What are your thoughts on this color?

[DJ]

Hi, I'm new and we have been planning on getting a doodle for a year now. I'm sure we all have in our mind what the typical doodle dog looks like. After finally finding a breeder I trusted the dog mom and dad finally had pups. It was a white doodle mom and red miniature poodle dad. I though for sure one of the pups would be that beautiful light tan color. All the pups came our medium apricot, which looks very dark to me. Also the breeder recently changed her allocations to 100% temperament testing. So she matches the puppy up with the family. So we no longer get to pick gender, coat, size. We can pick one characteristic but she said mainly we will get the puppy she says fits best with our family. So now I am having reservations about this litter. Not only it isn't the color I like but I'm paying $ 3,000 and get no say in what puppy I get. What is everyone's thoughts on this process? Thanks in advance!!

[Stacy]

I also agree with you. And I think you're right on about being able to place all the puppies. I also think that no matter how well the breeder knows the puppies from 0 - 8 weeks, there are so many changes that happen in a short time after that - during the 8-14 week development, that unless the puppys personality is a significant outlier the nurture part has a great deal to do with their personality. 

Ava is the sweetest girl in the whole world. But I don't for a second believe that she's the same dog that she would have been if she had lived with me her entire life. And I can't shake the feeling that the breeder is getting something out of this deal that is not just about making sure the owners get the right dog. Maybe I'm totally wrong. Something just feels off about it to me. 

[Rose Coward]

Well said.

[EJ & Dante]

Take a look at the From pup to adult group, my post on "Dante from pup to adult".  He was waaay darker than these pups.  So was the entire litter.  Now he is the only one who is reddish, most are light tan or blond and he is also lightening, but has still quite a bit of red.  But so much lighter than I imagined by taking the reddish puppy of the litter.  Also, our breeder temperament tests, gives all those waiting for a puppy the full results for all the puppies, and the owners pick the puppy in the order they are on the list.  Also, she doesn't temperament test any puppies she raises, she has someone else do it to ensure a successful testing process. I wouldn't have done it the way your breeder does.  Also, 3 k is a LOT.  I got my puppy from someone who successfully breeds service dogs, and it was no where near 3k.

My dog is in training to be a therapy dog, and we live in a very public setting.  He is an awesome dog, and exceeds my expectations in every way.  HOWEVER, I put a ton, and I mean a TON of time in training him and exposing him to all sorts of things.  I don't think I'd have the same results, regardless of his temperament test, without all that time and investment.  The temperament testing told me he had the APTITUDE and foundation.  It's my job to develop it.  We starting training at 8 weeks, took our first class at 10 weeks, and at 4 months, he's moving from his second formal class into private training.  And I spend 10 times more time training and working with him outside class than in it.

[DJ]

The actual price is $2500. That seems consistent with other breeders I was looking at too. Are others paying significantly less? She does have someone else come in and do the testing. She just changed her entire allocations to this new process and unfortunately it fell on my litter. She used to just go by the list and the owner picked. I bet she will lose business by doing it strictly temperament based and you don't get to chose. I reached out to people who adopted from her and they had nothing by excellent things to say about the breeder and quality of her dogs. That's why so far I'm staying with her.

[EJ & Dante]

That's not so out of the ballpark for proven and health tested parents. It is on the higher side. But if you have 10 puppies and 10 deposits, someone is not going to get the perfect puppy for them. Our breeder allows you to be on 2 lists. If you don't find the puppy you are looking for on your first list, (maybe you were near the bottom), you still have your second list. And can move as many times as you need.

[Stacy]

I'm not an expert on anything - and I don't even play one on tv. So my advice is worth exactly nothing. I'm not out here trying to talk you out of doing what you want to do. I just wish I had done things differently, and I hope you have all the facts to make the decision you want to make.

1. I paid 1800 for a puppy almost 2 1/2 years ago. A "celebrity blogger" bought one of the puppies from the same litter, posted a ton of really cute pictures of the pup on a fairly well read blog and the price went up to 2500. I am currently seeing pups from 800 - 1200 advertised. I don't think they do a lot of health testing, but my breeder didn't either. That price bump was all marketing.

2. I think it's completely unfair for her to change the rules of puppy selection after you had put down a deposit and without giving you that information upfront. 

3. How did you get the information about the people who had previously adopted puppies from her? A breeder isn't going to give you the names of the unhappy people. And I would also have told you how much I loved Katie and how thrilled I was with her. If it weren't for things that happened years later I wouldn't even have known that all was not as it seemed in their operation. 

[DJ]

She told me she would give me deposit and welcome to go elsewhere. Or stick around for an upcoming litter. I'm staying for now because I do believe the pups are high quality. And I do believe most breeders are somewhat crazy so no matter where I go it's not perfect. I do have a backup breeder who's dog will be having pups this week if this falls through. The pups are 3 weeks old and we still don't have individual pictures and I still don't know which ones are the girls or boys. Maybe I am demanding too much? I just feel in this day in age with cell phones how hard is it to send tons of puppy pictures?

[Stacy]

I agree with you about the pictures! They don't have to be professional photo sessions, you just want to see the puppies. People snap 800 selfies a day. Take some puppy pictures! 

I'm sure whatever you do it will be the right thing. You're giving this very important decision a lot of thought. I commend that!

[EJ & Dante]

I wouldn't be happy with that at all.  We got pics almost daily.  and videos.  Never more than 3 days without them.  They were posted to a flickr account that those with deposits could check.

[DJ]

Well I'm glad to hear that! I feel like I'm the problem child in this litter. Everyone else getting a puppy in this litter must be so laid back and none of these things bother them. I've asked her numerous times. Could you please tell me the gender of the 2 lighter pups? I run a photography business and I know the importance of keeping the client happy.

[Stacy]

I would very much suspect that you are not the only one asking for information, but that you are all equally being ignored. 

I suspect that the breeder is well aware that their buyer is so invested in the puppies at this point that they can pretty much do anything they want (or don't want) and it won't affect their puppy sales. I don't mean to be cynical. I just remember waiting for Katie. I was anxious and excited and impatient. And if anyone had made the suggestion that she not come home with me I would have thought they had lost their mind. It wouldn't have mattered what red flags were pointed out. She was my dog. And I hadn't even met her, but I loved her dearly.

[EJ & Dante]

I was prepared to back out.  For us, it was all about temperament.  Even though I was first pick, I was fully prepared to wait for the other litter I was waitlisted on (we were allowed two litters.  I was first pick on one, and 4th pick on the other), if the right puppy wasn't there.  Our breeder knew that and had no issues with it.  This was a significant investment of time and money for our family.  I had a plane ticket reserved, and was willing to let that go as well if I needed to. Because I was flying and had first pick, I selected the day prior to flying in my puppy so they could have him ready to meet me at the airport.  Others don't know which is theirs until selection day, if they chose to take a puppy from that litter.  We got the testing results at about 7.5 weeks.