Finding a Puppy
There are some important things to remember when searching for the right dog. Unfortunately, we have heard a lot of horror stories from prospective owners. They may have been unaware of the red flags to look out for during their search; we don’t want you to make the same mistake. Regardless of where you choose to get your puppy from, please follow these tips to ensure that you are making the right choice.
Make sure that you can visit the breeder’s premises. They may claim to only own a few dogs; however, they could be operating on a larger scale and keep their dogs in sub-standard conditions. If they are a small home breeder or hobby breeder, ask to see where their dogs are kept and exercised etc and please be aware that even home breeders now need a dog breeding license. You also need to at least meet the mother of the puppies with evidence of her being their mother, such as seeing a video of the new born puppies with their Mum. This will clarify that the puppies are not being sold from a third-party seller who are just using any dog to pose as a motherly figure. New legislation came into force in April 2020 known as ‘Lucy’s Law’, which makes the sale of dogs by any third-party illegal. Puppies can only legally be purchased directly from the breeder or a rescue shelter. If the father is a stud dog used from another breeder and therefore you are unable to see him in person, make sure you have access to an up to date copy of his health records with all the appropriate tests taken for his breed type.
If the breeding establishment is made up of large kennels, you need to enquire what council they are licensed with and ask them to provide their licence number. Each breeder is now star rated therefore the star rating should give you an indication of how good their facilities are. Star ratings also consider complaints – any dog breeder with numerous complaints or any new breeder with a dog breeding license that is less than two years old can only receive a maximum of 3 stars. Alternatively, you can use any information provided by the breeder to search for them on their local council’s website. This is to make sure that they are fully licensed breeding kennels and that the dogs are kept safe, healthy and happy in keeping to the strict breeding regulations. If your puppy is coming from a home breeder who has bred more than 3 litters in a year or have advertised and sold the puppies, a licence is also required. This rule is part of The Animal Welfare Regulation 2018. For either of these set-ups, if the breeder acts defensive, or makes an excuse as to why they are not licenced when they should be, walk away. Any reputable breeder will be happy to give you all the information you require to put your mind at ease.
If you want a Poodle, make it your number one priority that the breeder provides you the appropriate documentation to show it is DNA Optigen eye tested clear. We have heard from people who have not done this and suffered with their dog tragically going blind at a young age, due to the stud not having the required health checks for this disease.
Please do not be under the impression that puppies raised in a home environment receive a higher quality of care than those from kennels. You will find that with licensed breeding kennels like ours, our dogs and puppies are extremely well-socialised and kept in immaculate conditions, as there are always people interacting with them throughout the day, giving them the attention that they deserve.
Do not send money by Western Union to secure a deposit on a puppy and where possible, make sure that the deposit is fully refundable should you wish to change your mind after visiting your potential puppy. Never pay a deposit until the puppies are born and thriving, and you can see your puppy either in person or through video updates.
Be prepared to go on a waiting list; good things come to those who wait! In hindsight, you will regret rushing into this and getting your puppy from an unethical breeder, just for the sake of not waiting a little longer.
Our Waiting Lists
If you would like to be added to our waiting list please give us a call on 07909232836 and we can let you know if our waiting lists are open for future litters. We like to take waiting list details over the phone as we feel purchasing a new family member should always be personal. Unfortunately, we do not take deposits prior to our puppies’ arrival and cannot make any guarantees on colours, sexes or timeframes. We know that breeding puppies can be very unpredictable, and nature cannot be forced. Here at Rosedale we do natural mating and can never be certain there is a pregnancy until approximately 6 weeks gestation. We know that, like humans, no pregnancy guarantees healthy puppies therefore we do not contact our waiting lists until the puppies are 7-14 days old and we feel comfortable that the puppies are thriving and growing as expected. Occasionally we do close our waiting lists, this is due to high demand for our puppies. We do not take waiting lists more than 12 months in advance therefore we will reopen our list when more matings have taken place and will always announce our waiting list closures and openings on our ‘Current Litters’ page. We do not hold places on our waiting list for more than 12 months so we do ask if people change their mind about purchasing a puppy, they let us know so we can remove them from our list. We really wish we could fulfil everyone’s dream puppy request but do ask for patience with this process. Here at Rosedale we don’t believe bigger is better when it comes to puppy breeding and do prefer to breed less puppies in order to be sure every puppy in our care receives the 5* standard of care it deserves therefore you may have to be patient while waiting for your Rosedale Doodle, however, we do promise they’re worth the wait!
Paying for your puppy
Here at Rosedale, we do not like to take reservation deposits until the puppies are born and are all healthy and thriving. Once we are happy to take reservation deposits we will send out a message to every one on that waiting list to let them know the litter have been born, we then ask people still looking to contact us and we take refundable deposits on a first come first served basis. We will send out photos and videos of the new litter and people can choose their puppy. Once chosen, they will then receive an email with all the reservation details and how to pay the £250 refundable deposit. You will then receive a pupdate each week until your puppy is able to be viewed in person at around 6 weeks of age.
We only take cash or bank transfer for the £250 deposit as we do not accept cheques or have a card machine facility available. If you change your mind before the puppy is 7 weeks old, your deposit is fully refundable. The remaining balance can be paid via bank transfer one week before collection and you will receive a full receipt in your puppy pack and all of our puppies leave for their forever homes between 8 and 10 weeks of age.
Rules and Regulations
Finally, we would like to remind everyone who comes to view our puppies that we do not sell any of our puppies for breeding purposes or to people who work full time. We feel it is unethical to sell a puppy to someone who cannot give it the attention it deserves and needs.
We are also not willing to send our puppies via external courier service. We like to meet each potential customer face-to-face and we encourage them to come and see where the puppy has been bred. We do offer a personal delivery service at an additional cost. This will be done by one of the Rosedale team so we can be sure the puppy arrives with you safely and is familiar with the driver. This means all your questions can still be answered and the puppy pack handover will still be done personally.
We understand that people’s circumstances do change; we make a promise to you that if you cannot look after your dog anymore, we will rehome them free of charge, at any point. We want to ensure that every dog receives the attention it needs, and we believe a dog should never be a burden. If you ever feel this way, please do get in contact for our help.
Upon purchasing a dog from Rosedale, you will enter into a contract with us.
We strongly advise you to get a full lifetime insurance policy in place before collecting your puppy. Some companies offer 4 weeks free pet insurance; however, this tends to be restricted. For an unbiased recommendation on pet insurance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
