What is a doodle?

Why are people doing this cross?

What is the difference between a Goldendoodle and a Labradoodle?

How big do your doodles usually get?

What does it mean to microchip your puppies?

What dog food do you recommend?

How much should I feed my puppy?

How often should I feed my puppy?

Will my dog shed?

Are these dogs easy to train?

Is a Doodle generally gentle and friendly like a Lab or a Golden?

 

What is a doodle?
A doodle is a term that shortens up the words Goldendoodle and Labradoodle. A Goldendoodle is a hybrid cross between a Poodle and a Golden Retriever. A Labradoodle is a hybrid cross between a Poodle and a Labrador Retriever.

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Why are people doing this cross?
There are many specific reasons, but we will highlight the two general reasons.  The first reason is to try and capture some specific beneficial traits of each individual parent breed in one animal.  The second reason is to reduce the incidence of genetic problems associated with specific purebreds.

Some of the traits generally attributed to Labrador and Golden Retrievers is their intelligence, temperament and loyalty.  This makes these dogs very well-suited as service animals (guide dogs for the blind) as well as excellent family pets.  Poodles are also known for their intelligence, athleticism, personality and non-shedding coat.  This makes them an attractive option for individuals with allergies, etc.  Goldendoodle and Labradoodle hybrids are bred in order to exhibit these beneficial traits in offspring animals.

Secondly, hybrid crossing reduces the expression of genetic problems associated with many purebred lines.  Many purebred breeders practice linebreeding and inbreeding, and the geneologies of many purebred lines can be traced back to very few distinct base parent individuals.  Inbreeding, as measured by "inbreeding coefficient" occurs when animals are bred to related animals, and linebreeding and inbreeding only differ by degree (i.e. grandson to grandmother vs cousin to cousin).  The closer the relationship, the higher the "inbreeding coefficient" relative to a randomly bred population.  Inbreeding reduces fertility, vigour or overall health.  "Hybrid vigour" is a phenomenon in animal breeding that occurs in the offspring of a cross between two unrelated purebred lines.  It is because of hybrid vigour that Goldendoodles and Labradoodles are generally healthier and grow better than either parent line. 

Of course, hybrid crosses do not necessarily mean that you will get a puppy that is completely free of genetic problems.  There is always a chance.  However, in hybrid crossing there is a lower likelihood of having detrimental recessive genes be expressed.  Even in our purebred lines, we strive to mate animals that are as unrelated as possible.  We believe that it is important to know the genetic background of our dogs, if at all possible, and we do not support line breeding.   We believe the optimal puppies come from two adult dogs, without the same lineage, and one that has come from a wonderful background with regards to health testing.

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What is the difference between a Goldendoodle and a Labradoodle?
From our experience, we find that temperament wise, there is not much of a difference.  If you research a purebred Golden Retriever and a Labrador Retriever you will find that both breeds are wonderful people dogs, very intelligent, and great with children.  Labs are more commonly used as Seeing Eye Dogs due to their trainability.  With both breeds you can have differences and similarities.  Each individual puppy will always be different from the next.

We find the main difference between these two breeds to be coat type, which is mainly preference. There is a greater variance in the F1 Labradoodle coat. There are puppies who appear more lab-like and have terrier type hair with wisps, and are more apt to shed and there are puppies with a plusher coat who do not shed, and there are puppies who can take after the Poodle with more of a tight curly coat. I urge you to look at pictures and see what you like for yourself. Some people prefer different coat types to others.  As for the Goldendoodle coat, we find that there tends to be greater similarity between individuals. The F1 puppies are almost consistently like a shaggy Golden Retriever.  From our experience, we believe that because of the finer, longer coat of a Golden Retriever, there is a smaller chance of a shedding Goldendoodle.

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How big do your doodles usually get?
Goldendoodle puppies generally grow to 55-65 lbs - the same size, or slightly larger than their parents.

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What does it mean to microchip your puppies?
A microchip is for identification purposes and can never be removed. It is a small chip that is placed underneath the skin of your puppy between the shoulder blades.  They do not harm the dog.
For example, if you ever lose your puppy and someone picked him/her up and took them to a vet office, shelter, or a rescue clinic, they would be checked with a scanner, and the information stored in the little chip would provide your contact information as the owner.  There is a greater recovery of micro-chipped puppies/dogs than with tattooing (another form of identification).

