How to Adopt
Finding the right puppy is about more than choosing a colour or coat. We take the time to get to know our families, understand what they are looking for, and guide them through the process from application to go-home day.
Our goal is to make the experience personal, informative and enjoyable, while helping each family find a puppy that is well suited to their home and lifestyle.
Getting Started
The first step is to complete our Puppy Application. This gives us an opportunity to learn a little more about you, your family and what you're looking for in your future puppy.
Once we've reviewed your application, we'll contact you to arrange a phone conversation. This gives us a chance to get to know one another, discuss what you're looking for, answer any questions you may have and explain how our program works.
If we both feel Doodlebear is a good fit, you'll then have the opportunity to join our Priority List.
Joining Our Priority List
Once your application and phone conversation are complete, you may be invited to join our Priority List with a $500 retainer.
Your preferences will remain on file, including the gender, colours, coat type and size you're looking for. When puppies are born that match your preferences, we'll contact you with information about the litter so you can decide if you'd like to join that litter or continue waiting for a future opportunity.
There is no pressure to choose a puppy simply because one is available. If the right match isn't there, your place on our Priority List will carry forward.
Following the Litter
When puppies are born that match your preferences, we'll contact you with information about the litter. You'll have the opportunity to join that litter or continue waiting for a future litter if the timing or puppies aren't right for you.
Once you've joined a litter, you'll be able to follow the puppies as they grow through regular photos and updates. During those first several weeks, we're also getting to know each puppy and watching their personalities, confidence levels and individual traits begin to develop.
Meeting & Matching the Puppies
When the puppies are around six weeks old, families are invited to our Meet & Greet to spend time with the litter and get to know the puppies in person.
Over the following week, we continue observing each puppy and complete our temperament evaluations at around seven weeks of age. We consider your preferences, the puppies you're drawn to, our observations throughout the litter and each puppy's individual temperament to help guide the matching process.
Our Head Start Program
Every Doodlebear puppy receives our Head Start Program as part of their time with us. Long before go-home day, we begin preparing our puppies for the transition from our home to yours.
Our puppies are raised in our home and introduced to the sights, sounds and routines of everyday family life. As they grow, we begin age-appropriate socialization and confidence-building experiences, along with early foundations for crate training, potty training, grooming, handling and leash walking.
We also introduce puppies to short periods of independence and begin helping them learn to settle away from their littermates, making the transition to their new homes a little easier.
This early work doesn't mean your puppy will arrive fully trained. At eight weeks old, they are still very much puppies. Our goal is to give them a strong foundation and give you a head start that you can continue building on at home.
Preparing for Go-Home
As go-home day approaches, we'll help you prepare for your puppy's arrival so you know what to expect and have everything ready before bringing your puppy home.
Every family receives our New Puppy Handbook, which covers everything from preparing your home and those first few days together to feeding, crate and potty training, socialization, grooming, health care and training. You'll also receive our Grooming Guide to help you understand how to care for your puppy's coat from the beginning.
Puppies are ready to join their families at around eight weeks of age. Before leaving us, each puppy receives their first vaccination, is microchipped and has been dewormed on an age-appropriate schedule.
Your puppy will also go home with their veterinary and health information and a thoughtfully prepared puppy pack with familiar and useful items to help make those first days at home a little easier.
At pickup, we'll go over everything with you, answer any last-minute questions and make sure you have the information you need before heading home with your new puppy.
Ongoing Support
Bringing your puppy home is just the beginning. We're always available to answer questions and offer guidance as your puppy settles in and grows.
Our relationship with our families doesn't end on go-home day, and we love staying in touch and watching our puppies grow into much-loved members of their families.