Step 06

The wait is finally over! It is time for you to meet your puppy and bring it home. We can’t wait to meet you in person and share your excitement!

When you receive your congratulatory email letting you know that you’ve been matched with the Crockett Doodles puppy you’ve been waiting for, you will also receive details of when and where to pick up your puppy.

Our puppies are usually ready to be picked up by their new families between 8-12 weeks of age. Each puppy is assessed individually. We like to give our smallest puppies a chance to gain a few more pounds and develop more strength before leaving their home.

In your email, you will be the given the address and contact information of the Guardian Home where you will pick up your new puppy. For many years, all puppies were born in and picked up at Nathan Crockett’s personal home. The demand for his excellent puppies continued to grow and he approached family members and trusted friends to join him in raising in their homes beautiful dogs to parent Crockett Doodles puppies. Puppies born into these Guardian Homes were typically brought to Nathan’s home before Adoption Day because Nathan wanted to meet each adoptive family personally.

As the years passed, Nathan’s own family grew and his traveling responsibilities for the university increased. It simply became impossible for Nathan to meet every single family. He decided to enlist help for Adoption Day. Nathan carefully selected outstanding Partner Homes to be thoroughly trained to act as puppy pick-up locations for Adoption Day.  These hand-picked Partner Homes have been individually coached to meet and educate adoptive families and they thoroughly enjoy giving our Crockett Doodles families an exceptional and memorable experience when they pick up their new puppy. Our pick-up location Partner Homes network together through our Scheduling Coordinator, so when one family is out of town on vacation during an Adoption Day weekend, another trained Partner Home is available to welcome adoptive Crockett Doodles families as they meet their new puppy. 

You will be directed to one of these specially trained Partner Homes where your puppy will be picked up. We typically likes to schedule new puppy parents to pick up their puppies on the weekend: Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. We also schedule puppies in the same litter to be adopted the same weekend as each other. We’ve found that as they all adjust to being separated from their puppy family, it’s healthy for them to all bond with their forever homes at the same time.

This video takes you inside one of our Guardian/Partner Homes who recently raised a litter of puppies.

We want our puppies to travel with people that love them. That means you will need to come to us to pick up your puppy or arrange for one of our Puppy Couriers or Flight Nannies to deliver your puppy. For puppies being picked up in Greenville, SC, it may be helpful to know that many families have found it less expensive to schedule their flights into Charlotte, NC, or Atlanta, GA, and then rent a car to drive to Greenville. Our Puppy Couriers are staff members or trusted friends of Crockett Doodles. We’ve had families fly into Charlotte or Atlanta who have then hired our Puppy Couriers to deliver their puppy directly to them at the airport.

Our Delivery Coordinators can schedule a Puppy Delivery for you once you’re matched to your puppy if you would like to take advantage of one of our Delivery Services. We have a excellent ground delivery service available for a flat rate by delivery region for our larger pups to anywhere in the contiguous U.S. and for our tiny pups within 400 miles of the puppy’s pick-up location. It is not in the best interest of our tiniest puppies (puppies that weigh 5 pounds or less at their last vet check) to make the longer trips by ground delivery. You can either choose to pick up your tiny puppy yourself, or you can hire our Tiny Pups Flight Nanny to bring your puppy to you via passenger cabin of a plane for a flat rate. You can check out our Flight Nanny prices here: Flight Nanny Delivery Pricing

Please note that if you decide to utilize our delivery service, our delivery process of selecting an available Puppy Courier or Flight Nanny and making the cross-country delivery may take 1-10 days from the scheduled Adoption Day for your puppy depending on your location.

If you choose to pick up your puppy and will need to make airline and/or hotel arrangements, please be sure to also purchase travel insurance. Your puppy’s pick up date is subject to your pup passing his/her final vet check. Although it’s extremely rare, sometimes your Adoption Day may need to be adjusted to the vet’s recommendations. We will notify you ASAP if your Adoption Day changes so you can update your flight/hotel arrangements. We’re not able to reimburse you for those costs, so we strongly recommend you purchase travel insurance for your protection.

Our Partner Homes love meeting you! They want to have the opportunity to get to know the people who are taking our precious puppies home with them. To give each adoptive family an unrushed, relaxed experience to meet their new puppy, we schedule puppy adoption times on the hour (for example, 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.). Our Scheduling Coordinator will work with you to schedule the best day and time for your appointment to pick up your puppy.

When you arrive to pick up your puppy at your scheduled appointment, you will be presented with your puppy’s vaccination records, valuable information about feeding and training, and other helpful material. And of course you will get to meet your new puppy! Our Guardian Homes are more than willing to answer any questions you may have. We want you to be equipped to have the best experience possible.

We’re glad to take pictures of you meeting your puppy for the first time so you can keep the memories forever. You will also receive a small gift bag filled with some treats and gifts for your puppy. A small plastic bag of the TLC dog food your puppy has been eating will be provided if needed.

Because each of our puppies are raised in a family environment, they should already be familiar with many sounds and experiences. We know some of you will be driving long distances or even flying with your puppy to your home. We have found our puppies to usually be good travelers by car or by plane! Some families traveling by car prefer to wrap their puppies in a towel, carrying their puppy in their laps all the way home while others feel more comfortable using a small travel carrier in the car. Those of you flying will need to use a small carrier. Just check with your airline for specific travel requirements. If you are traveling a long distance, it’s a good idea to have a small bowl and a water bottle along to give your puppy the opportunity to get a drink when you stop for potty breaks. It’s not uncommon for puppies to eat lightly the first couple of days in a new environment until they feel settled and comfortable with their new surroundings. They can feel uncertain just like people can!

For more specific traveling tips, check out our traveling guide. Inside you’ll find a checklist of things to keep in mind as you plan your trip with your new puppy (whether you’re flying, driving, or receiving a delivery).

While you’re waiting for your Puppy Adoption Day to arrive, feel free to read through some of our resources, particularly how to socialize your puppy. We are constantly updating our website with new information, so don’t hesitate to check back in with us every once in a while.

You’ll enjoy following our Facebook page for cute pictures and stories from our extended Crockett Doodles family! If you have any questions or want to keep us updated on your puppy, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We love hearing from our Crockett Doodles families and seeing pictures of our growing puppies!