Hi, This is our story. We got Phoebe, a yellow lab from a very good breeder and planned on breeding her and raising labs here in Northern California where the hunters are very prolific and will spend good money on a good dog. Well, we then decided to move to Arkansas, where the labs go for $75 and there are 20 litters in the paper.
I don't know when I first heard about Labradoodles, but I was soon convinced to breed them instead. I search the entire West Coast for a black boy! (I think white, cream or apricot boys look like girls, so I only wanted black). I have never even been around a Standard Poodle or owned a unneutered male dog, so this is going to be quite an adventure. When we first got Joe, he was the cutest puppy I have ever seen. And as he grew and grew! I kept wondering why everyone didn't have one. Joe is only 5 months old now and he already as tall as Phoebe! (And she is huge! - I think we are going to end up with GiantLabradoodles!) He is so tall and with the longest legs! Up until last week, he hadn't been groomed and still had his puppy hair. He looked like a little black bear - my favorite wild animal! All I did was keep the hair on his face trimmed with scissors so he could see. Well I took him to get groomed last week and explained to the lady that I didn't want him to look funny, just give him a trim. I used to get upset that I spent $1200 on a dog and everybody asked me what he was. Not anymore! He totally looks like a poodle. She really shaved him and his face is completely bald. My sons keep saying he "looks like a real poodle now" and "he has a really long beak". I thought poodles had really long, skinny muzzles, but Joe didn't. His looked normal. Until he was groomed! I am amazed by his hair. I combed him with a people comb a while ago and if I bunched up all the hair in a little wad, it would not have been the size of a pea. And you can totally pet him any which way, because his hair grows straight up. As a future breeder I do have a few questions - I have never even seen a Labradoodle and most people I tell them about just laugh, like I made it up. Do they get their tails docked at birth? Does anyone have a problem selling their litters. How do you market an expensive "mutt"? I know there is a big Labradoodle guide dog frenzy going on now, is it possible to sell the puppies to guide dog schools? I'm scared that I have a $2000 breeding pair and won't be able to sell my dogs in rural Arkansas. I know a Lab/Poodle cross makes a Labradoodle and I am sure two Labradoodles make a Labradoodle, but is one better than the other. Should I be looking to get a breeding pair of Labradoodles? I did ask these questions to some breeders I found on the internet, but they didn't respond and one even told me not to breed them for fear of competition. Cynthia ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/rtCxlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/labradoodles/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
