Comment for breeders.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Ok I may be idealistic but I personally have a problem with breeders who treat pups like livestock. I know some breeders have farms/acreages and whelp the puppies in barns or whelping shacks where the puppy continues to live until it is adopted. Now in the case the puppy isnt adopted until it is several months old it roams the land like a wild sheep with no house manners whatsoever?! I would not want to adopt a dog like that for fear it would be near ferel and not well socialized. Like taking a sheep or something home to live.Thats why I looked for a breeder that house raised the puppies and they were treated like pets. (Yes I verified this) These are pups not sheep. I love to see breeders that only pre-sell puppies so there are no 'leftovers' so to speak. But if there are extras they arent kept in an open barn left to wander the back 40 like livestock.

I would like to hear any comments or justifications regarding farming dogs. Just a footnote: I am talking certain Canadian breeders I have seen on websites, I am not referring to any breeder on this board because I dont know any of you - just like to hear what you have to say about this.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

All I can say is I totally agree with you. I got my puppy from a home breeder who was loving and caring. There will always be those who only care about making $$$$$. The only way to stop them is to NOT buy their puppies.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Yes I am in Canada and I have read (and commented) to all your posts about Almost Heaven (meaning One Foot In The Grave) Kennels. And I think all puppy mills are horrible atrocious things that should be banned. But I am not referring to puppy mills, there are "breeders" here that actually have good standing and well-rated that make more pups than they can sell and these puppies literally roam the farm. These people are often into anmimal husbandry and dogs is just another one of their livestock for lack of a better term. To me this is not being a pet - until adoption. These dogs can be 6 months old when adopted and not have a clue about living inside an actual house. Needless to say they are not housebroken and poorly socialized for living like an indoor pet - and I imagine a heck of a lot of work for a new owner, in comparison to a pup that had been kept with the family and trained as if it were their own personal pet.

[Adina P]

I hate to see that too. I don't think it hurts the dogs if their future is to be wild roaming farm dogs...but if one breeds for a family pet...those pups need to be exposed to homes and family life.

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

I totally agree! Our dogs live in our house, sleep in our house, go on vacation with us, go on daily walks, go for rides just for sake of getting to stick their head out the window, they go with us to Panara other cafe' that have outdoor seating, they go with us for ice cream and get their own dish too!

Atta Girl sleeps at the end of my bed, Sweetie sleeps next to my bed and wakes me up every morning by sitting on me and licking my face or feet. The rest of our dogs live in guardian homes where they are placed as puppies and where they stay when they retire. Our puppies are born in the house, our kids lug them around and they are held non stop.

I too am not a fan of kennel programs. These dogs were bred to be companions and be with their people. Some dogs are bred as pure hunters or protection dogs.

[Debbie and Thomas]

There is another side to this though. We bought our Golden Doodle Thomas from a "mennonite farm" breeder here in Ontario. Her standards are nothing short of excellent. She was one of the first "doodle breeders here in Ontario and is devoted to her dogs and the puppies. She ships puppies all over Canada, the US, Europe and 5 of the pups from our boys ltter were going to China. Apparantly, the Chinese LOVE doodles. Anyway, her kennel was immaculate-we had to rinse our shoes in an anticeptic solution, and also our hands and chest if we wanted to handle the dogs. She asked if we had visited another kennel that day-if we had she would not allow us in. The kennel was in a heated building quite close to the house. The puppies were so clean, there was no smell or any fecies in the kennel. This woman has 11 CHILDREN! When we arrived, several of the older breeding dogs were out for a run in the fields with a couple of the sons. So we got to play with Thomas' parents before we even saw him. None of the puppies had ever been in the house, but between the children(they all had chores) and the breeder, Lovina-I have never seen a more caring family giving their full attention to these dogs. When we left, the oldest daughter had tears in her eyes because she was one of the major caregivers for the pups and she had taken quite a shine to our puppy. She had already named him Chester but told us she was so happy that we had chosen him.(we had first pick) My brother told me about his breeder(yellow lab) When he went to pick up his puppy, there was a "houseful of dogs" running around. He said there were two sets of parents and at least 12 puppies loose in the house. He didn't mind this at all though-they were all beautiful dogs. I guess what I am getting at after yacking away here is that-being home raised is great, but there are breeders like ours that raise quality, well cared for pups in a farm/kennel .

[Debbie and Thomas]

BTW-the dogs that were going to china-they were going to a friend of hers who lives in China who had already qualified the potential buyers.

[Lorraine Bromley]

Our Neely is from Lavina too. He IS GREAT!!! I had concerns with the site at the beginning and I could have asked even more questions as it was but the vets feed back was excellent from her farm. Their Kennels are like a house with so many people in and out. The dogs were soo happy even the dads saying high from their runs wagging thier tails.
She has a breed standard that I appreciate in my doodle. So far we have no concerns. We originally were looking for a red one or brown but she hasn't bred them as she says that there are less want for black dogs in general so to get browns and reds blacks tend to get unadopted and she as a person and breeder doesn't like that so they stick to the golden cream multi ones

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

That's where I am getting my puppy from in July. I had spoken to a couple of people about the kennel and heard it was clean, well run and the dogs were well cared for. They said she runs a tight ship.

