About Sterling Doodles

 

What separates us from other breeders?

 

Health testing

• All Sterling dogs are health tested prior to being bred. They are OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) tested for elbows, eyes, heart, thyroid, and patellas.

• Hips are tested either through OFA or PennHIP. 

• Our dogs are screened for over 190 genetic health conditions.

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Ethical breeder

• All of our breeding dogs live in our home or in their very own guardian home. None of them live outdoors, on chains, in sheds, or in barns! 

• Sterling Doodle puppies are accustomed to the hustle and bustle of family life from the moment they are born until the moment they leave for their forever home.

• Our puppies are raised with Puppy Culture, a training and socialization protocol that introduces puppies to a variety of new experiences from an early age. 

• We carefully screen all potential families to ensure our puppies are going to homes that are the best possible fit for them.

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Sterling Doodle Puppies come with lots of extras!​

• Coat testing: Any families that join our waitlist after October 15th 2021 will receive coat testing results for their puppy. Please note, coat testing allows us to predict degree of shedding. Coat testing also allows us to predict if a puppy will be hypoallergenic. These are predictions only, coat testing is not a guarantee.

• Complimentary 2 year health guarantee: puppies are guaranteed against non-environmental hip and elbow dysplasia. Our guarantee DOES NOT require you to return your puppy for a refund. Many breeders require that you return your puppy in order to get a refund! 

• Already sterilized with a hormone sparing procedure: our puppies will now come already sterilized via ovary sparing spay or vasectomy. This means that you do not have to get your dog spayed or neutered if you don't want to.

• Vaccinated and dewormed: puppies go to their new homes with their first vaccine. This helps to protect them against deadly diseases such as distemper and parvovirus. Our puppies are also kept on a safe deworming schedule to ensure that they are free of parasites.

• Vet checked: puppies are vet checked prior to leaving for their forever homes.

• Microchipped: our puppies leave for their forever homes already microchipped. Microchipping allows us to ensure that none of our puppies end up lost or in a shelter.

• Puppy package: puppies leave for their forever homes with a complimentary puppy package! Your puppy package will provide you with some helpful starter items such as a food sample, toys, grooming supplies, and treats.

• 4-week free insurance trial: each puppy leaves with a 4-week free insurance trial through Trupanion. There are no strings attached, although we hope you will keep your puppy insured with an insurance company of your choice for at least the first year. The first year of a puppy's life is when your puppy is most likely to get into mischief.

• Introduced to grooming from an early age: your puppy will come home already introduced to grooming. Grooming is a vital aspect of doodle ownership, which is why we introduce our puppies to professional grooming as early as possible. Your puppy will have had his or her nails ground, as well as a quick bath, blow dry, paw pad trim, and sanitary trim.

• Lifetime breeder support: we are always here for our puppies and our puppy parents! No matter your Sterling Doodle's age, we will always be happy to answer any questions you might have.

• Well socialized and handled: We socialize and handle our puppies right from the very beginning. Your puppy will come home ready to take on the world!

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Pricing

As of October 15th 2021 any new waitlist applicants will be subject to the pricing guideline outlined below. Individuals already on our waitlist will be subject to our previous pricing guidelines. Our new prices include the cost of hormone sparing sterilization, and coat testing. Since your puppy will be sterilized prior to adoption, you may choose to forgo a traditional spay/neuter entirely if that is your preference.

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Our puppies are priced based on the size of their parents. This simplifies pricing, however it doesn't mean that your puppy won't end up larger/smaller than the predicted size. To get the "official size" for a litter, add the weight of the mother to the weight of the father and divide by two. This weight is what will determine the price of a litter. 

For example, if the mother weighs 70 lbs and the father weighs 20 lbs, the "official size" of the litter would be 45 lbs. This does not mean that your puppy will be 45 lbs, but rather it is our simplified method for pricing each litter based on approximate weight, so families may better plan ahead. The smaller the puppy is, the more they cost; this is because smaller females tend to have smaller litters, so health testing and other expenses are less spread out between puppies. Smaller males often produce less sperm, which often means progesterone testing, and TCI or surgical insemination is necessary. 

