Labradoodles

[jodesxx]

What are labradoodles genuinely like? I can see lots online but just want a real life answer!

We have a 9 month old baby and two cats. Looking to get a dog now. We have large garden and can easily give 1hr exercise 4 days a week round work patterns and longer onn3 days a week.

Also considering labradors, golden retriever

2 good friends of mine have labradoodles. They are both batshit. They are jumpy, barky, food-stealing escape artists. Agree with pp that you don't know what you are getting with a crossbreed but there does seem to be a theme with these dogs.

@Timeforachangeisitnot we have a beautiful lab/ goldie cross whose siblings were trained up as assistance dogs. They are fab dogs!

Op, our dog is wonderful but she is a from working lines and needs a lot of outdoor exercise and mental stimulation. She has two walks a day, does agility, flyball, gets lots of playtime with other doggy friends, and lots of off lead running around and sniffing about. (We are countryside based - lots of big spaces where you can avoid other people and dogs if you want to).

Our kids are teens/ tweens and I could not have coped with their needs and her needs when the kids were little. But other people do it and maybe it's just a matter of how you organise your life and prioritise your activities.

We previously had a sausage dog, and a goldador is another beast entirely - though a wonderful one!

We have a lovely laid back goldie with 2 small kids, I'm not against having a pup with kids in the right circumstances.

The difficulties are never leaving them alone together for a minute, even for a trip to the loo - you'll need stair gates everywhere. And toilet training - you're lucky it took 2 weeks previously but it can take months. will you take your crawling baby out to the garden with you for every loo trip? And don't underestimate the puppy biting, it goes on for the best part of a year. Lastly, the walking in all weathers, will you have to cart a toddler along with you?

Our goldie has 2 hours off lead walking a day usually, more at weekends and long runs with my husband. 1 hour is not enough for a large breed, perhaps with the exception of a greyhound.

They're gorgeous and I've been tempted, but I personally wouldn't. The ones I know (2 separate homes and unrelated) are bouncy and stubborn, constantly jumping up and mouthing. They need lots of time, exercise and training. Very affectionate and love people - maybe too much! Just a great big bundle of live wire fluff. One shed's a fair bit too, despite the reputation. So I'm guessing this isn't always a given.

Whatttt Labradors smell is up there next to fresh coffee, freshly cut grass and home made bread.

They always smell divine.

Many labradoodles are bonkers it is the luck of the draw which one you get. However you are more likely to get a nutter labadoodle than you are a pure lab.

Didn't he say that because other breeders started crossing everything with poodles. There are labradoodle guide dogs so they can be sensible. Several of my friends have/had them and they are lively (bouncy) but theirs don't shed (you can tell at the 8 weeks stage which are likely to be curly/fleece/hair). Just buy from someone else who has health tested.

Labrador puppies jump up and bite with razor sharp teeth. They’re also playful and jumpy for a long time, so you’ll need to be able to completely separate dog from baby/toddler like with a stair gate.

My sister in law has one and he's pretty chilled and lazy but very prone to separation anxiety, if my dog even looks at sil, he gets very annoyed. He is a sweetheart though and very cute. He is white and has some skin conditions, ears and paws. He was sold as a "miniature" but nothing miniature about him, quite big!

I have a large labradoodle and she is adorable. So loving and has bonded with all the family. Not a bad bone in her body. She is mostly poodle so has more poodle traits, like high energy and being highly strung. She barks like a mofo if there's a knock at the door, or if she hears a strange noise. Or if a leaf blows past the window. She's barky. We have two cats and they now keep out of dog's way which means we don't see them. Dog would love to play with them, they're not interested. It took 9 month to fully House train her and the biting, as a puppy was HORRENDOUS. We all walked around in hokey clothes for months. She also jumped and humped people, a lot.

She needs an hour to hour and a half walk morning and a 45 on-lead walk at night. She also wants to play when at home, and wants attention. This I don't mind, but my children are older teens not babies.

I wouldn't be without her but she is high maintenance and a nightmare as a pup. She is, though, gorgeous and very adorable as well as bonkers.

Labs are called land sharks for a reason. The biting is fucking horrific for a long time. Then they hit the teenage years and are bellends.

