We purchased a puppy from her a few years ago. We're from a couple hours away so we made a few calls to her to inquire about what puppies were still available and the price. Her prices were much better than other breeders. She was great on the phone. Very nice, returned our calls promptly, answered all of our questions just the way we hoped she would. We made the drive out and got the puppy.
When we saw her facility (home & kennel) we weren't terribly impressed. Seemed like a lot of the outdoor dog kennels were not providing any shelter (just chainlink fences to separate the dogs with concrete floors). I didn't see any water dishes out for them. It was still pretty chilly out in December for them to not have much shelter.
Debbie took us into the garage where the last of the puppies were kept. You could tell there are usually more than just the one puppy area we saw. The garage was cluttered, not clean, and the puppies were extremely stinky!! They smelled horribly of urine and feces. But they were cute and very sweet puppies!! It made me sad we couldn't afford to take more home with us to get them out of that situation. I asked to see the sire and dam (she had mentioned over the phone that both were on site) and she said they weren't at the kennel right now, but she would be happy to send us pictures and get us more information on both parents. She never did. Even after numerous emails and phone messages, we didn't hear any more from her. Out the window with the great customer service I felt she provided prior to our purchase. I felt like as soon as she got our money, she was finished with the transaction.
We love our dog we got from Debbie & Mark very much. But as she gets older we've noticed things. As a very young puppy she couldn't hold her pee. I thought the potty training just wasn't going well. Turns out she is incontinent. I contacted Debbie again to see if she would send me any more info about the parents. Nothing.
As our dog got older we noticed not all of her teeth grew in. Odd, but not too terrible. I just figured she was a bit more inbred than I initially thought. Then at the beginning of this year, at around 3 yrs of age, she develops hip dysplasia. Not just a mild form that is kind of manageable. It's debilitating and horribly painful for our once very active, graceful, and playful dog. We're also experiencing other internal medical issues with her that are still being tested. Our vets have told us they see this in dogs that are inbred.
Please know we are great dog owners - we do not have human children and we pride ourselves on taking excellent care of our animals with everything we have. We only provide them with the best food, vet care, beds, toys, treats, etc.
We are not the only ones in our area that has had problems with our pets purchased from the Willards. I was at our local doctor's office getting a check up, chatting with my doc about things and mentioned my dog's issues. She told me she was having similar issues with her dog. Her golden is about the same age as goldendoodle. After comparing details about the breeder, we realized we had both purchased our dogs from Debbie & Mark Willard. My doc told me that Debbie assured her that the puppy they purchased had guaranteed knees & hips. Her dog has had two knee surgeries and is now having problems with her hips. My doc was very distraught about the pain her dog has been in.
So for even more money, you can purchase a warranty (or guarantee?) from Debbie that says if you have any problems down the road she will cover the cost of the needed surgery. Granted, it's been a few years since I've heard her spiel, but it had something to do with a supplement purchased through her for the hips & knees to be covered. We chose not to take her up on that. I do wonder what would have happened if we had.
I felt I needed to get the word out that people should look elsewhere to purchase a pet, or even better (as I should have done), go to the shelter and adopt. It breaks my heart that my sweet dog is in so much pain. Her treatment will be in the thousands of dollars to get her hips worked on. Not to mention the long term medication and the inability to really be a fun loving active dog she should be. Do not be fooled!!! These poor animals are physically inferior and have too many medical issues to be breeding more. read more
