The passion for dog breeding was instilled in Elise Cox from an early age. On a 40 acre farm in Buckeye, her father bred Great Dane puppies and Arabian horses. She grew up helping mothers prepare for birth, training and showing dogs. Cox learned about the miracle of life from staying up nights ushering litters of puppies into the world.
With her father they shifted focus for a time. She began jet setting around the world focusing on breeding and showing Arabian horses. When she moved back to Arizona she decided to settle in Gilbert.
She discovered Goldendoodles back in 2017, when Zuzu entered her life.
“In the process of me falling in love with the Goldendoodle breed, realizing what an amazing family dog they are, especially the non shed aspect to them is incredible!” Cox said.
Cox knew she had a passion for teaching the values of raising animals responsibly to her children. When she married her husband 2 years ago Cox decided to go all in on the Doodles.
Her goal was to spread the love for this amazing family dog while teaching her five kids the same lessons about “the birds and the bees” that she learned growing up.
As the owner of Cox Family Goldendoodles, Elise strives to make the process of breeding her puppies as open as possible. This comes in handy because she currently has over 200 people on her doodle waiting list. No one seems to mind the wait.
Cox documents every moment of a litter. She uses her talent of photography and her social media skills to include her audience in the day to day of raising baby doodles. She goes as far as live streaming every puppy birth on her instagram @coxfamilydoodles. Even if sometimes that means streaming at 2 in the morning.
Cox says that after each new litter is born she is flooded with messages from the Goldendoodle community and people on her waitlist congratulating her on the new litter. Some people have told her watching her live streams and cheering on the momma doodle “makes their year”.
“ I told my husband, I am so lucky I get to do this,” Cox said. “It’s like I have this group of people that are kind of like my cheering squad, and they love my mommas just like I do.”
Cox believes in responsible breeding. She does all of the health testing for each new litter. She does DNA tests on every breeding dog to check for 170 genetic diseases. This is to ensure that every litter she plans will have a long happy life and thrive.
So far Cox has had a 100% success rate in matching her doodles with their perfect family. She is extremely proud of making sure each new doodle parent is getting the right personality to fit their homes needs.
“A lot of people ask, when they pick a puppy at eight weeks old how will they know if their temperament will match what their family is wanting,” Cox explained.
It is not an easy task being a puppy matchmaker. From day one of a new litter she makes note of how each puppy acts.
What is their energy level ? Are they hyper or lazy? Would they better suit a family that goes on lots of outdoor adventure or would they prefer to spend the day binge watching netflix on the couch with you?
“I think my background of growing up with different animals and being really observant to animal personalities really helps me to judge a puppies personality, even that young accurately.” She works to place every puppy in a home that is best suited for their needs.
Cox has an ultimate goal of creating a breed standard. As of now Goldendoodles are not recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) since they are a mixed breed. However Cox is focusing on breeding Multigen Goldendoodles. These are litters of pups that have parents for F3 or higher.
While she can’t be a AKC certified breeder Coxs notes that she is a certified GoodDog breeder. This sets the Cox Family Goldendoodles above other backyard breeders because she has been screened for quality and health standards.
To find out more info about the Cox Family Goldendoodles visit their website, coxfamilydoodles.com, and if you want more absolutely adorable doodle pictures follow @coxfamilydoodles on Instagram.
Side bar
F1 = Golden Retriever x Poodle
F1b = F1 Goldendoodle x Poodle
F2 = F1 Goldendoodle x F1 Goldendoodle
F3 = F1b Goldendoodle x F1b Goldendoodle
Multigen = Any Goldendoodle consisting of F3 or higher dogs.
