I've been breeding Labradoodles for just over a year. I've just had my 4th litter and for the most part really enjoy myself. I love the dogs, their puppies, and have made some wonderful new friends among my buyers. Everyone is so happy and excited with their pups, and I get adorable pictures of many of them as they grow and change along with heartwarming stories about how they fit into their families. I have yet to have a complaint from a buyer and strive to keep it that way.
The people I have problems with are other breeders. Many are nice, and we're able to be friends and be supportive of each other even though I suppose to some degree we are in competition for buyers. Others are not nice at all. I've been chewed out and criticized for the brand of food I feed; for "torturing" my pups by having their dew claws removed; for not having all my dogs in the house full time; for not spending thousands of dollars to buy breeding dogs; for allowing and welcoming buyers and prospective buyers into my home to meet my dogs; and now for UNDER pricing my puppies. Pretty much whatever I do is met with nasty comments by a couple who seem to think they're the only ones fit to be breeding dogs.
Truth be told, If you mixed my pups into a pile with one of theirs, you'd have a tough time picking them back out again. They are that similar. Another breeds several different breeds, has been proven to lie to her buyers, and refuses to let anyone see her breeding facility. A friend of mine who lives near her swears she runs a puppy mill, and is very unpopular in their area for her dirty dealings.
So these jealous, negative people not only want to rule the Labradoodle world, but dictate who and how others can enter, but now how much they have to charge! Thank God they have no real power over me. They can make me angry and frustrated for a day, but in the long term they mean nothing. When I'm done being mad I simply go to my website and read the rave reviews from my puppies new families and suddenly it's all right again. Lord, let me never become like them.
