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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Sproodle vs Airedale

41 replies

Poppyred85 · 15/11/2017 12:01

Hi, looking for some advice please. We are looking to get our first family pet. I really love spaniels but DH is not so keen on their looks and would prefer a low shedding dog so we are thinking about a sproodle or an Airedale as a compromise. Trying to get some ideas of which breed would suit us best and wondered if anyone could help. I know there's a wide variety with the sproodle she as to whether they favour the poodle or springer side but my questions are:
How well do these two breeds tolerate being alone? There are 2 days a week when no one will be home for 6-10 hours although the dog would be walked before and after work. Would we need to have a dog sitter/walker come for those days?
How much exercise on average do you find your dog needs?
Any health problems?
How do they get on with children. We have DS (nearly 5) and I've read that both breeds are great with kids.
Are they good dogs for first time owners? DH had dogs as a child but we've never owned one as adults. I like the idea of going to classes and possibly even getting into agility or fly ball.
Thanks!

OP posts:
missbattenburg · 15/11/2017 12:24

Airedales are terriers and if you think about the work of a terrier, much of it is the dog alone doing the work - albeit with a handler. This means they can be stubborn and independent. They are also clever and require mental stimulation to stay happy. Think something akin to a couple of hours good walking (countryside with lots of smells or similar) and another hour or so of one-to-one training and interaction. He will require a bit more than that on the days you leave him alone, otherwise you risk his boredom turning to destruction while you are out.

Sproodles are springer/poodle mixes. The issue with a mix is that you cannot be sure whether you will get the best of both breeds or the worst. You need to be prepared for the worst:

Springers are another high energy breed that requires similar walking and interaction to the airedale (minimum). They are also bred to work alongside humans and so are more prone to distress when left alone. That distress could turn to destruction. They are also gun dogs so mouthy, especially when young. Your children will require preparing for a chewy/mouthy dog with needles sharp teeth.

Poodles are similar to springers, but smarter and often more sensitive. They need a good amount of exercise and hate being left alone, generally. They also need an especially kind hand (all dogs do, but you know what I mean).

6-10 hours is far too long to leave any dog unattended (maybe six hours, at a push for a very old and docile dog who just settles down to sleep). For all other dogs, four hours, max, before someone comes in to toilet and walk him. A 10 hour day means someone in twice or day care for the full day.

My dog is a show springer - they are a bit calmer than working springers - and still needs something akin to 3 hours a day one-to-one time (walking, training, playing). And he is just a puppy who cannot walk too far right now. Once adult, he will need 4 hours plus.

Honestly, while I understand thinking some dogs are cuter than others, pick for temperament and not for looks. Once you get a dog and love it, the looks not longer matter - they ALL end up looking beautiful. I also have a little rat terrier with no teeth and funny eyes. When we got him, at one year old, I thought he was an odd looking thing. I now think he is the cutest dog ever.

All dogs are active so even the 'lazier' ones so don't worry about not being able to do activities with them. Assuming you can do something to prevent the 6 hours alone, a companion breed is a good starter (Cav King Charles, for e.g. though these needs to come from a top notch, excellent breeder to try to avoid the awful health issues).

Alternatively work with a good rescue centre and get an older dog of any breed with the right personality for you. All breeds have typical and non-typical members so you can find lazy springer, for example.

dotdotdotmustdash · 15/11/2017 19:40

I wish people wouldn't refer to the cutesy names given to mixed-breed dogs as 'breeds', they're not.

If you want a Poodle, get a Poodle, if you want a Spaniel, get a Spaniel. If you a want a low-shedding breed of dog just google it and you'll find plenty of breeds who don't shed and might suit your lifestyle. Please don't be sucked into believing the nonsense of backyard breeders - that anything mixed with a Poodle is a great idea because it often isn't. What do you think happens to the Poodle-mixes who don't inherit the Poodle coat? They're just scruffy mongrels like thousands of others who are languishing in rescues up and down the country. Do them a favour and give one of them a home rather than giving your money to a Greeder.

EMSMUM16 · 15/11/2017 20:26

Agree with missbattenburg. Breeds are different but personally i think a poodle is a good family pet. They love learning tricks & really want to please. I'm a dog groomer & find that cavalier king charles have lovely temperaments, if you're looking for a spaniel and are prepared to compromise. One thing I would say is that poodles or poodle crosses need regular grooming because their coats get matted easily ( poodle cross king charles are also lovely I've found),
I have a springer spaniel and poodle × and find that the springer has tons of energy, really quite crazy dogs! The mini poodle x is a lot more affectionate but because she has some terrier in her she can be very protective. I've just also adopted a mini dachshund & so far so good! He's very sweet.
Puppies are pretty hard work so you will need someone to help on the days you aren't there & 6 hours is too long for an adult dog I'd say.
Do your research on breeds of dogs. Go onto the kennel club website there is info on all dog breeds for you to look through

mustbemad17 · 15/11/2017 20:33

Maximum recommended time for a dog alone is 5 hours, tops. And that is pushing it. Aside from being cruel to expect them to hold their bladder for that long, they will get bored shitless. And a bored dog often means a destructive one!

