I do love my goldendoodle

BUT

sometimes he is insane
his grooming costs a fortune
he eats things he should not - and that causes a whole other world of trouble

Anonymous wrote:A poodle IS NOT a terrier.
It is a hunting dog that acts as both a field and water retriever. They are a gun dog/retriever.
NOT a terrier. Also, the myth that the standard poodle is high strug is obnoxious. Standards are absolutely calmer and more obedient than any lab and many of the goldens i have ever met.
No breeder who intentionally mixes breeds can be regarded as ethical, responsible or reputable.

Thanks for the update. 7 years was a long time to wait.

A poodle IS NOT a terrier.
It is a hunting dog that acts as both a field and water retriever. They are a gun dog/retriever.
NOT a terrier. Also, the myth that the standard poodle is high strug is obnoxious. Standards are absolutely calmer and more obedient than any lab and many of the goldens i have ever met.
No breeder who intentionally mixes breeds can be regarded as ethical, responsible or reputable.

Anonymous wrote:LOVE ours. Only complaint is that she is so good that I find her boring. I used to find the crazy sneaky dog/puppy stuff funny with our other dogs. This one is so obedient and compliant that there is no challenge.

I wrote this. Her mother was a champion gun dog (golden) and the father was a white poodle family pet. I guess that the mother had to be very obedient to make a good gun dog, so that is why ours is. Almost annoyingly obedient. Shave her in spring and mid to late summer.

Anonymous wrote:
So you could get a large docile non shedding smart dog who needs an expensive grooming every month.
Or you could get a large, high strung, crafty hunting dog who needs lots of exercise and loves to swim in the mud. And still needs an expensive hair cut. My neighbor has this one -- a pure nightmare.

That's what we got. Our Doodle is a VERY sweet, friendly, manic beast. She LOVES everyone and everything but is wearing us out. Our four year old is begging for a hamster. And she requires a lot of exercise, gets terribly muddy and needs a $35 bath. And then I need to wash my car.
Seriously, we go to the dog park for an hour, all the other dogs look fine but my dog is absolutely caked in mud.

So, in response to your question: if you want a Doodle, try to get a fully grown one. It's the only way to be sure of their personalities. Although I doubt anyone is selling a mellow Doodle!

Our joke is that we got a Poodle who sheds like a Retriever.

Anonymous wrote:

She is extremely smart, but so smart that she is not always the most obedient even when she knows what we are asking of her.

PP: This is what I meant about manipulative -- they are very smart. This one sounds sweet, though.

Smart, yes. Manipulative, yes but not necessarily with bad intentions. She turns things into games that aren't meant to be, for example we have never been able to stop/prevent glove and sock stealing because she gets a response from us. I am sure that had we done more formal training (maybe years of it) she would know her place in the world a little better. I think we have just accepted though that she is a very smart dog - not food motivated at all, only play motivated which is pretty unusual. Overall we wouldn't trade her for the world despite our challenges, we think she is the happiest dog ever and the happiness she brings to our lives is immeasurable.

Our goldendoodle has been a pleasure. He is smart, good natured around children and adults, likes other dogs, and was fairly easy to train. He is devoted to people and is definitely a people pleasure (a trait of most Goldens) He also doesn't shed, which is nice. My only complaints are that his coat needs regular grooming every couple of months and he likes to take long walks. Actually, the last item isn't really a problem, it's just that during the week we give him shorter walks because we're busier. On the weekend I try to get in a couple of longer walks. Then he's super happy.

Golden Doodles are the same as any dog in terms of behavior and temperament in that they can vary greatly. As for their coats, there are a variety of variations and some require more maintenance. Unlike other breeds, there are a number of variations based on whether a dam or sire was a doodle, poodle, or golden. As for their being a half-breed, all purebreed dogs started out as half-breeds and through careful breeding and records they gained the status of purebreed. At present, Doodles are the tenth most popular breed in Los Angeles County and, with a dedicated group of breeders, they could develop enough of a standard to be listed by the AKA for all three sizes. In the meantime, judging a "breed" of dogs by the behavior of a few is simplistic. I would say that in general they need attention to their coat. They are smart and make excellent therapy dogs when they mature.

New poster. They are so cute!

i had a large high drive and high energy labrador. She instinctively knew not to knock over toddlers and little kids. It was an awareness of her body.

Out of all the people I know with labs none had breeders that would release dogs without a spay/neuter unless they were going in the show ring.

So i can't figure out where the labs come from for goldendoodles unless it's bootleg preggers from show dogs.

Anonymous wrote:I have one that's about a year old and am very sad to say that we are thinking of giving him up. He is (and the breed, in general) can be very hyper, jumpy and rambunctious. With 3 young kids in the house, it is just not working. Every time they jump or dance or get excited, the dog goes crazy. Same thing whenever anyone comes to the door, or whenever there are extra kids in the house. We have had half a dozen private sessions with a trainer, enrolled him in 2 obedience classes. He does fine in the training sessions and classes. He can sit, stay, heel, etc. The problem is that he is huge and he jumps all over children and adults and has the ability to really scare and injure people. FWIW, we asked the breeder to please give us one of the calmest dogs in the litter, and she claimed she did. HA! I have yet to meet a calm doodle...

Isn't this the case with any puppy under a year old? Wouldn't any young dog get excited and riled up when a bunch of kids are jumping around? I'm just saying, this is not a goldendoodle thing, it's a puppy thing!

She is extremely smart, but so smart that she is not always the most obedient even when she knows what we are asking of her.

PP: This is what I meant about manipulative -- they are very smart. This one sounds sweet, though.

I love mine, but she is extremely high maintenance which we have adapted to and almost find it to be endearing but time consuming. She is spirited and energetic, exuberant about living life every day. At 4, she still NEEDS 2 solid hours of exercise a day. I know that I ended up with one of the "difficult" doodles but she has so many great qualities that we adjust to her quirks. She loves all people, is great with children and other dogs. She is extremely smart, but so smart that she is not always the most obedient even when she knows what we are asking of her. I would only recommend them to someone who is willing to spend lots of time on training and truly has the flexibility to give them hours of time and attention a day.

Anonymous wrote:As a breeder I can say this: When you breed an animal, you always want the best aspects to come forth in the off spring. So the golden doodle is supposed to have the calm nature of the Lab, with the non-shedding of the poodle. The poodle is a terrier (a kind of hunting dog known for having opinions) which means generally a very intelligent, high strung, and can be manipulative and crafty in getting their way. And barky.
A lab (also a hunting dog) is a large, exercise needing, can be high energy, very strong dog that delights in jumping in ice cold water to retrieve ducks. As a pet, it is known for its docility after the puppy years are over.
So you could get a large docile non shedding smart dog who needs an expensive grooming every month.
Or you could get a large, high strung, crafty hunting dog who needs lots of exercise and loves to swim in the mud. And still needs an expensive hair cut. My neighbor has this one -- a pure nightmare.

This is a good description of our goldendoodle, expensive grooming and all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG, he is the best! I recommend goldendoodles highly. Here's the breeder we used, whom I also recommend:

http://laurelridgegoldendoodles.com/

Look at their website. Basically a puppy mill

Not sure why you think it's a puppy mill. The breeder is also a veterinarian, the dogs are well cared for and socialized with the family's many children. I've know several people with dogs from there and none have had any complaints.

Multiple litters available at any one time, several breeds of dogs for sale......They do not compete in any venue with their dogs. Sure, they can't do conformation, but there is agility, obedience, rally, tracking, flyball.....