waiting

[Pam Thomas]

I can not believe how lonesome I feel looking at all the beautiful doodles and their happy families and how long it feels until I will get my pup. Do you always have to wait so long? By time I find a litter they are gone or too far away.How far in advance did everyone else adopt-hate to say buy, they are family not things-before you had them with you?

[Stephanie and Ragley]

Oh I can sympathize with the horrible wait! It is just awful and I don't envy you! I researched and saved for almost two years, but from deposit to gotcha day was probably about 5 months and I know that a lot of people on here were probably waiting a lot longer than that. One thing I am glad I did during the wait was research, not buy. I had a cart going on chewy.com for months. The fact that I had to make it to $49 before I got free shipping made it less likely for me to actually spend the money too early, and it allowed me to continue to explore and keep a running log of the toys/gear I had researched or found and knew I wanted to buy. It allowed me to have some of the fun of puppy shopping without going broke before Ragley even came home! I bought a few toys before she came home, but I am SO glad I waited to buy crate mats, beds, and fancy things because she gets hot on the crate mat someone gave her as a gift, she'd rather lay on the hardwood floor or bathroom tile than a bed, and I was able to learn more about what kind of toys she likes as we went along (for example she couldn't care less about nylabones; she's not a chewer- I'm glad I didn't go out a buy a bunch of bones) . Same with treats. You learn their taste as they grow. Another example- someone bought me a bag of Zukes minis once and after 2-3 days, Ragley was bored with them and wouldn't even eat them. I'm glad I didn't stock up on zukes before she even came home otherwise I would have had a lot of useless treats laying around hah There is so much you will learn about your sweet bundle of joy after he/she comes home! Online window shopping was my saving grace- hope that helps you too! BTW if you haven't gone on chewy you need to. best prices, fast shipping, and great customer service.

[Pam Thomas]

That is what I am doing. Buying 1-2 of different things-the bully sticks were on special and were the good kind so I got more-there are plenty of dogs around to give to if my pup doesn't like. I have a bunch of different kinds of toys-not to use all at once but to switch out. I have found chewy, they are getting to know me. Thanks for the advice-will take all I can get. Can I send you a friend request?

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I hope you got the odor free bully sticks - LOL.  the non odor free give off quite the "perfume".

Best wishes that your waiting time goes quickly.  I was very lucky and found Quincy at 11 weeks at his breeder and picked him up that weekend.  I am an instant gratification fan, but then again, a great part of Christmas is the anticipation!   

[Gisella]

I am also waiting for a female pup due at the end of May. I am 5 th on this waiting list but I feel that my chances are very slim. This is torture!!! They will put me on another list if there are none left. Then I will be waiting again!! It is not fun!!

[Pam Thomas]

I am 5th also and she takes 6. Hoping for a girl. She has another liter due a little later-they are bigger, but I don't want to wait any longer. I wanted to get the pup when I had a week off work to bond. That is the problem with the no refund, being able to look elsewhere. Wishing you a quick labor and a large liter, lol

[Wendy and Myla]

Oh, I remember this time like it was yesterday, and it was two years ago!  I had a doodle named Zak who died at the age of five in September.  In December, I knew I wanted another doodle - DH was not as convinced - he said he couldn't go through the heartbreak again.  Because of Zak's illness I knew I wanted a breeder who did health testing and found the breeder I wanted but would have to wait for my puppy - she had litter due in March but I was low on the waiting list and it probably wouldn't happen but she did have another litter due in August.  I did not want to wait that long but was resigned.  That's the only drawback with good ethical breeders - they have waiting lists!  Luckily Myla's mother had 13 puppies so I did get Myla from the March litter but having to wait to find that out and then another eight weeks was pure torture!  I spent my time trawling on different breeders websites looking at puppies and trying to find as much information as I could and happened on a link to DK and that is where I spent the rest of my time - I found so much information on this site!  The rest of the time I was always running to my email, to see if my breeder had posted new pictures of the puppies!  Unfortunately, my breeder wasn't the best at posting pictures (who can blame her when she had 13 puppies lol) so I was on this website a lot!  I made a picture of Myla's litter my screen page and just stared at it, wondering which pup would be mine!  As I said, it's torture but soon you will have your puppy in your arms - but I do sympathize with you! 

[Pam Thomas]

I know, I am on DK first thing in the morning and again ay night, That and looking for breeder that I might sign up with to get another doodle late this year.

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I started looking in February of last year. Forfeited first deposit because I didn't think the breeder was as reputable as I wanted.
Had a deposit with another breeder, turned out it was a false pregnancy, but I didn't find out till after that due date, she returned by deposit.
Found a third breeder, had a deposit on a litter. Due date passes, no puppy, she said they were reabsorbed. Offers me a refund. Again, really?! Anyway, I left my deposit there as they were getting ready to breed another dog, so I got on that list, and voila! I finally got Yogi!

DH and I truly thought even though we were frustrated and impatient that we would get the puppy we were supposed to have in the end. So on October 27th we finally got our Yogi.... And he is the best dog ever as far as we are concerned.

Same will happen for you. Time does pass fast. We've already had Yogi for over 3 months now, seems like yesterday we started looking. Good luck, it will all be worth it!

P.s. Are you still getting your doodle in April?

[Rose Coward]

I found the add in the paper, met the sire and dam, and adopted one all within a couple hours.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Waiting for the right time and reputable breeder is very hard. But the payoff in the long run is priceless, as I'm sure you know. Getting a puppy should take time and thought and preparation and you are definitely putting in your time.

I researched the "recommended breeders group" on here and found a few litters that there was still a space on the waiting list and being as shipping was probably going to be necessary, it broadened my search to several states.
Timing was very important for us as well with the first pup, as we were only going to be in our a house just long enough to get a pup house broken and then we were traveling again in our RV. Much harder to potty train when your driving 8-10 hrs a day! Timing was also important for the second as I was not going to be outside potty training in 115 degree heat during the summer, so we needed a fall delivery.

We found both our pups after they were already born, so I could know for sure what my choices were and the wait was the usual 8 weeks from birth. (Actually the second pup found us, through our thoughtful breeder).
So not long at all in comparison to waiting for a whole pregnancy to come to term, and then 8 weeks. Good luck to you! There's no easy way to wait I'm afraid. It's just so exciting!!!!!