Finding a reputable breeder

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The first thing when looking for a reputable doodle breeder is are they licensed? Meaning, is their breeding business even a real business?! Normally puppy mills/back yard doodle breeders will not care to legitimize their program. Bad breeders see nothing but money and do not care for the dog’s well-being. A good breeder will only breed to make the best possible dog and help improve the breed. In order to do this, doodles have to have both mother and father with documented pedigree of each family linage. Unfortunately, because doodles are hybrids, it’s very easy for a backyard breeder to mix random breeds together and calling it a doodle! With awful breeders, they will regularity inbred just to save money on not using a stud.

Pedigree

Along with confirming legitimate pedigree, the next thing to confirm is genetic testing, done on both puppy parents. We’ve come across many doodle breeders who omit doing so because of the price of each test. Making sure the pups live long, healthy lives should be any breeder’s main goal. Genetic testing will tell future owners if there are any hereditary health problem that may arise in their pup. Some breeds are even more susceptible to certain diseases than others. Story time! Before we knew about the awful practices of pet stores that sell dogs, we adopted a cute little pup from the store. The breed she was represented as was a husky mix. I asked an employee if they knew where or who was the original breeder and she said “not a clue”. Red flag! However, being ignorant to the bad practices of this industry, I didn’t care! We took Lulu home and my goodness she was a handful! I seriously was contemplating bringing her back because of her erratic behavior. She was so disobedient and barked constantly. She eventually calmed down but it was an up-hill battle the whole way. As she fully matured we noticed Lulu didn’t look like a husky. She literally looks like a dingo. We had a DNA test done on her and found out she was ONLY 25% husky! The other 75% was Shiba Inu which are notorious for being difficult to deal with as they are very stubborn. Oh, but it gets better! One day, Lulu was very lethargic and wouldn’t eat and constantly through up. She shook and looked like she was having a seizure. We rushed her to an ER 3 towns over hoping we weren’t too late to save her. They pumped her with fluids and said they couldn’t pin-point the cause of her illness. We get home and the very next day it happens again! We take her to another ER we told we came in time as her kidneys were getting ready to shut down! Lulu stayed a few days in the ER where countless tests were giving and we finally found out the cause of her illness was from Addison’s Disease. Countless hours of crying and thousands in vet bills, we at least now know how to stay on top of her genetic predisposition. She is now on 2 different medications she takes twice a day for the rest of her life. Genetic testing on both dam and sir are crucial to breeder quality doodles.

Reviews

 Now that you reviewed the genetics, check out the breeder’s reviews. Ask to see past litters to insure they are the RIGHT doodle hybrid for you and your family. This will give you a good idea of what your pup will look like. Reach out to them and ask questions. Do they specialize in F1, F2, Fb, large, mini? Be aware that with ANY hybrid, there are no guarantees. While researching your doodle breeder, be sure to look on all social media platforms just in case there are any negative reviews. We’ve come across a lot of scam websites trying to sale pups. These sites will have low prices and almost always free shipping for pups. These sites will have constant availability of puppies for sale. The site will more than likely not have a physical address posted or even phone number. With the rise of popularity of doodles, these sites are getting better at hiding their scam.

Visit Your pup

 The final step is to actually visit the doodle breeder. If they do not let visitors stop by then more than likely they will have something to hide. You need to be able to verify the breeder is not running a puppy mill. A puppy mill will have pups with unkempt fur, crowed kennels, sickly looking doodles. When you arrive, you should meet the Dam (momma) and Sir (papa). However, the puppies will be raised by their momma. Momma should be exactly what you’re looking for in your pup. Is she overly stimulated and uncontrollable? Is she mean and unwelcoming? These traits will be passed down to the puppies. After meeting parents, it’s time to meet the puppies! Be sure to ask lots of questions. Where do the doodles sleep? What is their daily schedule like? How do they get their stimulation? Are the pup’s people-friendly? Hopefully, the breeder has questions for you too :)!

 Silverton Doodles

At Silverton Doodles (LLC), our ultimate goal is providing families with healthy, compatible, beautiful doodles. We carefully selected each of our Dam’s and Sir’s for our doodle program. We raise them indoors, in our own home. They are truly our little babies. We have health screenings with all of our breeding dogs, along with AKC certification. All of our dogs get exercised daily by romping around our property and greeting our neighbor cows. The dogs and pups eat the best premium dog food Purina, insisted by our vet and AKC which our pups LOVE. Our pups are not over weight although a lot of dam’s are because of over breeding and over feeding. We do however spoil our dogs by getting them ham from time to time! And of course, our pregnant momma’s get special treatment by lots of healthy treats and tummy massages. Once the doodle puppies are born, we like to show them lots of love! Our puppies are not in cages. They have their own puppy room with lots of stimulations. All humans on deck to help take care of the pups. We hold every single one so they are used to people and being held. We invite anyone to come by and look at their future fur baby ^_^