How Our Waiting List for Cockapoo Puppies Works

During the Spring and Summer months and during certain Holidays we get really busy with families wanting to adopt our Cockapoo puppies so we generally develop a waiting list. People have paid attention to how fast our puppies are adopted and they have learned that the sooner they reserve in advance the better because that way they don't have to worry about not getting a puppy when they want one. As soon as I post online that we have a waiting list for puppies I get flooded with questions! People often want to know how long our list is, who the parents are, how many will I have, and what colors will the puppies be?? It's really hard to give specifics on exactly when a person on our waiting list will get a puppy because it all depends on what they want, how many puppies are born, and what color/sex combination they are. I'll have people call me wanting specific answers and I feel bad because I always have to tell them it depends on the litter and I have to wait until they arrive before I can go into specific details. I do not know how many puppies we will have or what color they will be until a litter is born. 

Here is how our waiting list works:
We have one waiting list for everyone. When a family gets on our waiting list to reserve a puppy in advance they place a Nonrefundable $300 deposit and I ask them to tell me if they are looking for a male or female or are open to either. If someone only wants a female I will only contact them about available females, if they only want a male, I will only contact them about available males, if they are open to either I will contact them about available males and females. Sometimes a family will get on the list but not want a puppy until a specific time of year so I will make a note of their preferences and wait to contact them until the timing is right.  Here is an example of a waiting list that I would have, I will explain how it all works as we go through it.


Family #1 wants a Female only and they don't want one until June
Family # 2 wants a Female starting in May
Family #3 wants a Male only, any time of year
Family #4 wants a Male, any time of year
Family #5 wants a Female, starting in May
Family #6 will take any sex as soon as possible
Family #7 will take a female as soon as possible
Family #8 wants a Male or Female as soon as possible
Family #9 wants a Male as soon as possible
Family #10 wants a Female any time of year


Okay, so the above is my pretend waiting list and lets say it's February 16th and I have a litter of puppies born with a total of 4 Females and one Male and they will be ready for home the beginning of April. Once I know what is born I go to my waiting list and see who is on it and what they are looking for. 

Family #1 is instantly skipped over because they don't want a puppy until June, Family #2 is skipped because they don't want a puppy until May, Family #3 is contacted first because I have one Male available, Family #4 is skipped because the male I had was taken by family #3, Family #5 is skipped because they don't want one until May, Family #6 is contacted second because they will take any gender as soon as possible, etc, and I keep moving on down the list until the puppies are all chosen or I'm out of families to contact. 

 

Once I figure out who is first to contact I send them an email with names of the parents, date that the puppies were born, date that the puppies will be ready for home, and pictures of the available puppies to choose from. I ask them to look the pictures over and let me know within 24 hours if they see a puppy they like. If they don't want any of the ones that are available I will move onto the next family in line.

 So now lets say that after contacting all of the people on my list that I have one Female available and no one on my list wants her, I will then post her for sale on the website for the public to view and adopt. The remaining people on my waiting list will be contacted when my next litter is born as long as the puppies match what they are looking for. From my example you can see that if you are more open minded about the gender and timing combination you can go from being lower on the list all the way up to the top because other people are very specific about what they want and you are not.


I hope this example makes it more clear as to why I cannot specifically tell you when I will have a puppy for you, it all depends on what you want and who is born, that is why I don't take deposits for a specific litter. I also hope that it makes the number of people on my waiting list less scary because your turn in line can change, again, all depending on what you want and what I get for puppies.


I have said this a million times but I will say it again, we do not know what color or sex combination we will get until the puppies are born! Our dogs have a ton of different colors in their bloodlines, we do this on purpose so that we can get a nice variety of colors, and each litter is a nice surprise! It's very common for us to have a couple of litters due around the same time so I do not announce parents until the babies are born and I contact you with pictures to choose from. I have had families in the past ask me which parents were due and when I told them they got their heart set on a specific litter that they did not get to choose from so I have decided just to keep quiet until the babies are here and available.

I do not accept deposits from people only wanting puppies with a certain eye color. When they first open their eyes (around 2.5-3 weeks old) they are a bluish grey color that eventually changes. 

I may also deny a deposit if someone is looking for a color that I don't have very often.

Please do contact us if you want to get on our waiting list and reserve a puppy in advance, we take nonrefundable deposits anytime and they are good for one year from the date that they are submitted, meaning that you have one year to actually pick out a puppy that you want.

 When a litter is born and it is your turn to pick I will email you pictures of the babies to look over and choose from, the names of the parents, and the dates that they are ready for home. You will have 24 hours from the time I email you to make your decision, if I don't hear back from you within that amount of time I will move onto the next family in line. If I do not hear back from you at all I will make one more attempt to contact you about available puppies and if I do not hear back from you a second time you will be removed from the waiting list and will forfeit your deposit. 

For health reasons I do not allow visits to pick out newborns in person so if you prefer to see a puppy in person before you adopt then the waiting list may not be the best option for you, please see our FAQ page for our policy on visits.

Deposits are non-refundable and good for one year from the date that they are submitted (for example March 6, 2020-March 6, 2021.) If you change your mind, get tired of waiting, or decide to go with someone else, etc. you forfeit your deposit. Once you pick out a puppy the deposit is applied to that specific puppy. We do not transfer deposits to another puppy if you later change your mind and want a different one, the deposit is an agreement that you are going to adopt a specific puppy and that I am not going to sell that specific puppy to anyone else.

One of the biggest things I ask of you when getting on the waiting list is to have patience and understand that you will have to wait for your turn to pick out a puppy. I've had people submit a deposit to get on the list and then email me three days later wondering when I will have a puppy for them. If  I have babies due in November and you submit a deposit in November that doesn't necessarily mean that you will get a puppy from that litter, it all depends on what color, sex, how many puppies are born, and how many people are ahead of you in line, so I never guarantee a date or month that I will have a puppy available for you. Patience is the key to being on a waiting list!

If you're interested in the Cockapoo Puppies that we have for sale please visit our website: https://www.cutecockapoos.com/puppies-for-sale