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What dog food do you recommend?

1. In general, avoid foods that rely on by-products as the sole source of animal protein. By-products consist of organs and parts either not desired, or condemned for human consumption.  If its good quality meat, the manufacturer will list it as such!
2. Try to stay away from foods containing “by-product meal” or “meat and bone meal.”  These rendered products are the most inexpensive sources of animal protein. The contents and quality of these meals can vary tremendously from batch to batch, and are not a reliable source of nutrition for your animal.
3. Look for a named meat or meal (“lamb” or “chicken meal,” for example, instead of the generic term “meat”) as the first ingredient.
4. Avoid generic or store brands. These may be repackaged rejects from the big manufacturers, and generally contain cheaper — and consequently poorer quality — ingredients.
5. We are biases AGIANST foods that contain lots of grain or Dried Brewer's Yeast.  In our own experience, Yeast seems to contribute to ear infections in our dogs.  At least, when we quit feeding it, ear infections in our dogs stopped.
6. Unless specifically recommended by your veterinarian, avoid “light,” “senior,” “special formula,” or “hairball formula” foods. These foods may contain acidifying agents, excessive fiber, or inadequate fats that can result in skin, coat and other problems.
7. In general, select brands promoted to be “natural.” While they are not perfect, they may be better than most.  Several brands are now preserved with Vitamins C and E instead of chemical preservatives (such as BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin and propyl gallate). While synthetic preservatives may still be present, the amounts will be less.
8. Check the expiration date to ensure freshness.
9. When you open a bag of dry food, give it a sniff — if there is any rancid odor at all, return it immediately for an exchange or refund.
10. Store dry pet food in a sealed, non-porous container in a cool, dry place.  Canned food is best removed from the can and refrigerated in a glass or ceramic container.
11. Look for an “AAFCO guarantee” or a Guaranteed Nutrient Analysis on the label.  Compare!  
12. Stay away from pet foods that contain an excess of fillers.  Why pay for something that just needs to be picked-up after?

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How much should I feed my puppy?
Some people suggest that a good guideline for feeding is your puppy's age in months, but this also depends on the quality of food, and the manufacturer's recommendation.   For larger breeds like doodles, your puppy may eat about 3 cups per day at three months old, four cups at four months old, and five cups per day from 5 months to one year.  Afterwards, bring the feeding down to 4 cups/day. If your dog is not as active and seems to be 'full' or getting fat, cut it down to 3 cups. Your dog will tell you if he is still hungry.  If your puppy just won't settle down and he seems to be 'bouncing off the wall' he is probably still hungry.  Depending on your dogs' energy level and the quality of food you provide, he will need to eat more or less than these guidelines.  If you are a very active family and your dog is always running or swimming, your dog will need to eat more than the next door neighbors' dog who spends his time sleeping on the couch.

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How often should I feed my puppy?
When the puppies leave here, they are eating 3 times a day. Depending on your time table, I would cut down the feeding at 4-5 months old to 2 times a day.  Feeding your puppy more often will result in potty training problems because it will seem like your puppy is always going to the bathroom for the simple reason that it is always eating.

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Will my dog shed?
With both hybrids, Goldendoodles and Labradoodles, there is a chance that your puppy will shed.  No breeder can guarantee that your puppy will be 100% non-shedding.  I can only offer my opinion, but will never guarantee that your puppy will not shed.  Crossing the Retrievers with the Poodle helps to minimize the shedding aspects of the Retriever breed.  As you can see in many different Doodle pictures, there are a variety of coats...some shedding and some not.
If you are very concerned with shedding and allergies, I suggest a Poodle. It is not fair to a puppy or to the owners who have fallen in love with their dog that when the puppy is changing from a non-shedding puppy coat to a semi-shedding adult coat that the dog can no longer stay with the original owners. We do not want any of my puppies put into this situation.  A poodle has a 100% guarantee of non-shedding and is hypo-allergenic. If allergies and shedding are a small concern, the best puppy for you might be a curly F1 Goldendoodle or an F1B Labradoodle (offspring of an F1 Labradoodle back-crossed to a poodle). There is a more consistent coat type in Goldendoodles and the F1B Labradoodles are 75% poodle and 25% lab.

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Is a Doodle generally gentle and friendly like a Lab or a Golden?

In a word, YES!