@surfcity - your puppy may also learn to jump on people if he sees your older dog do it. You might be able to enforce a down/stay with both dogs for visitors until they are in the house and sitting down (although it took years for our lab to be able to stay down without being physically blocked when visitors came!) or else figure out some other way to keep your older dog from demonstrating the behavior to your puppy.
Btw what negative comments have you gotten about labradoodles? It’s hard to imagine.
@surfcity Is that Surf City, NC? My son’s dog (avatar) passed away from cancer two weeks ago. He got her for his sixth birthday and he turned eighteen a few months ago. She was a Weimador, or Labaramer. She was half Weimaraner half Labrador and I had another rescued years ago who lived to be nearly sixteen. The very night she passed away I found a guy on Facebook whose Lab “got in trouble” with his Weimaraner. We are driving over spring break to pick up a black puppy and stop at one of his colleges on the way. I can’t not be a dog owner. The puppy will be seven weeks old. Our last puppy did well with a PetSmart puppy class so we will do that again. The other dogs were climbers; they would join the kids on their sliding board so I’d love to get this puppy into agility training.
@bevhills, I don’t think that is clear at all. I think it is clear that the puppy just wants out, NOW, and that if they are let out they will learn that making a fuss means they will get out now. Nothing wrong with speaking soothingly to the puppy to calm him/her, but letting the puppy out in response to a screetching fit? No.
FWIW, I normally only use a crate during early stages of housebreaking or when the dog isn’t trustworthy alone in the house, meaning that they may chew something or relieve themselves if unattended. And even then, I usually use gating into the kitchen once they are past the first stages. On the other hand, it is useful to be able to crate a dog in some circumstances, for example, when visiting a house where they are not allowed the run of the house. If their reaction to crating is to pitch a fit, it isn’t a good thing.
I confess I have a completely irrational longing for a Goldendoodle. We’ll probably just end up getting a golden retriever (or a springer spaniel, those are the two kinds of dogs my husband has admired the most that I"m ok with), to counter-act what will probably be a very weepy empty nest syndrome for me in two years.
The chihuahua is a rescue, but he’s the only rescue we’ve had that hasn’t been an emotional train wreck. I support resuces, but I’m not going to demonize responsible breeders, either.
I’ll add to the consensus that the dogs don’t get to come out of their crate unless they’re cool, calm, and collected. They happily go into their crate (I also have a very cranky 13 yo female mini poodle who is the poster child for the word b**** in the dog world), and they’re just as happy to leave it when I get back from school/work/errands.
Dog freak outs are usually caused by human conditioning, in my opinion. Dogs are very empathetic creatures-once they see what works, they’ll use it.
We do attachment parenting with our 10 lb poodle mix. We started out with the best of intentions with crate training, etc. Well, she sleeps right between my husband and me every night, no issues, and she’s been completely house trained since she was 10-12 weeks old. I have never had a dog as sweet or smart as her.
I love labradoodles and think they get a bad rap due to some irresponsible breeders. @MotherOfDragons my son loves goldendoodles. Maybe someday!
Basically we love anything doodle.
OP, my only point is that your dog is a unique and special creature and you will learn what works and what doesn’t.
This is why I have a problem with the doodle phenomenon. As always, YMMV.
I have a really big problem with people getting big money for purposefully and cynically breeding mutts when shelters and rescues are full of lovely mutts. I don’t know about poodle breeders, but no Golden breeder who is a member of the GRCA would sell a non-show puppy to someone without a spay neuter contract, and usually when they sell a show puppy to someone who is not an experienced show owner/breeder the contract states that it can’t be bred without their permission, and if they used one of their own dogs to breed doodles they would be thrown out. Which means that doodles are starting with inferior stock that lacks the generations of health testing that breeding stock should have, and may or may not have the proper temperament or conformation. (There is a golden breeder in my area who pumps out a lot of puppies, and trades on the fact that one or two of her dogs–bred by someone else-- have been shown successfully. Many, many good-hearted people fall for this. A significant number of the dogs I’ve seen from that kennel have temperament issues or are waaaay overbuilt, structurally, or both. Yes, her breeding stock is health-tested. That does’t mean they are breed-worthy. This person runs what is called a satellite mill: breeding bitches are placed with other people in the area who seem to think she is doing them a favor. )
I would also point out that responsible Golden breeders spend a lot of money and time showing their dogs in conformation/obedience/hunting trials and so forth in order to decide whether they are breed-worthy. Doodle breeders do none of the above. If they really health test, at least that’s something. Otherwise, like backyard breeders, their dogs have to meet one criteria: intact genitalia.
That said, the individual dogs can be perfectly nice. It’s not the dog’s fault.
Well, I was watching a shep-a-doodle breeder online for months, and wanted one badly but they were out in California. I love German Shepherds but can’t handle any shedding. Her pups had the poodle coat. That’s what draws people to doodles . . . that and the natural intelligence of poodles.
I do think breeders should be responsible and not breed animals with known issues like hip and stifle problems (or other health/temperament problems).
Of course rescuing is a wonderful thing to do whenever possible.
I don’t see why people don’t just get a poodle then, or one of the other breeds that shed minimally. There are many. Bichon Frise, Portugese Water Dog, any number of terriers and smooth-coated dogs…
It just so happens that my two favorite breeds, Goldens and German Shepherds, are double coated, and thus I am habituated to shedding.
I do love standard poodles too. I get what you’re saying Consolation.
My mini is 3/4 poodle, 1/4 schnauzer but she looks all poodle, except for her snout which is stubbier than a typical poodle. She is a gorgeous doggie (looks like a teddie bear). But no doubt a serendipitous combination of genes.
