Frequently Asked Questions

Historically, at Crockett Pups most families receive the announcement of their ideal puppy within 4-6 months (on average) for the breed of their choice. It is very difficult to predict an exact date or litter that you will be matched with. We cannot predict number of pups, genders or colors until a litter is born. Often families are registered for more than one breed so the deposit list is constantly moving and changing as families at the top of the list are being fit into various litters. The greater your flexibility, the greater likelihood that you will be matched fairly quickly with a puppy. For example, if you’re fine with a male/female, any color, you’ll likely be matched faster than someone who needs to have a merle tricolor that has to be female. In general, the more specific your desire, the longer it will take for us to have that exact pup.

When your name gets closer to the top of the deposit list, you and several other families will receive a puppy announcement via email.  We ask families to view the pictures and descriptions and reply to us with their choices in order of preference. We match the puppies based on your preferences and the order in which the deposits were placed. You are always welcome to pass on a litter announcement if the timing isn’t best for you or you want to wait for something different. Unlike almost all other breeders, we don’t “lock you into” a particular litter. We also offer a refundable deposit (refundable up to 2 years from your deposit date minus a 9% processing fee). Read more about the process here.

Our family network is comprised of Partner Homes that serve in a variety of ways. We have three kinds of Partner Homes: Guardian Homes, Surrogate Homes and Transition Homes. Every family is unique, and these different roles within our family network allows flexibility for each family in raising and/or caring for our puppies. Many of our Partner Homes hold more than one role in our network. For example, a family may be both a Guardian Home and a Transition Home or a Surrogate Home may also be a Transition Home, etc.

Our parent dogs are privately owned family pets whose families have partnered with Crockett Pups. Nathan does not have a required breeding schedule for our family network and each family is free to decide when they want to breed their pet. Nathan has two dogs in his home, but most of the Crockett Pups program parent dogs are raised in Partner Homes – specifically Guardian Homes. We do not have parents dogs that “retire” from our breeding program who need a new home since our parent dogs are already family pets.

Most of our Partner Homes have children and many have other pets. While it is certainly not a prerequisite, the extra attention that a puppy receives being raised around children is a huge plus for their early socialization. Exposure to other animals also helps a puppy learn good canine social manners.

Our Partner Homes are carefully supervised and provided solid, on-going accountability to the high standards required to be a member of the Crockett Pups’ family network. Raising healthy puppies is hard work and requires a significant level of commitment for the entire family. We are very selective in choosing Partner Homes.

Over the past several years, we’ve expanded to have Partner Homes in multiple locations: South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Michigan, Texas, Iowa and California. Our Crockett Pups Partner Homes in multiple states offer convenient pick up options for adopting families. Click here to see pictures and read bios of several of our Partner Homes.

Guardian Homes: Our Guardian Homes are family or friends for whom Nathan has purchased a high-quality dog. They keep that dog in their home as their beloved pet and have occasional litters for the Crockett Pups’ program. Their puppies are born, raised and socialized with their family.

We oversee a few litters from each Guardian Home dog, where we take care of finding the exact right stud dog and supervise the breeding process. The puppies will be raised at the Guardian Home or may be raised at a Surrogate Home if the Guardian Home so chooses. We give a monetary gift back to the Guardian Home for allowing us to use their dog. The primary difference between a Guardian Home and a Surrogate Home is that the Guardian Home has the mom as their family pet and raises the puppies, while a Surrogate Home does not own the mom, but can be asked to care for the mom and raise the puppies if the Guardian Home is not able to do this because of family schedules, vacations, etc.

The Crockett Pups’ Team arranges for each of the puppies to go to Forever Homes, and the Partner Home, who helped raise the pups, gets much of the profit from the litter. Many of our Partner Home families live in beautiful Greenville, SC.

We encourage you to watch this video of one of our Guardian/Partner Homes that recently raised a litter of puppies.

