Located in Colorado
April 3, 2007
I am writing in regards to Norma and Mark Blanchard as breeders of goldendoodles.
In the course of choosing a breeder, my family and I talked to over 10 breeders on the phone and personally visited five more. We settled on Norma and Mark because they so readily welcomed us into their home, showed us where the puppies were raised, and made sure to invite us back when the father dog was visiting. They were completely open in every aspect of their process, and I felt they were very honest and conscientious breeders. Furthermore, their adult dogs are well-behaved, happy, and obviously well-loved, and every detail of Mark and Norma's home, from puppy-cams to a dog swimming pool to cheerfully painted puppy nurseries, speaks to their care and concern for their dogs and puppies.
After the puppies were born, my husband, daughters and I were again welcomed into the Blanchard home to visit the puppies as often as we liked. We were diligent, and visited for several hours at least two times a week. During this time, I had many discussions with Norma and Mark that have only confirmed my first impressions of them.
Mark is very concerned about the welfare of the puppies, and even sleeps with them the first few nights after they are born, and clearly is delighted in their development in every way. He is always happy and welcoming to visitors and loves to have the puppies have a chance to socialize as much as possible. He constantly works to keep the puppies living area clean and you can see how much they like him as they follow him around the puppy play yard whenever he is there.
Norma is likewise attentive to the puppies, and is also always reading something new. Almost every time I saw her, she had an article or book to share with me. I also know that Norma has cut off relationships with breeders when she found they engaged in dishonest or non-humane practices. At least in one instance, her insistence on high standards created a hardship, as she lost opportunities to use a valuable stud dog because his master demonstrated unethical practices. However, for both Norma and Mark, the welfare of the puppies comes first.
Every week we visited, the puppies had new toys (like human infant play tables, slides, tunnels, and the like) to stimulate their development. They are raised by the family and, because visitors are welcome, the puppies are very well socialized. Mark and Norma also invited us to bring a crate for the puppies to sleep in, which we then took home with our puppy. As a result, she was already familiar with her crate.
In short, we have had nothing but a wonderful experience with Norma and Mark and already knew our puppy very well even before she came home. I would recommend the Blanchards unreservedly as breeders.
Sincerely,
Quentin McAndrew
