Recommended Breeder: Hales Labradoodles

[Jerry Kandel]

If you want a puppy where you aren't allowed to ask questions - where the breeder will not respond to you with proper answers - where the breeder is almost a puppy mill (close to ten litters at any given time) - and where she puts up a difficult front - then if this is the kind of breeder you want to deal with -then be sure to contact Heather Hale.

This became one of the worst experiences of my life - and what should have been a pleasurable experience became anything but! We had lost our Golden Retriever to cancer six months ago - so I waited a while and then began researching puppies - we felt that the Labradoodle was our best bet. After deciding on the dog we decided to buy a puppy from Hales - which is located in Bakersfield and about two hours away. I explained to her immediately what we went through and that we wanted to be very careful on the health of the dog. Yes, in the beginning I asked the type of questions that anyone in our situation would ask - which Ms. Hale became very defensive and seemed to get frustrated with each question I asked. She actually told me that since I asked a lot of questions that she wasn't the breeder for me! But she took my money in October for a litter to be born in November.

About two weeks ago I joined a forum on this site that was on the subject of desexing puppies at six weeks. There are a lot of discussions about this - some favorable and some not so favorable. One person attached a document that spoke against early desexing - so I sent the article to Hale and asked her for a comment. The next I get is a note from her that she was canceling my deposit and informing me if I wanted a Labradoodle Puppy - I needed to look elsewhere. My wife and I were heartbroken - we had plans to go there in a few weeks to select the puppy and we already had begun to buy toys - as well as selecting a name. On top of all this - she chose Thanksgiving eve to send me this note! We are now over this heartbreak and we have plans to look at another future litter - where the breeder lives within an hour of us.

My wife told me not to write anything and to let sleeping dogs lie (so to speak) - but being a terrible experience that we just went through and knowing that this is a Labraddole site - I wanted to make sure that no one else suffers the same heartbreak that we did.

[James Freitas]

Hi Tracy, I'm sorry to hear that your dog is epileptic too.  Well they're not brothers, but most likely cousins.  Our pup was born April 19, 2014 to Lucy & Hunter.  We give him 100mg of Zonisamide twice daily and that seems to be working for him now.

[Tracy wood]

I'm glad your puppy's seizures are under control, it's so awful to watch.  After a little research on our own after his second seizure this past Saturday, we are hoping that the seizures have been a result of him starting Comfortis flea medication. The precautions for this medication indicate that it should be used with caution in dogs with pre-existing epilepsy.  Although he never had any seizures prior to taking this medication, he possibly may be prone to them.  He had his first dose of Comfortis Feb 15 and had a seizure Feb 27 (12 days later).  He had no seizures following his 2nd dose in March.   His 3rd dose was April 10 and he had a seizure April 22 (12 days later).  This is just too coincidental.  We are stopping the Comfortis and switching to Frontline.  Comfortis contains Spinosad and there is much controversy about this.  The way it works is by causing seizures in the fleas.

[James Freitas]

Tracy, you should add a review of your experience to Yelp.  There is already a number of dog owners who have had bad experiences with Heather Hale.  Maybe another review will help prevent a future puppy owner from going through the same heartbreak.  -James