Choosing Your Puppy
Visiting the Litter
I always welcome and encourage visits to the litter and parents. You are welcome to visit the litter once they reach 5-6 weeks of age. I do not allow visits to the litter any earlier than that because of the risk of disease transmission. The pups need to be big enough to have their first round of vaccines and also big enough to have a fighting chance should someone accidentally bring in some devastating disease. It is very easy for well-meaning visitors to bring dangerous diseases into our home (like Parvovirus) and kill our entire litter. I have not had Parvovirus on my property yet and I desperately wish to avoid this devastating and difficult to eradicate disease. I have been very fortunate in never having any disease at all in any of my dogs or puppies, or on my property, along with having been able to avoid parasites as well. I hope to continue that blessing and I do everything I can to protect our litters.
Every now and then I have a family who wishes to select their puppy the “traditional way”; in person. While picking a puppy in person is not necessarily a bad idea when selecting a dog, most of my litters are reserved well before the 5-6 week mark; in fact my most recent litter was almost completely reserved by their third day of life. There is the chance that there may be one or two puppies still unreserved at visiting time, however. Some families have waited to physically pick their puppy from the couple of available pups and were happy with the selection left unreserved and found their perfect match. Other times it has proven to be a gamble that did not pay off and the families had the tough choice of getting a sweet puppy but a different gender or color/pattern from what they originally wanted, or waiting many months to a year before being able to have a pup from one of our dogs, since we have only a couple litters a year (to ensure the health and quality of our mama dogs).
I just want to emphasize that the majority of our litters are already reserved by 5-6 weeks of age, so this makes picking out a puppy in person a gamble; albeit a gamble you are more than welcome to take. Please know that this is what you should expect with any reputable breeder. If you find a breeder that has several dogs available by 5 weeks of age you should expect a valid explanation for this. I write more on this in the section Choosing Your Puppy: The Modern Way.
The only way I have found to help solve this little problem (since I can understand the desire to pick out a puppy in person and I genuinely care about the happiness of our families) is to offer a puppy-exchange. Most of our adopters pick out a specific puppy through detailed descriptions and photographs, then later come and visit the puppy in person around 5 weeks of age. I give the option of exchanging that puppy for any available puppy at that visit, if the family finds they have actually fallen in love with a different puppy at meeting time. I have always offered this, but honestly no one has ever actually used this option. Most people find that by the time they meet their puppy (either at a visit or at pick-up) they are completely in love already and beyond thrilled with their original selection.
Choosing Your Puppy : The Modern Way
Today’s puppy market makes it very difficult (basically impossible) to choose a puppy in person and in general if you want a pup you have to place a deposit on a particular pup immediately or risk losing the opportunity to get a pup from that litter at all. The modern way of selecting a puppy from any reputable breeder involves choosing your puppy based on photographs and written descriptions. This most certainly presents problems for the buyer. These issues are easily avoided by families who are actually taking the time to find the right breed and breeder for themselves. When you choose a puppy you should always be confident and have great trust in your specific breeder. If you do not then you should not be selecting a puppy from that breeder, whether virtually or in person. Period, no exceptions.
The only fair way to sell puppies after initial interviews is on a “first come, first served” basis. The only way to ensure a puppy a good home before he is too old to bond and look adorable and attract families is to make him available for reservation to searching families as soon as he is born. That gives him a full 7 weeks to be picked out by his soul-mate people family. Waiting until the entire litter is 6 weeks old before making them available for reservation does not give the litter enough time to attract potential homes before they are ready to go home (1-2 weeks).
I post regular puppy progress reports to my website and/or blog. I do this weekly at a minimum; there are more updates in the beginning as the pups change so rapidly during that time frame. These updates continue to the day the pups are brought home. They include photos and detailed information about each pup’s temperament, personality, antics, favorite things and new experiences and adventures, etc.
I know each puppy inside and out and am able to give great recommendations to families looking for the right dog. I don’t expect families to choose the puppy I would personally place with them, but I do find that most people consider my advice carefully. Good breeders tend to have a gift for placing the right puppy in each family.
The way puppy choosing generally goes with my dogs is not unusual. You will find that this is how puppy selection is for every reputable breeder you can find. If a breeder has several puppies available at the 7-8 week mark that breeder is either breeding too many puppies (a mill) or does not have a clean facility or good dogs or any knowledge or ability to interact properly with people. That is virtually a guarantee, especially within any crossbred dog or breed unrecognized by the major kennel associations.
