Frequently Asked Questions

A wonderful part of our business is getting to know the families who adopt our puppies. As much as we would enjoy visiting in person at our home with everyone who is interested in meeting our Australian Labradoodles, it is just not safe for our puppies. We totally understand families want to touch and hold and smell a newborn puppy, but in the interest of the safety of our puppies, we have a visitation policy in place to protect their health and safety. Our visitation policy allows for families who have paid a reservation fee to visit the puppies in the litter that they have a reservation in once the puppies are 6 weeks of age. We have such a strict visitation policy because: Immature immune systems. Puppies are not protected against disease that can be brought in on shoes or clothing. Many breeders have lost entire litters of puppies due to disease being brought into the breeder’s home or yard. You don’t have to touch a puppy to transfer disease to them. Your shoes and clothing can bring it in and leave it on the grass, floor, or furniture, only to be transferred to the paws of the mama dog, who then transfers it to her babies. New mama dogs are extremely protective of their babies. When strangers enter the home, even if mama is in another part of the house, she hears their voices and kicks into a highly emotionally charged state. This stress causes her body to create cortisol, which enters her milk. When the puppies consume the milk, the cortisol then causes them to become stressed as well. A stressed puppy is more likely to succumb to illness and fail to thrive. Stressed mama dogs may panic. They could jump up and away from their puppies to assess what they think is a threat, and many times unintentionally step on or crush a puppy. The mere sound of a stranger’s voice in another room may cause them to panic and can result in an injured puppy, or even death. In lieu of visitation, we are happy to talk with you by phone, email, or text message. We are also happy to do a facetime call with you to show you the puppies. We keep our Facebook page updated frequently and are happy to provide lots of pictures and other complete information on each puppy and litter we produce. Thank you for understanding and allowing us to put the safety, health and well-being of our dogs and puppies and your puppy as our greatest priority.

The labradoodle became known in 1988, when Australian breeder Wally Conron crossed the Labrador Retriever and Standard Poodle at the Royal Guide Dogs Associations of Australia in Victoria. Conron's aim was to combine the low-shedding coat of the poodle with the gentleness and trainability of a Labrador retriever, and to provide a guide dog suitable for people with allergies to fur and dander. The Australian Labradoodle founders Beverly Manors of Rutland Manor and Angela Cunningham of Tegan Park of Australia sought to improve the breed that Wally had started. They developed research centers and have worked diligently for over 20 years to establish and develop the Australian Labradoodle breed as we know it today. They began by carefully infusing several other breeds into early generations of their Lab/Poodle crosses, to improve temperament, coat texture to eliminate shedding, conformation, size, and health of the breed in order to reduce the known genetic diseases commonly found in the Labrador Retriever and the Poodle. Among the infused breeds are: Irish Water Spaniel, American and English Cocker Spaniel, Cockapoo and the Curly Coated Retreiver.

Absolutely! Australian Labradoodles make exceptional family pets! They are loyal, friendly, eager to please, even-tempered, gentle and kind. They are also very intelligent and easy to train. This combination of traits makes them outstanding service and therapy dogs, as well as terrific family companions. Not to mention, they are allergy friendly and low to no shedding.

All of our breeding dogs are fully health tested. We perform genetic health testing through Paw Print Genetics to reduce the incidence of inherited diseases. We also have their hips and elbows x-rayed and certified through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). In addition, we have veterinary opthalmologists perform OFA eye certification examinations to screen for inherited eye disease. The eye exams results are also submitted to and certified by OFA. All of the health testing results for our breeding dogs are available upon request.

Our puppy adoption fee is $3,200* (plus Utah State sales tax of $216 for Utah residents) for puppies that are picked up at our home and $3,525 ($3,200 plus a delivery fee of $325) for puppies that are delivered to the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. All of our puppies are sold on a spay/neuter contract. There is a $500 non-refundable reservation fee that is required after your application has been approved. You will be placed on our reservation list in the order that we receive your reservation fee. The balance of the adoption fee is due by the time the puppies are 6-1/2 weeks old. Reservation lists fill up fast and are normally booked 6 to 8 months in advance. Red Desert Doodles reserves the right to retain any puppy for future breeding purposes. ​ * There is a 6.75% sales tax ($216) for Utah State residents

Australian Labradoodles come in three different sizes that can range between 14 and 24 inches tall and 15 to 65 lbs in weight. Below are more details on the Miniature, Medium and Standard size Australian Labradoodle: Miniature range: Height: 14 to 16 inches Weight: 15 to 25lbs Medium range: Height: 17 to 20 inches Weight: 30 to 45 lbs Standard range: Height: 21 to 24 inches Weight: 50 to 65lbs

Australian Labradoodles come in a variety of coat colors and patterns. However, the variations in coat color usually fall into four basic color categories: black, chocolate, caramel (yellow with chocolate pigment) and apricot/cream/red (yellow with black pigment). For a detailed description and illustration of the various coat colors and patterns, click here to go the Worldwide Australian Labradoodle Association's website.

Once you submit your puppy application and puppy reservation fee, you are placed on our master reservation list in the order that we received your reservation fee. When a litter of puppies is born and we know exactly how many puppies there are in the litter, we email the families that are the highest on our master reservation list and give them the opportunity to go on that specific litter list for a puppy. Once you are on a specific litter list, we will send weekly email updates with important information.

Our puppy selection process happens when the puppies are around 6 weeks old. Before doing puppy selections, we post 6 week photos and a 6 week video of the puppies. We also send a link to a google form where you can indicate your puppy preferences in order from first to last. Once we receive all of the forms from the families on the reservation list, we allocate puppies based on your preferences and notify you via text message of which puppy will be joining your family. We do our very best to get you the highest puppy on your preference list.

We prefer not to ship our puppies, but offer several options to get your new family member safely to it's new home: 1. You can pick your puppy up in person at our home in Hurricane, Utah on the scheduled puppy pick-up day. 2. We can meet you at the local airport in St. George, Utah (SGU) or in Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS) and you can take your new family member home with you in a soft-sided carry-on bag in the airplane cabin. There is a $325 delivery charge for the Las Vegas airport. 3. We can have our "flight nanny" deliver the puppy to your nearest airport. The cost for this delivery service is $650 to $850 (depending on the distance) plus the cost of airfare, pet-in-cabin fee, and health certificate.

Your new puppy will come with the following: Two year genetic health guarantee Microchip with paid lifetime registration First set of vaccinations, deworming, and health check by our veterinarian Worldwide Australian Labradoodle Association (WALA) certificate of registration A blanket with scent from mom and littermates Collar & leash TLC puppy food goodie bag which includes dog food scoop, poop bags, & sample of TLC dog biscuts Other puppy packet goodies, including collapsible bowl, toy, etc. Recommended training program through Baxter & Bella online puppy school A lifetime of support Access to our Red Desert Doodles Families private Facebook page

All of our puppies are sold on a strict spay/neuter contract. The buyer understands that this puppy is being sold as a pet and under no circumstances will it be used for breeding purposes. The puppy is required to to be spayed or neutered by no later than 12 months of age. The buyer agrees to provide the breeder (seller) with proof of the spay/neuter within 10 days of surgery.