Labs are not smooth-coated dogs. They shed like crazy, AND their hair weaves itself into fabrics and is difficult to remove. The fluff produced by the undercoat of Goldens and GSDs is actually easier to remove, although more visible.
When I say “smooth coated dog” I’m thinking German Shorthaired Pointer, Visla, Boxer, et al.
The problem with a doodle is that you might just as easily end up with a poodle temperament and a goldenish coat. BTW, people who market Goldens by coat color are inevitably BAD breeders who are pumping out puppies for money.
@surfcity, in Australia there have been serious efforts to actually create a stable breed of labradoodles. My understanding is that this effort was inspired by a desire to create a breed of low-shedding service dogs. I think that a dog from that background is a VERY different proposition that the typical US doodle. I’m glad it has worked for you.
Labs have an outer and an undercoat. The undercoat is somewhat waterproof so they can jump into cold water to retrieve. They are not stinky if you keep them clean and groomed…unless they get wet!
I agree, although I did love my standard poodle’s temperament for the most part, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing ever.
I also agree on the assertion that just about any breeder of any animal that markets them for a specific color ends up choosing color over temperament, which is a recipe for disaster. Hence my “I’ll pick the ugliest dog with the best temperament” comment earlier.
The only thing really keeping me from getting another standard poodle is the fact that I didn’t want to pay $75/month to have her groomed, so I did it all myself. It was about 4 hours worth of work from start to finish, and after 12 years (when she passed), and another 3 hours with the miniature poodle grooming (she’s 13), I am OVER grooming dogs. So over it
I know; goldendoodles need grooming. It’s probably why I haven’t gotten one yet, or a golden retriever. The neighbor has two goldens (both weighing over 100 lbs!) and she has a mobile groomer come and groom them once a month, and they get clipped in the summertime. She says she’s gone through three Dyson vacuum cleaners with all the hair, lol.
The chihuahua’s just.so.easy, he’s portable, he loves everyone, he’s quiet. We call him the Faux-Wa Wa because he doesn’t act like a normal chihuahua.
@surfcity , I forgot to ask, what is the new puppy’s name? How is the 10 year old getting along with him?
We did exactly the same thing! 10 yo old dog, and got a puppy–both golden retrievers. Puppy is 8 months old now. It has been so great for our older dog. He lost 15 lbs with all the playing.
This may be repetitive, but the best advice I got was to have a treat bag on or near you at all times. Treat the puppy for good behavior constantly. I did read the bell advice, above, and it can be a double edged sword. Sometimes dogs just want to go outside to smell the roses. Our friends did the bell trick, and their dog drove them nuts ringing the bell! Oh, Natures Miracle has a scented spray that completely obliterates smells, so no repeat accidents. Be consistent on the potty training and you’ll be fine.
Socialization is key–get the puppy around as many people and other vaccinated dogs as possible. Vacuum around them, open umbrellas, ring the doorbell. Take the dog outside and, every time he/she notices the noise (mowers, loud trucks, leaf blowers, barking, whatever), treat him, and tell him “no big deal.” The puppy will begin to associate noises with good things vs. bad. Take the puppy in the car (safely) frequently.
A good puppy class is a tremendous investment. We hadn’t “done” a puppy in 22 years, and have found this to be delightful. I am happy to answer questions, and commiserate. Have fun!
No golden retriever should weigh that much! Seventy-five lbs is about the maximum weight for males. They are either grossly oversized or really fat or both. Don’t get me started on clipping Golden’s coats in the summer. Groomers seem to love to tell people it’s a good idea–more money for them–but it isn’t, and it wrecks their coat. Their natural coat provides protection from the elements.
While it’s nice to have someone who can do a good job on neatening up their feet and ears, only nail clipping is actually required. The reality is that the golden is a wash-and-go dog unless they are going to a dog show. A weekly going over with an undercoat rake should do, unless they are blowing their coat.
My Eureka vacuum outlasted a German Shepherd and a Golden with a show coat (ie, a lot of it ). The current vacuum is going strong after two goldens, a pug (they actually shed quite a bit), a German Shorthaired Pointer, and a Lhasa Apso/Tibetan Spaniel mix. Maybe she should look for another brand, LOL.
I mean, her experience is her experience, but if you interested in a golden you shouldn’t think that kind of an investment is required.
Golden do require a LOT of vacuuming! Our 80 lb (perfectly proportioned, not overweight) male has a double coat, so double the shedding. The new puppy is not a double coat, but does his share! We have a built-in vacuum, thank goodness. We empty the cannister a LOT. We bathe them, and do a full grooming on the older one maybe every 6 weeks–getting their nails clipped is more important, and frequent.
