I'd say as long as you are honest about your time frame, 2013-2014 is totally reasonable!
I started contacting/talking to future pups breeder in december and will be getting said puppy hopefully around october so yea lol nearly a year!
I was in the same kind of spot as you. I wanted to talk to the breeder and really get to know them, the dogs, their breeding philosophies, meet the dogs etc.. BEFORE litters/puppies were planned.
I also wanted them to really get to know me and what I'm looking for in a dog/puppy (more-so than a questionnaire could really tell them)
The way I saw it. I'd rather find a breeder that I LOVE and wait around for the right litter/puppy.. then wait til I'm ready for a puppy and have to run around doing questionnaires, looking at breeder websites til my eyes bleed, and feel pressured by litters on the ground already/waiting lists.
The breeder I found was happy to talk with me, email, invite me to meet the dogs and really just talk for all this time. She keeps me updated on the on-goings and I'm really happy with the whole situation
That said, when I had narrowed my potential breeder list down to 5... I emailed/questionnaired them all and got I think two "please email when you are closer to being ready for a puppy" kind of emails and that's fine, but it wasn't what I was looking for in a breeder..
So keep in mind that some breeders DON'T really go with the whole "long term relationship" lol kind of thing with people.. and try to decide how important it is to you.
I'd say 1-2 years is a totally acceptable timeframe. More-so even as long as you are honest about your time frame and what you want to talk to them about (breed info, their dogs, breeding philosophies, visit, etc..)
I don't expect them to keep an IM chat convo with me at all times or answer my phone calls lol They are busy (with other people, raising dogs, showing, puppies, other potential homes for puppies) obviously.. but I do appreciate emails back/forth, even if replying takes them a while.
Personally, a breeder without a very open communication policy was a no-go for me. So part of contacting so early was kind of just weeding out what I didn't want lol I wanted someone who was happy to talk dog and really wanted to get to know me and happy to answer my questions.. regardless of me not being able to put money down on the litter on the ground now, or the next one.
Their answers are also a great way to get a FEEL of a breeder. Some breeders have the BEST websites and BEST reputations but you just..don't mesh.. and that was important to me. I spoke to a few who I just.. didn't like lol some have policies you aren't aware of until you speak to them etc..
So might as well inquire now and find out, instead of pinning all your hopes on them, waiting all that time and then finding out they aren't what you expected them to be.