Surrogate Homes: A Surrogate Home is a home that loves raising puppies occasionally. We work closely with these homes and pay these homes to partner with us.  These puppies are raised under strict supervision from Crockett Pups, and in close harmony with the veterinary team. After raising a litter of pups and caring for mama at their home for 8 weeks, we help the Surrogate Home wean the puppies. The mama dog returns to her Guardian Home where she continues to be a beloved pet, and we take the 8 week old pups to a Crockett Pups Transition Home to transition into their new life as they meet their Forever Family. At Crockett Pups, we value family-raised puppies that have been well-socialized so Surrogate Homes are also held to a high level of accountability even though they do not own the mama dog. Surrogate Homes do not have to be close family friends of the Crocketts, are not given access to bank account information, and are not burdened with communication with Forever Families. Surrogate Homes are families who are willing to responsibly raise a few litters a year of pups at their house and are paid well for doing so.

Transition Homes: These homes are family members or friends who specifically care for puppies in the days immediately before Adoption Day and introduce our puppies to their Forever Homes. Crockett Pups invests a significant amount of time, training and finances into our Transition Homes. They are trusted with the Crockett Pups’ bank account information and collecting adoption fees from Forever Families on Adoption Day. Transition Homes work in close contact with the Crockett Pups Team as the pups are matched to their Forever Homes and receive their final vet checks before Adoption Day. Transition Homes help their pups transition into better crate training, begin actively house-training, and help the pups become accustomed to being away from their mom (if the pups have transitioned from a Guardian or Surrogate Home). In our experience, it’s a healthier process for puppies if their transition away from their family to your home is gradual. Many of our Guardian Homes are also Transition Homes because they want to handle their own Adoption Days and take care of this last transition week with their own puppies. If a Guardian or Surrogate Home cannot do this (due to family schedules, conflicts, or just being uncomfortable with strangers coming to their home especially during Covid), they may ask a trained Transition Home to handle this process and their puppies’ Adoption Days.

No matter which type of Partner Home your puppy experiences, you can be sure they are loved and cared for well.

We are so thankful for more than 150 families who have partnered with us (in various ways) to make Crockett Pups possible. We are currently accepting applications, but are not actively adding new Partner Homes right now as our supply and demand is balanced. We are also focused on developing our family networks in Iowa and California. We are glad to keep your application on file so we can reach out to you if/when we decide to move forward in adding more families in your area of the country.

Click here for the detailed application to be a part of our breeding program.

Our parent dogs are privately owned family pets and live at our Guardian Homes (see description above). Pups are raised at our Guardian Homes or Surrogate Homes. Years ago when Crockett Doodles first started, we could have people into our homes to meet our parent dogs (who are pets first of all). As Crockett Doodles, and now Crockett Pups, has expanded through the years and as dealing with Covid became a reality for all of us, it is just no longer possible to accommodate the numerous daily requests for home visits although we wish we still could. Dr. Nathan Crockett is a full-time administrator and professor who travels nationally to speak and has five young children at home. Welcoming daily visitors to his private home has become impossible. It is a similar situation for our Partner Homes, who have families and other professional jobs as well. We certainly understand that not everyone is comfortable with this arrangement, and we have no problem encouraging families to seek out other full-time breeders who can accommodate visits to their kennels. Many “traditional” breeders have dozens of leftover puppies that they can show to you, so they’re thrilled to have you visit and buy a pup. We’ve been blessed to have more people wanting our pups than available supply. We can say that we’ve almost never had a family come to pick up their puppy and walk away without the pup. We’re so grateful for the encouragement we receive daily from our families that adopt our puppies (click here to read reviews).

Once you are matched to your new puppy, we will work with you to schedule a pick-up day and time around the time that your puppy is 8-12 weeks old. We assess each puppy individually and will let you know the best time for your puppy to make that transition to your home. We are glad to take some pictures of you and your new puppy meeting for the first time on your phone. On Adoption Day, the person transitioning your puppy will walk you through our Puppy Quick Start Guide which includes helpful information about vet visits, choosing a groomer, our Health Guarantee, and tips on feeding and crate training.

