Poodle or poodle cross

[olivehater]

Been thinking of getting a poodle for a while now. DS is desperate for one. He has ADHD and I think it will really help calm him, occupy him and allow him to expel some of his energy energy. He is great with other peoples dogs.
Unfortunately he and I also have allergies.
So thinking of a poodle or poodle cross. I know nothing is completely hypoallergenic. But we plan to only allow it downstairs and starting to think the reward to his mental health outwieghs the risk to his health.

Any advice greatly received. In an ideal world I want a medium size dog that is intelligent enough to train properly but not super anxious and able to go in kennels eventually as we have no family to help us when we do go on holiday. I think a pure poodle would be more of a guarantee of a the right kind of coat but worry about some of the quirks of the breed. would a standard or miniature be better ( my perfect dog would be in between those in terms of size). Or Would a doodle be better?

No @ACynicalDad , we don't hate the dogs. We hate the fact that they are almost all bred and bought from puppy farms. There do not seem to be many (if any) ethical breeders of crossbreeds.

If you are suggesting that the OP get one, please could you point us in the direction of an Australian Labradoodle breeder that is not a puppy farm?
Thank you.

@ACynicalDad Every single breeder your 'Australian Labradoodle' club of GB recommends is a puppy farmer. Not a single one with less than six breeding bitches. And the one you used, I believe from what I remember from a similar Post you made, had 12 (or something similar?).

And, yes I will say this every time you mention this breed - no dog should suffer the way the bitches being used to breed your designer doodle have.

As C&T says. We don't hate the dogs.

Personally, I just hate the unethical breeders and the ignorant, shameless, puppy-farm supporting owners 😊

We got ours from a hobby breeder, so much of the below is irrelevant to us, but I do think they are fantastic dogs.

Here is the global register of them, it's protected, but shows what's around, I'm pretty sure it's not there for your average cockerpoo https://australianlabradoodle.pedigreedatabaseonline.com/en/
If the Kennel Club recognised them there may be more breeders for show who have spare puppies rather than leaving the space to people who focus on breeding, but that's a moot point.

There are more breeders on this site https://australianlabradoodleassociation.co.uk/

I follow the FB group that another group of breeders run there is a lot of advice and aftercare, including breeders saying return them, I don't know if they take any back themselves, as I doubt that's a public conversation, but from the tone of the advice I'd expect they would if it was necessary. Several in the group do have a wider group of bitches that live with their forever family and come back before they're due. I briefly looked at taking one of these bitches, but didn't. The one I looked at said that each is used for a maximum of four litters. I'm not 100% comfortable with that model, but it is very different from Amish-style battery cages.

I'd describe them as commercial breeders, not puppy farms.

Not to rain on your parade, OP, but you say that both of you work - how long are you able to take off work when the puppy arrives? It won't be able to go to work with your DH until it's house trained and that really does vary by the individual dog - and you can't leave a young puppy alone.

Mini poodles are fab. We use stair gates to keep the dogs downstairs.

How is it @ACynicalDad that you are unable to see that these breeders are all puppy farms? That four litters from a bitch is too many? That bitches being farmed out to live elsewhere and returning to give birth is not what reputable breeders do?
Some of these kennels have 30 plus dogs. If that isn't a puppy farm, what is?
Yes, you do say you're not 100% comfortable with this, yet you still recommend them on every puppy thread. Why is this?
If your dog came from a hobby breeder as you claim, then why are you constantly encouraging people to buy from puppy farms?

Are you just ignorant of the fact that for most purebred KC registered dogs, this type of breeding is not the norm? All my dogs came from small show kennels. None of them had more than 4 or 5 dogs, most had either one or two breeding bitches, and a couple of older show dogs. Those are reputable breeders, producing occasional litters to keep their own bloodlines going, not churning out endless puppies for money.

The crossbreeding industry needs to be regulated, but in the meantime, I implore anybody reading this to please ether choose a purebred puppy from a responsible breeder or go to a reputable rescue and rehome a dog, rather than supporting these unethical breeding practices.

Thank you and apologies to @olivehater for derailing your thread.

I think the dog I’ve ended up with is absolutely wonderful, I’ll promote where I see the opportunity. If you ask someone to describe a puppy farm they are looking at cages and bitches having back to back litters until they prolapse. There is a whole lot of health testing going on within the breed, as I say there are some commercial breeders but very different to the Amish style.

Bursted I work two days a week and Dh has his own business. He can work from home in the early weeks on my days.

CoubousAndTourmaIet
It’s all eye opening for me in my early days of research. Happy to be detailed.
Wont be hurrying into anything.