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If you are not a Canadian citizen you do not have to pay HST! Prices listed are maximums, many of our litters are priced lower. Please reach out for individual litter pricing.

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We are excited to offer special pricing for the summer of 2023. Any litters going home on or before the 22nd of September will be priced at or below the following pricing guidelines.

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Summer 2023 pricing:

50-65+ lbs: 4700.00 CAD +HST (approximately $3485.00 USD) (this size bracket includes any litters with a purebred Bernese parent even if the official litter weight is lower)

35-49 lbs: $5300.00 CAD +HST (approximately $3900.00 USD)

20-34 lbs: $5300.00 CAD +HST (approximately $3900.00 USD)

<19 lbs: $5700.00 CAD +HST (approximately $4200.00 USD)

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Typical pricing:

50-65 lbs: $5100.00 CAD +HST (approximately $3780.00 USD)

35-49 lbs: $5400.00 CAD +HST (approximately $4000.00 USD)

20-34 lbs: $5700.00 CAD +HST (approximately $4200.00 USD)

<19 lbs: $6000.00 CAD +HST (approximately $4450.00 USD)

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Pricing NOW includes:

• Coat testing (likelihood of shedding as well as likelihood to be hypoallergenic)

• Ovary Sparing Spay/tubal ligation/Vasectomy - puppies will go home already sterilized. These methods of sterilization preserve hormones. If you choose to you may keep your dog hormonally intact their entire life, and you may skip traditional spay/neuter entirely. Some families may opt to get a traditional spay/neuter at maturity, this is a matter of personal preference and each family will have to weigh the pros and cons.

Why is hormone sparing sterilization a good option for many dogs? Hormonally intact dogs:

1. Are less prone to ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries. These injuries are very expensive to treat, often costing upwards of $4500 per knee. Many times if a dog injures one knee the other knee will soon follow. This is due to the dog putting more weight on the uninjured knee during recovery.

2. Are less prone to hip and elbow dysplasia. Dogs that are neutered/spayed after they reach sexual maturity, or dogs that remain intact, are less likely to develop hip and elbow dysplasia. 

3. Are less likely to develop osteosarcoma, which is a common aggressive bone cancer.

4. Are less likely to develop splenic hemangiosarcoma and cardiac hemangiosarcoma.

5. Are less likely to develop hypothyroidism compared to neutered dogs.

6. Are less likely to be obese, which increases the risk of many health issues.

7. Females are less likely to experience incontinence. Spay incontinence occurs in up to 20% of spayed female dogs.

8. Are less likely to get urinary tract tumors.

9. Are less likely to get diabetes.

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We are happy to further discuss the pros and cons of keeping your puppy hormonally intact! There are many pros and cons, but we are excited to offer this option to families who may have preferred to keep their dog intact, but were unable to previously due to our spay/neuter requirements. As responsible breeders we don't want our puppies to end up exploited or abused by backyard breeders or puppy mills. Hormone sparing sterilization allows us to provide the option for pet families to keep their puppy hormonally intact, without risking their long-term wellbeing. 

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Please note that pricing is different for puppies sold with breeding rights. Please contact us if you are applying for a puppy with breeding rights.

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Waitlist

We have switched to individual litter waitlists for the foreseeable future. Each family who places a commitment fee will have the option to select up to two litter waitlists to join. Commitment fees are transferrable to future litter waitlists and they do not expire! Puppy selections made prior to temperament testing are transferrable between available puppies or to future litters. 

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Transport

We offer transport within Canada and the United States. We also offer transport worldwide when possible. We are happy to assist with rabies titer testing for countries that require it. We have experience assisting families with arranging transport throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. We are always happy to try somewhere new!

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Training

We are excited to offer puppy training options for families that would like to skip the early puppy stage! Alternatively families are welcome to arrange their own puppy training. We are happy to assist with transport to local trainers when feasible. 

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True-to-type

At Sterling Doodles, we are working hard to breed smaller-sized bernedoodles that breed true to type. This is a complex and multifaceted program; however, we hope that eventually, it will allow us to offer more predictable size, structure, coat type, temperament, and colour compared to early generation bernedoodle pairings. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about our true-to-type program.

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