Someone has already written what i was going to about designer crossbreeds. These are not breeds & often crossed by idiots who have no idea what they are doing & no idea what tests etc they should be doing; you risk a lot of potential health & temperament issues.

Do some research & pick an actual breed. Don't go by looks, go by what fits in with your lifestyle. Working dogs are no good if you are expecting them to be alone two days a week; my house is a wonderful example of what happens when unruly working dogs get destructive (foster dogs so not my doing, in case anyone jumps!). Then find a good dogwalker OR a local dog crechè who will be able to deal with the days you are not around.

Queenofthedrivensnow · 16/11/2017 23:22

Airdales are bloody gorgeous but you don’t see them often and there’s a reason for that - they are large working dogs and need a lot of stimulation.

Poodles are very clever I would have one but as others have said they hate being left.

Designer breeds are for fools and puppy farmers.

We have a show cocker. Pros - he is aggression free and I trust him with other dogs, he isn’t a working dog and is happy with an hour a day - longer walks at weekends exhaust him!, he is very friendly, he doesn’t shed as much as I thought he was, he is absurdly loyal, he’s actually a brilliant guard dog and hears anyone even thinking about approaching the house it’s spooky.

Cons - he doesn’t have endless patience and has bitten kids who have poked him in the eye or similar, he is thick as mince!, he chases cats and any animals, he struggles with even the slightest routine change and gets quite stressed, he is a terrible food stealer I had to put a lock on the bin, he has only really attached to me - I am his human and he is like my shadow

Thewolfsjustapuppy · 17/11/2017 08:55

An Airdale is no bigger or more high need than a Labrador, for example. However they do need a lot of grooming - any low shedding dog will as the coat still dies it just needs to be either stripped or clipped out.

Personally I can see the attraction of a poodle mix, they are so cute as puppies! Unfortunately they don't seem to grow up to be that cute, in fact they seem to all look a bit ridiculous with with a sort of generic close clip.

There are more suitable breeds and mixes for a first family pet, as a PP suggested, why not google it with your set of circumstances and needs. The Kennel Club is also a good source of unbiased info on this sort of thing.

ProfessorCat · 17/11/2017 09:00

If you want a non shedding dog, why would you buy a mongrel that would have a high chance of shedding?

Whitney168 · 17/11/2017 09:46

Good luck with appeasing your neighbours and having any house left if you leave either of those for 6-10 hours, I would think.

You will definitely need someone coming in at least once on a 6 hour stint, and twice on a 10 hour one when the dog is an adult. Obviously as a puppy, they would need far more.

Anything Springer or crossed with a Springer is going to be extremely high energy.

ComeTheFuck0nBridget · 17/11/2017 09:56

All these ridiculous poodle crosses are promoted a certain way and they're so popular at the moment, I know a few people with them and although of course they love their dog, they all have problems with them.

They all seem to border on quite anxious and highly strung, have difficulties toilet training or more accurately, nervous wetting. It's 50/50 as to whether you will get the non shedding coat, and the people breeding these dogs are doing so for nothing other than money. There are no health checks or anything like that and they have no one to answer to or no one monitoring that they're not having too many litters etc.

It's great you're asking for advice but I would suggest doing a little bit more research, google for the negatives of each breed and really think about the realities of them.

I would suggest a Lhasa Apso if you want a dog that doesn't shed. You have to have them cut but they're bright, active, small, great mix of friendly and independent, and general good health too.

ProfessorCat · 17/11/2017 10:16

The chance of a non shedding coat is much less than 50/50 Smile

Flippetydip · 17/11/2017 11:58

Our friends have an Airedale. She works from home and walks and walks it. It needs a lot of mental stimulation. It's basically a massive terrier and they are stubborn - lovely but stubborn as a rule. That said, their dog is fabulous with their young children.

I echo the sentiment, if you want a poodle get a poodle.

If you want a low-shedding dog that doesn't need much exercise or mental stimulation get a greyhound. There are literally thousands which need rehoming.

Wolfiefan · 17/11/2017 12:01

Don't get a dog and leave it for 6-10 hours. Any breed.
Spaniels. Mad energy.
Poodles. Very bright.
Spoodles? Puppy farmed dog. Could be anything.
Airedales. BIG and strong.

partystress · 17/11/2017 12:13

Going to be a dissenter in favour of poodle crosses. We had a retriever standard poodle cross who, although she possibly took longer to mature than our Westie, had the most loving gentle nature ever. We got her when we couldn't get a rescue dog due to the ages of DCs and we were attracted to non-pedigree, so fewer inherited health issues, and non-shedding as DH has asthma. She was a beautiful girl who we still miss hugely.

