Want A Labradoodle Puppy..

[dulce]

SCRATCHED THE PICS!

 

[lljdma06]

He's very cute. Congratulations! That being said, I suggest that since you have a mixed breed, I would look up the temperment and traits of both the poodle and the labrador retriever. Pay careful attention to common genetic disorders and problems with each breed and be on the lookout. Get him thoroughly checked out by a good vet. I can't emphasize this enough, whether pure-bred, mixed, or mongrel. Problems can often be over-looked when the vet gives only a superficial examination. And ask tons and tons of questions, be specific with your concerns. If your vet is flippant with you and doesn't take you seriously, time to look for a new vet. In addition, this has already been said before, but genetics is a funny thing, you'll never quite know what you'll get with a mixed breed. I'm still surprised on occasion and I have purebreeds! No animal is completely predictable.

At any rate, he's a lovely little puppy who will now have a wonderful home.

 

[dulce]

we have had labs so know about their temperment and our friends have 2 poodles which i know can be a bit snappy with kids hence he will be socialised early with my nephew who lives here and he is 7, we do regular visits to the vets as we have 3 cats, dog, bunny etc ! my parents have had various dogs over the last 30 yrs and are so good with training etc..

 

[KathyM]

He's a very cute puppy, but he looks a little young to be away from mum? How old is he?

I'm disappointed to see your parents went to a commercial breeder - but let's focus on the job in hand. Did they get the hip scores (and other test results) of the mum etc? Edit: I see you have got the hip scores, sorry.

Trying to focus on the positive because I'm sure your new pup will be loved and looked after like all pups should be, its just I keep looking at the face of the poor mum and wanting to run and rescue her

Edited to add: Whats done is done anyhoo, congratulations.

 

[Bloo]

He's sooo gorgeous !
Enjoy your travels

he is only 4 weeks - unfortunately i wont actually see him as i am going travelling for a yr next wed and they pick him up on teh saturday - gutted!

He's a very cute puppy, but he looks a little young to be away from mum? How old is he?

I have to say - if I calculate correctly, he'll only be like 5 week old when he's being collected - or have I misunderstood ? Apologies in advance if I had.

Because, that is extremely young for such a pup to be removed In this day and age, no pup or kitten should really be rehomed until 12 weeks old. And no reputable breeder would let it go to its new home until such age.

Sincerely hope I'm wrong and have misunderstood.

 

[KathyM]

Thanks Bloo, I've reread and I think you're right.

dulce - please ask your parents to reconsider. No pup should be away from mum before 8 weeks old, and preferably 12 weeks like Bloo said.

Mum's face is still haunting me, what a life

 

[dulce]

i had got the collection date wrong, its another 2 weeks (so i miss him by 3 weeks not 3 days)but he is coming to them a bit early before 12 i agree bloo but i think its pretty common and they had to agree otherwise they wont get one as they seem to be difficult to allocate! they are not commercial breeders she is a family pet and they also have the dad - oh well my mum and dad are pleased with him !

Kathy she was well fed boisterous mum that had grown up with their 2 kids and her temperment was no diff to our choc lab. I can understand why people are speculative but as i mentioned they were hip scored (which can be largely unreliabel in our experience) and the poodle had the allergy certificates (which is done every 2 yrs to check tehy are not breeding bad scabies into pups) - she was 3 before she had her first litter and dont have any more planned as they are just pets - dont really see what else you can expect? Plus tehy are selling for £300 cheaper than any others we have been able to find, which is hugely comparable to the other place we visited as my mum reported them to the RSPCA cause the poodle needed to see a vet fairly badly and there were 5 bitches running around in a muddy pen full of pot holes! People are not silly you know hardcore breeders (litters in each room - studs in pens - mothers pregnant where you can see they havent long stopped feeding) and where Larry is coming from is not one of those so we are pretty happy with our choice !

 

[KathyM]

I really didn't mean to offend you and I do still offer my congratulations on your new puppy.

It is however very hard to see the good side of such a poor breeding practice - these are crossbreeds (of which there are tonnes in rescue). There's no such thing as a responsibly bred crossbreed. They would've been better of neutering their pets for their health's sake but instead are cashing in on a "designer mongrel". Of course they're cheap, they're crossbreed puppies, which are ten a penny elsewhere.

