Chocolate labradoodles?

[allluckedout]

Having met the most gorgeous chocolate labradoodle at my sons football training for the past few weeks, its made it certain to us that this is the breed of dog that we would like.
Does anyone have any advice or what to look out for when buying from a breeder and any known associated problems with labradoodle breeding?
thank you

Ok, doodle owners, some advice here!

Our pup is nearly 19 weeks, and I've been worrying about how much exercise to give him.

The general rule I've read before is 5 minutes per month of life, plus 5 minutes. So at 4 months he could walk for 25 minutes, up to twice a day.

But now I've just read a page on the Labradoodle Trust site (which I'm sure wasn't there before!) which says "By 6 months old he may a have short periods of freedom to play with you and friends [I think they're referring to offlead in the park here] but only a few minutes at a time so that he can flop down and rest, this can build up to a mile at 9 months old."

But I reckon we can already walk a mile in 20 minutes, fairly easily. Am now panicking I've broken my dog and will have caused him a lifetime of damage....

Advice? THoughts?

mine can run around like crazy over the field (5mins walk away). they chase each other, dig at rabbit holes, chase some more.) as soon as they flop down , i let them rest for a while, then walk back.

however on the lead, then can easily walk a mile or more in 20mins.

thanks misdee your youngest is 6 months isn't he?

do you reckon 25 mins x2 is too much at not quite 5 months?

if i'm honest he does sometimes have longer in the woods or on the beach too, which I thought would be ok as it's soft surfaces. Am now very worried.

they are 7months old.

i walk one on the morning school run, which takes 15mins there, 10mins training of sitting and waiting and trying not to lick all the kiddies that go past, then 15mins back. then try and walk the other on the afternoon school run.

sometimes give them a quick walk round the block each in the evenings (15mins max).

tbh i think they could walk more, but am cautious of over-walking as well.

i do let them go a bit nutty over the field, and probably they do do more over there than they should, as they always sleep all afternoon after running round there for ages. but thats only once or twice a week, depending on weather (its getting quite boggy over there atm)

the problem with fashions in dogs is that that people who don't give a toss about dogs buy dogs with a view to make money by breeding puppies to meet the demand.

then people buy them because they are the fashion, rather than because they have thought it through properly.

this is never good for the dogs involved - terrible for the bitches bred from on every season, bad for the puppies that go to inappropriate homes and wind up in resuce.

it has happened to retrievers (the andrex puppy) and sheepdogs (the dulux dog) in the past....

And it's been ever thus Edgar. It's awful but I love my doodle and I object to people implying she's some sort of fashion statement.

well of course not, she's a dog - Therein lies the problem - idiots people buying because its the fashion want to tell their friends 'i've bought a doodle' and find that they haven't bought a fashion statement, they've bought a bouncy loving creature that needs walking, feeding and grooming.

if people always thought before they bought, there wouldn't be so many in rescue.

It's pretty obvious that's the problem Edgar but I don't think I'm contributing to the problem by choosing a doodle.

Actually some of us would really rather our dogs weren't 'fashionable' and go around calling them 'Lab cross' instead!

we say lab cross as well. mainly to try and stop people trying to steal them :( but people actually stop and ask if they are doodles. especially Tom who is def the least doodle-looking out of the two.

I tend to describe mine as a mongrel a lot of the time too!

when we were filling in insurence forms for them it had labradoodle on the list, i clicked that and it wouldnt let me proceed. so called up and they said to tick the crossbreed box as thats what they are. i laughed, and suggested they remove all the new 'designer crossbreeds' off their forms.

We get asked most days if ours is a labradoodle too - fine, but he's a standard poodle....

lol scaredofcows. i checked your profile for any pics, and he is def a poodle lol.

when i said idiots, i was more thinking jeremy clarkson than my fellow dogloving Mners btw.

lots of cute doggies on profile pictures on this thread.

strokes and tummy tickles all round

Our boy is walked for 15 mintues in the morning by DH OR 20 mins by me on the school run, he then walks again in the afternoon or evening for a further 20mins, sometime son lead, sometimes off.
I was told its only a problem when the dogs are walking straight line, eg on lead or when playing ball, but not as bad if they are runnning aorund on beach ect.

Labrador was top of our list for ages and now the children are a bit older we feel ready to get a puppy or older rescue dog. Whichever becomes avaliable for us at the right time.
We live in Berkshire so a lot of the rescue dogs are too far away, I just can't travel to Scotland, I don't think my car would make it! But I have made contact with them and will keep looking. The lady at football training is going to email me the address for the breeder she got hers from. Hers was health checked and registered, and first immunisations before she was allowed to collect her, and also a home check took place to make sure she was suitable.
It is a lot of money to be paying out so won't be until after christmas anyway. My main consideration now is if to get one or two, if two would be better for the odd time that they will be left at home for a few hours or if one would just settle in his/her basket while we were out? But i guess a lot of that is potluck on the dogs individual temperment and training.