Frequently Asked Questions

One of the biggest benefits in crossing two breeds (in this case the poodle and golden retriever) is “hybrid vigor”. It’s a complicated term but very simply, there are many health benefits that come from crossing two completely unrelated and genetically diverse breeds. This results in a dog that typically has better overall health and outlives both of its parent breeds. The goldendoodle originated because people LOVED the temperament of the golden retriever, but for many families, the shedding and amount of hair they left behind was problematic. By pairing the golden retriever with the poodle, we are able to keep those amazing temperaments and add a benefit of a low to non-shedding coat that in higher generations (F1b and F1bb) can be very successful for families with allergies. Both the poodle and golden retriever are among the top 4 most intelligent dog breeds, so a goldendoodle is extremely intelligent and trainable. In general, they are extremely social, outgoing, non-aggressive dogs that thrive with human companionship.

There are many different generations of goldendoodles. They are specified using letters and numbers. F1 is a cross between a purebred golden retriever and a purebred poodle, resulting in a dog that is 50% poodle and 50% golden retriever. Most F1 goldendoodles will have loose wavy coats, and may have some light shedding. F1b is a cross between an F1 goldendoodle and a poodle, resulting in a dog that is 75% poodle and 25% golden retriever. The F1b generation is very low to non-shedding and has high success rates in families with moderate to severe allergies. Coat types in this generation can range from plush loose waves to curly. F1bb is a cross between an F1b goldendoodle and a poodle, resulting in a dog that is 87.5% poodle and 12.5% golden retriever. This generation has the highest success in families with severe allergies. F1bb goldendoodles have wavy to curly coats, and have very minimal to no shedding.

Goldendoodles come in four official size groupings. We are seeing words like “micro” and “toy” used more frequently in descriptions of litters; however, those are buzz words and are not officially recognized by the Goldendoodle Association of North America. Petite range: Typically 25 pounds or less, height below 14 inches at the wither (shoulder). Miniature range: Typically 26-35 pounds, height at wither over 14 but under 17 inches. Medium range: Typically 36-50 pounds, height 17-21 inches at the wither. Standard range: Typically greater than 51 pounds, over 21 inches tall at the wither.

We specialize in true petite and miniature goldendoodles. Most of our puppies are estimated to be in petite range between 15-25 pounds at maturity. Weight is never a guarantee with a hybrid breed like a goldendoodle; however, our parent dogs are selected specifically within a certain weight range and the F1b and f1bb generation gives us a good degree of confidence when predicting weight ranges.

We keep all puppies until at least 8 weeks of age. Puppies go through a very critical developmental stage between 6-8 weeks of age, and we spend a great deal of time socializing them with children, other animals, and conditioning them to the activities of a normal household during that time. We assess each puppy individually before assigning a pick-up time - no puppy is ever released to join it’s new family until it is developmentally prepared.

Every Good Dog Doodle comes with a two year written genetic health guarantee. We perform extensive genetic panels on every dog we add to our program to ensure they are free and clear of any hereditary health conditions. Puppies will also come home with dewclaws removed, up to date on vaccines, fully dewormed, with all health records and a written certificate of health from our veterinarian. Our puppies are examined head-to-tail by our veterinarian between 3-5 days of age, at 6 weeks of age, and just before leaving us at 8 weeks of age to ensure they are in tip-top shape and ready to join their new families.

All of our parent dogs live fully indoors as members of the family. Annie, Dottie, Rusty and Midnight reside in our home on-site and are first and foremost our beloved pets and members of this family- they are uncrated, never kennelled, they even sleep in our beds! We believe that every dog deserves to be a treasured member of a family and be able to receive 100% of the love and attention it deserves, so our other female dogs reside in the homes of carefully selected guardian families and are absolutely adored! All our dogs are up to date on all vaccinations, parasite prevention, and receive regular health checks from our veterinarian. We are always happy to provide current photos and videos of all of our dogs, and can arrange Facetime meetings as well if desired.

Rusty, our most popular red AKC miniature poodle stud, resides here with us; however, we do occasionally use studs from other programs or even from across the country. We carefully analyze the genetics of each of our girls and select a sire for the litter that is the best genetic complement for the mom - this is key to producing the healthiest puppies possible with the best coats and temperaments! All outside studs are fully vet checked and have full genetic health and coat color panels. We are always happy to provide photos and health testing results for any outside studs that we utilize.

