FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. How long is the wait for a puppy?
A. At this time we are only opening waitlists for planned litters (dam and sire have completed all required health testing), so the timeline of placing a deposit to be on our waitlist, to bringing your puppy home, should only be four months to a year at most. If you would like to be on a waitlist for a specific litter, please follow us on instagram @maverickranchpups so you can see when we post about our waiting lists opening up. If you do not use instagram, you can also join our mailing list. Even if a litter is already born, you will be asked to join a waiting list for that litter because puppies are not matched with families until they are temperament tested at approximately seven weeks of age. Please note that having more flexibility with your preferences, the more likely a spot on a waitlist will be available for you to fill. For information about the general timelines of our future litters please look at our Litter pages. We try to be as accurate as possible when giving estimated timelines for future litters, but puppy availability could take longer because of unforeseen problems with our dam’s heat cycles, conception rates, pregnancy health, or litter health.
Q. Why is the Waitlist fee non-refundable?
A. We view waitlist fees/deposits as a sign of a client's commitment to us, and that they want a Maverick Ranch puppy. Making waitlist fees non-refundable also encourages people to think long and hard about whether getting a puppy is the right choice for them before taking the step and getting on our waitlist. People who are “shopping” for any puppy, rather than being committed to purchasing a puppy from Maverick Ranch can significantly inflate the number of people on our waiting list. This gives a false impression to serious buyers regarding availability and timelines, and can prevent truly committed families from reserving a puppy.
In the event that we cannot provide you with a puppy that meets your initial expectations within 18 months of placing a waitlist fee, we are happy to refund your waitlist fee. We also reserve the right to refund the waitlist fee at any time if we learn of any reason a family is unsuitable for one of our puppies.
Q. If the litter is already born, why do I have to pay a waitlist fee?
A. Our 'waitlist fee' is synonymous to a deposit. It secures a maverick ranch puppy for you. One of the reasons we call it a waitlist fee, even if the puppies are already born, is because we don't match puppies to families until they are temperament tested at approximately 7-8 weeks of age. So our 'waitlist fee' is a fee you pay to wait to be matched with a puppy.
Q. Do you have a health guarantee?
A. Yes, our puppies are sold with a two year health guarantee that covers congenital and genetic conditions/diseases.
Q. Do you health test your dams/sires?
A. Absolutely! Our breeding dogs are health tested with genetic clearances through Embark or Paw Print Genetics, and we also health test our dogs with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA).
Q. Do puppies come with pet insurance?
A. Yes, we think pet insurance is very important. Even though we do everything in our power to make sure you are getting a healthy puppy, accidents can happen. Puppies can easily and unexpectedly harm themselves, like eating something they're not supposed to, injuring themselves while playing, or contracting a deadly virus like Parvo that they aren't fully vaccinated against yet. For this reason, every puppy we sell comes with a free 30-day pet insurance offer from Trupanion. We highly encourage our clients to take advantage of this offer. It is the responsibility of the buyer to activate this offer within 24 hours of picking up your puppy. We will provide you with the information needed to activate this offer on or before pick-up day.
Q. Do you sell your puppies with breeding rights?
A. We do not sell our puppies with breeding rights. They are sold on a strict non-breeding spay/neuter contract. If you have an established breeding program and are interested in purchasing a puppy with breeding rights, we may consider it. Please contact us and we can discuss the possibility.
Q.What is the difference between F1 and F1b?
A. The F1 is a first generation cross between two purebred dogs.
Example: (Golden Retriever X Poodle = F1 Goldendoodle)
The F1b is a second generation cross. It is an F1 bred back to a purebred dog. An F1b goldendoodle is typically 75% poodle.
Example: (F1 Goldendoodle X Poodle = F1b Goldendoodle)
Q.What generation of Goldendoodles do you produce?
A. Currently, we produce F1 Goldendoodles. We are hoping to produce F1b Goldendoodles in late 2023 to early 2024.
Q. What is an English Goldendoodle?
A. An English Goldendoodle is a cross between an English/European Golden Retriever and a poodle. English Golden Retrievers look slightly different than typical American Golden Retrievers because breeder's in Europe have a slightly different breed standard set by their kennel club. English Golden Retrievers tend to be stockier and lighter in colour in comparison to the American Golden Retriever. English Golden Retrievers typically have a more laid back temperament in comparison to American Golden Retrievers. Some people refer to English Golden Retrievers as English Cream Golden Retrievers. American Golden Retrievers typically have more of an athletic field line build, meaning they are build to excel in hunting and other active dog sports and are usually smaller at maturity than a European Golden.
