I’ve decided to do some changes with puppy matching and how the waiting list works. We have to adapt with the times. Recently puppy matching hasn’t been as smooth and efficient as it used to be.
In past years, people on the waiting list might have to wait for several litters to be born before they finally got matched with a puppy. There were that many people on the list ready for a puppy!
Several people currently on the list are those that got a puppy and asked to be put back on because “we’re going to want another one eventually”. So the list isn’t always real active. Recently an email was sent out to all those on the list to make sure they still wanted to be on or let us know otherwise. So the list has been cleaned up and is much shorter.
In the past year of so when we’ve had a litter, I might have three people from our Cavapoo waiting list reach out and get matched with puppies (let’s say for a litter of five). Then the last two puppies were matched with brand new people who found us or were referred by friend and weren’t on our waiting list!
So we will continue to have the waiting list, and those on the list do have an advantage. I will announce each new litter after birth with all the pertinent information; colors, genders, day of puppy matching and going home date like I alway have. Those on the main Cavapoo waiting list that are interested can reach out via email to let me know they are interested. Those names will be put on the litter list for matching in numerical order as they are on the main Cavapoo waiting list. (For example Susie filled out the application, paid the application fee and got on the Cavapoo waiting list in Dec 2024. Bob did the same thing but got on the list in February 2025. Both reach out about the new litter. Susie will get to pick a puppy before Bob because she’s been on our Cavapoo waiting list longer.)
But here’s the new change. Those on the Cavapoo waiting list have until the puppies are three weeks old to let me know they are interested in the litter. At three weeks of age, I will open puppies up as “available” (to the public) and take names from anyone who is interested. At that point, it’s first come, first serve.
Here’s an example. Let’s say we have a litter of four Cavapoo from Coco Puff. Susie and Bob from the waiting list reach out within those first three weeks of the puppies’ life. So we start the Coco Puff’s litter list for puppy matching day.
- Susie
- Bob
The puppies turn three weeks old and Susie and Bob are the only ones interested in the litter from my waiting list. So I share on the blog and our other social media spots that we have two available Cavapoos that we’ll be matching in a few weeks.
Mario emails me that he’s interested in getting a puppy. He fills out the application and mails the application fee (which is part of the puppy’s price). The next day Zelda is referred to us by a previous puppy adopter. She’s super interested and immediately fills out the application also and sends the fee.
So now the matching list will look like this…
- Susie
- Bob
- Mario
- Zelda
And hopefully everyone is matched with the puppy they wanted and matching went smoothly!
Basically things are the same, except instead of waiting to match puppies at five weeks, then sharing with the public that we have available, unmatched puppies, we’re sharing available puppies at three weeks. (We’re still waiting til five weeks to match as usual). Please if that didn’t make sense or you have questions let me know! Thanks for your interest.
And by the way, Shiloh’s pups are now three weeks old and only two people from the waiting list have reached out! So if anyone is not on our list and interested, now’s your chance to get on the litter list for a puppy.
FYI; I am keeping a girl from this litter (possibly two, but likely only one). 😉
❤️