If I had a dollar for every time a family asked me what a Labradoodle costs, I could probably fund a whole litter of vet checks. It is the first question most people have, and honestly, it should be. Bringing a puppy home is a real commitment, and the price tag is part of deciding whether the timing is right for your family. So let me just answer it plainly, the way I would if you called me on the phone.
The short answer: our puppies are $3,000
An Australian Labradoodle puppy from Agape is $3,000. A $500 deposit holds your puppy, and that deposit counts toward the total, not on top of it. You can read about how the whole process works on our adoption process page, where the pricing has been published for years. We do not believe in making families dig for it.
For a little context, many Labradoodle breeders here in Colorado are pricing their puppies at $3,500. Some go higher than that. I am not going to tell you those breeders are wrong. Raising puppies well is expensive, and I know exactly where that money goes. But Sonny and I have kept our price at $3,000 because we would rather see our puppies in loving homes than squeeze every dollar out of the families who want them.
We also offer a 10% discount to people who serve
Veterans, first responders, and teachers receive 10% off their puppy. So do families who have adopted from us before and are coming back for a second Agape dog, which happens more often than you might think. That brings the price to $2,700, and it is our way of saying thank you to people who spend their lives taking care of the rest of us.
If that is you, just mention it when you fill out our puppy application and we will take care of the rest.
Why do Labradoodle prices vary so much?
Search around Colorado and you will find doodles anywhere from a few hundred dollars to well past four thousand. That range confuses people, and I understand why. Here is what is usually behind it.
On the low end, a bargain price almost always means something was skipped. Usually it is health testing, which is the single most expensive part of breeding done right. Sometimes it is socialization, and the puppy has spent its first eight weeks in a barn or a kennel run instead of a living room. A cheap puppy can become a very expensive dog once the vet bills start.
On the high end, you are sometimes paying for genuine quality, and sometimes you are paying for marketing. The only way to know the difference is to ask what is actually behind the price. Which brings me to what is behind ours.
What your $3,000 actually pays for
Our parent dogs are health tested before they are ever bred. That means OFA and PennHIP evaluations for hips, along with the eye and genetic testing our breed deserves. You can read exactly what we test for on our health standards page. Testing like this costs real money per dog, and it is the reason I can look a family in the eye when I hand them a puppy.
Our puppies are raised in our home, not in kennels. They hear the dishwasher, the doorbell, and the grandkids. By the time they leave us they have been loved on every single day of their lives, and it shows in how they settle into yours.
We are members of the Australian Labradoodle Association of America, and our program has earned the ALAA Gold and Silver Paw awards for health testing that goes beyond the minimum requirements.
And when you pick up your puppy, you do not leave with just a puppy. Every family goes home with our go-home bag, which includes NuVet supplements to support your puppy through the transition, a heartbeat sleep buddy that has rescued many a first night (ask any of our families about that little miracle), and access to the Baxter and Bella online puppy training program we partner with. You also receive our written health guarantee, so the promises we make are ones you can hold in your hand.
How the deposit works
Once your application is approved and you have chosen your puppy, a $500 deposit reserves them as yours. The deposit is applied to the $3,000 price. From there we stay in touch with photos and updates until go-home day, and we are famous for being only a phone call away long after that. Many of our families text me puppy pictures for years, and I love every one of them.
If you want to see who is expecting or which puppies are available right now, our available puppies page is always current. You can also meet our girls and our boys, the moms and dads behind every litter.
Are there other costs to plan for?
I always tell families to budget past the purchase price, because the first year with any puppy has its own expenses. Food, a crate, vet visits, grooming (and doodles do need grooming), toys, and training all add up. None of it is unusual or unmanageable, but a family that plans for it enjoys their first year so much more than one caught off guard.
If you want a head start on the training piece, our Super Puppy Program is worth reading about. It is one of the things families tell us made the biggest difference in those early months.
A word about “cheap” and “expensive”
After more than a decade of breeding these wonderful dogs, here is what I have learned. The price of the puppy is the smallest number in the life of the dog. A Labradoodle will be part of your family for twelve to fifteen years. Divided over that lifetime, the difference between a well-bred $3,000 puppy and a $1,200 mystery is pennies a day, and those pennies buy you sound hips, a stable temperament, and a breeder who answers the phone.
Every Google review we have is five stars, and not one of those reviews talks about price. They talk about the dogs. That tells you where the value really lives.
Ready to start?
If a Labradoodle sounds right for your family, the first step is our puppy application. There is no cost or obligation to apply, and it helps us learn about your family so we can match you with the right puppy rather than just the next puppy. If you have questions first, call or text us at (303) 868-1083. I answer my own phone, and I never get tired of talking about our dogs.
With love from our home to yours,
Linda
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