Q. I want a very low-maintenance dog. Is a doodle right for me?
A. Doodles and Poodles are not necessarily low maintenance dogs. Without regular grooming, poodle and doodle coats can become matted. It can be tricky to visibly see if a doodle's coat is matted due to the fact that the matting usually takes place at he base of the coat, closer to the skin. Doodles are great, and their soft low shedding coats are awesome in so many ways, but with the low shedding coats comes grooming requirements. Regular brushing with a slicker brush can keep your doodle's coat beautiful, and a steel comb is a great tool to use when checking for small mats. If you are hoping for an extremely easy to maintain coat, you can get your doodle's hair cut short on a regular basis. Getting your doodle groomed and clipped can be a fun experience because you can try so many different haircuts on them! Just make sure if you decide to bring a poodle or doodle into your family, that you are committed to keeping up with their grooming requirements, which are easy if you stay on top of it!
Q.Do Goldendoodles shed? If so, how much?
A. Goldendoodles are classed as low shedding dogs. We don't like the term Non-Shedding. Using the term non-shedding to describe a poodle or doodle is incorrect, as even poodles shed a little. We genetically test our breeding program for their coat genes so we only produce furnished doodle puppies. When it comes to shedding, in our opinion all furnished doodles are low shedding dogs, and by shedding I mean finding hair on your clothes and couch and floor...ugh! With doodles the shedding you usually see is when you brush them, not all over your house and yourself, haha! If you are used to owning heavy shedding dogs, like Golden Retrievers, it may seem like doodles don't shed at all, Lol!
The level a dog sheds will depend on their coat genetics. A dog's level of shedding will be determined by their furnishing gene and their shedding gene. Do not rely on a specific generation of doodle to give you the best non-shedding coat, as puppies of the same generation and litter can have very different coat types. Selecting a higher generation of doodle or a curlier coated puppy does not mean the dog will have a lower shedding coat. To learn more about coat genetics, check out our Doodles Coat & Colours page.
Q. Are your doodle puppies hypoallergenic?
A. First off, we would like to say that we, at Maverick Ranch, will not use the terms Hypoallergenic or Non-shedding to describe any dog, whether it be a purebred poodle or a doodle. We believe these terms can be misleading to buyers. The concept of a hypoallergenic dog is actually a myth, built on the false premise that if so-called hypoallergenic breeds shed less hair, they must therefore shed less allergen. Yes, doodles do shed less, but does that mean they are somehow better for anyone with dog allergies, absolutely not! Most dog allergies are triggered by saliva or dander, and not hair. A 2012 study in the Netherlands was conducted on low shedding dogs as well as other breeds to measure the allergen triggers released in tests, and surprisingly poodles had the highest amount of Can F1 (most common allergen trigger) in hair and coat samples. This can be hard for people with dog allergies to hear, but there might still be hope. Depending on what triggers your allergies, a doodle might still be a good fit for you.
Q. I have allergies. Should I get a doodle?
A. If you are allergic to dogs, we encourage you to find an owner of a Goldendoodle or other type of doodle and make sure you do not react to their dog. There are many doodle groups on Facebook that may be able to help you find a dog in your area to interact with. I suggest interacting with more than one dog and of different coat types. If you live nearby to us we may be able to help organize for you to interact with one of our adult dogs. Please note that we will not sell a puppy to someone with allergies unless they are certain they will not react to the breed. This is because we do not want to sell a puppy to an unstable home environment that might have to rehome their puppy.
Q. Are Merle dogs unhealthy?
A. It is a common misconception that a dog with a merle coat is more prone to hearing or sight issues. The only time merle is a cause for concern is if the dog is homozygous for merle, meaning "double merle." The only way to get a homozygous merle is to breed two merle dogs together. This is something NO responsible breeder would ever do, including us! Merle is a complicated gene because it can be hidden by a pheomelanin (red) coat. This is why all of our doodles and poodles are tested for merle regardless of coat colour to ensure we never breed double-merle puppies.
Q. Do you sell Service or Therapy prospect puppies?
A. We will consider selling a puppy as a service dog prospect. Service dogs need extensive training, so we encourage families in need of a service dog to look for a trusted organization that trains service dogs rather than looking for a puppy. If you are an organization that trains service dogs, feel free to contact us about the possibility of service puppy prospects.
Therapy or facility dogs are completely different from service dogs. Their training, purpose and daily life is different from that of a service dog. Their responsibilities are to provide psychological and physiological therapy to individuals other than their handlers. We would be happy to discuss selling therapy dog prospects. Contact us for more information about how we can help you get a therapy prospect puppy from us.
Q. Do your puppies come crate trained?
A. Our puppies do not come fully crate trained. We expose our puppies to crates. They will be used to spending small amounts of time in a crate. We want them to be comfortable and associate crates with positive experiences before going to their new home. We try to give our puppies a good start on crate conditioning to help you be more successful when transitioning your puppy to sleeping in a crate.
