FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Pennsylvania law dictates that a puppy may not be sold, traded, bartered or transferred until it has attained the age of 8 weeks. Eight weeks is actually a great age for pups to go to their new families because the momma  has naturally weaned them by this age and they have had time to begin to develop independent coping mechanisms that make it possible for them to be able to transition to a new environment without their littermates. 

Bernedoodles are the result of crossing a Bernese Mountain Dog with a Poodle. The result is a dog that maintains the best attributes of both breeds; namely, the beautiful look and gregarious nature of the Bernese and the longer life span,  high intelligence, less shedding and more hypoallergenic coat of a poodle. While a litter can have wide variances in how much of each of these characteristics is manifested in individual puppies, a good breeder can select the right combination of genetics to achieve the most optimal hybrid possible. Another characteristic of most any Doodle is that many of the classic flaws associated with a mono-breed can be alleviated in the hybrid. 

Just like a Bernedoodle, the Goldendoodle is the result of taking an age old family-favorite dog breed and crossing it with the Poodle. In the case of the Goldendoodle, the desired attributes of the two come together to give the hybrid a fantastic combination of the Golden Retriever (loyal, gregarious, obedient) with the longer lifespan,  high intelligence, low shedding and hypoallergenic characteristics of the Poodle. Once again, the classic flaws of each of the root breeds can be largely alleviated by the hybridization of the two, leading to the elimination or minimization of many genetic problems.

A reservation fee for a puppy is $350 and will be credited toward the final payment of your puppy. Families can be placed on a litter list of their choice as long as there are spots still available for that litter. Because nature is fickle, we never know how many puppies a momma dog is going to have until the puppies have actually entered the world (yes, it can even be hard to tell how many there are with high tech imaging), so we cannot guarantee that we will be able to offer a puppy from a given litter.  In the case where families do not get a puppy from their preferred litter, they will be able to transfer their reservation to an alternative litter of their choice. Reservaton fees are non-refundable.

With the exception of "Pick of the Litter" designees, a client's pick position will be based on when reservation fee payments from an approved applicant are received; first payment received gets first pick, second payment received gets second pick, and so on. We will periodically post pictures online so you can have an idea of which puppies might be to your liking, but the official pick date will be around the time that the puppies of the litter are turning six weeks old. Specific dates will be provided with each litter announcment. 

On the day of puppy picking, clients will have the option of either coming to our home to choose which puppy they want or we will be happy to do a video conference to aid in choosing your puppy.  

Please note that, due to the nature of the puppy business, and because our place of business is our home, we must insist that visitors are mindful of matters of health, both human and canine. If you have been around a sick animal, are yourself sick or have had close contact with a sick person, it is better to opt for the video conference. We will also ask you to remove your shoes at the door to reduce the risk of introducing any viruses, prions,  etc which may threaten the health of our puppies and momma dogs. 

Yes, we do! Feel free to peruse it at your leisure and let us know if you have any questions. ​​ ​​Puppy_Contract.doc

As a breeder, we are constantly growing in our knowledge and what we should and should not be doing for our puppies. With this growth, we have updated our contract to include what age the Dog must be for spay/neuter as we have learned that early spay and neuter can be detrimental to the dog's forever health. Please take a look at this site as it walks through all the reasons why you should wait for spay/neuter.

Research On The Effects Of Spaying And Neutering

For our Health Guarantee, we require waiting until at least 12 months of age for spay/neuter as early spay/neuter has been found to increase the risks of joint disorders, impact urinary health, and increase cancer among other things. Females, in addition to being at least 12 months of age must have gone through at least one heat cycle. The heat cycle for females releases hormones that are beneficial for bladder maturity as well as joint health and overall development. Early spay/neuter before 12 months of age (both males and females) & prior to females' first heat voids Health Guarantee.

Our Guardian Program is designed to allow us to add moms and dads to our breeding program without being forced to move to a more kennel-like operation. Guardian Families are carefully chosen based on a desire to have our moms and dads living in a loving, nurturing, and enriching environment. Once we have approved a Guardian Home, we work closely with the family to ensure that the dog placed with them is receiving plentiful exercise, great nutrition, and socialization. All of these factors are important, not only for the happiness of the particular dog, but because a happy and fulfilled dog will produce healthier, more content and stable puppies. 

When we place a puppy with a Guardian Home, the puppy is given to that family at no cost, but the Guardian Home is responsible to take care of all of the puppy's needs (vet, food, etc) at their expense. We do pay for any expenses directly connected to breeding issues, but all other expenses are the responsibility of the Guardians. Once all of the contractual obligations have been met by the Guardian Home, the dog becomes the property of the Guardians. Further questions can be answered by reading our Guardian Home Contract.   Guardian_Contract.doc

For security, health, and privacy concerns, we do not have an open-door policy for visitation. The sanctity of our home (where puppies are raised) is very important to us,. Therefore, only those clients who have completed an application and tendered a reservation fee are welcome to visit, and only on those days that we designate as puppy picking and puppy go-home days. 

Of course, we are more than happy to schedule a video conference call for potential clients who want to get a visual feel for who we are and how we do things. 

We are in the heart of central Pennsylvania. We  are within 15 minutes north of the PA Turnpike, and 15 minutes south of Interstates 78 and 81. We are an easy (and beautiful) drive from Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, Northern Viriginia, and NYC.