Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you want low shedding, and a mild temperament, I suggest a golden doodle or a Bernedoodles. The poodle half is low shed, and the golden and Bernese mountain dog halves have gentle temperament.
Veering rather a bit off topic, a dog breeding lesson ( or horse breeding, or cattle breeding, or pig breeding, or the production of human children). You do not get to pick and choose what genes you get from a cross.
You might plan to get a non shed coat from the poodle, and the mellow from a golden. But instead you might get the heavy shed of long hair and generous undercoat of the golden and the fussiness of the poodle. People who breed doodles are not obtaining high quality breeding stock. Serious fanciers will not sell to them. So your doodle might inherit the PRA of the puppy mill poodle and the hip dysplasia of the non hip scored golden.
Not to mention that Goldens are not mellow. They have gun dog energy and some of them are rather thick so your puppy might inherit golden dumb instead of the poodle smart. People who own and love goldens do lots of training and provide lots of exercise and a generous collection of chew toys. I think goldens are a great breed, and generally great with kids, but be realistic about what you are getting with a golden. Its a big, sweet, high energy dog with a heavy coat that sheds.
You have no control over which genes the pup will inherit. Doodles are mutts, so take your chances. Some are nice dogs, some not so much.
A couple folks mentioned Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.......oh my word, what gorgeous little dogs. I am really swept up with both those and Labradoodles. That said, all this advice has been simply awesome. Really helping us to make an informed decision.....whenever that may be.
I think a Cavalier might be a good choice for a busy family with kids. The show dog people call Cavaliers "the gold fish of the dog world" because they are so easy care and non fuss with non-demanding temperaments.
The important thing about a Cavalier is that you should only buy from a long time dedicated breeder that is serious about health testing. This is a breed with serious genetic heart issues so stay away from puppy mills and backyard breeders. A Cavalier from a good breeder is going to be expensive. Litters are small and constant health testing is expensive. It cost serious money to produce a good litter of Cavs. Expect to get on a waiting list for a puppy and not get one the day you decide you want one.
Veering rather a bit off topic, a dog breeding lesson . . . You do not get to pick and choose what genes you get from a cross.
. . .some of them are rather thick so your puppy might inherit golden dumb instead of the poodle smart. . . .You have no control over which genes the pup will inherit. Doodles are mutts, so take your chances. Some are nice dogs, some not so much.
AND, all the fad crosses are a fad, meaning a lot of them have no relationship to the original intention. Don't get me wrong - you will find me bashing "breed" thinking - because it is only in the past 200 years that ANYbody thought about "breeds". And since then, "breed" typically means show dog - for looks - not personality or instinct or action. So I have no objection to crossing. But Oregon points out something about all this - outcrosses are currently popular - so lots of people are trying to cash in - and they have no scruples about behavior or flaws.
And Goldens CAN be "rather thick"! Sometimes that is the gundog blood - the instinct comes through and if it doesn't get used, it gets misdirected.
This has turned into a REALLY good conversation, fyi!
Most of the "doodles" are 3/4 poodle, 1/4 of the cross dog. So they don't shed. I sure understand how you feel about the hair, and I totally agree. I have an adopted rescue dog, some kind of a big hound mix. No background info on him whatsoever. The gentlest, sweetest dog you could imagine.... unless you're a wild animal, like a deer or a bobcat or a bear, all of which we have around here, and even shows aggression toward some large dogs. But toward people, never. Worthless as a guard dog, loves everyone, won't bark when someone comes to the house.
But he has the double coat of whatever mix he is, and sheds constantly, huge amounts. If we don't brush him and vacuum the house daily, we have fur tumbleweeds. A lot of work to keep the house clean. This is why I swear that the next dog will be a "doodle" cross.
My first dog I got as an adult was a 6 mo old rescue from the Humane Society. He did a lot of damage when I first got him, before I learned how to safeguard my stuff. But after he grew up he was a wonderful dog, easily trained, very gentle, no trouble. I don't know what he was. He looked sort of like a small Golden.
My second best dog was one I got from Aussie breed rescue. Her whole litter had been dumped and most died. She was clearly part Aussie and maybe had some Lab in her. She was about 5 months old when I got her and lived to be 14. She was a bit timid but otherwise a great, never mean, dog.
My other dogs have been pure bred Aussies and all of them have had one or another of the genetic illnesses they are prone to. Two died suddenly from probable hemangiosarcoma and the two I have now have seizures.
Honestly, I think I would look at breed rescue if you like a particular breed, and not rule out a mix.
And as others have said, look very carefully into the health/genetic issues that plague whatever breed you choose.
The guy who originally developed the labradoodle now regrets it.
Quote:
”All these backyard breeders have jumped on the bandwagon and they’re crossing any kind of dog with a poodle. They’re selling them for more than a pure-bred is worth and they’re not going into the backgrounds of the parents of the dogs. There are so many poodle crosses having fits, problems with their eyes, hips and elbows; a lot have epilepsy. There are a few ethical breeders but very, very few.”
BTW, puppy mill proprietors are highly aware that their business model is rightfully looked upon with disgust by decent people, so they've become pretty good at disguising themselves as "ethical breeders." They set up small fronts as family breeders when the puppies are actually coming from a mill. The Amish are among the worst offenders.
Last edited by Metlakatla; 01-10-2019 at 07:21 PM..
That's so sad about the Labradoodles. That must be a big regret for that person. The one I met seemed to be a fantastic dog but unfortunately whenever there is a huge financial opportunity, you will have people taking advantage.
I will say I didn't quite understand why not just get a poodle if you are going up to 75% poodle anyway. Do people like the look of the "doodle" better?
Veering rather a bit off topic, a dog breeding lesson ( or horse breeding, or cattle breeding, or pig breeding, or the production of human children). You do not get to pick and choose what genes you get from a cross.
You might plan to get a non shed coat from the poodle, and the mellow from a golden. But instead you might get the heavy shed of long hair and generous undercoat of the golden and the fussiness of the poodle. People who breed doodles are not obtaining high quality breeding stock. Serious fanciers will not sell to them. So your doodle might inherit the PRA of the puppy mill poodle and the hip dysplasia of the non hip scored golden.
Not to mention that Goldens are not mellow. They have gun dog energy and some of them are rather thick so your puppy might inherit golden dumb instead of the poodle smart. People who own and love goldens do lots of training and provide lots of exercise and a generous collection of chew toys. I think goldens are a great breed, and generally great with kids, but be realistic about what you are getting with a golden. Its a big, sweet, high energy dog with a heavy coat that sheds.
You have no control over which genes the pup will inherit. Doodles are mutts, so take your chances. Some are nice dogs, some not so much.
True. There are F1 crosses, and F1b crosses. The second type are when the poodle is bred with the offspring of the first cross. It results are the most hypoallergenic, but you start losing the traits from the Bernese or the Golden.
Professional breeders of these dogs make very careful choices for temperament.
I would not get a large dog. Since you have little ones, and one is on the floor rather than upright, a big dog could be overpowering. Someone above mentioned a standard poodle -- I would recommend a mini-poodle. I have one and he has been very easy to train. Stop him once or twice from an unwanted behavior and he doesn't do it again.
Also, when you go to meet a dog, bring the children. Be sure your special needs children feel comfortable with the dog before bringing it home.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That said, all this advice has been simply awesome. Really helping us to make an informed decision.....whenever that may be.
Sometimes that is the gundog blood - the instinct comes through and if it doesn't get used, it gets misdirected. 