Dont get a doodle get a poodle, my standard is at the smaller end the breed standard and is about the size of a collie, she is a star, good with the kids, enjoys walks but enjoys sleeps too…

Get a showline Labrador or a Golden retriever

I'm honestly glad that you love your dog so much. I wish more people felt their dog was wonderful. I'm sorry if I'm being harsh, but if your chosen breed is ever to be fully recognised and accepted by the UK KC, your breed club needs to do far more to encourage ethical and responsible breeding, because right now it is not in a good place due to overbreeding.
My gripe is not with you, or with the dogs, but purely with large scale commercial breeding.

Standard poodle gets my vote here @MoreHairyThanScary , your girl sounds lovely.

What about a Maltipoo? Mine is 20 months old, 6kg, mum was half standard poodle and dad toy poodle. Only problem I've had is I've found anything poodle are very picky eaters.. we've previously had staffy's so weren't used to the grooming either but she goes groomers every 5-6 weeks. Lovely dog 🐕 ❤️

My P.A. (Poodle Assistant) has been with me for about a month now. I got her to help me with my ADHD, and she's been utterly adorable, funny, kind, quick to learn and... definitely opinionated.

But, this is my fourth dog and I have previously wrangled a very willful, (though velcro and soppy), intact male Parson Russell terrier for 13 years... A poodle is a miracle of sensitive tact and nuance compared with a terrier, and I would never dream of bossing my poodle the way I had to boss him! I often find myself almost 'negotiating' with my poodle because she is so clever, and she needs to be 'included in the game', rather than just being 'told what to do'. If a poodle feels rebellious they can be naughty and they will have a go at training you!
My sister has cockerpoos. One's very thick and sweet, the other is clever and a bit of a twat. The non shedding hair is amazing. You swap hoovering for ££ grooming, however.

So we are going to look at a mini poodle….

Brilliant news @olivehater - I think poodles are a perfect dog for so many families and too often overlooked! Let us know how it goes and also if you want any advice on what to look out for or ask (good breeders should quiz you and want to be quizzed in return)! 😊

Found on the kennel club site. I assume that’s good. Seems like a small family home breeder.

The main thing that was putting me off was my friend that said they had a poodle and it was horrible and snappy. But that is one dog.

I hope it goes well. We have a cockerpoo that's happy and healthy and really keen on human cuddles. She's quite intuitive and apart from a dislike of fireworks she's pretty solid, good recall and able to quiet a bark. She doesn't love other dogs or seek them out but will tolerate them Ours was from a breeder that only does 2 (max three) litters and she's since stopped as she found potential buyers exhausting and she won't let dogs go somewhere she isnt comfortable with.

I would consider a miniature poodle too. If allergies are important I find my friends two labradoodles do still shed. They are incredibly enthusiastic and loving but fairly daft.

I think there of course are breeders of doodles that aren't ethical (and maybe more than of other breeds because of their perceived popularity) but there are unethical breeders of any breed. Plus there's sometimes a narrative here that you just need to wait for the right rescue if you're really committed but that isn't right for everyone. We are experienced dog owners but understandably a rescue didn't want such a young child in our home. I felt confident I could manage that and we had a very specific and timely reason for wanting a dog at that time.

Make sure the KC breeder has done ALL the recommended pre- mating breed specific tests. Not all KC- advertised litters are good ones.

I have a 2.5kg toy poodle and she is the sweetest little girl, she's 1 year old now and she is kennel club registered.
She can go days and days without a bark as she only does a little bark if she's taken by surprise and something startles her. She sleeps all night until we get up, she goes outside to toilet 4/5 times a day and hasn't had an accident since being trained. Training was quick and easy using bells on the back door that she used straight away. She loves to cuddle up on the couch and she is so calm and well behaved. We adore her!
Poodles are the absolute best!!!

We only went and did it. Took my son to check out a litter of miniature poodles to see how he reacted and we obviously fell in love and put a deposit on one. Went back a couple of times with the family. Very little allergic reatuon from either of us. There were some cavapoos there also which he did react to.

Well he is home and currenty chilling with me before bedtime. We are all in love and can’t get over what an amazing chilled, lovely natured boy we have. Kids coddle him and he loves it all and takes all the madness like a champ. My son is besotted and evenings have already improved for us as a family as the kids are all downstairs more ( PlayStation has also made the move downstairs ). Apart from little tickles are the back of the throat the first few nights I have barely been affected. So pleased we went for a miniature poodle and not a cross. His coat is gorgeous and not a single hair has been shed!

I have a wonderful miniature poodle. They are great dogs, enjoy.

I can tell you've all fallen in love with him already! So glad you went for a poodle too and not a cross breed.....someone told me always to choose a pedigree.
Enjoy him, he'll grow so fast!!