Mix this with the intelligence of a poodle and you’ve got a nightmare on your hands. When they’re grown they are fab dogs with enough mental and physical stimulation and excellent training though.

I wouldn’t get one until your youngest child is 8+ tbh. But that’s me because I know for a fact I couldn’t cope with a puppy and a young child.

Designer cross breeds are a hot bed for puppy farming and irresponsible breeding. Little to zero thought to health or behavioural issues but marketed as family pets. Better to get a pure lab but be aware that 1 hour walk per day won't be enough for most breeds.

Oh and the grooming is intense - brushing every day down to the undercoat to prevent painful mats and will need to be at the groomers every 6-8 weeks.

Someone in our family had a labradoodle and despite doing everything 'by the book', he became too much to handle and was re-homed with another family member.

The dog really was bonkers! He got at least 2 x 1 hour walks/mad runs/doodle dashes each day plus loads of brain-quizzing activities and attention but could never be trusted alone in a room as he'd chew anything (even at age 3) he could get his chops round.

He never sat still, was constantly restless and family tried everything including a trainer. They even sent him to a specialist dog walker once a week who'd take a pack of high energy dogs on a full day hike. Dog would come home exhausted, sleep (legs in the air the way doodles do) and then 2 hours later, be ready to go out again.

When the family member got suddenly sick and could no longer cope, a cousin who had years of experience took him and swore he'd be able to calm him down. 3 years on, dog is as mental as ever! 😂 He's happy enough as he now has the run of massive fields but he's just utterly loopy.

Having said that, another friend has a labradoodle and he's glorious. She volunteers with a charity who takes pets into care homes and the dog is perfect, gentle and placid.

I'd never get a labradoodle myself unless you have a lot of time and energy to put into its wellbeing. You're very brave to consider it while also looking after a wee one! 😊

I was fully expecting the smell when we got our labrador, but it never came haha. Not just me being biased neither, he just doesn’t have a strong smell, unless he has rolled in something undesirable. Most lab owners have that ‘dog smell’ in their car and house!
A lab is a lovely choice. I wouldn’t be without my boy 😍😍

I adore both breeds, and have had both.
our pure breed Labrador was the biggest softie and rarely bark - unless didn’t trust a situation/ person.
Easy to care for, just brush down outside - no need for washing unless rolling in muck / muddy waters .. important to keep the lab on a strict diet (weight is not good for their hips & health): the the puppy days are fun but intense and will stretch you as a new mother - do you have the mental and physical time to invest.

consistency in puppy training is critical - make sure you have time to invest in the pup to develop into your well trained family dog and you will never look back - best decision for a family dog.

Put your time in as a puppy to be the dog you want. Very challenging to re-train bad habits when the dog grows up.

the labradoodle was equally lovely temperament, you need to find a good breeder with ethics as there are many puppy mills that sell you a world full of problems. regular grooming became a regular expense until you learn to self groom with scissors. Patience and practise. Again any naughty habits learned as a pup, only get worse.. consistently is key.

Friend has got one and they are lovely but BONKERS and HUGE.

I have a first gen labradoodle, so he looks like a hairy lab rather than a curly labradoodle, and I am very grateful for that as he needs minimal grooming, but also doesn't shed too much.

He is a mix of a black working lab and a red miniature poodle, so he is about the size of a lab but fitter looking.

As a pup he was a bitey land shark and ate everything he could get, but as he has grown up he is the most chilled, gentle, lovely family dog. Snoozes most of the day, very gentle with kids and puppies, gentle with the cats. Can be left 4-5 hours (although we do that rarely), totally bomb proof. He has been easy to train and luckily the poodle has kicked in and he is not so much of a hoover when it comes to food (e.g. other people's picnics on walks!), in fact he can be fussy at times now.

The working lab in him needs a good vigorous run three times a day and the clever poodle needs an array of toys and stimulation at times.

But overall he is a brilliant family dog, perfectly behaved, not too big or small. We got very lucky! But obviously as a cross breed there are always lots of factors at play and avoiding dodgy breeders can be really tricky.