I find it very hard to believe that that was her first (or last) litter, poor soul. She doesn't look to be in very good condition, but that might be because she's a poor example of her breed too.

You're right, health testing such as hip scoring can be hit and miss, however, one blatant piece of evidence of poor breeding is breeding a crossbreed when 100s get put to sleep every week in this country.

I'm sorry, I have to say it how I feel, having lost a rescue dog to reproductive related disease because she was used for cash too.

I do feel that your pup will be well loved, I just also feel that poor mother should be too, and she's obviously not.

 

[dulce]

I agree to an extent Kathy but she really was a loved dog who was running around with the kids who adored her and i dont think its fair for you to judge from a photo.

I also worked at East Dean Kennels in maidstone an RSPCA rescue centre where from which we tried to adopt with disastrous consequences thorough various problems down to neglect but this simply was not the case with these people. They are hoping he wont shed but thats not why they are buying him we saw the litter on a pet classified and simply liked them.

I can understand why people can be speculative but not every person is going to adopt every time or just get a dog out of the local kent messenger, my parents are at a great loss with our two older dogs recently passing in the space of a month and like alot of people fell in love with the first litter they saw ! I personally wanted them to see other litters of different breeds so they considered it a bit more but i cant blame her for wanting the first pup she saw!

About the mum kathy she was not a good example of a lab visually but her temperment was second to none - ideally my parent preferred our lab with the shorter face but she was so good with the kids we were not going for show quality or anyhting.

 

[KathyM]

Dulce, I completely understand how it's out of your hands, but there is something really dodgey about a breeder who won't save a puppy to an appropriate age because they want rid ASAP. I was just hoping maybe your parents could be swayed by a rescue, but if they won't wait or try again for one elsewhere, then I can't change that.

It's just a crying shame that if they'd gone to a rescue and adopted one of the many pups looking for a home, then one of these (or a dog from one of the other many pounds across the country facing PTS today) for example could've been safe in the place they created by adopting.

http/www.rykat.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7899

Whether they're small scale breeders or not, they're not responsible breeders. No I can't judge from one photo (although it's hard not to looking at her), but answer this - if they've both been health tested and are fine, then why are they choosing to crossbreed? Says a lot about the quality of both dogs if neither are suitable for pedigree breeding. and them refusing to allow your parents to wait 'til the pup's old enough also says a lot.

Anyhoo, I'll stick with my rescues.

Edited to add: I completely understand why your parents feel the desparate need to fill the void after losing their dogs. And I do wish them all the luck in the world with the new pup.

 

[dulce]

I think i will agree to disagree and leave it at that, they are happy and looking forward to the new addition. We have several recue animals, cat, owls, duck, chickens and various others but you simply can define people by not rescuing. We also tried to adopt a great dane but despite efforts fought with our german shepherd as he wont cope with another adult dog if that had been the case they would be rescign a lab cross they saw and fell in love with ! It is a heartbreaking situation when a rescue goes wrong but i think its fair to say we learnt from it we could not get an adult dog.

 

[KathyM]

Yes, we'll agree to disagree seeing as there are lots of puppies in rescue if people are patient. I've seen two pedigree dalmation puppies on The Refuge today, and we adopted our pedigree bullmastiff as a puppy in rescue.

Let's just leave it here, I don't mean any offence, I'm just very passionate about those who exploit animals for money after losing Ruby our Boxer to a cancer she wouldn't have got if her owners were responsible and spayed her instead of using her as a puppy machine irresponsibly too. But then, those that bought her pups were responsible for her death at such a young age too - if they hadn't paid for the puppies, she'd be alive now.

http/www.rykat.org/forums/index.php?show...=0&#entry148665

The two dalmations

 

[Bloo]

Apologies for going slightly off-topic, but still relevant:
Kathy you are clearly incredibly passionate about breeding / cross breeding / pure bred and problems related to breeding on the whole.
But then how to you explain the existence of so many of the breeds of animals - they didn't always exist as that specific breed with look / standards. What about all the "new" breeds over the past few decades that are now accepted and showing?

That aside - Dulce I can understand exactly why someone would want a cross breed of two specific breeds – and I personally see absolutely nothing wrong with this. Obviously there are backstreet breeders, but I’m not talking about them.

