I have questions, can you give me a call?

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Our cell signal is not always the greatest out here in the country so Email is our preferred method of contact and lets us keep track of our many conversations, however if you prefer to call or text feel free to. Our job is 24 hours a day 7 days a week caring for our dogs and horses, unfortunately we aren’t able to be on the phone all day while providing the level of care, attention, and socialization, and that we strive to uphold for our animals. We understand this is a big commitment and want everyone to be as comfortable as possible with our process.  We will contact you within 24 hours or less if we do not answer your call.

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Can I visit your facility and meet your dogs before placing a deposit or picking my new puppy?

 

Our "facility" is our home. All of our puppies are raised here and cared for by our family. We aren't a pet store with business hours open to the public so, we currently only allow visits from those on our waiting list or those who are coming on scheduled visitation days to pick out or pick up their new puppy. 

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For the safety of our dogs and young puppies as well, we do not allow tours of our home until the puppies have had their first set of shots at 6 weeks old then we will allow visitors to see the available puppies. ​​​

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Are Doodles Hypoallergenic?

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Technically, no dog is "hypoallergenic" as some people can be allergic to things other than fur like a dog's saliva or urine. Doodles have allergy friendly properties (fur), making them suitable for individuals who suffer from mild to moderate pet allergies.  

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Do Doodles shed?

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Our Doodles are low to non-shedding. We cannot guarantee any dog to be hypoallergenic or non-shedding as each coat can vary although shedding in our adult Doodles is generally very mild. F1Bs and Multigens will typically shed less (if any) than an F1. 

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​​​What is the difference between F1, F2, F1B, etc?

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Coat type will vary no matter what generation and breed of Doodle you choose. Typically, an F1 pairing will produce straight & wavy coats. F1B pairings typically produce wavy & curly coats. F2B and Multi-Gen pairings will typically produce straight, wavy, and curly coats. 

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An F1 Doodle puppy is a result of two different purebred parent dogs. 

Example: A purebred Aussie x a purebred Poodle would make an F1 Aussiedoodle

*50/50 cross*

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An F1B Doodle puppy is a result of an F1 Doodle parent and a purebred Poodle.

Example: An F1 Bernedoodle x a purebred Poodle would make an F1B Bernedoodle

*75/25 cross*

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An F2 Doodle puppy is a result of an F1 Doodle and an F1 Doodle. 

Example: An F1 Aussiedoodle x an F1 Aussiedoodle would make an F2 Aussiedoodle

*50/50 cross*

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An F2B Doodle puppy is the result of an F1 Doodle parent and an F1B Doodle parent. 

Example: An F1 Bernedoodle x an F1B Bernedoodle would make an F2B Bernedoodle

*75/25 cross*

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A Multi-Gen Doodle puppy is the result of an F1B or higher gen parent and an F1B or higher gen parent. 

Example: An F2B Bernedoodle x an F1B Bernedoodle would make a Multi-Gen Bernedoodle

*cross percentage dependent on generations*​

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What sizes do you work with?

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We work primarily with larger mini sizes. 

*Please note that we cannot guarantee adult weight and/or height*

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Our Mini Australian Shepherds & Aussiedoodles are generally 15-30+ pounds at maturity.​

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Our Standard Australian Shepherds & Aussiedoodles are generally 40-70 pounds at maturity.

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Every now and then we will have "medium" size litters that fall between Mini and Standard. Estimated size will depend on exact pairing and breed. 

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What colors do your Dogs come in?

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Our Doodles come in a variety of colors such as Tricolor, Phantom, Black and White, Sable and Merle.  Our Australian Shepherds come in every possible color including both red and black tri's and red and blue merles.

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Are your dogs health tested?

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All of our parent dogs are extensively health tested or in the process of completing their health testing. Health testing results for each parent dog can be viewed on our "parents" tab.  They cannot get their final OFA's until after their 2 year old birthdays but we do prelims prior to breeding then we schedule the their finals after their 2 year old birthday as long as they aren't pregnant.  We do not X-ray our girls while pregnant so in that instance the finals will be completed once their litter is weaned.  If they do not pass their prelims they will NOT enter our breeding program and will be spayed. 

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Do Doodles & Aussies enjoy hiking/being outdoors?

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Yes! The majority of our puppies go to active families who enjoy outdoors activities together. 

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Are Doodles & Aussies good with kids?

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Yes! Our puppies are raised in our home and make wonderful family dogs!

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How does your waiting list work?

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To have a spot on our waiting list is $500 NON REFUNDABLE deposit that will go towards the puppy of your choice.  Once the litter is born we will notify everyone on the list in the order they were placed on the list and update the site with photos.  We will price them no later than 6 weeks of age and notify everyone once again when the prices will be listed.  With these breeds we are unsure of eye color until about 6 weeks of age which is why we wait so long to price them and make them available.  If you don't care about eye coloring then contact us and we will price the puppy.

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What are your policies on tail docking and dew claw removal?

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We do not crop our puppies tails.  We believe in leaving them natural.  Here is some information on tails and dew claw removal.

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Most poodles and Australian shepherds have their tails docked(cut off) and dew claws removed. These procedures are usually performed at 3 days old.