The only time you will find older pups in a litter still available for adoption from good breeders will be when a pup for a specific purpose must be selected from a particular litter. These pups must be selected at a later age. A few pups will be held back from sale by the breeder and then carefully evaluated as they grow. One will go on to serve its purpose and the other(s) will be placed up for adoption. These particular pups are the pick of the litter and also come home with some basic training in place. Many of these pups also go home with health tests performed as well. This makes getting one of these dogs very advisable. If you happen to find a breeder that has a litter like this (a good breeder, that is) you will not be sorry waiting the extra week or two for your pick of the litter puppy. For performance and/or working dogs (like mine) these pups will be between 7-9 weeks old for choice selection, for show (conformance) pups they’ll be between 11-12 weeks old. That is nothing to be concerned about, but you must ensure that breeder is actually who they say they are and not trying to squeeze more money out of you for nothing. I have personally met breeders of Cockapoos who lie and claim their unsaleable mill-bred pups have been withheld for training purposes, then sell dogs that aren’t even so much as housebroken for an exorbitant fee (so buyer beware, know your breeder).
My reputation is pristine and I pride myself in doing business with integrity and honesty. I am always accessible, for the life of the dog and beyond, to help with any questions, problems, or even just to visit.
Choosing Your Puppy : My Recommendation
I recommend buying a breeder and not a dog. What do I mean by that? Let us be realistic here, all puppies are adorable, even ugly ones. They are all loveable the first few days you have them. No one ever says otherwise. Choosing a puppy based on color or pattern or gender or even breed does not guarantee that you will have the puppy of your dreams, or even a puppy you actually like. But you will love any puppy you choose from any breeder, for the first few days anyway. Therefore select your breeder carefully. You should put all your time and effort into selecting the right breeder and not into selecting the right puppy. This goes without saying that this selection should come after putting real research and effort into choosing the right breed. Although I did just say it, didn’t I. ;-)
As a rule you should never go visit a litter unless you have already “bought” that particular breeder and you are positive that you want the puppy you are visiting. Why? Because all puppies are so stinking cute and adorable and they certainly won't show most health and behavior issues in one or two short visits unless you happen to be an expert or a veterinarian or perhaps an accomplished psychic. When you physically visit a litter and fall in love with a little sweetie (and if you have kids it makes it especially difficult) it is nearly impossible to walk away.
If you think you’ll walk away from a puppy in deplorable conditions, think again. Many families meet a pathetic little bedraggled puppy in inhumane conditions only want desperately to rescue the puppy, even when that puppy will likely cause them years of trouble due to bad breeding and improper early socialization and may even wind up in a shelter or costing a fortune in veterinary bills. But emotions tend to take us over in situations like this and cause us to do things that are wrong. Please know that buying a puppy in this type of situation is not only the wrong thing to do, it is cruel and inhumane. You might be saving that one puppy, maybe, but you are only ensuring that another puppy will immediately take its place, and that the parent dogs will continue to suffer. Funding these businesses in any way and for any reason is ethically incorrect. Many rescues purchase dogs from breeders like this, thinking they are helping, when really they are only funding these monsters and encouraging them to continue their practices. If you come across a puppy in this situation please immediately notify animal control, the humane society and any rescues (particularly breed specific ones) in your area. Furthermore please be sure to mention your experience and the name of the breeder on social media, and ask your friends and family to “share” or re-post your warning. This is the only way to shut these places down and rescue the dogs. I understand how hard it is to walk away in a situation like this. I have personally been in situations like this, and let me assure you, it is nearly impossible to drive off without crying.
So go visit a puppy but only do so if you know that you are willing to make that puppy (or one in a litter) yours and only if you have “bought” your breeder.
I personally recommend finding a great breeder and then virtually selecting the dog you want that fits the description you want. Then you should visit the litter, meet the parents and personally inspect and play with your new puppy. Most families are looking for a particular color, patter or gender. These things aren’t all that important, really, and therefore you should trust your expert breeder to tell you which puppies have the temperament that is best suited to your personal home environment. Does this risk your deposit? Could you see deplorable conditions and lose the money? Yes, you could. Oftentimes a bad breeder will refund your money if you threaten to expose their business practices, but the vast majority of these breeders are filtered out when you initially interview them (and they you).
