Cockapoo or Golden Retriever?

[BaconAndAvocado]

Considering getting a dog for the first time and these two breeds appeal.

Any thoughts?

@wingingitalltheway We now have 4 goldendoodles in our extended family. They are literally the perfect dog! Non shedding, calm, intelligent, funny, goofy etc. We have a range of colours and slightly different coat types but 3 of them don't shed and the other one sheds very very little. We got them all from the same breeder over a couple of years, and not had a single problem with any of them.

I work in dog rescue so was a bit unsure about them spending so much money on a puppy but I have to agree they all seem to be worth it.

I have two golden doodles and I would agree that they are the perfect dogs!
Although mine do shed but nowhere near as much as a standard retriever.
They come in a range of sizes and I would recommend maybe getting a smaller one. My two are HUGE and we struggle to find a car boot that can comfortably accommodate the both of them.

A few of my friends have cockapoos and they say they're mental!

@PuppyMonkey, he is absolutely adorable

One of my friends has had her cockapoo for a year and is regretting it (didn't research) as the dog never stops pestering her.

@BumbleBeeFlower Oh yes, they are bigger than we expected!
One is far bigger than standard poodle.
We did look into getting the smaller doodle types, but wanted to stay with our trusted breeder, who was only using standard poodles.

We have a cockapoo and just love him to pieces. He's very loving and cuddly and likes to be around his people. He was very easy to train (completely toilet trained by just over 11 weeks). His walking to heel took practice and he's generally very good now (he's 2) except if he sees a bird or squirrel!

He doesn't moult and we keep him short (my dh cuts him), so he's done at least once a month. He's still a bit jumpy when excited and when he see's new people who show him a bit of attention. Recall is now very good.

We can leave him for up for 4 hours at a time (max) and he gets 2-3 walks per day. A quick morning one, a 2 hr one with a dog walker and maybe a quick evening one.

He is great with children and other dogs.

@LochJessMonster ours are crossed with a standard poodle as well. I am 5'10 and they are both as tall as me when they stand on their back legs. In fact, they are almost the same size as my Shetland pony!

Discover dogs at Crufts is brilliant!
Kennel Club do have a breed selector quiz. You need to think about grooming and exercise and training needs. Whether you like the look of the dog is going to be the least of your concerns!
Personally I wouldn’t touch a popular crossbreed. They won’t come from a decent breeder.
If you want a pedigree then go through the breed club. Consider the very worst that breed has to offer. That way you can hopefully avoid an awful mistake. Good luck!

Puppymonkey your boy is adorable ❤️

We live nowhere near Birmingham because that sounds great - Discover Dogs.

I'm putting search on hold for now.......we would be looking at next year after 2 family holidays to take the plunge but be got an awful lot of great advice on here so thank you all.

One thing I have learnt is,that whoever you speak to,will have a different idea,about what makes the best family dog! I met a friend for coffee today who owns a cockapoo but through recommended a Labrador as she grew up,with them!

The quest continues ..........🐕🐩🐶

@BaconAndAvocado your friend is v wise.... a Lab would be a very suitable first family dog

@BaconAndAvocado I waited two years once I decided on a breed. You can’t just decide this month is the month. Good breeders don’t have many litters.

OP I bet if you saw our dog, you'd say he was a cockerpoo - he's a miniature poodle in a pet clip. So if you like the 'look' of cockerpoos, you'd do better just going for a pure poodle. As they are now far less popular than all the poodle crosses (although no idea why), you are far more likely to find a decent breeder