Labradoodle

[harajukubabe]

Anyone have experience with labradoodles? I have 2 DCs under 8, and will be a first time dog owner.

We have a 7 yr old Doodley girl, she is absolutely gorgeous and we all love her to bits. She is such a happy dog, very bouncy though, she still acts like a pup, loves her ball, and adores people, any people

However if I had my time again I would not get a Labradoodle.
I thought we had done a lot of research, we planned getting her for a year, went to what we thought was a reputable breeder, saw her with both parents. I asked health questions and really felt quite smug we were being responsible people. I didn't know this forum existed then, if I did I would have realised we didn't ask enough questions.

At nine months she was diagnosed with hip dysplacia and then at four she was diagnosed with Addisons disease. At the time my vet couldn't diagnose, we thought she was dying. We were able to get an emergency apt at Liverpool animal hospital where she was diagnosed and kept in for a week. Her Addisons is now managed with a monthly injection and her life expectancy is normal. She also has a couple of other minor ailments.

Our current pet insurance is £120.00 per month, this will go up again in November, and we don't put everything through insurance.

I don't think you can ever guarantee a perfect healthy dog no matter how much research you do but I think these type of crossbreeds are so popular now that there are some really despicable people out there who breed and have not experience or don't care about the consequence to the dogs. They are cute and gorgeous looking dogs, I have yet to come across a bad tempered one and they are so loving but so are many other breeds who are better regulated.

Choose very carefully would be my advice no matter what breed you go for. Whatever you decide you will have so many years of fantastic doggy love

I forgot to add (because my post wasn't long enough) she weighs 24 kg, about the size of a lab and loves long walk, especially in the rain!

"I like the breed as it is intelligent and if from the right parents, docile and of course cute looking"

A Labradoodle is not a breed! And neither is it cute looking. They are hard work and you wont know what you are getting. Labradors are not always docile and poodles most definitely are not! Neither are the most intelligent of breeds.You need to do your homework

Opentoofters- your post is nearly identical to what I would have written!! Our Goldendoodle is a week old!! The sire is a minature red poodle.. Can't wait! When are you getting yours?

They either shed or don't. The people I know with them (vet types who've adopted) both wish they had the other type. The ones that shed leave enough to make a new dog with everywhere they go, the ones that don't absolutely stink - most have the endearing lab trait of rolling in the mingingist stuff they can find, which is bad enough in a short (straight) haired breed but a total nightmare with a doodle coat!

This sounds like a silly question, but what is it people don't like about straight poodles?

I've never had a non-rescue dog, but if I do get another dog in the future, a miniature (they're the mid size? I get confused - basically not standard, and not teeny tiny) poodle does seem to have a lot of plus points.

Poodles are great. I don't dislike them. A lot of people have them where I live. They even dress them up.

I think it's the weird 'fur cuts' that makes them look silly.

But if you kept the natural dig look, poodles look great on paper.

Sadik I think people see poodles in the daft show clips and immediately write them off as useless frou frou dogs that need to be crossed with something else to make them a bit more "useful".

It's such a shame as poodles are bloody awesome dogs and have so much more to offer than being used for cross breeding in the hope of getting the poodle coat on what people consider a "proper" dog.

I really like poodles as well, as long as they have their lovely natural coat.

I think I've only known poodles with straightforward all-over clips, so they look perfectly sensible. They always seem very intelligent dogs, not overly barky and very willing/able to learn (of course, that may be more about the people than the dogs).

At puppy play there are 3 labradoddles all utterly mad a as a hat. Lovely playful things but a right handful.

How about a cocker spaniel, the show type tends to be quiter then the workers.

don't get a tibetan terrier as a first dog! We have 3 and yes they are brilliant little clown like dogs but they are also stubborn, hard to train

Doesn't that cover all terriers?

Have to say, every doodle I've ever met has been a bit, well, daft. That said, the only dog I've ever been bitten by was a miniature Poodle.

Shnauzers are lovely little things, don't see as many as I used to. Completely OT but I went to buy a Min Shnau and came back with a westie (long story!)

We bought a male labradoodle puppy nearly 2 weeks ago, he is now 11 weeks
He is proving a real problem
He cried for the first 5 nights till we relented n let him sleep in our room
Now if we leave him for 5 mins to pop to car or 2 hrs to go shops we return n he has messed everywhere n jumped through it spreading it around kitchen
Our neighbours complain he barks constantly when we are out
Any ideas ? I'm not a novice dog owner he is my 8th dog over the years but I am at the point of giving up n calling a rescue place
Will this stop ? Any ideas

I don't have personal experience of labradoodles but decided against one because of the cross-breed. You just have less idea what you're getting (not that any breed is wholly predictable it seems).

A friend of mine who has a labradoodle showed me the holes chewed in her doors and banisters, but that could be true of any dog I guess. Although he is very bouncy....!

We have a 9-month-old Labrador. First-time dog owners. He has been a dream. The worst thing he has done so far is pull too much on the lead!! He was bred for his temperament as a family dog and we chose the breeder carefully. He is certainly a credit to her.

So I would say whatever breed you go for, research, research, research - both the breed and the breeders. Read books first maybe? Good luck!

We have a miniature labradoodle. She's great. Very calm and gentle. We foster so she has put up with different aged children. She also accepted a kitten arriving and gets along with it great.
She doesn't need that much exercise, about an hour a day, but refuses to go out in the rain.
We have always had big dogs, Weimaraner, St. Bernard but decided on a smaller cuddly one this time.

Doesn't that cover all terriers?

They're not actually terriers which might lull people into a false sense of security! Probably about as hard work as a real terrier!

Edwardsmum Are you real? Did you leave other puppies for 2 hours at 11 weeks? Of course he'll mess everywhere, he isn't old enough to be housetrained. Is he the first dog you've had from that age? Please read up on housetraining & puppy care.

Crying is also normal for puppies just separated from their mummy and brothers and sisters. Most guides books I have read say to keep them in a place where you sleep at night (in a crate)...

No don't keep them in your bedroom not a good idea. Downstairs in a crate and ignore the crying right from the start, hotwater bottle and ticking clock and/or cuddly toy to snuggle up to.

All the Labradoodles I know are massive and very energetic. They are definitely not cute! 30kg of dog jumping all over you really isn't pleasant and I love pretty much all dogs..

The where the puppy should sleep debate mirrors the co-sleeping/CIO type discussions. Personally I have had 5 dogs from puppies, all sleep in a crate in my bedroom or directly on the bed with no problems. We didn't have any crying and they didn't develop any behavioral problems associated with where they sleep.

Put the poor tiny puppy in your room and gradually move it downstairs

Edwardsmum16 you seem to expect an awful lot from your very young puppy. You really don't sound like an experienced dog owner at all.

They're not actually terriers which might lull people into a false sense of security!

I've learned something there, didn't realise that at all.

No apparently when the first westerners went to Tibet and saw them the dogs reminded them of terriers back home. They're a utility dog, ours show interest in herding (they do try and round us up anyway) and they're definitely watchdogs! Ours wouldn't know what to do with a small furry if they caught one either!

I couldn't imagine leaving a very young mammal on it's own all night. It's entirely instinctual to seek security and protection from other dogs or humans. Being left alone is terrifying for a young creature, they think they're vulnerable and have no awareness that everyone is upstairs sleeping.

It's akin to adopting or fostering an 18 month old baby and leaving it in it's cot to cry for 12 hours the first night - you obviously wouldn't want the baby to get used to someone coming when it's distressed, would you?