difference in quality of the puppies.  If I hadn't gone, I would have thought the TN puppies were what they all looked like.  But now I'm back to square one.  I am going to keep looking and even include labradoodles in my search. 

I was going to blog this and include photos but I couldn't get it to work so just tried to keep this short as I could.  I just wanted to let everyone know my experience, and especially those who have been following my story.

[BG and Gavin]

I am sorry about your experience Patti, but so glad you listened to your gut.  I was discussing this last week where we tend to ignore red flags because we are already committed.  A long drive, a deposit, you were very strong to back out and did the right thing.  As everyone has said the right pup will come to you.

[Rachel and Ollie]

Awe man! :( This is disappointing, but its good you went with what felt right on this. The first puppy I was signed up to get didn't end up working out for me either, I didn't find out until the day before I was supposed to get him. I was totally bummed out about it, but everyone on here kept saying that the right puppy would come along, and they were right. I'm sure the other pup would have been great too, but I can't imagine it different from my Ollie boy. 

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

im sorry you didnt get a puppy, but im glad you went with your gut feeling. if something felt wrong then it most probably was. the right puppy will find you

[Jennifer Tramell]

Sorry you had this experience, but this is an example of why I prefer visiting pups over having them shipped.  If you are getting a pup from a well-known, reputable breeder, shipping works well (my parents had their pup shipped), but anyone who is handy with a computer can make a website look good.  When we were looking for Charlotte, we almost bought from a breeder in another state, until we "Google Earth-ed" their address and it looked like kennels and dog houses in the back yard area.  Red flag for us, and we focused our search on closer to home.

I'm from middle Tennessee (and I know exactly where Mt. Juliet is) and I'd like to take a moment  to defend Tennessee goldendoodle breeders :-)   I have become good friends with my Webster's breeder and I stay in touch when they have new litters, etc.  I like to visit when they have new puppies (I call myself part of the socialization team- lol!) and I've seen people come to visit/pick out puppies.  The families are welcome to stay as long as they'd like, they play ball with the mama dog, look at pictures of previous litters, and are shown the puppies various sleeping and play areas.  I've actually seen them recommend that the prospective owners go for a drive so they can get away from "puppy fever" and make a decision with a clear head (they don't like "impulse buys").    I know of a couple other TN goldendoodle breeders who are are well respected  - so don't give up on a TN goldendoodle :-)

[Julie, Izzie & Max]

I'm so sorry you were disappointed.  It does not sound like that was a very good breeder.

I send you private message.  We live in Huntsville, AL and both went to Auburn.  Since you are expanding your search to look to labradoodles.  I sent the message to tell you where we got our labradoodles.  We good not be happier with our two.

 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I think you stuck with your gut feeling which is never wrong !!!   If someone rushed me like she did I would run the other way and look for  breeder that is willing to spend the time with you and not rush you out of the door.

 

The right puppy will make its way to you ...  :) 

[Bonnie and Kona]

So happy for you! Congratulations on your little labradoodle!

[Lynne of Fountain Falls]

How wonderful for you.  Congratulations.  Pictures!!