How to buy a Puppy: Four Steps to Follow
Global COVID-19 lockdowns have spurred a desperate scramble to secure canine companionship and in a post-pandemic world, we all hope to have a lot of my love and adventure in our lives. One could even hope that for those of us who have to go back to cubicle-style working environments, our pups can come with us.
If you're just starting to think about adding a four-legged companion to your life, here are some suggestions we hope will help you in your puppy search.
Buying a Puppy: Step 1 - Talk with Friends & Family
Who better than those who know us best to help on our search to becoming puppy parents? If you are a single person or recently married, the task of getting everyone to agree on the variables surrounding a puppy purchase may be a little bit easier than families with lots of opinions. Regardless, referrals and suggestions from friends and family are some of the best places to start. They can offer insight from their own experience as well as offer an external perspective of your life that may yield valuable insight into what your life may look like after you take a puppy home.
If you’ve never had a puppy before, we suggest spending some time reading & researching what the first few months of puppy or dog ownership may look like.
We've done some of the research for you!
Furthermore, you may learn that some of your friends and family suffer from allergies and ideally, still want to see you on the regular, thus impacting your decision on which breed of dog may be right for you.
Buying a Puppy: Step 2 - Research Different Breeds
We've put together a simple quiz to help you on your search for the perfect doodle puppy. Visit our home page and answer 10 questions like these to help match with with your ideal breed:
What size dog are you looking for?
What type of coat is your favorite?
What activity level are you looking for?
While they all may look adorable there are a few subtleties we believe make all the difference.
After taking our quiz, carefully research your recommended breed and different doodle generations, like F1 vs F1b, and Multigen. If you’re uncertain about what gender of puppy would be the best fit for you, we've found that male dogs tend to bond most naturally with female humans and vice versa. This is a broad generalization and ultimately, doodles and poodles are incredibly loyal, loving dogs that will bond deeply with any human who gives them love and affection. (Snacks definitely help!)
Pertaining to the type of doodle, some breeds were bred for sporting, others for herding, others were bred simply for companionship. At Stokeshire, we have an affinity for all three, but you should know the difference.
All doodles share some level of Poodle genetics and ancestry. Poodles are known for being athletic, intelligent, and extremely versatile. They are moderately active and extremely devoted companions. They are agile and graceful as well as smart, and they enjoy and excel in a variety of canine sports, but is important to learn what other breeds comprise of your doodle.
In short, Goldendoodles are pretty hard to beat when it comes to personality and overall friendliness and make great therapy dogs. Multi-generation Goldendoodles can come in a variety of colors, however, reds, creams, whites, are most common.
Bernedoodles are known for their lovely tri coloring, laid-back personality & fluffy silky coat, and blocky head.
Aussiedoodles may be the smartest, of course, this is debatable, and the most playful and active. Their lovely merle color is something we breed for which makes them a Stokeshire favorite, however, AMD & GMD combine the best of three breeds!
Once you have decided on a doodle breed that works best for you it is time to move on to the next step of who you will purchase your puppy from. (We hope it’s us!)
Families and individuals who would like a dog to perform a specific task or desire a specific temperament, size, etc. are good candidates to adopt from a reputable breeder. Those with young children typically prefer the temperament and stability of well-bred and 'hypoallergenic' dogs.
We feel strongly feel that intentionally investing in lifelong pets ensures that dogs and cats stay out of shelters as many reputable breeders have return policies in lieu of extenuating circumstances and go through an application, interview, and placement process to help guarantee a good fit for their precious puppies.
Buying a Puppy Step 3: Finding Reputable Breeders
Unfortunately, this can be difficult, however, thanks to organizations like Good Dog, it is becoming less challenging and more advantageous for puppy buyers. Referrals are honestly the best, but if you don't have a trusted source, we recommend going through an organization that has very high standards and screening of their breeders. These may include but are not limited to:
Breeding practices
Physical health of the breeding dogs and puppies
The mental health of the breeding dogs and puppies
Environment
Buyer education and policies
Most reputable breeders have waitlists or at least an application process that involves multiple touch points. We have both and talk with each of our clients and will likely do at least one video chat and eventually meet in person! This is very important to us and is honestly one of our favorite parts of our job. We only breed puppies that have been spoken for. This practice is less popular, but it ensures that our puppies have a home before it is even born!
We ultimately know our puppies’ personalities and want to match them with the ideal individual and family and the only way to do this is through continued communication.
Buying a Puppy Step 4: The Interview & Deposit
We never recommend buying a puppy based on pictures alone, even though ours are pretty great - there is no guarantee that they have not been pirated or stolen from somewhere else on the web. Watermarking can help prevent this, but it isn't an absolute failsafe against scammers. It is important that whoever you are working with can tell you about the puppy’s personality and temperament. We enjoy doing virtual meetings with our potential buyers where they can meet the parents or at the very least the mother. Some of our breeding team lives with their guardian homes, however, we're happy to make arrangements for you to meet your future puppy its parents.
We understand that this can be quite the process and can take time and patience. The wait can sometimes be more than a year.
Once you landed on your preferred breeder, you may be asked to put down a deposit to reserve your spot on a waitlist. This is a fairly standard procedure among breeders to ensure a firm commitment to their puppies. At Stokeshire, we take deposits once we’ve secured a pairing. We offer refundable deposits and understand that this is a big investment for people and we want to make the puppy buying and adoption process and pain free and stressless as possible. We realize that circumstances change. We know all too well when sometimes our litter plans don’t quite go to plan. We are so thankful for our individuals and families who select us and are willing to wait.
Professional breeders, like ourselves, typically have contracts and invoices to legitimize the purchase and have an LLC and/or a Kennel License. Contracts may include spay/neuter clauses, health guarantees, and rules for returning or rehoming a puppy. Our online system makes all of this a breeze for both us and our buyers.
Lastly, we recommend using the waiting period to prepare your home for a puppy much like bringing home a baby, there is a nesting period that can be filled with education and research on training and puppy-proofing your abode before your 8-12 week old puppy comes home.
We offer a suggested purchase list to give you a head start on your puppy nursery and resources on our website for puppy parents and breeders alike.
Ultimately, we hope we can accommodate your puppy dreams and if nothing less, offer you some great advice and information on all things doodle puppy related.