How much did you pay for a labradoodle/golden doodle?

[Monkley]

They seem to be around £600-£700 here, that seems crazy! Is this the going rate?!

oh my gosh Clam - that dog is canine royalty! He is the George Clooney of mongrels (can we use that word in the doghouse . What made you get a doodle breed Clam? Out of curiosity.

if you were after a dog looking just like that, i'd suggest a Wheaten Terrier, as that's what they look like. He is gorgeous.

though only if that was a suitable breed for you, and of course, I'd advise you to rescue a greyhound or staffy first in order to save the little buggers life!

Most doodles i have seen vary between lurcher-types to enormous poodles on a bad hair day

Why did I get one? Hmm, well, probably for all the wrong reasons.

OK, for a start I didn't want a dog at all. Fought a dedicated onslaught from the dcs for around two years. Then they got dh on side and I knew it was only a matter of time. All my perfectly valid reasons against getting one gradually got whittled away.
I'd always said the only dog I'd ever consider was a golden retriever, a lab or possibly a spaniel. And I was allergic to my sister's goldie and lab and they were just too big. And my brother had what turned out to be the most yappy unpleasant cocker spaniel although he was spoilt rotten.
Then sil got a cockapoo and best friend got a labradoodle. The labradoodle was nutty as a fruit cake and massive. The cockapoo was simply gorgeous, lovely natured, good size AND I wasn't allergic to him. Heard good reports from other owners, thought they were unspeakably cute and cuddly and.... the rest is history. Not exactly a scientific search sample either but we got away with it.
Shallow, aren't I?

By the way, I've told him you all think he's adorable and he blinked at me. And carried on chewing up an envelope.

endless he's not a SP/labrador cross. He's supposed to be half working cocker, half miniature poodle. But even the vet scoffed at the "miniature" bit. He's big.

"if you were after a dog looking just like that, i'd suggest a Wheaten Terrier, as that's what they look like."
Why? I was after a dog looking like this, so..... I got a dog looking like this! I think there seems to be more of a "look" for cockapoos than for labradoodles which, as you say, can vary enormously.

because a wheaten terrier looks like that, but i've seen doodles/cockapoos that look like all kinds!
though they are a relatively rare breed of course and not for everyone.

he is a very pretty little fluff :)

if you chose your dog without proper allergy checking then yes, it is lucky you are not allergic to them. If you were allergic to pure cocker you would be very unwise to home a cockapoo.

and as miniature poodles are pretty damned yappy, you were lucky your dog didn't have that trait too! i think it is telling that you are not sure what parentage he actually has, as this is one of the problems of a x-breed (no pedigree: no certainty) though of course, it is great you have a dog you love!

A bit of a change in subject but flatbread i did look at different breeds of cat before i got archie. He is a british shorthair and to be honest its probably the only cat i would have now. I have rescued many cats and none have been as chilled out as him. When i was looking for a cat i looked at bengals because they are gorgeous however they have higher energy levels and need more attention than i could give. Then i looked at a ragdoll and felt the grooming would be too much. Then there was the siamese but they are too vocal and dont live being left alone so this was out because at the time i was working. Some cat breeds do require health tests so please lose this out your argument. I researched breeds and found 1 that suited and i loved the breed so much i now have 2 BSH. I paid £400 for each of them because i knew what type of cat i was getting and knew it suited us.

I did consider a cockapoo (they look cute) however after research i decided i would be more happy with the cockers traits than the poodles so im getting a cocker in about 3 months time.

I wasn't allergic to the cocker; just the retriever and a bit with the lab.

I met his mother, obviously, and have a copy of the Kennel Club registration certificate for his father, stating he was an apricot miniature poodle, but it's only mild speculation on our part that there's anything dodgy about this as he seems to us just too large to have come from this parentage. However, I've read up on it, and it can happen I believe- some recessive gene or something. Not yappy at all - rarely even barks.

There was a Wheaten terrier at puppy training classes. He was a right little bugger- had "failed" at another class and was brought to ours for remedial training! Mine had a bit of a crush on him, however, and they'd roll around together in a heap at the first chance they got.