I myself specifically chose a cross breed kitten (the chap in my avatar). He came from a very well known Bengal & Siamese breeder and judge here in the UK. His mother was a pure Bengal (yes, a show winning champion cat. And no, not some "pretend local village shows") and the father was a Bengal / Siamese cross (of which his father was also a show winning cat). The Bengal being a very "new" domesticated breed, causes some difficulties (in my opinion) as they are essentially still wild animals and in no sense the cuddly type of lapcat. I wanted something a bit "toned down" and the cross really appealed to me.

I've worked for the RSPCA and as a veterinary nurse for a private very large group here in the UK - and clear well know the situation of the thousands of healthy animals being put to sleep because they can't get homes or were bred for the wrong reasons. I have also had the pleasure to have the company of many such animals in my life. But now and again I also have pure bred animals I choose specifically and thoughtfully.
Am I a hypocrite? That lies in the eye of the beholder

This is my last comment on this thread – I have no intent of hijacking it. I'm not getting into an argument or discussion.

Hope all goes well Dulce and enjoy your travels

 

[dulce]

Thanks Bloo, very excited 8 days in the good old UK ! Good old Bengals temperment good old tom is being his mischievous and mauled my arm just yesterday cause i dared to sit next to him and wake him up ha ha ..

Kathy i can see where you are coming from but advising us to 'wait' is a bit judgemental, my father was out of heart surgery friday, my mother is severely depressed due the the euthanasia of our rhidgeback going badly, my nephews father is dragging him through a nasty court battle despite the fact that he does not ever see him and i am their youngest daughter gallavanting off for a year and they feel it will bring a bit of happiness to a home. Maybe a little more tact with opinions all be them justified ones, sorry to get so personal but you cannot know every aspect of someones decisions therefore maybe should tread a little more carefully with them ?

 

[KathyM]

Hi Bloo

Interesting post - I'll answer it if Dulce doesn't mind?

**Disclaimer - this is my personal view only and I'm not judging those with other views**

I've had a mix of crosses and pedigrees here, all have been rescue (and one specific cross - a burmese cross oriental left in the vets to be put down because cat flu meds are too expensive apparently *sigh*). I tell a lie, I *nearly* had a pedigree Siamese off a good breeder, but I had to back out at the last minute to save an unwanted death row moggie instead. I'm a firm believer in responsible breeding or rescuing, but I do understand that all pedigrees were crosses originally.

However, it's an argument often put forward by those that choose to crossbreed, and the truth is most breeds go way back now to a time when we didn't have pounds bursting at the seams with dogs waiting on death row.

Nowadays the situation is so dire, there is very little excuse for even pedigree breeding, and I'm a believer that only those that are creating the best should be breeding at all (and that doesn't have to ruin pedigree breeding as we're talking about stopping the low quality backyard breeding etc). I'm not naive enough to suggest all breeding should stop because of the pound situation, but I am willing to put my neck on the line and say it should be cut down to those that do so responsibly, with backyard breeders like the labradoodle lot not breeding at all.

There are so many wonderful crossbreed dogs (and pups) in rescue that I fail to understand why anyone would choose to pay an irresponsible breeder to create more. It's a personal opinion, but if someone asks advice on buying a crossbreed, I'll direct them to rescue if they can each and every time (Ido that with those wanting a pedigree too!). I don't mean to offend anyone with my views, but I'll bet if you had a quid for every time you've cried after holding a dog for PTS, you'd be buying us a round today - I've been there and done it, I've worked as a VN and in the pound. I've had Ruby here and had to hold her down at the end too. It's just me, it breaks my heart when I see people lining irresponsible breeders' pockets when there are dogs dying every day because there are no rescue places left, not because they're old, ill, nasty or anything - healthy dogs and pups dying because there just is no room at the inn.

I'm really not trying to lecture, although I bet it comes across that way to those who disagree. I'm very sorry if this offends.

Dulce - I'm very sorry about your family's problems at the moment and I'm very sorry if my posts sound judgemental - I'm not judging you, or your family. I accept that I am judging the breeder of those pups though.

However, I must say if your dad's just out of heart surgery, waiting might not be a bad idea if they're wanting an exciteable active puppy.