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Why are dogs tails docked (cut off)?  

To adhere to a breed standard.

A Breed Standard is the description a Breed Club -Such as the AKC (American Kennel Club Poodle and Australian Shepard breeds) creates to describe what they believe to be the 'perfect' looking example of the breed. They cannot be shown in conformation shows with a full tail.

To avoid tail damage.

 

This is the most important reason for docking a tail. Australian Shepherds were raised in the rough western areas of the United States, which, have tough weeds, tall grasses, and plenty of other hazards. Poodles were hunting dogs and would encounter similar conditions. These conditions can lead to torn and bleeding tails, which, can be painful and hard to treat. The average family pup is not exposed to these conditions.

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Tails are important!  Why?

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Tails are used in communication.

The tail is highly visible and serves as a sort of signal flag that communicates information about the animal's emotional state. Variables such as how high the dog carries his tail, how quickly the dog is moving his tail, and even whether the tail is being wagged more to the left or right side of the body can convey a lot of information about how the dog is feeling, his mood, and even his intentions. Dogs with very short tails, either because of the nature of their breed (for example the French Bulldog is born with a little stump of a tail which is about 1 inch in length) or because their tails have been docked, cannot communicate as well and such dogs often have difficulties interacting with other canines.

The surface of the dogs tails have supracaudal scent glands (also called Violet Gland), which helps in intra-species signaling and scent marking – Olfactory signaling. The supracaudal glands or the Violet glands, in dogs, are found above the 9th caudal vertebra and secretes protein and lipids (molecules include fats and oils, waxes, phospholipids, steroids). This means when you amputate the tail you are removing part of or all of this vital gland too. The greeting pattern in dogs usually differs from breed to breed, due to the presence or absence of supracaudal scent glands. Since the supracaudal gland supports the olfactory signaling, the absence of the gland causes lack of ear movement, and reduces tail wagging. This, in turn, causes a change in communicative behavior.

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Tails are used for balance.

The dog's tail is designed to assist the dog in his balance. When a dog is running and turns quickly he throws the front part of his body in the direction he wants to go. His back then bends but his forward velocity is such that his hind quarters will tend to continue in the original direction. Left unchecked, this movement might result in the dog's rear swinging widely which could greatly slow his rate of movement or even cause the dog to topple over as he tries to make a high speed turn. The dog's tail helps to prevent this. Throwing his tail in the same direction that his body is turning serves as a sort of counter weight which reduces the tendency to spin off course.  Tails are also used in swimming as a rudder and counter balance.

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Here at Twilight Farms we leave our puppies intact. We do not dock our puppies’ tails.

Tail docking is banned in many areas in Europe because their citizens and therefore their governments, view this as cruelty to animals.  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/201611/why-do-dogs-have-tails

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What do dew claws do?

Traditionally Poodles and Aussies have had their dew claws (thumbs) completely removed. The reasons we have found for dew claws being removed:

If they are not removed they may get 'caught' on things and torn off.

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Poodles and Aussies have functional thumbs while a few breeds do not as should be removed. Functional dew claws are used in steep terrain, for traction in quick turns and to grasp things.

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Dew claws are held close to the leg except when running at speed or grasping things like bones to chew so are unlikely to get caught.

by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD
(as seen in Dogs In Canada – September 2003)

 In the last several years, while doing sports-medicine consultations for performance dogs across Canada and the United States, I have seen many canine athletes with carpal arthritis. Interestingly, this condition is much more common in dogs that have had their 
front dewclaws removed.

To understand why, it is helpful to understand the structure of the carpus. This joint consists of seven bones that fit together like fieldstones that are used to build the walls of a house
The carpus joins to the radia and ulnar bones (equivalent to our lower arm), and to the metacarpal bones (equivalent to our hand). Each bone of the carpus has a convex or concave side that matches a curve on the adjacent bone. Unlike the bones of the elbow, for example.

The elbow bones have ridges that slide into interlocking grooves the bones of the carpus do not have ridges that slide into interlocking grooves on the adjacent bone. The relatively loose fit of 
the carpal bones is supported by ligaments that join each of the carpal bones to the adjacent bones.

With so many carpal bones that don't tightly interlock with the adjacent bones, the ligaments of 
this joint can be easily stretched and even torn when torque (twisting) is applied to the leg. The dewclaws have the important function of reducing the torque that is applied to the front legs, especially when dogs are turning at a canter (the main gait used 
in agility).

In the canter, there is a moment during each stride when the dog's accessory carpal pad (on the back of the carpus) of the lead front leg touches the ground and the rear legs and other front leg swing forward to prepare for the next stride. At this point, the dewclaw is in contact with the ground and if the dog turns, the dewclaw can dig in for extra traction to prevent unnecessary torque on the front leg. Without the gripping action of the dog's 'thumbs’ there is 
more stress on the ligaments of the carpus. This may cause the ligaments to stretch and tear over time, resulting in joint laxity and ultimately, arthritis. Therefore we do not remove the dew!

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What is the total price?

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Each breed is priced differently. We will post approx. prices on puppies once we are expecting or shortly after the litter is born. Finally prices will depend on conformation, coloring and eye coloring.

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