Referrals for breeders for less-allergenic dogs
Hi, we have been looking for a small, less-allergenic dog and I am looking for personal references to ensure that we are not buying from a puppy mill or backyard breeder. As a former rescue dog owner, a breeder is far from my first choice, but we have been working the rescue circuit for months with no success. We are also open to "designer dogs" like maltipoos, but would want a referral for a specific breeder from someone who has had a good experience. Would welcome warnings about bad experiences as well. Basically, any information or thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!
Dec 14, 2020
Parent Replies
We got our mini labradoodle from Hales Labradoodles in Bakersfield. Long drive but worth it. That was three years ago so I can’t speak to how long the current waiting list, but she has a ton of dogs so the wait may not be as long as for other breeders and Hales is (or was?) the president of the national breed association and is certainly legit, and her dogs are fantastic. They are multigenerational Australian labradoodles bred for specific characteristics so you know what you are getting, which was important to us (knowing we’d be bringing a baby into the family, and I have allergies).
The puddles are known for been the less allergic and any other dog that has similar kind of hair
In the AKC you can find all the breeders and the also have a quiz to find with breed will be best for you
Good luck
Just a note of support to say that I too spent many months trying to buy or adopt a dog throughout the pandemic - actually, even before then but my kids didn't quite seem old enough until spring, as luck would have it. Because I have tested allergic to dogs and shown extreme allergic reactions to many dogs throughout my life, I was also hyper focused on getting one that was less allergenic. I got very good at looking at new photos on Petfinder and quickly assessing if they looked shed-dy or not. I finally got a call back from a doodle breeder in Marin who kept me on the phone an hour for an unscheduled interview and honestly sounded a bit unhinged. She approved me (!) but that experience led me to fully back away from breeders. In the end, after 2-3 intense months on Petfinder, we got an appointment to meet a couple of sibling dogs in Vacaville who were tentatively ID'd as a low-shedding breed "mix" and were wire-haired/short-haired. I made sure the shelter had a no questions asked return policy for 30 days just in case my allergies were triggered (as heart breaking as that would be for the kids), and we adopted our doggy. Amazingly, I have no allergy symptoms at all unless I pet him and rub my eyes right away - but otherwise, no problems, compared to when certain breeds (ahem, goldens) just lick my hand at the dog park and I immediately break out in hives! I am so happy we didn't spend $3000 plus tax on a doodle puppy, which is the going rate in CA for a designer dog, when there is also no guarantees they won't trigger some allergies. Almost as good as the allergy situation... our dog was one year old and came housetrained! Phew.