Your puppy’s Vaccination Record will be given to you with all the vaccinations and de-worming medications and dates of administration your puppy has received thus far. We encourage you to give this record to your vet at your puppy’s first appointment. You will be asked to sign our spay/neuter contract and will be given a receipt of purchase for your puppy. If you pick up in the state of SC, there will be a 6% sales tax. If you pick up in another state, or have your pup delivered to a state other than SC, you will not be charged sales tax.

Your puppy should have the ability to sleep through the night. Sometimes they have a bit of an adjustment once they separate from their siblings but it doesn’t take long for them to adjust to their crate.

We’ve found that typically puppies can “hold it” half the number of hours of their age; so an 8 week old puppy can hold it 4 hours, a 10 week old puppy can hold it 5 hours, etc. At night you can usually add a couple hours to that formula.  During the day, puppies seem to go through spurts where they have bursts of energy, and then they tucker out and sleep for a while. A young puppy is still a baby and needs quite a bit of sleep. Read the links here for more helpful information about Crate Training and House Training.

Our 2022 Priority Christmas List is closed.

If you are interested in adopting a puppy to bring home in December, you’re invited to keep an eye on our Available page on our website as we will likely have puppies available for immediate adoption during the month of December.

If you are not already on our regular waitlist and therefore do not have an account with us, but you would like to apply to adopt a puppy in December, you can fill out the application here to begin that process.

Ground and Flight Nanny delivery as well as Training options will be offered in the month of December and are subject to availability.

Due to our own families’ Christmas plans, we will be unable to arrange for holdovers past your puppy’s scheduled Adoption Day in the month of December. Many of our adoptive families in past years have just had a friend or family member “hide” their puppy until the time came for the big surprise moment.

It is still too early to know for certain all the breeds we will have available in December, but we know we are hopint to have some puppies available for Christmas adoptions. All are subject to availability.

If you are already on the 2022 Christmas Priority List and we do not end up having puppies available in December in your preferred size/breed(s) of preference as indicated in your account, your Christmas Priority Deposit will be refunded in full, or it can be applied to a puppy available after the month of December.

Christmas Priority List families are still eligible to receive puppy announcements before December. If you are on our Christmas Priority List and end up adopting a puppy before December, your $100 Christmas deposit will be credited towards the balance of your puppy.

If we have your breed of preference available to you in December, but you decide not to adopt a puppy in December, you will forfeit this $100 Christmas deposit in full.

Yes! We offer both Ground Delivery and Flight Nanny Delivery Services to our adoptive families. Here’s a link to our pricing and more information about our Ground Delivery and Flight Nanny services: Delivery Services.

Additional pups delivered to the same location will be $100 each for delivery. So if three family members (or neighbors) each had a Crockett Pups puppy delivered, you could save on delivery costs. 

If you want to pick up your puppy yourself, you are welcome to do this! Through the years, we have had families fly in from all over the US (and even Canada and Mexico) to pick up their new puppy from us in Greenville, SC, or one of our Partner Homes in another state.  Most airlines allow a passenger to carry their puppy (as long as it is under 15 pounds) on the plane with them in a soft carrier under their seat.  Be sure to check with your preferred airline for their guidelines before purchasing tickets. We find that the puppies travel very well.  For families who fly in to adopt their puppy, we’ve had many who have found better airline options into Charlotte, NC or Atlanta, GA than Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) and have requested their puppy be delivered to them at the Charlotte airport or Atlanta airport. Remember, too, that if the adoption takes place outside of SC, you won’t need to pay sales tax.

We completely understand any hesitancy to adopt a puppy “over the internet.” On a regular basis we are contacted by individuals who have been scammed into sending money for a puppy that never even existed. Crockett Doodles has an outstanding reputation (with the Better Business Bureau and others), and we also insist that you see your puppy before paying the adoption fees. Unlike many of our competitors, we always have the puppy and a Crockett Doodles team representative present with you at the time of adoption.

We recommend that you pick up your puppy from our Crockett Doodles partner home, but if you are unable to travel we can accommodate you by bringing the puppy to you. Our personalized ground delivery or flight nanny process is an in-person delivery of your puppy by the Crockett Doodles team. You will not give final payment for your puppy until you have seen our Crockett Doodles representative and most importantly have seen your puppy. We never “ship” puppies—putting a puppy on an airplane or flight for you to pick up later.

