How to choose a responsible AussieDoodle, BerneDoodle, or Cavapoo breeder

We think we’re the best doodle breeders, but doesn’t everyone say that?

How can you be sure? Most breeders raise their puppies in a kennel or a barn. Unless you plan on keeping your dog in the barn, you may want to explore the our way of raising Doodle puppies.

What determines if a breeder is “responsible” or “reputable?”

The Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club states that responsible breeders should raise their animals with the intent to produce healthy dogs, and to ensure that all animals are provided responsible homes and socialization.  
Would you consider a dog who lives in a “kennel” as a socialized dog?  Would you consider a barn or kennel, the same thing as a home?  While the “dog house” may be humane, clean, and satisfactory, we don’t consider it a HOME.

What is a puppy farm?

When people hear the word “Puppy Farm” they instantly think, “inhumane conditions, poor puppy health” etc.  However, this isn’t usually the case.  Especially with Doodles, most breeders keep clean and healthy conditions for their dogs.  But in the end, these breeders are still considered a “puppy farm”.  They are breeding dogs, with the intention of selling puppies, and after these dogs are too old to have puppies, these un-socialized, sometimes isolated dogs are given away, or sold to families. That’s a “farm,” no matter how you look at it. Obviously, there are several variations of a puppy farm.  While some breeders have 20 breeding females, some may only have 5-6.  Either way, these dog’s only job is to produce puppies. AwesomeDoodle is not a puppy farm.

Jennifer and her family raise AussieDoodles in Indiana

How can you avoid adopting a dog from a puppy farm?

Here is a way to find out if your breeder is a farmer.  Ask the breeder to send you a video of where their dogs are “kept.”  Or, ask them to send you a video of people interacting with the sire and dam. Most likely, they will tell you they can’t produce one because they “don’t have a good camera” or “don’t know how to use Youtube.”

But this breeder wants me to fill out an application, they must really care about their puppies, right?

In some cases, yes.  But in many cases, it is a “cover up” or a “tactic” to make you THINK you are LUCKY to get one of their dogs.  Have you ever filled out a credit application to buy a car?  All of a sudden, you start worrying you might not get approved.  When you are approved, you feel a sigh of relief, and somehow, that price, doesn’t seem so bad anymore. In some cases, we’ve even seen breeders REQUIRE you to feed a certain brand of food or vitamins that THEY sell. And if you don’t buy from them, they will not guarantee their health of the dog. As if the dog won’t be healthy if it doesn’t eat the food the breeder sells? At AwesomeDoodle, we have a thoughtful process in place to ensure our puppies are placed only with the most loving and capable families. We truly believe the puppy is the lucky one—heading off to a wonderful, forever home filled with care and companionship.

Why do Doodle breeders have a bad reputation?

Most AKC Breeders hate any kind of doodle. They think we are ruining dogs by mixing breeds, and selling them for higher prices than they sell their pure bred dogs. The fact is, AKC breeders breed to “improve the breed”, which is great, if your dog is going to be in the Westminster dog show. For example, their opinion is that a good Aussie should have a strong piercing bark and should nip at your heels so it can move livestock. Do you really want that for a family dog?

When “doodles” first started gaining popularity, every Tom, Dick, and Harry started breeding any doodle with another doodle and calling them Labra doodles, golden doodles, cockapoos, and anything you can think of. Watch out for breeders who breed many different kinds of doodles. That AussieDoodle you’re considering may not even be an AussieDoodle.  Even if you get a pedigree, unless you do a DNA test, you never know when grandpa got granddaughter pregnant. At AwesomeDoodle, there is no risk of “line breeding” or “in breeding”, and we only breed from non-working lines of dogs.

Never give a “non-refundable” deposit to a breeder for an unborn puppy. Since AussieDoodles are all different, if you give a large non refundable deposit to a breeder, when the litter comes, they may not even have the puppy you want. At AwesomeDoodle, we typically have 2-3 litters being born every month, so there are always lots of choices.

Avoid these types of dog breeders:

1. Breeders who require you to place a large non refundable deposit for a puppy that isn’t born yet.

2. Breeders who only want to talk on the phone or txt. Instead, use email so you have all your questions and answers documented.

3. Avoid breeders who “line-breed” (a form of selective breeding that involves mating dogs that are related).

Watch out for these Puppy Scams:

1. If someone tells you “we will ship to you”, this is almost always a scam. There is no such thing as shipping a puppy.

2. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is. They usually want to get a deposit and then you will never hear from them again.

3. Ask lots of questions over email. If they don’t answer the questions, it’s probably a scam.

4. You should have multiple videos and photos of your puppy before playing a down payment.