Anyone's who's seen Disney's "Bambi" understands spring and "Twitterpation"... well, here on the farm, romance is blooming in the canine world!
Years ago we bred Golden Retrievers and Goldendoodles. It was a wonderful learning experience, but when the writing contracts began coming in, and there were still cute kids to teach and counsel and play with and laugh with, there was only so much I could handle. We kept one of the beautiful black doodles. We named him Jeter (after my favorite NY Yankee baseball player, of course!) and he's gorgeous. Sweet. Goofy. Lovable! We didn't neuter him because if he was a wonderful dog, I wanted the option to use him as a stud... if that was in the cards. I'm a big believer in keeping options open some of the time! The trick is knowing when to keep them open, right?
Then two years ago we went to Gap, Pennsylvania to buy Maggie May. She's a gorgeous red/gold Goldendoodle from a very busy breeder in the heart of Amish country. A breeder who is right now charging over $3000.00 per puppy... which is fine, but we wanted to give folks a chance to have a gorgeous Doodle with an easier price tag.
Maggie's dad is a dark red Standard Poodle. Her mom is a blonde Golden Retriever...
Jeter's mom is our Libby... a medium brown standard poodle.... and his dad was Mick , "Hearthside's McDreamy" a red over gold Golden Retriever we traveled to Minnesota to get.
So what color will these sweet puppies be? We have no idea, but we're excited to welcome them to the farm. We are so blessed to live on this fifty-acre spread, a place for kids to run free, for pumpkins and mums to grow, for donkeys to hang out and be cute and for our three dogs... the young couple and the aged grandma dog, Libby... to raise their beautiful puppies.
We have an "interested" list started. If you'd like to be on that list, all I need is your name and email. You can call me at 585 455 1035 OR leave me a comment here. Once the puppies are safely delivered in a couple of weeks, we'll take deposits from folks who are ready... but we're not in a hurry.
We're ready to kind of relax, have a great birthing, and welcome a whole bunch of little Goldendoodles to the planet.
Here are the answers to some questions, and feel free to ask more below:
Price: Asking price for each puppy is $1500.00 cash, Paypal or Venmo.
Size: Mom and Dad are full-sized dogs. Jeter weighs in around 65 lbs. and Maggie is around 55 pounds. They are tall and beautifully proportioned. Neither one has health issues.
Guarantees: Well, life doesn't come with guarantees, but if your pup suffers from a genetic problem in the first year, we will refund your money and bring the dog back here. All shots and veterinary records must be up to date to validate this guarantee. (Standard of care applies)
Gender preference: We don't know what the mix of boys-to-girls will be, so we can't make promises we can't keep... but the sooner people commit to putting down a deposit after birth, the better chance they have of getting the gender of choice and the color of choice, but with dogs of many colors, we don't know what that will be. They may be black puppies, gold puppies, red puppies, or brown puppies... or some of each. Our crew of puppy lovers will be standing by for that very important phone call in ten days or so, letting them know that it's time to gather and greet these babies as they come into the world!
Health history on our side: Like a lot of older big dogs, Jeter's father "Mick" developed seizures when he was six-and-a-half years old. He was put on medication (cost about $10/month) and that controlled them. He lived a full life until passing away in 2019 at the age of 12. He was a wonderful boy, a kind and gentle-hearted dog that loved attention. Jeter is much like him in that regard. Seizure disorders like this aren't unusual for big dogs and Goldens in particular. Jeter is seven years old and has had no health problems at all. He has never had a seizure.
Jeter's mother "Libby" developed mammary gland cancer at age seven. The cancer was removed. A small lump returned three years later. That was also surgically removed and Libby is still prancing around the farm, living her best life as a retiree at age 13. We did not opt to do chemo at either time.
Our Veterinarians: "Apple Country Veterinary Hospital" and "Erie Canal Veterinary Hospital" two local practices staffed by three wonderful and knowledgeable (by the way, that's one of the few words that doesn't lose the "e" before adding the suffix... in case you wanted to know that.) veterinarians, all of who were inspired and influenced by Dr. Dean Snyder, a wonderful man who followed his dreams and passed that inspiration on to the young people who worked for him and with him.
The nice thing about knowing the dog's lineage is that these are our dogs. Our pets. We've raised them and know their temperaments, their idiosyncrasies, their personalities. To us, the main thing about breeding dogs is niceness. Kindness. Affinity for people.
We don't need or want guard dogs. We're a family farm, we have fourteen grandchildren, and I like big, goofy dogs that love unconditionally. A dog's disposition says more to me as a parent and grandparent than physiological tests that may or may not be indicative of what a dog's future might be. That's my personal opinion and I'm fine with other folks wanting or needing different standards.
Give me "Old Yeller" type dogs any day.
While we started this with Golden Retrievers (a breed I love) we moved to Doodles because of the hybrid vigor a first cross brings. The first cross of two purebred dogs lessens the chance of genetic flaws finding a match because it opens the gene pool. The lack of shedding is another nice thing for folks with allergies or those who wear non-farm clothing on a regular basis. :) You know who you are!
We'll keep you posted here and on Facebook. For now we're praying for a happy, healthy delivery! We'll let you know!
Ruthy
Blodgett Family Farm
585-455 1035
& lovable but somewhat bossy author of over 60 books....
Multi-published, bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne owns a pumpkin farm in Western New York with her husband of a whole lot of years. When she's not writing beautiful stories of overcomers and dreams coming true, she's working on the farm, spending time with dogs and donkeys and sharing bits of bossy wisdom on Facebook.