Many people don’t have the option of physically visiting a litter prior to picking up their puppy. This is fine. Don’t pay the entire price of the dog until you get to the litter on pick-up day (and you should never be asked to anyway). If you see anything that raises the red flag walk away then. It won’t be any harder then as it would have been a few weeks before on visit day.
And then there are people that must have their puppy flown to their location. I urge you to explore the option of flying to your breeder’s location to pick up your puppy and have your puppy flown back with you, in the cabin of the plane. This is generally not much more expensive then having a puppy shipped, unless you are having a puppy shipped from a mill breeder, who gets heavy discounts on the hundreds or thousands of pups they ship each year. Expect to pay $400 to have a puppy shipped from a non-mill breeder. Pick up your pup in person, lose a day to flying, and pay the same price. If you rent a car to get to the breeder’s location or ride a bus the price should reaslistically be minimal and many breeders will happily pick you up or drop you off at a bus stop or meet you at the airport with the parent dogs if you would prefer not to visit the premises. If you trust your breeder then having a puppy shipped to you, or flying in to pick up your puppy, even in an airport and not physically seeing the property is perfectly safe. The key here is trust. This has to be a breeder that is active in the dog community. No quality breeder avoids the dog community. I can write an entire book on selecting the right breeder, so I won’t do that here.
A Note on Deposits
Why are deposits important? Taking people’s word that they want a dog in the litter without securing a deposit (which shows that the family is serious) is risky for the puppy. Some people will say they are certainly going to take a puppy and then not follow through. When all the puppies are chosen I begin turning families away. I tell them the puppies are all reserved. Then if a puppy’s intended family changes their mind that poor puppy has had several potential loving forever homes turned away. Those families have often moved on and the breeder is left with one week to find an appropriate home. Finding homes involves a lot of interviewing and finding people that have the right home environment and for whom the dog will fit perfectly takes much more than one week. Unhappy families equal unhappy dogs. For this reason I devote a lot of time to talking to families and sifting through the many inquiries I receive. I am not a “click here and buy it now” kind of breeder. Deposits are the only way for you to “prove” to me that you are committed to taking home an Eden-puppy.
Final Word
Buy your breeder, not your puppy and you won’t go wrong. Your breeder should be easy to talk to, caring, compassionate, and someone you respect and trust. The puppy you get from a breeder like that will be the best dog you’ve ever gotten, regardless of the color and gender.
I always welcome and encourage visits to the litter and parents. You are welcome to visit the litter once they reach 5-6 weeks of age. I do not allow visits to the litter any earlier than that because of the risk of disease transmission. The pups need to be big enough to have their first round of vaccines and also big enough to have a fighting chance should someone accidentally bring in some devastating disease. It is very easy for well-meaning visitors to bring dangerous diseases into our home (like Parvovirus) and kill our entire litter. I have not had Parvovirus on my property yet and I desperately wish to avoid this devastating and difficult to eradicate disease. I have been very fortunate in never having any disease at all in any of my dogs or puppies, or on my property, along with having been able to avoid parasites as well. I hope to continue that blessing and I do everything I can to protect our litters.
Every now and then I have a family who wishes to select their puppy the “traditional way”; in person. While picking a puppy in person is not necessarily a bad idea when selecting a dog, most of my litters are reserved well before the 5-6 week mark; in fact my most recent litter was almost completely reserved by their third day of life. There is the chance that there may be one or two puppies still unreserved at visiting time, however. Some families have waited to physically pick their puppy from the couple of available pups and were happy with the selection left unreserved and found their perfect match. Other times it has proven to be a gamble that did not pay off and the families had the tough choice of getting a sweet puppy but a different gender or color/pattern from what they originally wanted, or waiting many months to a year before being able to have a pup from one of our dogs, since we have only a couple litters a year (to ensure the health and quality of our mama dogs).
I just want to emphasize that the majority of our litters are already reserved by 5-6 weeks of age, so this makes picking out a puppy in person a gamble; albeit a gamble you are more than welcome to take. Please know that this is what you should expect with any reputable breeder. If you find a breeder that has several dogs available by 5 weeks of age you should expect a valid explanation for this. I write more on this in the section Choosing Your Puppy: The Modern Way.
The only way I have found to help solve this little problem (since I can understand the desire to pick out a puppy in person and I genuinely care about the happiness of our families) is to offer a puppy-exchange. Most of our adopters pick out a specific puppy through detailed descriptions and photographs, then later come and visit the puppy in person around 5 weeks of age. I give the option of exchanging that puppy for any available puppy at that visit, if the family finds they have actually fallen in love with a different puppy at meeting time. I have always offered this, but honestly no one has ever actually used this option. Most people find that by the time they meet their puppy (either at a visit or at pick-up) they are completely in love already and beyond thrilled with their original selection.