We’re at about week 5 now with our puppy. It’s been much easier since I stopped worrying about taking him out before he was “fully” vaccinated. We started taking him to puppy class at Petco and at first he was very fearful in the store and of the other puppies. He wouldn’t move and was just shaking. We took him back a day later and he was loads better and has been much more confident subsequently. I think he must have been in a fear stage that first week and so we made a great effort to just expose him to as much as possible since. Lots of walking around town, meeting new dogs and people and getting used to different noises and events. When he’s unsure what’s happening he just sits down and watches and listens till he can figure it out. I second the suggestion to have treats easily accessible at all times - cheese works well, carrots seem to be great for teething as are small marrow bones -our local store has the bones sliced into 1-2inch rounds which keep him happily occupied and are good for crate training during the day - only give it to him when he’s in the crate. Meeting up with other puppies in between puppy classes has also been great - nothing like similar aged puppies playing together, and also, incidentally, a good way to meet new people. We moved to a new State a year ago and have met more people (and their dogs) in the past 5 weeks than in the preceding 11 months.
Today I met a golden retriever/irish setter deliberate cross. She was so sweet. I thought she was a smaller, long legged darker golden, but the owner said they bought her from a breeder who was breeding goldens with setters to get the golden brain and a lower shedding, slightly smaller dog (setter).
The irish setters I have known have been THE most beautiful, MOST stupid dogs on the planet (open gate=permanently lost setters because they’d run and run and run), this dog was like a dyed-red golden, lol.
I am cautiously optimistic that this puppy will be easier to train than our first. He definitely gives off signals to go out and he seems to have learned to sit before we got him. He is a crazy man for the first hour or two he is awake, running and playing and eating and going out but in the middle of the day he is quite content to sit on his bed in the kitchen while we do work and chores.
Today we put him in his crate to chill and he whined for less than 5 minutes and then slept there while we went about our day. He probably spent an hour in there.
Next challenge and I know some of this happens with time and growth, is working on curbing the nipping. He loves to nip at hands and hair when we cuddle him. He has several toys he likes that I offer instead. I do think they outgrow this a bit too.
@MotherOfDragons, the dog she wants already exists: field lines Goldens, often from the south. I have one right now. She is smallish, lighter boned, has less coat, but is well proportioned and well balanced and has a perfect Golden temperament. And she LOVES to hunt wildlife! Energetic outdoors, quiet in the house. A perfect dog. Se’s a rescue from Arkansas.
So our SP (standard poodle), she was about 18 mo old when I FINALLY was able to get pregnant with our first daughter (TL;DR-infertility, surgery, bingo!) and the first 12 months of owning her I was like, I am never going to be able to have kids because this dog chews on EVERYTHING, including me. Magically, right around the time I got pregnant she grew out of the chewyness and became the most amazing dog. So, don’t worry, they grow out of it.
I remember thinking that she was going to think that her name was “no bite!”. (eventually she became a certified therapy dog-that was so much fun to do, I might do it with the chihuahua because he’d be a good candidate, weirdly enough.)
@Consolation , thanks for that info. Some day, when it’s just H and I and the girls are off at college, I’ll look into rescuing a golden. I’m not an impulse buyer for dogs, so I’ll just wait until the right dog comes along for us.
There are wonderful Golden Retriever rescue groups all over the US. We’ve adopted two from Golden Bond Rescue in Oregon, then dove in with the puppy this last Summer. These dogs are amazing. The GR rescue groups are also venturing to other countries–Taiwan, China, among others–and rescuing GRs from there. The breed has developed some prestige over there, but (as we know) become big exuberant dogs, and end up on the streets. We fostered a sweet dog from Taiwan last Summer. It was funny teaching it english, but we’ve found rescues are so eager to please and want to be loved. I heard a recent story from our rescue group about rescuing an 18 month old beautiful female golden who was chained outside a butcher shop in China. They paid a fair amount of money for her, but literally saved her from death.
Until this puppy we always had rescue dogs…goldens. (I know project Taiwan). The difference? My golden wanted to please. All of our dogs were loving…but my little one loves us so much…and exerts her rights and privilege as a matter of course. Last night she had a temper tantrum. We put her the the puppy pen to calm down. She did, in a minute. We let her out. She looked at us and stalked out of the room.
Mr. Ellebud and I debated apologizing to her. (No). She went into our (yes, our) bedroom and fell asleep on the bed.
I just saw a dog on the available page of MAGGR, a golden rescue with which I was approved as an adopter who could almost be my girl’s twin. I am sorely tempted…
How is the 10 year old getting along with him?
(eventually she became a certified therapy dog-that was so much fun to do, I might do it with the chihuahua because he’d be a good candidate, weirdly enough.)