I am glad to hear that others got their puppies there and are happy with them.

[Lorraine Bromley]

italked to the vet she uses and he and all the other dr's there say it is a very well run kennel. THEY would not stay vets for any facility they felt was sub standard or had practices that was not n keeing with thier own standards.
I did not get all the documentation I would have liked before we got Neely. I have the ckc registration information for his dad and grandparents but not for the mom as she is not living there all the time and her paper work are with the owners. I never followed up to get the paper work as when I talked to the vet there really is no need as they can't be registered as mixed breeds anyway. Any genetic disorder that may happen would be proof enough for the warranty against any of the genetic problems they screen for. I would have liked all the paper work on the parents proving that the genetic testing was done on the parents though.
I was also wondering what they do with any left over puppies that are getting older and need to find homes and if that happens often.
I don't know if your interested in any of this type of thing but I would get them a copy of all the lists of breeder questions and have her answer and get any info prior to July when you pick up your new one. That way any uneasyness is looked after prior to purchase.
Our Neely is the son of Goldie the daddy poodle and Daisy the mommy. red golden retreiver. What about your future baby??
Lorraine

[Debbie and Thomas]

Wow-Lorraine, I am just catching up and saw your post. How old is your doodle?? Maybe ours are related. We met some aquaintances that we have not seen for a long time several mths ago. They have a GD from Burkhart Kennels too. He is 3 yrs old now. They have had two labs before this and heard about doodles and after a lot of research decided to make the switch-they said he is the best, smartest dog they have ever had. Our 8 1/2 mth old is not only beautiful, but so smart and friendly. We could,nt be happier, although he is getting larger than we thought he would be-but we got the tank of the litter. Also-I check her website constantly, there are never any leftover puppies, in fact most litters are spoken for before the pups are even born.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Hi Linda-as I said above our Thomas is from Lovina's kennel. All I can say is that he is fantastic-smart, good natured, no shed, and we adore him. I am very excited that you are getting one of her puppies-gosh-maybe our dogs will be related!! Would that make us in-laws or step mothers or maybe step doodle moms???

[Lorraine Bromley]

What are the parents of your puppy?? We may have a relative?? Where are you located?
It wasn't just the cleanliness of the farm that had us happy with them as breeders. I had looked at other "home" breeders and were sadly dissappointed. The one mom was so matted she looked awful and uncomfortable. They were allowing us to hold 3 week old pups with out any questions of where we had been nothing. I got a bad vibe with the lack of concern with the handling of such young pups.
The next one was a nice "HOME" Breeder too and a really nice kennell off the kitchen. They had a really nice gd expecting a little later but it wasn't the type of doodle I wanted. It's coat was inconsistent for what we wanted. They had another room off that room that I heard dogs in and I asked about that room and I was told there weren't any dogs in there but I could here them and that made me wonder why wouldn't they just say there were?
Lavina had very clean grounds and kennels. She had every dog there in brushed and groomed shape. Better than any of the home breeders we looked into over two years. Their nails were all cut nice. All clean water, hard to do when pups go in and out of bowls! The adults were all happy and tails wagging. The moms were all very happy and friendly with their pups and people handling them.
The pups were very well socialized as she has 10 kids herself and they also run a small store off the farm so people are in to see the dogs all the time. They get lots of excercise in the fields. They also were training pups for people who were waiting to pick up their puppy do to vacation time.
Then meeting the vet and having them say what a caring bunch of people that they ae was a bonus.
Lavina being mennonite doesn't drive so they had to borrow a hay wagon and crate up all the dogs and hire a driver to take them to Tavistock to have all the genetic testing done from the Guelph vet school when they come there to do genetic testing. They also test for more than alot of the other breeders do.
They also have breeding dogs that live with other families so they aren't always in the barn only during breeding and nursing.
Our Neely never whined abit. Slept right through the first night. Learned to sit the first day we had him. the only thing he didn't like was going thru door ways. I figure the reason was that the puppies weren't allowed to come off the kennel floor and onto the cement floor where people walk as she didn't wanting them picking up any germs from foot traffic ( even though you did have to disinfect before entering) so they were already taught to sit and wait to be picked up instead of walking out on the floor.
I have had four farm dogs before Neely and he is our first indoor dog. Farm dogs are so much happier because they never have to be tied up so they never have that urge to run away. Our dogs have all been very good dogs but Neely is a far smarter dog and a very snuggly people dog.
His mom was daisy and his dad was goldie. So far he only sheds when we brush him and then only a few puffs. I know you will be happy with your barn dog.