So yes, maybe we have been lucky. We've happened to land ourselves with a nice mutt. But actually, I don't know anyone personally who's got anything other than nice dogs too. And I'm pretty sure most haven't gone to extreme lengths to get proof of pedigree going back 5 generations. If that was standard recommended practice, no one would ever get a dog at all.

i was going to say 'the wheatens i know are buggers'

but thought that might not be fair on the breed.....

well that's it - most dogs are nice. the huge majority in fact. most people are happy with their dog regardless of whether it came from a puppy farm or the most scrupulous of breeders who only breed once a decade when the runes read right...

its more the welfare issues that concern me with x-breeding, and breeding in general...

My doodle is 6 and enormous and very lovely. She sleeps when not out or playing. She was very expensive, but I wanted a big dog and no hoovering so it was worth it...

Doodlekitty, you say shetlers are more full of staffies and huskies than they are of doodles, but, otoh, if I look on the dogs trust website (as a reasonable representative of a nationwide, all breed rescue) - I find (nationwide) 75 staffs for rehoming, only 3 huskies and yet 63 labradors, 18 spaniels and 98 collies - the latter 3 all being breeds people buy as pups because there "aren't any in rescue" apparently.

Magratgarlik I take my hat off to you for your support of rescues, but a rescue dog isn't for everyone.

I wanted a pup, rather than an adult or adolescent dog for several reasons. Mainly because the dog I have at the moment is the first dog of my own that I've ever owned - I didn't feel confident to take on such an unknown quantity as a rescue dog. Perhaps I would consider it if I were ever to get another dog, but certainly not for my first.

I believe that all animal lovers have a moral responsibility to do what they can to help rescue dogs, but that can take different forms.

It is great that experienced dog owners rehome rescue dogs, but I think it is equally valid for those with spare time to volunteer at shelters, or for those with spare cash to regularly donate to them (as DH and I do).

Rehoming, although important, is not the only way to help these dogs.

good post cakeme.

Magrat, maybe the husky thing is a problem local to me rather than nationwide. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big supporter of shelters and my next dog will be a rescue dog.

But, back to the actual topic, where are the doodles on your list? People are saying the shelters are full of them, and yes, they do occur in rescue but other breeds are much more common yet people still buy them from breeders.

I'm sick of some people (not you mag) ignoring the facts that don't fit their anti-doodle agenda.

cake, I did write a reply to you, which my phone has swallowed. I will try again.

If anyone can find a link to a rescue where they have cockapoos available, I'd be very interested.

cake, whilst I agree with you that of course not everyone wishes to have s rescue dog, I disagree with your reasoning why. A rescue can be a good option for a first time owner for many reasons. A responsible rescue would not home a dog with behaviour problems to a first time owner and not all rescues are adults. Our first rescue was a 16 week old collie/lab cross who was an unwanted christmas present!

At our local rescue in the last few weeks there have been lab/corgi cross pups, several lots of lurcher pups, a labradoodle pup to name a few.

For people who don't want to house train a pup, rescues using foster homes can advise whether the dog is clean in the home and how much if any obedience training will be needed.

Far from being a gamble, a rescue can be a much more defined quantity than paying silly money for a pup.

puppies do come through rescue!

you can get pure bred dogs through rescue as well.

a little use of google to find> breed club > area rescue rep> phone number!!

Yes. Tried that. Have never found one yet.

1)generic rescues don't always advertise what they have on-line
2) a 'cockapoo' may not be identified as such by a rescue but this spaniel X is pretty cute, no?
3) the cockapoo rescues online may include bybs/ puppy farmers offloading stock under that guise. don't trust them myself.

one of the more unscrupulous (and well known) Cockapoo breeders does exactly that last....and breeds from each of her 51 toy poodle bitches on every season...from cocker studs...(not easy whelping for those poor bitches!)

probably by hanging around on UKLA long enough you'd find a rescue.

FWIW I recently applied (unsuccessfully) for a poodle cross from a smaller independent rescue, the lady said they had had 300 applications, and that it was 'like that for a poodle cross because they come up so rarely'

i guess my question would be : is lack of a good rescue of that particular x-breed a good reason to buy from a breeder who treats your puppies mother like crap?

my answer would be NO.

Could not agree with you more Edless. However, there are just as many bad breeders of ANY breed as there are of doodles. Just as many puppy farms with 'pedigrees'. It is not a phenomena exclusive to doodles and I'm sick of being judged as if it is.

My point is that a common refrain on here is to not get a puppy but go to a rescue. However, if you want a specific type then it's not always that easy.
And I'm not going to apologise for being shallow enough to want a specific type.