Choosing Your Puppy : The Modern Way
Today’s puppy market makes it very difficult (basically impossible) to choose a puppy in person and in general if you want a pup you have to place a deposit on a particular pup immediately or risk losing the opportunity to get a pup from that litter at all. The modern way of selecting a puppy from any reputable breeder involves choosing your puppy based on photographs and written descriptions. This most certainly presents problems for the buyer. These issues are easily avoided by families who are actually taking the time to find the right breed and breeder for themselves. When you choose a puppy you should always be confident and have great trust in your specific breeder. If you do not then you should not be selecting a puppy from that breeder, whether virtually or in person. Period, no exceptions.
The only fair way to sell puppies after initial interviews is on a “first come, first served” basis. The only way to ensure a puppy a good home before he is too old to bond and look adorable and attract families is to make him available for reservation to searching families as soon as he is born. That gives him a full 7 weeks to be picked out by his soul-mate people family. Waiting until the entire litter is 6 weeks old before making them available for reservation does not give the litter enough time to attract potential homes before they are ready to go home (1-2 weeks).
I post regular puppy progress reports to my website and/or blog. I do this weekly at a minimum; there are more updates in the beginning as the pups change so rapidly during that time frame. These updates continue to the day the pups are brought home. They include photos and detailed information about each pup’s temperament, personality, antics, favorite things and new experiences and adventures, etc.
I know each puppy inside and out and am able to give great recommendations to families looking for the right dog. I don’t expect families to choose the puppy I would personally place with them, but I do find that most people consider my advice carefully. Good breeders tend to have a gift for placing the right puppy in each family.
The way puppy choosing generally goes with my dogs is not unusual. You will find that this is how puppy selection is for every reputable breeder you can find. If a breeder has several puppies available at the 7-8 week mark that breeder is either breeding too many puppies (a mill) or does not have a clean facility or good dogs or any knowledge or ability to interact properly with people. That is virtually a guarantee, especially within any crossbred dog or breed unrecognized by the major kennel associations.
The only time you will find older pups in a litter still available for adoption from good breeders will be when a pup for a specific purpose must be selected from a particular litter. These pups must be selected at a later age. A few pups will be held back from sale by the breeder and then carefully evaluated as they grow. One will go on to serve its purpose and the other(s) will be placed up for adoption. These particular pups are the pick of the litter and also come home with some basic training in place. Many of these pups also go home with health tests performed as well. This makes getting one of these dogs very advisable. If you happen to find a breeder that has a litter like this (a good breeder, that is) you will not be sorry waiting the extra week or two for your pick of the litter puppy. For performance and/or working dogs (like mine) these pups will be between 7-9 weeks old for choice selection, for show (conformance) pups they’ll be between 11-12 weeks old. That is nothing to be concerned about, but you must ensure that breeder is actually who they say they are and not trying to squeeze more money out of you for nothing. I have personally met breeders of Cockapoos who lie and claim their unsaleable mill-bred pups have been withheld for training purposes, then sell dogs that aren’t even so much as housebroken for an exorbitant fee (so buyer beware, know your breeder).
My reputation is pristine and I pride myself in doing business with integrity and honesty. I am always accessible, for the life of the dog and beyond, to help with any questions, problems, or even just to visit.
Choosing Your Puppy : My Recommendation
I recommend buying a breeder and not a dog. What do I mean by that? Let us be realistic here, all puppies are adorable, even ugly ones. They are all loveable the first few days you have them. No one ever says otherwise. Choosing a puppy based on color or pattern or gender or even breed does not guarantee that you will have the puppy of your dreams, or even a puppy you actually like. But you will love any puppy you choose from any breeder, for the first few days anyway. Therefore select your breeder carefully. You should put all your time and effort into selecting the right breeder and not into selecting the right puppy. This goes without saying that this selection should come after putting real research and effort into choosing the right breed. Although I did just say it, didn’t I. ;-)
As a rule you should never go visit a litter unless you have already “bought” that particular breeder and you are positive that you want the puppy you are visiting. Why? Because all puppies are so stinking cute and adorable and they certainly won't show most health and behavior issues in one or two short visits unless you happen to be an expert or a veterinarian or perhaps an accomplished psychic. When you physically visit a litter and fall in love with a little sweetie (and if you have kids it makes it especially difficult) it is nearly impossible to walk away.
