Adoption and Pricing
Which Puppy?
Puppy photos are cute. Although black puppies often don’t photograph as well as blonde puppies they make just as charming, lovable companions. Often we are certain we want a specific colour or sex. However we have learned that boy dogs are faithful and as sweet as girl dogs, particularly if they have been neutered at a young age. The most important consideration is the puppy’s personality. You want a dog that fits in with your family.
Some families want a quiet, small dog to walk around the block, cuddle at tea time and who will enjoy going in the camper for vacations. Other families want a more active dog that wants to play with teenage kids and go for hikes in the snow. Some puppies seem like delicate flowers and we want to place them with perhaps an only child or a retired couple. Some dogs are confident and quiet while others are playful and affectionate. We want to be as careful as we can to place a puppy in the right family. Puppies, we are sure, have dream families just as surely as families have dream dogs.
We also carefully observe each puppy in order to determine what the puppy loves to do. Does it live to play? How is the puppy’s structure. We ask our vet about knees and elbows and other factors that will determine what puppy is comfortable doing. We now allow puppies from some litters to be chosen right away but reserve the right to then discuss any changes that are necessary either because of what you as a family will expect from your puppy or because of our breeding program. After the puppy has had a lengthy visit with our vet at the time puppy is spayed/neutered we can be sure that that puppy will be able to walk, do agility or act as a therapy dog easily. We often call in outside advice when placing puppies to make sure the puppy that goes to your home will fit your needs. Families are welcome to choose the available puppy they fall in love with but we do want to make sure in the end that this puppy will suit their life style. If you want an agility dog or a dog to happily do long jogs you are demanding certain things from his structure. We can be sure of puppy’s talents and proclivities by between eight and nine weeks and up until that point we reserve the right to change the puppy that is destined for your family.
Colour and appearance is lovely but what you really live with on a daily basis is the temperament of the dog.
One puppy owner told me she loved walking her Maggie “because she trots along like knows she’s fine!” Maggie is a fabulous girl who struts down the street and enjoys meeting everybody. I think perhaps Maggie is definitely more of a Bette Midler than a Mary Poppins.
It really does take living with a puppy to notice what the puppy is truly like.
Deposits And Money
Our Australian Labradoodle Puppies are now $2700. When you decide on a puppy from Over The Moon the non-refundable deposit is $500.
The litter expected from Eva Betsy and Tyler February 2021 will be the last litter to remain with the 2018 pricing of $2700. Our puppies will now be 3000 as expenses have increased.
After you decide on a puppy we will hold him for one business day in order to give you time to make a bank deposit.
Included In The Pet Puppy Price
- Head Start Puppy Training program
- Microchip
- Spay or neuter
- Vaccination at 8 weeks
- Collar or harness and leash
- Parasite medication before travel or a vet feces exam to ensure no parasites are present
- An evaluated puppy with Head Start puppy training.
If your puppy is going to travel we can make a crate available.
What Your Money Buys
Our puppies are spayed, neutered, and will have had their first vaccination. We used to give two but now the veterinarians believe that six weeks is too early to begin and so our puppies have one vaccine at eight weeks.
If necessary we give the puppy Bordatella vaccine. We would prefer not to give this to very young puppies and wait until they have reached their homes. However, older puppies and puppies exposed to group situations will be given Bordatella (Kennel Cough vaccine) Each puppy will have had a vet exam before they leave us. This is between five and six hundred dollars worth of Veternary care.
We allow our mothers to wean naturally and keep them with the puppies until she decides they are fine on their own which is usually between seven and eight weeks. Sometimes she stays longer it truly depends on mum because nobody can teach a growing puppy manners like mum. We are not in a hurry to get the babies out of the house and into their new homes. Beginning lessons like bite inhibition and when no means no are best taught by the mother dog. We just continue the lessons.
We have the puppies in our den after they leave the whelping room which is next to our bedroom. Puppies are always with us and our other dogs.
We introduce each puppy to a crate with a buddy. They spend the night together until they are happy with the arrangement and then we separate them so that each puppy has begun to sleep in his own crate.
Each puppy is microchipped and we send the forms to you so you can have his chip linked to your family’s information. The microchip is in a format to be used in Canada, the US and Europe.
We welcome families here and love it when they visit us and come pick up their puppy. We then can go through puppy training excersises with the puppy and family.
If your puppy is going to fly he will need transport to either Kelowna B.C., Trail B.C. or Spokane Washington to be put on a plane. We are happy to make these arrangements on behalf of the puppy’s family if the family wishes. There will be the cost of the travel crate and travel costs involved.
After You Have Made A Deposit
We keep in touch with you with puppy photos and updates.
If the litter of puppies on which you have made a deposit is less than 8 weeks of age they have yet to be evaluated. We very much want you to have the puppy you have chosen through photos and our chatting about the various personalities. Perhaps you have been able to come to visit and have chosen your puppy in person. However, personalities and character traits are just beginning to develop. We will consult with you after the 8 week evaluation to make the final decision about which puppy will really fit in to your family. It is possible that the puppy you have chosen because of her cute face will not have the characteristics and temperament that you require. In that case we will discuss this with you to decide together which puppy will be the best fit for your family.
