<p>Does anyone know about this adorable cross between cross between Goldens and Poodles? A mentally disabled patient is considering one as a companion. Any advice?</p>
<p>Oh thank goodness.
I thought this was another thread about cereal.</p>
<p>They are cute. They do not have maintenance free coats – in fact their coat texture is not predictable based on the description “golden doodle” and it will need some sort of grooming, possibly professional, on a regular basis. Both parent breeds are very intelligent and trainable breeds – although quite possibly high energy dogs. </p>
<p>For a mentally disabled person, I would not consider a puppy, but rather a rehomed adult where you can be certain of the personality, training, temprament, and coat quality.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that these can end up as failed experiments.</p>
<p>Would it be one professionally trained. Several years ago I went to a guide dog graduation and several of the guests had labradoodle puppies in training. You might try calling a guide dog program and inquire.</p>
<p>Two of our four dogs are labradoodles, which are similar. Many of the originals 20+ years ago were bred to be companion dogs. I, too, would have to ask if this particular pup is being professionally trained as such. I’m not sure why anyone would imagine that their coats are maintenance-free, because they definitely are not! 
We have ours professionally groomed about once every ten weeks. Of our two, who are littermates, we have one who is high energy and one who is not. We’ve always had dogs and I don’t think you can really generalize any behavior about particular breeds, with any degree of accuracy. Our ‘not high energy’ doodle would be a fabulous companion to someone who may be mentally disabled but our ‘high energy’ one would not. This is why I think it’s important to know whether or not the dog will be professionally trained as a companion. The people, and organizations, that do that will know if the match is a good one.</p>
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<p>Totally agree. Or a trained therapy dog. Is there any more information about the situation? With “cross breeds” (despite the cute names, they are still mixes) you can’t guarantee what attributes you’ll get from either breed. The dogs do tend to look a certain way, but beyond that in terms of temperament and detailed features like coat type, there is variance. </p>
<p>More information for example like how moderate or severe are the disabilities, will they have any assistance, do they have any physical limitations (golden/poodle crosses are fairly big), where will the dog live (fenced yard or will they rely solely on walks)? </p>
<p>Highly trainable, smart dogs can be difficult puppies until they mellow out and if training goes awry, you can end up with a terror who knows how to get into everything. </p>
<p>As cnp55 said, this is probably not going to end up a low maintainance dog, which has potential for issues. The other problem for me is that the breeders who breed these mixes are not typically regarded by the dog world to be reputable. Temperament cannot be assured. At best, you’re supporting a well intentioned but often misguided “backyard breeder”, and at worst, you’re supporting a pet store which gets puppies from a “puppy mill”. If you google puppy mill you can find a lot of information about why you potentially don’t want to support this form of trade. If they want a kind of shaggy mix (golden/poodle crosses end up looking like terriers to me - which is about the last dog I would suggest in this situation, but they could look for an adult terrier mix if they do have the time to devote to the energy needs). If they want a golden type dog though, and can afford it, find a reputable show breeder through word of mouth (they don’t really advertise) and they may have adult dogs for adoption. They will be qualified to evaluate temperament and advise. A Golden rescue organization should also be qualified. </p>
<p>As far as recommending lower maintainance dogs though (high maintainance isn’t necessarily bad if they have the time, it’s just if there are limitations it can be very difficult), I have a lot of luck with adult hounds, like beagles, or just hound mixes. They can be very cute too, I just saw an absolutely gorgeous white and red girl. And they are so sweet people usually immediately fall in love, all they want is attention, they will just lay with someone for love. The one thing is they need to be watched outside and kept in a fence or on leash because they are scent hounds who will wander. It is also relatively easy to find an adult. On the higher maintainance side, I have shelties (shetland sheepdog). Now I would absolutely stay away from a sheltie puppy, but an adult sheltie could be wonderful, they are exceedingly sensitive and so sweet. However even adults have fairly high energy needs that will probably require a fenced yard, but once you get them over 2 or 3 they are pretty good in the house and so sweet. Shelties are also on the other spectrum looks wise from a beagle so maybe if a beagle isn’t what you’re looking for (want fur) then maybe a small herder like a sheltie, Border collie, or Australian sheepdog will work. But I can’t stress that they won’t mellow out until they’re adults and until then can be nearly impossible.</p>
