When families compare Goldendoodle or Cavapoo puppies in Texas, they may see very different prices and wonder what they are actually paying for. The difference often begins long before a puppy is born.
Safari Doodles has bred Doodles since 2009, but our experience with purebred dogs goes back more than 40 years. We have bred, trained, handled, and shown dogs in AKC dog sports for decades. Safari Doodles is located in North Texas, approximately one hour north of Dallas.
The Parents Matter More Than the Puppy Photo
A Doodle is only as good as the dogs behind it.
When a Golden Retriever or Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is bred to a Poodle, those dogs bring generations of health, temperament, structure, and inherited traits into the litter. That is why Safari Doodles has always placed so much emphasis on the quality of the purebred dogs behind our Doodles.
We have longstanding relationships with experienced breeders, handlers, and trainers who have spent decades developing their own lines. Those relationships have allowed us to work with carefully selected dogs rather than simply using whichever Golden Retriever or Poodle is available.
Our Golden Retriever History Goes Back Decades
Safari Doodles has bred and shown Golden Retrievers for 40 years. Our Golden families include hunting lines and European heritage lines, with dogs that have competed in hunting sports and pedigrees containing successful conformation dogs.
But titles alone are not what we focus on. We look at health, temperament, structure, longevity, genetic diversity, and what different families have produced over time. When a Golden Retriever becomes part of one of our Goldendoodle pedigrees, we want to know much more than simply that it is a Golden Retriever. We want to know the family behind it and understand the health, temperament, structure, and genetics that family has produced over generations. In addition, our Goldens and their lines are diligently tested to OFA CHIC standards and our dogs often have an Echocardiogram as well. One of our best Golden Retriever studs was Romeo, check out his page.
Learn more about the parent dogs, health testing, sizes, and breeding practices behind our Safari Doodles Mini and Medium Goldendoodle breeding program in Texas.
Our Poodle Families Have Been With Us for Generations
The Poodle side deserves the same attention.
Safari Doodles has worked closely with experienced Poodle breeders and mentors who have devoted their lives to the breed. We have focused on Poodles with sound structure, good health, and family friendly temperaments.
Since starting our Doodle program in 2009, some of these Poodle families have remained with us for multiple generations. One of our current lines can be followed through Ruben, Levi, Judah and Scrappy, giving us four generations of first hand knowledge about that family.
That means we have been able to observe temperament, size, coat, health, structure, and what those dogs tend to produce when crossed into our Doodle lines. A DNA test cannot replace that kind of long term family knowledge.
Our Cavaliers Receive Extensive Health Screening
Cavaliers are wonderful companion dogs, but the breed also has important inherited health concerns that responsible breeders need to take seriously. Our Cavaliers are tested to the OFA CHIC breed-specific health-screening requirements. The OFA CHIC program establishes breed-specific testing protocols so breeders and puppy families can see important health information publicly reported.
Learn more about the OFA CHIC program
We also go beyond basic screening by having echocardiograms performed on our Cavaliers.
An echocardiogram allows much more detailed evaluation of the heart than simply listening for a murmur with a stethoscope. OFA's Advanced Cardiac program likewise requires echocardiography because it can provide additional information about heart structure and function.
Learn more about OFA cardiac testing and echocardiograms
For a breed in which heart health is such an important consideration, we believe that additional information is valuable when making breeding decisions. Marcel, dad to our Cavapoos, is a great example of diligent OFA testing.
Learn more about the parent dogs, health testing, sizes, and breeding practices behind our Safari Doodles Cavapoo breeding program in Texas.
Health Testing Is Only Part of the Picture
We believe responsible breeding should include appropriate physical health screening and DNA testing. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals provides independent records for many important health evaluations. DNA testing can help identify inherited disease variants, while physical testing tells us more about the actual health of the individual dog. But even excellent test results are only part of the story. Family history matters too. Information about parents, grandparents, siblings, and previous offspring can sometimes tell us things that a single health test cannot.
Genetic Diversity Matters
We also consider how genetically related dogs are. Higher levels of homozygosity and inbreeding can increase the chance that harmful recessive variants already present in a population will meet in the same puppy. Research involving 227 dog breeds found an association between greater genomic inbreeding and increased veterinary morbidity. Read the study on inbreeding and canine health
That is why we think beyond the question, “Are these two dogs healthy?”
We also ask, “Why are these two particular dogs the right match for each other?”
Experience Changes How You Breed
It is possible to buy two nice dogs, perform health testing, and produce puppies. Building a breeding program is different. After decades with dogs and breeding Doodles since 2009, we have watched puppies become adults, followed multiple generations, received years of feedback from families, and learned which traits consistently appear within certain lines. That information affects the pairings we make today. Breeding is not simply putting two good dogs together. It is understanding how the strengths and weaknesses of one dog may complement those of another.
Danise Helps Families Find the Right Puppy
For many families, Danise is the face of Safari Doodles. She spends extensive time with the puppies and gets to know their individual temperaments. Even puppies from the same litter can differ greatly. One may be more confident and outgoing, another softer and more sensitive. Some are highly people-focused, while others are more independent. Activity level, sociability, recovery from new experiences, and ability to settle can all vary.
Danise combines what she sees in the individual puppy with what Safari knows about the temperament traits behind both sides of the family. Her goal is not simply to help someone buy a puppy. She wants each family to get the right puppy. Sometimes the puppy someone first loves in a photograph may not actually be the best match for that person's home or lifestyle.
That is why temperament matching is such an important part of what Safari does.
Why Repeat Families Matter
Safari Doodles has been producing Doodles since 2009, and many families have returned years later for a second or even third Safari puppy. Some specifically ask for another puppy related to the dog they already own. That means a great deal to us. These families are not choosing Safari based only on an eight-week-old puppy photo. They have already lived with one of our dogs for years. they know the temperament, personality, and quality of the dog they brought home.
Then they choose Safari again.
A long-standing reputation is built by the dogs families live with, not by marketing alone.
Does a Higher Price Automatically Mean a Better Goldendoodle?
No.
A higher price does not automatically mean a puppy has been responsibly bred, and a lower price does not automatically mean a puppy will have problems.
Price by itself is not a good measure of breeder quality. Instead, look at what exists behind the puppy. Ask about the parents, grandparents, health testing, DNA results, family history, breeder experience, temperament, and why the specific pairing was chosen. Those answers tell you far more than the price tag alone.
What Are You Actually Paying For?
When you purchase a puppy from an established breeding program, you are not simply paying for the eight weeks it took to raise that litter. You are also benefiting from the work that happened before the puppy was born.
At Safari Doodles, that includes decades of dog experience, Doodle breeding since 2009, longstanding purebred families, OFA health testing, DNA testing, pedigree knowledge, genetic-diversity decisions, temperament evaluation, and years of information gathered from previous generations. Much of that work happened before the current puppy's parents were even born.
The Bottom Line
When comparing Goldendoodle or Cavapoo puppies in Texas, do not compare only the puppy or the price.
Compare the breeding program behind the puppy.
Ask how long the breeder has worked with the family lines. Ask what is known about previous generations. Ask about health, temperament, genetics, and why the parents were chosen for each other. And ask whether the breeder is trying to sell you a puppy or help you find the right puppy. Safari Doodles has been building and learning from its dog families for decades and has been breeding Doodles since 2009. For us, the value of that experience is not simply how long we have been breeding.
It is what we have learned from the generations of dogs and families that came before the puppy you are considering today.
Families ready to take the next step can see current Safari Doodles Cavapoo and Goldendoodle puppies in Texas and learn more about upcoming litters.
Learn More
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