Wolfiefan · 17/11/2017 12:16

A cross can end up with the health parents of both pedigrees.
No dog is hypo allergenic. And a cross could have any kind of coat.
And generally the product of puppy farmers.

ProfessorCat · 17/11/2017 12:44

Just because your cross was OK, doesn't mean every cross is.

Queenofthedrivensnow · 17/11/2017 12:49

I’ve met some bloody lovely poodle crosses who made superb family pets but it’s a hell of a gamble for a first time dog owner.

Greyhounds are good with the walk pattern the op describes but hate being left alone though. I notice my cocker copes much much better with me working than my rescue Frey I had before though as I said he cannot bear a routine change

Queenofthedrivensnow · 17/11/2017 12:55

Also op I would have bought an Airedale myself if I could cope with one - the were my dream dog! Everything I read out me off them so I just pat the airdales of strangers :-)

CornflakeHomunculus · 17/11/2017 15:04

...we were attracted to non-pedigree, so fewer inherited health issues...

Outcrossing/cross breeding is a very useful tool for dealing with specific health issues within a breed (the LUA damatians are an excellent example of this) and for increasing genetic diversity however it's not a magic bullet. It needs to be done carefully to be beneficial, it's absolutely not the case that a cross of any two breeds is guaranteed to be healthier than a pedigree of either breed that has been bred in similar circumstances.

Taking the example of a labrador x standard poodle, whilst there are quite a few conditions present in the lab population that aren't in standard poodle (and so they could be reliably avoided by a first cross) some of the most common issues affecting both breeds are shared between them. Both breeds can be affected by hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia, although the latter is less common in poodles is certainly far from unknown and given how common it is in labradors a cross to standard poodles would not be a sensible first choice for improving the state of elbows within the breed population. Both breeds can be affected by hereditary cataracts and prcd-PRA with only the latter currently having a reliable DNA test. Degenerative Myelopathy and Macrothrombocytopenia are present in both breeds, thankfully DNA tests are available for both and these should be utilised when crossing the two just as they should when breeding either breed.

There are also a number of heritable conditions seen in both breeds which currently can't be tested for; Epilepsy, Addison's Disease, various cancers, Hypothyroidism, Cushing's Disease and GDV.

Just as health testing alone can't completely guarantee the health of the resulting puppies (there's an excellent article about the limitations of health testing here), cross breeding/outcrossing in and of itself isn't a guarantee of health either. Health testing doesn't negate the need be careful with inbreeding coefficients and cross breeding (which actually doesn't always mean a huge amount in terms of genetic diversity depending on how closely the breeds involved are related) doesn't negate the need for relevant genetic testing/health screening. To safeguard the future health of individual breeds and dogs a whole breeders need to be utilising both carefully to improve health and genetic diversity.

partystress · 17/11/2017 17:03

I wasn't really asking for a lecture. There are no guarantees with ANY animal that it won't have some kind of health issues. Not all cross breeds come from puppy farms, and plenty of pure breeds do. We saw our 'doodle' at the home where she was born, indoors, with her mother and siblings, just as we did with our Westie. The doodle literally had not a single appointment with the vet other than immunisations. The Westie had to have her thigh bone removed due to Legge-Perthes, a condition to which the breed is susceptible and as a result has arthritis. Does that tell us anything about every doodle or every non-cross dog? No. Don't be browbeaten OP. Get the dog you most want. Our two best have both been rescue mongrels.

partystress · 17/11/2017 17:06

Sorry Cornflake. Your post was informative, but not hectoring: however, the anti-cross breed brigade on here really needle me!

Queenofthedrivensnow · 17/11/2017 17:31

Don’t get the dog you want that’s how people end up with bloody malamutes!! Get the dog that fits into your family best

Wolfiefan · 17/11/2017 17:56

Queen. I wanted a wolfhound. But I did my research. Would this breed fit our lifestyle? What about grooming and training and exercise and could I cope with the breed traits?
If only people wouldn't choose a tiny puppy because it's cute or something they just like the look of.

ProfessorCat · 17/11/2017 18:12

Erm, what?

I've owned Malamutes for 20 years. What are you on about?

Wolfiefan · 17/11/2017 18:16

Professor I don't think that poster had a problem with the breed. I think they have a problem with the idiots who live in tiny houses and CBA to walk a dog and don't consider the training or grooming needs of the dog. They just like how they look. Sad

Queenofthedrivensnow · 17/11/2017 18:30

Professor - no offence in my post - beautiful intelligent working dogs yes - suitable for most families with busy lives - no. I had never heard of them until 2 were removed by the rspca from a first floor flat. That’s my issue!