Some people have allergies to saliva, dander, hair, or other proteins found on the dog. No dog is 100% hypoallergenic. Both Cason and Dustin have severe dog allergies, so we did extensive research when Cason began asking for a dog of his own. We loved the temperament and intelligence of the goldendoodle and knew it would be the perfect fit for our family, so our search began and Annie joined the family. Neither Cason nor Dustin have had any sort of allergy issues with our doodle girls - so much so that both Annie and Dottie sleep with us with no issues, something we thought would never be possible. The greater the percentage of poodle, the greater the chance of success for families with severe allergies, so we focus on the F1b and f1bb generations. We also highly recommend our curliest coated puppies for our families with allergy concerns. For peace of mind for our allergy families, we also offer complimentary t-shirt testing for our puppies. Once you have made a selection, simply mail us a t-shirt in your family member with allergies’ size. We will launder it in Tide Free (no fragrances or allergens) and rub the shirt all over your puppy, we’ll even get some saliva from the puppy on the shirt. We’ll seal it up in an airtight bag and mail it back to you. This is the best predictor of success once you bring puppy home - wearing the shirt for a few hours is a good indicator of whether a severe reaction is going to occur.

ENS, or Early Neurological Stimulation, is a crucial developmental tool that we use with all of our puppies. Also known as the “Superdog” program, it was developed by the United States Military to improve the performance of future military working dogs. From day 3-16 after birth, puppies experience extremely rapid neurological development, so we use this timeframe to perform a series of 5 exercises with each puppy every single day. When performed correctly, ENS kicks the neurological system into action earlier than what we would normally expect in a puppy, leading to increased neurological capacity that will help the dog for the rest of its life. Five major benefits that have been observed in dogs that undergo ENS include improved cardiovascular performance, stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and greater resistance to disease.

Puppy culture is a complex training and socialization program that complements ENS to produce confident, well-rounded puppies. Puppy culture is unique because instead of using rigid timelines (for example, do x y and z in week 1), it utilizes developmental milestones in the litter to guide enrichment, socialization and training exercises. Using Puppy Culture with our litters produces puppies that grow to gentle well-behaved adult dogs who are more confident when faced with new situations and challenges. We love seeing our puppies develop into enrichment seekers - they like to learn, they love to please and they typically have excellent transitions into their new homes. We have dogs in our program that were raised with Puppy Culture and ENS, and dogs that were not. From personal experience, I can say that there is no comparison in how social, well-behaved and trainable a Puppy Culture puppy is initially when you bring it home - they have been given a huge headstart advantage.

We are located in southeastern Kentucky, near London. You are always welcome to pick up your puppy on a scheduled day at our home, we schedule puppy pick-up days on a Saturday after the litters 8 week birthday. We always schedule the date in advance so that travel arrangements can be made. If you need to fly to pickup your puppy, our closest airport is Blue Grass Airport (LEX) in Lexington, Kentucky. American Airlines is typically very puppy-friendly. We only allow our dogs to travel in-cabin as your carry-on, no exceptions. If you are considering flying with your puppy, please contact us for full information. Upon request, we can supply all documentation required to fly in cabin. There is a small fee for this service - please contact us for more details if you need this service. If you would like to have the puppy flown to an airport near you, Good Dog Doodles can personally fly the dog and place it directly in your arms. We fly American Airlines, with the puppy in-cabin with us at all times. Flights need to be scheduled in advance, please notify us by 6 weeks of age if you need us to fly with your puppy. There is a fee for this service - please contact us for pricing and up-to-date information.

It’s actually a good sign when there is a waiting list! There is an extremely high demand for goldendoodles, especially petite/mini and reds. A waiting list is a badge of honor - although we have several dogs in our program, we don’t attempt to raise a high volume of puppies quickly to meet a demand - all our program decisions are made in the best interests of our female dogs and ultimately the health and happiness of their puppies. When the biggest determining factor of purchasing your dog from a particular breeder is immediate or rapid availability, I would encourage you to ask a lot of questions - it’s very possible that you could be supporting questionable breeding practices. Please beware of puppy mills, pet shops, and hobby breeders who do not understand animal health/genetics and responsible breeding practices. Please see our video of the 5 Critical Questions to Ask a Breeder for all the information you need to protect yourself and your family when you embark on this journey.

Please see “Upcoming Litters” for all of our planned pairings! If you know you want one of our puppies, it’s best to get on the list as early as possible. To receive deposit and pricing information as well as our full puppy agreement that details all of our policies, please fill out the application on the Upcoming Litters tab. Filling out an application is in no way an obligation to purchase a puppy nor a guarantee to receive a Good Dog Doodles puppy. Selection order for the litter is determined by the order in which deposits are received. We do not guarantee male vs. female puppies at the time of deposit - selections go strictly in order of deposit received. You will be provided with weekly photo and/or video updates, and detailed individualized videos will be provided to assist in the selection process. We are always happy to do one-on-one consultations to help you choose the perfect fit for your family. Deposits do apply towards the final purchase price of the dog.