While the puppy mills and commercial breeders almost always have puppies available and will let you take your pick, the people you really want to buy from, hobby breeders are breeding for themselves. While they are always looking for great homes for their dogs, they sometimes cannot let you know until the puppies are about 8 weeks old who is available. And the good breeders often have waiting lists. My comment to people who are puppy shopping is that if you can walk in and get a puppy, be alarmed.
The AKC has a breeder list on its website but you should be advised that there are no criteria for quality used by AKC or most other websites. It's "pay your money and send your information". The Golden Retriever Club of America (grca.org) also has a site and each Club monitors who is allowed to list litters. So the standards may vary but there are standards. It's a good place to start.
We should look at the people who breed Goldendoodles with amazement. Who else would think to create a demand and charge a premium for what is a mutt? For more information
