Pick of the Mini Australian Mountain Doodles - Daisy x Rico
Pick of the Mini Australian Mountain Doodles - Daisy x Rico
Pick of Litter
Two Pick of Litter positions are offered per litter. Stokeshire retains Breeder's Choice and selects first from every litter. Certain puppies may be reserved for our breeding program or offered with full breeding rights only.
The Pick of Litter fee reserves your selection position. It is a separate, non-refundable fee. It is not a deposit and does not apply toward the purchase price of your puppy.
Selection opens at 6 to 7 weeks of age, depending on the litter. Pick of Litter families are notified in position order and have 24 hours to make a selection. If no selection is made within that window, the position passes to the next family in order.
A separate deposit, an approved application, and payment in full are required before go-home.
Pick of the Litter is a position,
not a purchase.
Few puppies are born in a season, and each one is spoken for by someone. Pick of the Litter is how we honor the families who have waited longest and asked the most thoughtful questions.
It places you ahead of the standard waitlist when a litter is matched. Two positions are offered for most litters. It also opens the door to Stokeshire itself: POL families are welcome to come to Medford in person for their appointment and for pickup, by appointment and subject to our visitor and biosecurity policy.
Stokeshire matches first. We have kept it that way since the beginning, because a breeding program is built one dog at a time and a good one cannot be assembled after the fact. Certain puppies are held for our own program, and some are offered with full breeding rights only.
What a position
includes.
First in the match order
POL families are contacted before standard-waitlist families, in the order POL deposits were received. No family moves ahead of another for any reason, including additional payment.
In person at Stokeshire
POL families may hold their appointment and collect their puppy in Medford, Wisconsin rather than by video. Visits are by appointment and governed by our visitor and biosecurity policy.
Our full read of the litter
You receive our recommendation for your household and the reasoning behind it, drawn from the aptitude evaluation and weeks of daily observation. Where we would place a different puppy, we say so and explain why.
How the position
is used.
You reserve a position in a stated litter
A POL position is tied to a specific planned or announced litter, named at the time of purchase. Positions are limited, and order within them follows the date and time the POL fee was received.
We identify retained puppies before appointments begin
Stokeshire may retain any puppy from any litter, including for our breeding program or a guardian placement. Retentions are identified before Match Day so that every family is choosing from the same eligible group.
Matching opens at six to seven weeks
Temperament has settled enough by then to be read honestly. The Volhard-based aptitude evaluation is completed between day 49 and day 56, and the exact day is recorded for each puppy.
You are contacted in position order and have 24 hours
We present our recommendation and the eligible puppies. You have 24 hours to confirm. If we do not hear from you in that window, the position passes to the next family in order and is not restored.
Placement is confirmed at checkout
A puppy is not placed until checkout is complete. A separate deposit, an approved application, and payment in full are required before your puppy goes home. Details are on the Match Day page.
What Pick of the Litter
does not do.
- It does not reserve a specific puppy. No puppy is held, promised, or set aside by the purchase of a POL position.
- It does not transfer final placement to the buyer. We reserve the right to decline a requested puppy when temperament, energy, or household fit indicate a different match would serve both the family and the dog better.
- It does not override retention. Our right to retain a puppy supersedes a POL selection, and POL families select from the remaining eligible puppies.
- It is not a deposit and is not applied to the puppy’s price. The fee stands entirely apart from placement cost.
- It does not guarantee a particular coat, color, size, or sex. Litters vary. Where a strong preference cannot be met within a litter, we tell you before Match Day rather than after.
- It does not confer breeding rights. Breeding rights, where offered at all, are a separate agreement.
Terms at
a glance.
Character of the fee
Not transferable
Retained puppies
Placement authority
Confirmation window
If a litter does not occur
Payment authorization
Governing documents
Questions families ask
before reserving.
Order within the POL positions follows the date and time your fee was received and processed. We confirm your position in writing when the litter is announced. Application date, inquiry date, and length of communication with our team have no bearing on order.
It means you are matched ahead of the standard waitlist and hold first refusal among the eligible puppies. It does not mean unilateral selection. Stokeshire retains first, and we may decline a requested puppy where we believe a different match serves the family and the dog better.
In practice, most POL families receive the puppy they hoped for. Where we disagree, we explain our reasoning rather than simply declining.
No. It is separate from both your deposit and the placement price, and it is not credited against either. A deposit, an approved application, and payment in full are required before your puppy goes home. Current placement pricing is on our pricing page.
That is a legitimate outcome, and we would rather you wait than take home a dog that does not fit. Your placement deposit can remain on our active list for a future litter under its own terms.
The POL fee itself is earned at purchase and is not refunded in that circumstance, because the position was reserved and held. Whether a new position can be extended to a future litter is a conversation we are willing to have, in writing, case by case.
Yes. In-person appointments and pickup in Medford, Wisconsin are among the reasons families reserve a position. Visits are by appointment, confirmed in advance, and subject to our visitor and biosecurity policy. We do not offer drop-in visits or kennel tours.
Tell us early if you plan to travel. Match Day logistics are planned around a video-first format, and in-person appointments are built into the schedule ahead of time.
Breeding outcomes vary and cannot be guaranteed. A small litter narrows the range of choice rather than eliminating it, and POL families are still contacted first. If we believe a litter cannot realistically serve your stated preferences, we tell you before Match Day so you can decide whether to proceed or move your position to a comparable litter.
No, and we would rather say so than sell the opposite. Every puppy in a Stokeshire litter comes from the same pairing, the same early enrichment, and the same standard of care. What a position buys is choice within the litter, not a higher grade of dog.
Many families who have told us their Stokeshire dog is the finest they have owned were not first in line.
Sometimes, where positions remain unclaimed. We do not sell a position once matching has begun for that litter, and we do not move a family ahead of another who has already been contacted. Contact us for current availability before purchasing if you have a specific litter in mind.
No. Breeder’s Choice is a puppy we have identified as a candidate for our own program and, on occasion, release to an approved family or ethical breeder. It is offered by inquiry and priced separately. Pick of the Litter is a selection position within a litter and confers no breeding rights.
By then we have spent every day of a puppy’s life with them, and we have formed a view of who each one is becoming. A Pick of the Litter position means you hear that view first, and that you are choosing rather than receiving.
If a position is not available for the litter you are watching, write to us. There is usually a better answer than waiting quietly.
Stokhaus Media, LLC, doing business as Stokeshire Designer Doodles. Wisconsin DATCP License #514401-DS. This listing summarizes the Pick of the Litter Agreement and does not replace it. Questions about a position or a litter may be sent to hello@wisconsindesignerdoodles.com.
