Hi all,
I have read a ton on this site about 9 months ago and then I decided that I really wanted a Multi-gen and I wasn't ready to spend that much money. However, this morning I got a call from a neighbor telling me there was an ad in the local paper for a litter locally. We just came back from looking at them.
The Mother is a black poodle weighing about 35 lbs and the Father is an F1 black/silver about 65 pounds. The father does shed and the coat is different than almost any picture I have seen. It was neither wavy or curly - it was really long with a slight curl. Neither my wife or I found it attractive.
The litter is 11 pups (black and creme/apricot) with a few that were considerably more curly than the rest. We really like the look of a multi-gen and it is important to my wife that it does not shed. They were priced from $500 - $750. I have read all of the excellent advice here about selecting a breeder and all of the questions to ask. So, I have to decide if I take a risk with an F1b at $750 or pay $3000 for an Australian Multi-gen. I can't spend $3,000.
The questions I have and hope the experts here can help with are:
1) With 11 pups, the mother is already slowing down on her feedings and time she feeds. The owner is already supplementing with formula and giving them food. Is that too early at 3 weeks?
2) The owner was willing to let them go as early as 4 weeks or keep them as long as 8 weeks if we wanted. I have read that 6-8 weeks is the earliest and 8 weeks is preferable. As long as there are a few pups with the one we choose up until 6-8 weeks is that okay?
3) How should they verify with me that the Father doesn't have any hip or associated problems?
4) I have read that an F1b and curly hair doesn't always mean that it won't shed. But is there a higher confidence level and shedding is a rare exception?
5) Since we don't like the looks of the father, do we have a pretty good chance that the curlier pups will look more like a multi-gen and not the father?
6) No offense to poodle owners, but I don't want the LD to look like a poodle. Is a curly F1b more likely to look like a multi-gen and not like a poodle?
7) This is probably a myth, but I had been told by a vet before that a male's urine is less acidic and thus less likely to kill the grass. I also thought a male lifting his leg to urinate on the bushes or tree is better than on the grass. But, I read in some of these posts that a neutered male may no longer lift his leg. Any comments here? :?:
Any help is greatly appreciated. For $750, if I do buy one of these pups, I want to lock up tonight the only curly creme male. Thanks for your help.
I have read a ton on this site about 9 months ago and then I decided that I really wanted a Multi-gen and I wasn't ready to spend that much money. However, this morning I got a call from a neighbor telling me there was an ad in the local paper for a litter locally. We just came back from looking at them.
The Mother is a black poodle weighing about 35 lbs and the Father is an F1 black/silver about 65 pounds. The father does shed and the coat is different than almost any picture I have seen. It was neither wavy or curly - it was really long with a slight curl. Neither my wife or I found it attractive.
The litter is 11 pups (black and creme/apricot) with a few that were considerably more curly than the rest. We really like the look of a multi-gen and it is important to my wife that it does not shed. They were priced from $500 - $750. I have read all of the excellent advice here about selecting a breeder and all of the questions to ask. So, I have to decide if I take a risk with an F1b at $750 or pay $3000 for an Australian Multi-gen. I can't spend $3,000.
The questions I have and hope the experts here can help with are:
1) With 11 pups, the mother is already slowing down on her feedings and time she feeds. The owner is already supplementing with formula and giving them food. Is that too early at 3 weeks?
2) The owner was willing to let them go as early as 4 weeks or keep them as long as 8 weeks if we wanted. I have read that 6-8 weeks is the earliest and 8 weeks is preferable. As long as there are a few pups with the one we choose up until 6-8 weeks is that okay?
3) How should they verify with me that the Father doesn't have any hip or associated problems?
4) I have read that an F1b and curly hair doesn't always mean that it won't shed. But is there a higher confidence level and shedding is a rare exception?
5) Since we don't like the looks of the father, do we have a pretty good chance that the curlier pups will look more like a multi-gen and not the father?
6) No offense to poodle owners, but I don't want the LD to look like a poodle. Is a curly F1b more likely to look like a multi-gen and not like a poodle?
7) This is probably a myth, but I had been told by a vet before that a male's urine is less acidic and thus less likely to kill the grass. I also thought a male lifting his leg to urinate on the bushes or tree is better than on the grass. But, I read in some of these posts that a neutered male may no longer lift his leg. Any comments here? :?:
Any help is greatly appreciated. For $750, if I do buy one of these pups, I want to lock up tonight the only curly creme male. Thanks for your help.