My friend has two and I'm not keen on them. The older one has several behavioural issues - it's prone to anxiety and very jealous of the other dog and is quite reactive - it's just very highly strung. Gets lots of exercise and training but actually not that nice to be around. Younger dog also a lab doodle but quite small in comparison. Much more chilled dog, but as a pair they just seem really in your face and hairy/smelly!

I'm quite surprised about how many bad 'reviews' I've just read...... We've definitely had more ups than downs with our 10 month old Labradoodle.
He was toilet trained pretty quickly, has slept downstairs from night 1, is very loving, eats fairly well and has 3 x 25 mins walks per day. He can be quite attention seeking & jumpy - has a mad half hour each night of eating socks, slippers etc but when the house is quiet he loves to snuggle on the sofa with me.
He does need brushing each day (he loves it though & rushes to sit down when I get the brush out) and goes to the groomers every 6 weeks.
He is quite big but we wouldn't swap him for anyone! A very big part of our family.

Have a look at Australian Labradoodles. They are a completely different kettle of fish to a first generation cross. It is hard to find a good breeder because there are a few who insist on early neutering as a puppy which I really disagree with. But there are a small group of careful breeders in the UK who breed for the love of it and to breed great family dogs, which are also great as service dogs. She shows and some of her dogs do film/tv work. They are much calmer and more predictable than a straight cross and make fabulous family companions. That said, even if you have had pups before, I still wouldn't until your youngest isn't crawling as it will be a nightmare.

I had to wait about a year and a half for both of mine. Breeder was extremely picky about who they could go to and was breeding for a specific purpose and had a full waiting list before the litter was even conceived. Both parents fully health checked. We had to sign a contract to say that if we couldn't keep the dog at any point in its life it is to go back to her. As I said, its unusual to find a good breeder of a cross breed but they are out there.

PM me if you'd like any more info.

I have a lab poodle mix.

He's an absolute babe.

He doesn't shed - but requires a lot of brushing plus grooming every 5-6 weeks, so consider the costs that come with that.

He's got a long fleece coat, which we would like to keep rather than have him cut short, but that does mean that when it's raining and/or muddy, he requires a lot of brushing and drying.

He's a fairly big boy, 24kg at 8 months.

He was an absolute land shark when he was younger, but has grown out of the mouthing stage. I don't think a day has gone by since we got him where I haven't had to remove a sock from his mouth at least once.

He's super friendly, too friendly with dogs which is 100% our fault as we over-socialised him early on, but we are working on it.

He does tend to think that the world is his audience and doesn't understand why people wouldn't want to stop and fuss him, which isn't helped by the fact that 90% of people we come across DO want to stop and fuss him.

Poodle mixes can be a controversial choice, due to them being over bred and popular, and obviously there are no standards for a mix breed. Our pups parents were both health tested, so I'm happy that he was bred as ethically as possible for a mix.

He's a work in progress for sure, but still just a baby and we'll get there.

I have heard great things about Cavapoos - a lot calmer than either Labradoodles or Cockapoos.

But, as PPs have said, PLEASE just wait until your DC is older!!

I have poodles. They are ace!!

The goldendoodle I see on the beach is massive and always out of control either bouncing everywhere (off lead) or towing it's owner (on lead). The owner said he is much much bigger than they expected him to be.

We’ve got a calm cockerpoo and know a few others….and some mad cavapoos….and vice versa.

We’ve had a Golden Retriever, a Labradoodle and now have a miniature poodle.

A GR is a big dog, they are strong, they can reach to the backs of worktops, they are thieves and greedy, they love water and especially muddy water and they shed fur everywhere all the time. They need a lot of grooming and a lot of exercise and lots of playtime with you. They are very boisterous and will knock everything flying when they enter a room. In return, they are loyal, loving, kind and amazing dogs, I love them.

Do not get any sort of poodle cross. Labradoodles are second to cockapoos when it comes to high energy, bonkers behaviour, and they still shed.

Poodles are the dream dog. Intelligent, loving, easy to train, clean and non shedding. Why they aren’t in fashion these days is baffling. All these poodle crosses are madness, just get a poodle. I must confess I was put off having a poodle at one time, due to their look and cost of grooming . Well, it turns out that you can cut a poodle coat yourself easily. We do ours all over the same and she looks like a normal dog.

#poodlesrule