<p>As a person who has standard poodles and likes standard poodles just as they are, with friends who have golden retrievers, I will ask why anyone would want to go with the lack of predictability that goes with acquiring a mutt? Dog breeders spend a lot of time contemplating breedings that attempt to meet the ideal breed standard; doodle breeders take a second rate stud (because good breeders don’t sell a stud for breeding mutts) and breed it to a second rate dam, and hope to get “the best of both breeds” rather than the worst of both breeds. Then they charge more than a good puppy of either breed.</p>
<p>If you check dog rescue organizations, you will find that the number of doodles available far exceeds the number of either parent breed. </p>
<p>Knowing a few doodles, they are mostly affectionare, goofy, and hard to train, despite their easily-trained parents. Nice dogs, but they do shed, too.</p>
<p>How mentally disabled is this person? Just because a dog is cute and adorable doesn’t make it a good idea to give someone a pet if they can’t take full responsibility for it.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments. Situation: delightful 20 year old functions in range for a seven or eight year old in general. He is very verbal and a big guy, over six feet and sturdy. He is a most gentle and shy kid with a heart of gold and lots of affection for everyone. Parents got him a Golden, had it extensively trained and son loved him but was never fully comfortable with him because of size and high energy level. They think he may respond to a smaller dog and he is now drawn to Goldens. Trainer recommended the Doodle. Affluent family willing to do whatever to make this work.</p>
<p>More thoughts?</p>
<p>A golden/standard poodle mix is not much smaller than a golden, if it is even smaller. Also if they do have the dog still (I presume from your post they do) then that sort of adds another layer to this because not all dogs work well with other dogs. I wouldn’t be going with a puppy. Do you know how well the current dog is socialized? </p>
<p>However, Goldens are common and it isn’t completely unusual to come across a dog that looks like a small Golden. That could work, however it probably wouldn’t have much Golden. I’m not sure a Golden is going to meet the small criteria really. </p>
<p>Also perhaps he could do something to get a little more comfortable with the other dog. He may just be unsure of his handling skills? Maybe he and one of his parents could try a class like agility or some sort of training they could do together. </p>
<p>I’m still a big beagle fan in this situation, probably. Maybe they could check one out. They are small and friendly and good companions.</p>
<p>I agree with dmd77. I think if you’re going to get a mutt you should get one from the pound. If, for some reason, you want a pure breed dog, then you should get a Real pure breed from a very good breeder. I don’t understand the in-between thing.</p>
<p>We have “breeders” here in NYS that are the worst sort of backyard breeders, whose dogs live in deplorable conditions, that pawn off these types of mixed dogs for hundreds of dollars. I just think it’s a racket. (Hint - Do not under any circumstances buy a dog from an ad that says “no Sunday calls.”)</p>
<p>Oddly, for the sort of person you are suggesting, I would consider a rescued Greyhound. They are very docile, not hyper, do not need a lot of activity, and low maintenance. A well-fenced yard is necessary of course, and they can not be off the leash (but I’d say that for any dog).</p>
<p>Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever. Looks like a small golden, smart, highly trainable. Every one I’ve met has been very sweet and thinks people are the best thing ever.</p>
<p>I agree with the greyhound idea, but they might not meet the looks test.</p>
<p>You could even look for a nice plain oversized sable (gold-brown) Sheltie to get a nice companion dog that resembles the Golden.</p>
<p>You can go to <a href=“http://www.petfinder.com%5B/url%5D”>www.petfinder.com</a> and put small and golden retriver plus the area code into the left hand search bar, and come up with a list of potential. I pulled up a few golden mixes in my area that looked like goldens but were oddly small. Could work. </p>
<p>However if the case is that they rehomed the previous dog, it may be difficult to get a rescue group or responsible breeder to work with them if this happened currently. They will probably tell you to wait some time to try again. This is to prevent bouncing dogs around should it not work out again. If this is the case I would also advise some wait, or maybe trying a smaller animal. There are some other options such as volunteering for a Golden rescue or a smaller dog rescue where he could work with the dogs. There are also some animal therapy organizations (not so much with dogs though). Another option is that sometimes people with therapy dogs do home or group visits.</p>
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<p>Our experience is that females tend to be calmer than males. Either way I’d say don’t get a sheltie under two, it just probably won’t work out in this situation. Over two they should be sensitive enough to adjust their wild habits accordingly. </p>
