If you’re looking for ethical Goldendoodle breeders, Virginia, West Virginia, and surrounding areas are great places to find the best breeders. You must ensure your dog breeder gives the puppies proper care, putting their health over everything.
This article rounds up the seven best Goldendoodle breeders in Virginia and West Virginia.
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Your Top 7 Breeders in Virginia
Rather than guess the level of care the breeder gives your dog, refer to this list. Goldendoodles are an adorable and charming breed, ideal for families with children, as they are super gentle and friendly. This intelligent breed can make the perfect companion for anyone looking for a snuggly and sweet puppy.
While all Goldendoodles are friendly and endearing, finding the right breeder is essential in finding the right dog. The best breeders mentioned in this list know how to match the right dog with the ideal family, so everyone can have the best experience possible.
Family Labradoodles
Family Labradoodles is a trustworthy breeder that raises their puppies and parents with the utmost care and a quality breeding program. Their website gives a week-by-week overview of how they raise their puppies from birth to adoption. The website also has loads of information to help you raise your puppy and incorporate them smoothly into your family and home.
You must apply for these puppies so the breeders can determine if you would be the right fit for one of their Goldendoodles. You also must sign an adoption agreement that states you will take care of the animal and return them to the breeder if you can’t care for them properly. By signing this contract, you commit not to take them to a shelter or abandon them.
Just from their website, you can tell that Family Labradoodles cares about the well-being of the dogs they let people adopt. They guarantee adopting families that their dogs are in excellent health conditions when they leave the farm with a health warranty. Their parent dogs are in perfect health and receive extensive testing to ensure they do not have genetic problems.
Doodle Dog Pups
The Doodle Dog Pups website is rather underdone, making it look like they may be a sketchy breeder. But they have excellent reviews boasting how well-taken care of their dogs are and that they’re in perfect health when adopted. However, they no longer allow visits before the adoption due to COVID-19. This action is to protect their family, as well as yours, but it does create an inconvenience.
Most of their dogs are spoken for early, sometimes even before birth. Most of their customers are referrals or repeat customers, so the puppy wait list is long, and it can be difficult to adopt one of their dogs. The breeders guarantee healthy and clean dogs that have received all necessary vaccinations for their age. They also gift new owners some equipment and food to get them started.
Many reviews state that their adopted dogs are angels, and the breeders were an integral part of making sure the right dog goes home with the perfect family. Every Goldendoodle is precious, but the breeders at Doodle Dog Pups know that there is a perfect match for every dog, and they are excellent at making these pairings.
Old Mill Doodles
Old Mill Doodles is run by a longtime doodle breeder named Valerie. Many reviews state they have a wonderful and healthy dog thanks to her. All of her Goldendoodle puppies are in good health and trained with some basic commands.
Valerie offers a two-year genetic health guarantee on all puppies with genetic testing, as well as lifetime adoption support. She seems to prioritize the puppies, sometimes to a fault, making them her entire life! But owners report she is receptive to questions post-adoption and will help you and your new pup settle into a beautiful life together.
If you want a healthy and happy Goldendoodle puppy, Valerie knows exactly what she’s doing and will match you with the perfect dog suited to your lifestyle. . But if you can look past her unpleasant demeanor, her puppies are of sound health and happy puppies ready to be your forever friend.
Deb’s Doodle
Deb’s Doodles is a breeder that seems to care about every dog and match them with a responsible and loving family. They are patient and take their time helping a family meet their forever pal. They treat every family and every dog with care and attention.
Owners report that Debbie and her team are nothing but helpful during and after the adoption process. All Goldendoodle puppies come with a two-year health guarantee, and no owners have reported their dogs developing any hereditary diseases thanks to genetic testing. The dog is also well-trained by adoption, making it even easier to train these puppies to your needs and desires.
There is no application necessary; instead, potential owners have a 30-minute phone interview with Debbie herself to determine if the owner is a good fit for one of her puppies. There is a contract that specifies you must return the puppy if you cannot care for it, as opposed to giving them to shelters, abandoning them or for adoption to another person.
All dogs go home microchipped for their protection, and part of the adoption agreement is they must be spayed or neutered at the appropriate age.
Virginia Beach Goldendoodles
The puppies from this breeder are sweet and behaved. Owners report that the breeders at Virginia Beach Goldendoodles offer true lifetime support. They give out their personal phone numbers and emails, so you can contact them with all questions and concerns you may have, no matter how long ago you adopted the dog.
They welcome and encourage potential owners to come and visit their puppies as much as they would like. They believe visiting helps form a bond before bringing the puppy back to your home and into your family. They focus on socialization and housebreaking from a young age, ensuring a smooth transition into your home.