If you think you’ll walk away from a puppy in deplorable conditions, think again. Many families meet a pathetic little bedraggled puppy in inhumane conditions only want desperately to rescue the puppy, even when that puppy will likely cause them years of trouble due to bad breeding and improper early socialization and may even wind up in a shelter or costing a fortune in veterinary bills. But emotions tend to take us over in situations like this and cause us to do things that are wrong. Please know that buying a puppy in this type of situation is not only the wrong thing to do, it is cruel and inhumane. You might be saving that one puppy, maybe, but you are only ensuring that another puppy will immediately take its place, and that the parent dogs will continue to suffer. Funding these businesses in any way and for any reason is ethically incorrect. Many rescues purchase dogs from breeders like this, thinking they are helping, when really they are only funding these monsters and encouraging them to continue their practices. If you come across a puppy in this situation please immediately notify animal control, the humane society and any rescues (particularly breed specific ones) in your area. Furthermore please be sure to mention your experience and the name of the breeder on social media, and ask your friends and family to “share” or re-post your warning. This is the only way to shut these places down and rescue the dogs. I understand how hard it is to walk away in a situation like this. I have personally been in situations like this, and let me assure you, it is nearly impossible to drive off without crying.
So go visit a puppy but only do so if you know that you are willing to make that puppy (or one in a litter) yours and only if you have “bought” your breeder.
I personally recommend finding a great breeder and then virtually selecting the dog you want that fits the description you want. Then you should visit the litter, meet the parents and personally inspect and play with your new puppy. Most families are looking for a particular color, patter or gender. These things aren’t all that important, really, and therefore you should trust your expert breeder to tell you which puppies have the temperament that is best suited to your personal home environment. Does this risk your deposit? Could you see deplorable conditions and lose the money? Yes, you could. Oftentimes a bad breeder will refund your money if you threaten to expose their business practices, but the vast majority of these breeders are filtered out when you initially interview them (and they you).
Many people don’t have the option of physically visiting a litter prior to picking up their puppy. This is fine. Don’t pay the entire price of the dog until you get to the litter on pick-up day (and you should never be asked to anyway). If you see anything that raises the red flag walk away then. It won’t be any harder then as it would have been a few weeks before on visit day.
And then there are people that must have their puppy flown to their location. I urge you to explore the option of flying to your breeder’s location to pick up your puppy and have your puppy flown back with you, in the cabin of the plane. This is generally not much more expensive then having a puppy shipped, unless you are having a puppy shipped from a mill breeder, who gets heavy discounts on the hundreds or thousands of pups they ship each year. Expect to pay $400 to have a puppy shipped from a non-mill breeder. Pick up your pup in person, lose a day to flying, and pay the same price. If you rent a car to get to the breeder’s location or ride a bus the price should reaslistically be minimal and many breeders will happily pick you up or drop you off at a bus stop or meet you at the airport with the parent dogs if you would prefer not to visit the premises. If you trust your breeder then having a puppy shipped to you, or flying in to pick up your puppy, even in an airport and not physically seeing the property is perfectly safe. The key here is trust. This has to be a breeder that is active in the dog community. No quality breeder avoids the dog community. I can write an entire book on selecting the right breeder, so I won’t do that here.
A Note on Deposits
Why are deposits important? Taking people’s word that they want a dog in the litter without securing a deposit (which shows that the family is serious) is risky for the puppy. Some people will say they are certainly going to take a puppy and then not follow through. When all the puppies are chosen I begin turning families away. I tell them the puppies are all reserved. Then if a puppy’s intended family changes their mind that poor puppy has had several potential loving forever homes turned away. Those families have often moved on and the breeder is left with one week to find an appropriate home. Finding homes involves a lot of interviewing and finding people that have the right home environment and for whom the dog will fit perfectly takes much more than one week. Unhappy families equal unhappy dogs. For this reason I devote a lot of time to talking to families and sifting through the many inquiries I receive. I am not a “click here and buy it now” kind of breeder. Deposits are the only way for you to “prove” to me that you are committed to taking home an Eden-puppy.
Final Word
Buy your breeder, not your puppy and you won’t go wrong. Your breeder should be easy to talk to, caring, compassionate, and someone you respect and trust. The puppy you get from a breeder like that will be the best dog you’ve ever gotten, regardless of the color and gender.