Raising your next family member as one of our own. Located in Central Iowa, Pals Pups is a small family raising the next generation of Labradoodle family members. They maintain three or less breeding dogs to ensure that each litter is cared for with excellence.
A note from the Pals... Why do we do what we do? Passion. That is the ultimate reason. We are passionate about dogs, specifically Labradoodles. It is a joy and honor for us each time we get to help a family choose their next family member. We want to give families the same experience we would expect if we were searching for our next family dog. We pride ourselves in many repeat customers and puppies that have grown to become outstanding therapy dogs.
What is your experience with raising litters? We have been one of the most popular Labradoodle breeders in Iowa for the past ten years. Our experience with raising puppies didn't start there. I (Joy) raised purebred Labrador Retrievers over the course of my high school years. With a combined total of over sixteen years of raising litters we have worked hard to make sure each puppy receives the best quality care.
What are your expectations for healthy puppy litters? We strive to always be working to ensure our puppies leave us with the best quality care and health possible, that starts with our parent dogs. They are health checked on a regular basis receiving such things as regular vaccinations, heartworm testing, flea and tick treatment, and grooming. We also require that they be hip and elbow certified with an OFA rating of no less than Good. Our parent dogs are our family members also and spend much of their time indoors with us.
With each litter that is born we go through a schedule of veterinary and daily care routines. Puppies are held daily from the moment they are born. After day 3 puppies have their declaws removed and even start to be held some by children. At weeks 2, 3, 4, and 6 puppies are dewormed proactively to ensure they stay free of any worms/parasites. Week 4-6 puppies wean slowly onto hard kibble. We use and recommend Purina Pro Plan Puppy - Under One Year. We make sure that puppies are getting the nutrition they need before fully weaning them from all milk. Week 6 puppies receive a scheduled veterinary visit with our local veterinarian. After receiving their vet checkups puppies are given their first round of vaccinations to ensure they are off to a good start before leaving our home. Week 6-8 puppies are paper trained while they are at our home so we can ensure a way of keeping their bedding and play area as clean as possible. Once puppies go home to their new families, we highly recommend beginning regular house training. You can read more about our house-training recommendations on our page "How to prepare for your new puppy" (coming soon). What kind of Labradoodles do you offer? Currently we breed F1 and F1b Labradoodles. We usually have three to four litters of puppies throughout the year just based on our timing and availability to give each the litter the attention it requires and deserves. F1 Labradoodles are a cross between a purebred Labrador Retriever and a purebred Standard Poodle. In order to ensure that our puppies stay true to the Labradoodle breed requirements we require that our purebred dogs be registered with the American Kennel Club Association (AKC) and that they are full blooded Lab or Poodle. The F1b is a cross between and F1 Labradoodle and a purebred Standard Poodle. Again we ensure that the parents of the F1 were AKC registered purebred and the Standard Poodle we cross with is AKC purebred. You can learn more about the Labradoodle breed on our page "About the Breed."