Their dogs come with a one-year health guarantee from genetic health tests that they will be free of hip dysplasia, a structurally debilitating disease, progressive retinal atrophy, and von Willebrand’s disease. They also feed their puppies and adult dogs premium food and give them health supplements like NuVet to ensure they get all the nutrients and support to be healthy.
Beechwood Goldendoodles
At Beechwood Goldendoodles, they prioritize after-adoption care and the exceptional health of their puppies. Reviews mention the foundational training the dogs receive makes it a breeze to further their training. Owners report having sweet and well-behaved dogs.
They also focus on not only offering an excellent and responsible breeding program. They educate their potential customers on the importance of finding an ethical breeder and how to choose a breeder wisely.
The breeders attend the annual Goldendoodle Association of North America Conference to educate themselves on new Goldendoodle training and care practices. Their website does not provide a plethora of information, so you need to reach out to them to learn more about their adoption progress and their adoption agreement.
But they do post their owner contract on their website for both their Virginia location and their South Carolina location.
They set out specific requirements such as home size, work schedule, and financial stability for their potential owners. They don’t want to see their puppies in an uncomfortable situation or have them returned from what was supposed to be their forever home.
To avoid this, they want you to visit more than once and will ask you many questions about your lifestyle. They welcome and encourage you to voice any questions or concerns that they can help you address.
Laurel Ridge Doodles
Laurel Ridge Doodles is a responsible breeding program that puts its dogs’ health, safety, and happiness above all else. They go through health evaluations to determine if they have hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, cardiovascular health problems, or eye diseases. They offer a two-year health guarantee on all puppies, and all customer reviews say hold up as they haven’t had any issues.
The breeder has a spacious home where they raise the puppies until they can be adopted around eight weeks of age. They receive mild training for housebreaking and general obedience. While many breeders promise lifetime support and a home for the dog if something happens, Laurel Ridge has proven this promise.
They have taken back dogs that weren’t a good fit for those that adopted them. Then, they found the right home for that pup and the right puppies for those owners. But they do their best to match the right dog and owner the first time around.
Their parent dogs are healthy and happy, and they are a trustworthy family breeder. They regularly go through a veterinary health check and are on a strict deworming program. They ensure all dogs are in excellent health.
How to Pick Breeders?
The most critical factor in choosing a breeder is to make sure they treat their dogs with care and ethics. Breeders that ask you no questions or willingly give up the dog without a contract or inquiry into your lifestyle likely don’t care about the dog’s well-being. These breeders are puppy mills and just care about profit. In addition to the dog’s care, consider the following aspects below when choosing.
In case you can’t find available puppies in Virginia, we also have a list of the best Goldendoodle breeders in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and other states.
My Experience
I found my gorgeous new puppy through a Facebook post, and many genuine breeders use social media as an effective advertising medium. There was a video of the puppies with their mother and links to the breeder’s website. So, I decided to investigate further.
As it turned out, it’s a small world, and the breeder was a local guy that I knew from my days competing on horses at my local riding club 40 years ago! I arranged to go and view the puppies and was impressed with the setup.
The pups were roaming around a large pen with their mother. The pen was clean, and there were plenty of toys for the babies to play with. Mom was friendly and relaxed and came over to say, “Hi!” That’s very important, as you can then be fairly confident that the puppies will inherit their mom’s nice temperament.
The puppies’ father was also available to meet, which is an added bonus, as not every breeder uses their own stud dog.
Puppy Pack
My puppy came with a puppy pack containing some food, toys, a blanket, a book on caring for my pup during the first few weeks, and a month’s free insurance.
The breeder asked me to send regular updates on how my new furry friend was doing and emphasized that I could contact him at any time for advice and to voice any concerns I had.
All in all, my experience was great and left me feeling confident that I had made the right decision.
Puppy Cost
The breeders on this list fall into reasonable price ranges. Anything too low, say under $1,000, is likely not real Goldendoodle puppies with the right parent dogs or is not being taken care of with the proper premium supplies.
Adoption Length
If they offer same-day adoption that takes less than an hour, you may want to reconsider. A super-fast adoption process implies a lack of vetting on their part.
New Owner Support
The best breeders offer lifetime support, start supplies and food, and training tips or references. If they seem like they want to hand off the dog and never hear from you again, they aren’t a good breeder.
Conclusion
Choosing a breeder is an essential step in finding the right dog, and you should always do thorough research on each breeder you consider.
Factor in the costs, location, health guarantees, adoption contracts, and more discussed in the article before committing to a breeder.
Did you find this list helpful and informative? Tell us what you think and drop us a comment so we can improve our information and help all Goldendoodle seekers find the perfect breeder with the best dogs.