Q. Do you start the puppies on house training?
A. We use several methods, depending on the time of year and weather. We do litter training with paper pellets. This means that around 4 weeks of age we start introducing a puppy litter area that they learn to separate from their sleeping, playing and food area. We start litter training them at the same time their mother starts the weaning process, and they naturally learn to go in the designated area and keep the other areas clean. With consistency and patience, they will be given more room to play, as they get bigger, and by the time they are weaned from mom they typically have it down! We can then start taking them outside on the grass (depending on the weather!) during the day. Saskatchewan has very harsh winters. In winter, when there is a lot of snow on the ground, it is not safe to have them outside, so they may have limited outside time, but we keep them busy with toys and socialization.
Q. Do you ship/deliver puppies?
A. We will never ship a puppy as cargo on a plane. For distant customers, we are willing to meet you at the Saskatoon or Edmonton airport so you can fly home with your puppy in the cabin with you. Please note that there will be an additional fee to cover our travel expenses to meet you at the airport.
We will consider working with a reputable ground transport company. The ground transport company must be approved by us. Organizing transport will be completely up to the buyer. If you are considering ground transport or a flight nanny we might be able to recommend a trusted company to you, depending on where the transport route would be going.
We typically organize a free delivery day to both Saskatoon and Edmonton for every litter. We will consider meeting at other delivery locations, but you will have to pay a fee to cover our travel expenses.
Q. What is included in the puppy pack?
A. The items in our puppy pack can vary depending on the supplies available to us at the time. Please check out What Our Puppy Pack Includes.
Q. What age will my puppy be ready to come home?
A. At approximately 9 weeks the puppies will be ready to start their new adventure!
Q. What do you feed your dogs and puppies?
A. We were on the search for dog food companies that met our high standards of quality for a long time. We currently feed several brands of dog food to our dogs and puppies. These include TLC professional dog food, Purina Pro Plan, Purina Beyond, and Inukshuk professional dog food. We are committed to feeding our dogs and raising our puppies on high quality food, and we hope you are too!
Q. At what age do you breed your dams and how often?
A. We typically breed our females for their first litter around 18-24 months of age or their second heat cycle (whichever comes second). Dogs heat cycles are hard to predict, so this can vary a lot between females. Before breeding, all females must be full grown and mentally mature enough to have a litter of puppies. They must also pass our health testing standards before having their first litter.
How often our females have litters can vary greatly between them. Female dogs typically come into heat every 6 months. Although, they can come into heat every 3-12 months depending on the breed and the female. For this reason, some of our females skip heat cycles between litters and others do not. The term back-to-back breeding has gotten a lot of hate in the dog world, but many dog breeders and veterinarians have changed their minds. There have been several studies done on what is healthier for a breeding female and the result of these studies show that it is healthier for a female to be bred every heat cycle and retired early instead of breeding every other heat cycle and retiring at a later age. Not only will you get healthier litters while breeding a female in her prime (ages 2-5), but you reduce the risk of Pyometra. Pyometra is a potentially life-threatening secondary infection that occurs as a result of hormonal changes in the female’s reproductive tract.
How many litters a female has will 100% depend on the female. If they have hard pregnancies, bad deliveries, if they aren't attentive to their puppies, or if they hate being a mom, we will respect that and not breed them again. Having babies isn't for everyone, humans and canines alike. Some females thrive and are absolutely in their element as a pregnant and newborn mother. We will never continue to breed a female who doesn't enjoy being a mama just for the sake of more puppies. Now, if we have a female that is a rock solid champ when it comes to pregnancy, delivery, motherhood, ect. we will continue to breed her, but we will assess her after each litter on how she is doing and if we are going to breed her again. That being said, there is some controversy over how many litters is too many.. some say no more than four, and that is usually our limit, others say six and up. Again, we take it female by female and litter by litter. We can tell when they are done, and we respect that. The overall health of our animals is our top priority!
Q. Are your breeding dams and sires up to date on vaccinations?
A. Yes, our breeding dogs are up to date on their vaccinations. Why is this important? Dams pass on important antibodies to their puppies that help protect them against harmful viruses in their first few weeks of life.
Q. How long have you been raising dogs?
A. We have owned dogs our entire lives and they have always been a big part of our hearts. We grew up with Pembroke Welsh Corgis and a few other breeds of dogs, and in 2016 we got our first Golden Retriever, Jacey. Golden Retrievers and Pembroke Welsh Corgis have always been two of our favourite breeds of dogs. Our original goal was to breed Golden Retrievers and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. We have to say, we were very sceptical of Doodles at first, but the more doodles we met, the more we fell in love with them. We realized there was a need for responsible breeders of Doodles that extensively health tested, used quality dams and sires, and properly socialized their puppies. Ever since, Goldendoodles and Bernedoodles have forever found a place in our hearts and home. From their amazing temperaments, to their ability to excel as service or therapy dogs, they truly are special. To be able to produce a puppy that’s as sweet and loyal as a golden, as smart and trainable as poodle, and also possesses a low-shedding beautiful wavy coat is the icing on the cake. We have learned so much along the way, and we can’t wait to keep learning more. Raising doodles and corgis is not just our job, it’s our passion. We can't wait to see what the future holds for our breeding program!
