Well, you want to be very careful. Large states often have puppy mills so you do want to research your breeder.
By all means do not give in to puppies at the feed store... As tempting as it is, and as cute as they are...they are likely not going to be good, healthy dogs. I would bet my last dollar that they are puppy mill dogs. You don't want to support an operation like that, believe me.
I will send you a PM to help you learn how to find reputable breeders in your area...but you might want to read this:
http://labradoodle-dogs.net/ebooks/Find ... reeder.pdf If I have already given it to you...sorry!
But it does answer some of the questions in your post...