If you are unable to pick up a puppy from the partner home, we always have a team representative personally deliver your pup to you before you pay for the puppy. It is important to us that you have a face-to-face meeting with a Crockett Doodles representative and your puppy. We recognize that personal delivery is not the easiest way (it would be far easier for us to “ship” a puppy), but we think it is the right way. We want to see your joy when you meet the puppy you’re considering adopting.

At Crockett Doodles, we never have and never plan to “ship” puppies. We prefer for you to pick up your puppy at the Crockett Doodles partner home where your puppy lives. If you are unable to pick up at the partner home, we can arrange to have a Crockett Doodles team representative personally deliver your puppy to you (either a flight nanny or personalized driver).

We never want your puppy to be unaccompanied on a plane or vehicle. It is important to us that before you buy/adopt your puppy, you have met face-to-face with a Crockett Doodles team member and have also seen your puppy “in person.”

On Adoption Day, you will receive your puppy’s Vaccination Record that will have listed the two vaccinations your puppy has received as well as the dates of administration. Typically, our puppies receive Neopar and Nobivac Canine 1-DAPPv (Canine Distemper Virus, Adenovirus 2, Parainfluenza Virus, Parvovirus). Also noted on the Vaccination Record will be the de-worming medications your puppy has received to date.

This Vaccination Record is designed for you to give to your vet at your puppy’s first visit so that the next required vaccinations can be scheduled. Most vets recommend a 12-week and a 16-week vaccination as well as other vaccinations for your puppy’s continued health. Our vaccinations are administered by family vets or by our breeders and health coordinators who are trained in the proper storage and administration of puppy vaccinations. The only vaccination required by law to be administered by a vet is the rabies’ vaccination. Your vet will need to administer the rabies’ vaccination to your puppy at the appropriate age which is typically when your pup is around 14 weeks of age.

We are currently in the process of getting our parent dogs health tested. In general, we’re working with Partner Homes and Guardian Homes to test for Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRA-prcd), von Willebrand’s Disease Type I (vWD 1), Hair/Coat Curl, and Hair/Coat Furnishings (IC). The coat testing is not as much about genetic problems as it is trying to breed for wavy/curly doodles more than straight coated doodles.

For some of our doodle breeds, we are working to do the testing on specific issues that could be a problem for that particular breed. For instance in addition to the 6 genetic tests listed above, Labradoodles can be tested for Centronuclear Myopathy (CNM), Cystinuria, Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC), and Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis (HNPK); these four issues are occasionally found in Labrador Retrievers. (Cystinuria is also a good test for Newfiedoodles and Newfoundlands which can be prone to this issue).

We pay for all of the genetic testing for dogs in Partner Homes and Guardian Homes and do not use a dog to breed that has any genetic issue we are aware of. We’ve let people know through the years, that once all of our breeding dogs have been fully tested we will likely increase our prices, as it is expensive/time-consuming to get all of the testing done. Some veterinarians we’ve talked to are not fully aware of every type of test that should be done for a doodle. We strive to have doodles of excellent health, temperament, and appearance to match with wonderful forever homes.

For hip testing, we are in the process of testing all of our larger breeds (Newfiedoodles, Bernedoodles, Sheepadoodles, Saint Berdoodles, and Pyredoodles). We have had a few parent dogs that we have had to remove from our program because they did not have ideal hips. I respect the rare Doodle breeders who have all the testing done, even on their minis. I’m not aware of any breeder who does all of the DNA testing and hip-testing whose adoption prices are not considerably higher than ours.