Poodles are wonderful pets. If you want a super bright and non-shedding dog, I highly recommend a Standard Poodle. Standards are calmer and more low energy than smaller poodles as well as many other large breed dogs of its size. You do have to do maintenance to its hair (or take it to a dog groomer) but you don’t need to get the foo-foo clip to which many people have an objection. Just get a sporting clip.
Many “doodle” breeders claim to be doing health testing, and some of them actually do it. However, the list of known genetic issues in poodles is LONG and so is the list of known genetic issues in golden retrievers and labrador retrievers. I did almost all of the testing required to breed my standard poodle before the breeder and I decided his temperament wasn’t quite good enough (he’s not calm and he’s not low energy!) for breeding–and it cost me well over $1500. (His heart and eye exams have not been done, as those are done just before breeding.) I did have him collected (frozen sperm sample kept in storage) in case we decide later to breed him.
@doschicos – you can go even simpler than the sporting clip! I clip–number 10 blade–everything except the topknot and even that I cut pretty short. Makes the dogs non-shedding AND low-maintenance.
I was thinking more about breeding and pure-bred vs deliberate mix. Not just in poodles, but in other mixes, I see mix breeders as people who are not experts in the peculiar genetics of the breeds they are mixing. This is a recipe for disaster.
I was at a dog agility event a few months ago and had the horrifying experience of watching a dog die immediately after completing its run. It was a Doberman–and I found out almost immediately that Dobermans are known to have heart problems and that breeders routinely test for those heart problems before breeding. Some breeders even buy their own cardiac monitors for their dogs. You have to really love a breed and its characteristics to be willing to work that hard to eliminate a problem like that.
It’s not just about well-known problems like hip dysplasia. I talk to “doodle” owners and I ask them if they’re aware of the common cancers found in golden retrievers–and they’re not. In poodles, there are eye problems (PRA), thyroid problems, “poodle toe cancer”, and more.
Random-bred dogs (“mutts”) don’t really exist any more. Some mixes may be healthier than the parents, but others are not. It really does take testing and understanding of the genetics.
It is a common fallacy that a “designer dog”–oh, how I hate that term-- will not have the genetic issues of a purebred. In fact, it can have the problems of BOTH breeds.
I think there are tons of mutts out here, @dmd77. I frequent a dog park where probably over 50% of the dogs are rescues brought up from the South, which seems to be replete with kill shelters and people who leave their unspayed, unneutered dogs outside unattended. (Maybe it’s the weather that allows it, maybe it’s a country thing, the kind of people who keep hunting dogs but don’t let them in the house…I don’t know. But I do know that there are tons of dogs in Maine that came up from Arkansas, Missisippi, et al.) A lot of them are some kind of indeterminate mix.
Because pure poodles are zany and very high energy in every size, as are the adorably clowny bichons. The PWD tends to be very working dog “let me do my job and leave me alone”, terriers have a terrier temperament which I don’t mesh well with, and I have one tiny smooth coated dog, and he’s ok grooming-wise, but I don’t like the “doggy odor” of larger smooth coated dogs like labs. The chihuahua takes a shower with me a few times a week, and he’s easy to keep odor-free.
I love golden temperaments-basically pure, unadulterated love in dog form IF you get a good one. I like the lower shedding poodle coats. The trick is to get a golden mind in a poodle-ish lower shedding form. I"m ok with grooming.
Labradoodles are, I think, along the same lines-lab brain, poodle hair (vs stinky lab fur and oily coat)
FWIW, I’ll take a butt-ugly golden retriever with a heart of gold any day. I’m not looking for the “English Cream” or whatever baloney they’re upselling these days.
“Because pure poodles are zany and very high energy in every size”
Not true, especially for Standards, although like many breeds you have to find the right breeder. Well-bred Standards are extremely calm for large dogs. That calmness combined with their intelligence makes them quite regal and not what I’d describe as zany. I save the zany description for Dalmations.
Okaaaay . . . so the comments we get about labradoodles are along the lines of “why would you pay $ for a mutt when you could get a rescue?”
We were working to get a different dog when my husband and son had a reaction to it and the agency would not let us adopt without a doctor's note. So we had to look for a "hypoallergenic" dog (and yes, I know they don't really exist but some are better than others).
We found a breeder who has asthma and allergies herself and had a track record of producing dogs that rarely triggered allergies. And she agreed to take back the dog at any time if we had problems.
She originally imported an Australian labradoodle - she did not randomly mix a poodle and a Lab.
I would love to adopt a rescue in some ways, but it was not the best decision for our family. Our 10 year old labradoodle has been exceptionally healthy. We recently took him to a new groomer who could not believe he was 10, they thought he was still a puppy. He was a quick learner, he will go on a three mile walk one day if we want and then sleep all day the next if it is rainy out, so he is very adaptable. We love him.
Thanks @MotherOfDragons , that is the kind of real life advice on crating. Right now he is spending his day in the kitchen while I work from home and is content. I feel like I should maybe crate him a bit and go somewhere so he gets used to being in the crate more??
To get him used to the crate just shut the door when he goes in there. That’s all you really need to do, and, as an earlier poster recommended, only open the door when he is in a calm state, even sleeping. He’ll learn that being in the crate is just another place to be and a good time to sleep.
We started out with the best of intentions with crate training, etc. Well, she sleeps right between my husband and me every night, no issues, and she’s been completely house trained since she was 10-12 weeks old. I have never had a dog as sweet or smart as her.