<p>However, if there is noise sensitivity involved, then shelties have a very high pitched and frequent bark. Sometimes you may find an adult who barks infrequently though. I do not recommend debarking for the animal’s sake when there are many dogs who bark infrequently by nature. We had a sheltie when I was younger who only barked in extreme cases, on the other spectrum we now have a little guy (my username namesake) who barks when you start the coffeemaker or put a bag in trash can. And he is five. He is calm enough to handle now though. They are very much play dogs and enjoy to play with someone very much, so it could be a very good match. They are also quite loving and very good at predicting moods.</p>
<p>We are a foster family for a Golden Retriever rescue group (<a href=“http://www.rescueagolden.org%5B/url%5D”>www.rescueagolden.org</a> if anyone is nearby). We have fostered about 20 adult dogs over the past few years (and one litter of puppies from a stray). I also do not like the new cutesy breeding trend. When a Golden Doodle doesn’t get fixed and breeds with a Schnoodle (Schnauzer-Poodle), you have a litter of “mutts” which may go on to breed even more mixed mutts. In few years, the shelters will be full of descendants who don’t have cute names.</p>
<p>How old is the Golden that currently lives with the young man? I would have recommended a minimum of 3 years old and would prefer 5. Adult Goldens can range from 45 to 105 pounds. But for a 20 year old young man, the size shouldn’t matter if he is truly well trained. But if he is a young dog who “forgets” his training and jumps, then I could see size being a problem.</p>
<p>I would never recommend a cross-breed. A small 5 year old Golden would be preferable, but I wonder if they would find something wrong with the next dog too. Do they have a fenced yard? Ten minutes of chasing tennis balls several times a day will help with the energy level. Have you met the dog? Is he well-trained? How old is he? If he’s less than two, I’d say move on to another dog. Please recommend that they find a reputable rescue group to place the current dog. </p>
<p>I have had 2 of my fosters go on to be companions for teenagers. One went to a girl who had personality disorder problems and had a hard time relating to the kids at school. The dog is an ice breaker if people want to talk to her. The dog is also something she can talk to and focus on when other people are around and she doesn’t want to interact with them.</p>
<p>Sorry to disagree, but I would absolutely not recommend that they become a rescue foster family. When a foster enters your home, you may not have any idea about their behavior! This young man needs sweet predictability.</p>
<p>I have a 3 1/2 year old goldendoodle. While my pup would not make a good therapy dog, I know of a few breeders that have goldendoodles or labradoodles that have been trained for therapy work either by the breeder or the owner of the doodle.</p>
<p>As far as the maintenance of a doodle, mine does shed just a little, but others in her litter do not. Some were more poodle like in hair texture and others had wavy coats. When I had my goldendoodles coat long, it was a good seven inches long. She was too active to keep her coat that long so we now keep her in a shorter coat year round.</p>
<p>Several breeders are breeding mini doodles for those that want smaller dogs. If anyone needs or wants breeder information, I am part of a forum for doodle owners and can share information.</p>
<p>As a breed (yes, I know they are not a recognized breed,) these as loving dogs and make great pets. My dog is a big clown as are many doodles, and that is what we love about her.</p>
<p>Thanks again, I know almost nothing about dogs other than my own, but this young man asked me to help and so I’m reading. </p>
<p>Their large Golden recently moved out with their oldest daughter who just got married. It is a mini they have in mind. A big point to the family is that the designer dogs have a longer life. Change is hard for their son and a long term companion would be ideal.</p>
<p>They are very responsible people. What it has required to raise their very disabled son at home is not something most with their resources do unfortunately.</p>
<p>Snowball, would it be difficult to find an adoptable adult dog?</p>
<p>What everyone is saying about getting an older dog makes great sense. I also love the ideas for other breeds. The Nova Scotia toller may make sense as they live on the ocean. Please keep the advice coming!</p>
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<p>If they want a “mini” dog, then I would move on to something other than a Golden. Sorry, I don’t know anything about any other breeds. When considering a breed though, look at what job the dogs were bred to do. Some of the little dogs are very hyper because they chased rats or something like that. </p>
<p>Don’t forget: little dogs can be stepped on! You’d hate for this young man to injure a little dog.</p>
<p>As to the longer life part – NO way. All breeds have ranges for their life expectancy and no one is able to breed longer lives into dogs. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, as many of us on this board have experienced, there is always a risk that a pet will die early. My first Golden died of a rare disease before he was three. Nothing can guarantee a long unchanging life.</p>
<p>From what I’m reading, a mini Goldendoodle should be about 30-40 pounds. Does that seem reasonable in terms of safety? The young man does not have a mean or aggressive bone in his body.</p>