At this time we don’t require hip testing for our guardian homes with mini puppies (though some have it) for several reasons:

1. Some of my guardian homes are uncomfortable sedating their smaller dog for the x-rays.
2. Hip Dysplasia is primarily a problem for large breed heavy framed dogs (70 pounds or more) or pitbull/bulldog type of dogs, Labs also can have issues.
3. For instance 61% of Bulldogs tested are dysplastic. Since many of my guardian homes have mini/medium-sized dogs, dysplasia is not as big of a concern
4. Also, Poodles are one of the least likely breeds to experience hip dysplasia (only 8.5% of those tested are dysplastic); 84 breeds rank ahead of them. Since we specialize in F1b pups, they are 75% Poodle, from separate genetic lines, and with the addition of hybrid vigor, we estimate that in our mini doodles, there would be about a 5-7% chance that one of our adult breeders may be dysplastic. We would easily recognize it in our females, as we don’t like to breed dogs until they are at least 2 years old. We did remove one female from our program before she was a year old, because she showed signs of dysplasia.
5. We believe it is for these reasons that if you look at the OFA’s website, you’ll find that although some breeds have had more than 100,000 dogs tested, there have only been 288 Labradoodles tested since 1974, and fewer than 100 Goldendoodles. We are one of the rare doodle breeders who likes to test, but we don’t require it for our minis.

We highly recommend TLC Puppy Food, and we think it is one of the best food on the market for most dogs. We switched our dogs to it a few years ago and we have seen a noticeable difference in their health. TLC is only available online and is not sold in stores, so you will probably want to place your order once you’re matched to your puppy. (Click on this link to receive a discount on your first order:  TLC Website

TLC is often made 3-5 days before it is shipped to your door for free, is only sold through top quality breeders, has an auto-ship feature so you’ll never run out, and is similar in price to brands such as Blue Wilderness. It is our favorite food by far, and we believe in its quality so strongly, that we extend our one-year Health Guarantee to three years for families who feed TLC the full three years. We certainly know there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all puppy/dog food, so we definitely encourage you to choose the best food for your pet.

Right now our main location is in Greenville, SC, area so most likely you will be picking up your puppy there. We have several other partner locations, but those locations do not yet have as many Partner Homes as we have in Greenville. Greenville, SC, is where Crockett Pups began and continues to be our central hub. Many adoptive families decide to use our Delivery Service and you can read about those services and see those prices at this link: Ground Delivery and Flight Nanny Services

We’ve had many puppies adopted by families who live outside of the contiguous United States. We’ve found nations have a wide range of health and age requirements for a live animal to be brought into their country so we encourage you to reach out to the Department of Agriculture in your country to find out their guidelines. Our puppies are adopted by their families when they are typically around 8-10 weeks of age and are up-to-date on their vaccinations at that time.

Most countries require that a puppy has received the rabies’ vaccination before allowing that puppy to enter the country. The rabies’ vaccination is usually administered when a puppy is around 12-16 weeks of age. Because of this, we ask our international families to work with a friend or family member in the United States to adopt their puppy for them, and then keep their puppy until the puppy is old enough to have finished all of their booster vaccinations and receive the rabies’ shot. The vet that administers the rabies’ vaccination can provide the necessary paperwork required by most countries. Your friend or family member can then work with you to arrange travel for your puppy to you in your country.

We encourage you to also reach out to your preferred airline for their pet travel requirements. Currently, we are not able to make these travel arrangements for you and cannot hold your puppy until he/she is old enough to receive the required vaccines. If you live internationally and would like to adopt a Crockett Doodle puppy, please reach out to us with the name of your friend or family member in the contiguous United States who will be adopting your puppy for you and we’ll be glad to work together to help you adopt a puppy.

Yes! Currently we reserve our phone calls for families who have demonstrated their commitment to buying a puppy from our family network by placing their refundable deposit (minus a 9% processing fee) when inquiring about an immediately available puppy on our Available Tab.

After a family places their deposit for an immediately available puppy, they will be given the option via text to ask for a phone call. If they choose that option, a Team Member will reach out to them within 24 hours. Serious inquiries only, please.

Most of the information you’ll need to decide which breed or coat type is right for you, the characteristics of each breed, helpful comparison charts, puppy pricing, ground delivery and flight nanny information and pricing, etc. is found on our website so please check out this valuable resource using the tabs at the top of the page: www.crockettdoodles.com

Contact team@crockettpups.com