Q. Do you allow visitors?
A. As much as we wish we could, we cannot allow visitors in our home. One reason being, our puppies will not have completed a full series of vaccinations, meaning they can easily contract deadly diseases such as parvovirus that can spread to our puppies and dogs. Too many breeders have been devastated by Parvo that was unwittingly carried by visitors. Even fully vaccinated animals are still at risk for contracting Parvovirus. Parvovirus is widespread and can easily be tracked on peoples shoes, clothing, ect. Another problem with Parvovirus is that it's very hard to kill. If Parvovirus where tracked into our home, not only would it likely kill many puppies, but our future litters would also be at risk. Parvo is very deadly and has a fatality rate as high as 80% in young puppies. Many breeders have also had dogs and puppies stolen from their property. Our home is where our puppies are raised, so it is unfortunately too risky for us to have a high volume of traffic in and out of our home. When a buyer sends us a waitlist deposit and is in line for one of our puppies, we are now caring for someone's future pet, and for the nine weeks we have this puppy, their new owner has put the trust in us to protect their new family member. We never want to inform awaiting families that their puppy died due to exposure to dangerous viruses. Our first priority is the health and safety of our puppies and dogs. We understand this can be a deal breaker for some, and we would never expect or push someone to commit to one of our babies if you are not comfortable with this situation, so we would recommend finding a breeder that can accommodate your need to view their home or kennel. We encourage you, even after picking up your puppy, to follow strict bio-security rules in your own home until your puppy has received all of their necessary vaccinations (approximately 18 weeks of age). We completely understand the interest in how our puppies are raised or how our adult dogs are kept. For this reason, we update litter pages often with pictures and videos, and we invite you to follow us on instagram @maverickranchpups to see what life is like on the ranch.
Q. How did you determine your price?
A. We believe in the quality of our puppies. It seems odd that a dog breeder that pours their heart and soul into raising high quality puppies should be criticized for making money. In fact, shouldn't anyone who works hard and takes pride in their work be able to make money at their job. Raising puppies is hard work, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. From an outside perspective, dog breeding may seem very profitable, but the truth is, when breeding is done responsibly, tens of thousand of dollars are put into a breeding pair before they even produce a litter. A lot of things can go wrong and a lot of money is risked to produce a litter that may never even be conceived. People underestimate the amount of time, money, and effort that a responsible breeder puts into raising their dogs. Even if the puppy price tag seems high, responsible breeders spend an astronomical amount on their breeding program so they can be confident they are doing their best to produce a high quality puppy for you. For us, raising puppies is our passion. It is important to us that we are doing our best to give our clients a puppy that meets our high standard of health and temperament. Our dams and sires have to meet a high standard for our breeding program. We spend hours researching possible lines to bring into our program and have sourced from all over North America. Our sires and dams have OFA and genetic testing done prior to breeding, so we know what we are producing. Our puppies are raised on an extensive rearing program. This means we put countless hours into your puppy making sure they get proper stimuli during each of their developmental periods. At Maverick Ranch, you are also paying for a puppy that is hand picked for your family. We spend time getting to know the personality of each of our puppies and temperament test them at seven to eight weeks of age so we can match you with a puppy to the best of our abilities. We take this very seriously because we want our puppy families to be get a dog that matches their lifestyle and can happily co-exist in their home. It's very important to us that we can deliver our clients a puppy that meets our high standards of quality.
Q. Have you ever turned down a sale?
A. Absolutely! There are many different reasons that an application to be on our waitlist may get declined. If an applicant makes it apparent that they haven't done proper research, don't have the time to commit to a dog, or don't have the right lifestyle for the breeds we produce, they will be declined. When an application is declined, that doesn't mean the applicant can't re-apply when they meet our qualifications to join our waiting list.
Q. Why do you name the puppies?
A. We name our puppies for identification purposes. We usually choose a theme that we name the litter after. Choosing a theme for a litter helps us remember the puppies names easier. It also seems wrong to spend so much time with a litter of puppies and not have a name to call them. The names that we give our puppies are meant to be fun temporary names that you can change when you get your puppy. After you get matched with a puppy, if you already have a name picked out, feel free to let us know so we can start calling your puppy by their new name.