Our Breeding Dogs
We breed or buy the finest quality Australian Labradoodles. They are true Australian Labradoodles from Australian stock. As each litter is born we consider the merits of holding back a breeding puppy from this litter. This must be a priority if we are to maintain a flow of wonderful puppies to make available to waiting families.
Australian Labradoodles were the dogs that became so popular everybody wanted to copy them and ‘doodles” became the flavour of the month.
Lilyanna’s mother was the first Australian Labradoodle in North America to give birth to a litter of puppies. Lilyanna was from Canadoodles Fantasy Ireland’s last litter before she retired.
When we raise a dog to become a breeding dog we put a great deal of time and money into dna and health testing. We want to make sure the parents are the best possible pair to produce strong, healthy puppies. Sometimes we raise parents for the better part of two years, test them, love them and find they are not good breeding candidates at which point we spay or neuter and start again.
Health Testings
We first evaluate potential parents to see if their coats and their structure will improve on our ongoing Australian Labradoodle breeding program.
When the potential stud or dam is 18 months old we have hips and elbows x-rayed to make sure the they will not pass on the predisposition for leg problems or hip dysplasia.
We dna test the potential breeder to check for the commonly passed on genetic disorders including early blindness and Von Wildebrand Disease. We give every breeding dog an eye exam with a veterinary ophthalmologist each year as well as a veterinary exam before breeding.
PUPPY FINDS A HOME
A True Tale Of A Tail For Sale, By Jean
There once was a puppy named Jonah who was 16 weeks old. His brothers and sisters had already traveled to their homes but Jonah was still in his original home with his doggie mum and four other big dogs. Jonah spent mornings chasing the dogs in a field and afternoons sleeping under the computer while his big mum sat in a chair. Life was pretty good.
His big mum however wondered why nobody had chosen Jonah. Nobody, in his sixteen weeks of life had even asked about the little brown puppy with the rosy nose. One morning a nice lady, Marjorie called and was so excited that Jonah was still available. She was going to talk to her husband and make a deposit on Jonah. We talked at length and I told her that it seemed to me she would be the perfect mum for Jonah. That evening when Marjorie was supposed to call the telephone was silent.
The next afternoon Steven called. He lived in Texas and had just seen Jonah on our website. He thought Jonah was the sweetest puppy. He would just chat to his wife about him and call me back. Marjorie called that evening and asked more questions about Jonah. They were good questions and we had another nice talk. I mentioned to her that Steven was also interested in Jonah. Marjorie said she would get back to me quickly. I smiled as I went to sleep. Nobody had been interested in Jonah and now two nice families were looking at him.
At nine o’clock the next morning Allison telephoned from Lethbridge. She had seen Jonah on our website. He was not the colour they wanted but perhaps he would work for their family. Allison had two children, a fenced yard and had done a lot of Labradoodle research. At the end of the conversation Allison decided that Jonah was the dog for her. She said she would make a bank deposit that day and could I arrange a flight for Jonah.
Of course, not twenty minutes later Marjorie called to tell me she did in fact want Jonah. I had to explain that I had promised him to Allison only twenty minutes earlier and that Allison had the day to make the bank deposit. Marjorie was so upset. She was so upset that she yelled at me. Steven phoned at seven o’clock in the evening. He wanted Jonah too.
“Gee Jonah, you are Mr. Popular today.”
Jonah kept chewing on his bone at my feet, obviously unconcerned.
By noon the next day there was still no bank deposit from Allison.
By the following morning there was still no bank deposit from Allison.
I telephoned and she said her husband just didn’t want a dog with a rose nose and she was sorry she didn’t let me know.
“Oh my Jonah.”
I telephoned Marjorie. Marjorie was excited but had to talk once more with her husband who was out of town. I explained to her that there was a gentleman interested and I couldn’t hold Jonah for her. However, Steven could have bought a Texas Pomeranian by now.
I telephoned Steven. He told me he would have the deposit in my bank by online banking within the hour.
He did.
Marjorie was not pleased.
An hour later Allison called. She was on her way to the bank. They really did want Jonah after all. I explained he was going to Texas. Allison cried.
I have received several photos of Jonah in his cowboy hat. He has a summer house in the Florida Keys and life is good for him.
The End
A Lesson Learned
Not only is this tale of Jonah true it happens in some way every puppy season and with every puppy breeder.
Most of the families that contact us are wonderful. They have done research and they have made ample provision for a dog in their lives.
Jonah would have been a lucky boy to have gone to any one of these families.
Choosing a puppy is a big decision for families. However you can see from this story that until there is a deposit in the bank the puppy cannot be held.
After a family decides on a puppy we will hold him for one business day in order to give them time to make a bank deposit.