I bought a 3rd generation labradoodle, Tess, 16 years ago from a house in Warwickshire, she was living in the house of the breeder with her Mum and her siblings, we picked her up when she was 9 weeks. I was amazed at the time, on the day we went to pick her up - knowing nothing about dogs - that the owner said one fairly firm word 'no' to some little pups who were about to jump into her plant pots - and they all stopped! My son was 3 at the time, he adored Tess and would roll around with her - I have photos of the two of them under a duvet both with their tongues out. What I didn't realise at the time was that puppies nip, but Tess not once nipped either of us, she didn't attempt to destroy or chew anything other than her own bones and toys - as with one almost firm 'no' she would look mortified! She was a gentle soul (although was partial to pinching food if left out unsupervised and within easy reach) When out - when away from roads - she would fly off and disappear but always came back - minutes later. I had a friend cry when out with us as she thought we had lost her! But she always came back and I knew she would. She had to go in January at 15 and 3/4, she had a couple of strokes, we were devastated. It became quite ridiculous as we couldn't move her bed or pour away the water from her water bowl, we had candles lit in the room she slept in. I was off work for a week. My DS became clingy with me, which was very out of character for him at this stage of his life. So I bought another puppy - I chose, on impulse, another poodle cross being, for today, a reasonable price at £750. His Dad is a miniature poodle and Mum's an Irish Setter. Mum was at the house when we picked him up, she's a beautiful setter with a lovely temperament, and he's come from a loving home. He's 6 months now, he's 19kg. He looks like a cross between Scooby Doo and Chewbacca. He's adorable, his recall is pretty good, however he delays returning if there's another dog to play with, or one he's trying to tempt into play - he's very sociable loving people as well, whereas Tess had no interest in other dogs, and aside -oddly enough - for one particular older lady who we came across a few times when walking - she wouldn't go out of her way to approach people . Our hands were covered in little bites from our new pups baby teeth and he's had little episodes of being a tiny and fierce terror, showing us his hunting skills, and he's still mouthy now when he gets excited first thing in the morning and in the evening when we all sit down together! If we called Tess in the house she would fly over, whereas our new pup stops and looks at us - as though he's thinking 'what's in this for me'. I can't stop him from trying to steal food from the kitchen worktops, but he's quite happy for us to remove food from his mouth if needs be, he doesn't chew furniture or anything other than his bones, he responds well to a 'no' - so two doodle mixes both loving and caring, both ok when out as regards recall, but with our second dog it's a bit of a learning curve! Tess led me into a false sense of security making me think dog training is easy!