DoodleLane

What is a doodle?
A doodle is a term that shortens up the words goldendoodle and labradoodle. A goldendoodle is a cross between a poodle and a golden retriever.
A labradoodle is a cross between a poodle and a labrador retriever.

"Cooper" - goldendoodle

Why are people doing this cross?
Maybe a better question would be why not? With all of the inbreeding and linebreeding found in the purebred world, crossing the poodle and retriever breeds helps to alleviate common genetic disorders from both worlds. We are creating a hybrid cross. Of course, doing this cross does not neccessarily mean that you will get a puppy that is completely free of genetic problems. There is always a chance. We test our dogs for various genetic disorders, and can therefore offer a guarantee on our puppies. Testing your adult dogs does increases the chances of getting a more sound puppy.
Please realize that breeding these wonderful hybrids is not as simple as get a poodle, and get a retriever and bam! You have puppies. A lot of time and effort goes in to our breeding program, and I know that I can vouch for the many other breeders who share my love for this wonderful cross.
I find that there is much controversy in the purebred world with regards to the "best" dog and keeping the "best" line. My comment however does not apply to every purebred breeder, as I know many retriever breeders who also share my views on the negative sides of line breeding. From my own personal experiences with searching for a new puppy for my own breeding program, I know that I do not always look, like, and buy a puppy. I myself find that it is very important to know the genetic background of my line, and I do not support line breeding. I want a puppy that is from two adult dogs, without the same lineage, and one that has come from a wonderful background with regards to health testing. It is for this reason that we have continued our breeding program with our own puppies. If you have gone to the page with "Our Girls" on it, you will find that our females are related. We did this for one main reason...we were going to know for sure the background of the puppy, and the temperment of the parents first hand. We researched for the "perfect" stud to compliment our girls, and went from there...with no line breeding. We have 3 generations of golden retrievers at our house, and I can honestly say that it was the best thing for our program.

What is the difference between a goldendoodle and a labradoodle?
With my experience, I find that temperment wise, there is not much of a difference. If you research a purebred golden retriever and a labrador retriever you will find that both breeds are wonderful people dogs, very intelligent, and great with children. Labs are more commonly used as Seeing Eye Dogs due to their trainability. With both breeds you can have differences and similarities. Each individual puppy will always be different from the next.
I find the main difference between these two breeds to be their coat type, and with that, the incidence of shedding or non-shedding coats.

Will my dog shed?
With both breeds, goldendoodles and labradoodles, there is a chance that your puppy will shed. As you can see in many different doodle pictures, there are a variety of coats...some shedding and some not.
Our F1 goldendoodle and labradoodle puppies are technically 50% golden retriever (or lab) and 50% poodle. We do not guarantee non-shedding for our F1 doodles. We can give you our opinion based on our years of experience. But if you don't want to take the chance of shedding, and F1 is not for you. There is however, reduced grooming in the F1 generation.
F1b goldendoodles are technically 75% poodle and 25% golden retriever. This cross would be much better for people who are concerned with shedding and allergies.
Our F2 and F3 labradoodles are the best guarantee for non-shedding, and the best for people with allergies. We have beautiful fleece and wool coats. Check out the labradoodle gallery for pictures and more info on our labradoodles.

How big do your doodles usually get?

A MINI sized doodle ranges from 14-16 inches. They are typically 15-25 lbs. We have mini labradoodles available on occasion.

A MEDIUM sized doodle ranges from 17-20 inches tall. Medium doodles weigh 30-45 lbs. We breed medium sized goldendoodles and labradoodles.

A STANDARD sized doodle ranges from 21-25 inches tall. They range in weight from 50-65 lbs. We breed standard size goldendoodles and labradoodles.

I read that you microchip your puppies, what does that mean?
A microchip is for identification purposes and can never be removed. It is a small chip that is placed underneath the skin of your puppy between the shoulder blades.
Say for instance, that you lost your puppy and someone picked him/her up. Every vet office, shelter, and rescue clinic will have a scanner. Your puppy will be scanned, and the information stored in the little chip will have all of your contact information listed because you are the owner. There is a greater recovery of microchipped puppies/dogs than with tatooing (another form of identification).

What dog food do you feed?
We feed Royal Canin. It is available across Canada and the USA. This is a very high quality food. Our puppies start off eating the puppy starter. After eating the smaller kibble for about 1-2 weeks, we switch the puppies to a larger puppy kibble. Our puppies have done very well with the breeder starter food because it is a very small soft kibble when moistened with warm water and it provides a very simple transition for the puppies when going from their mother's milk to regular puppy food.

How much should I feed my puppy?
For a standard size puppy, a good guideline for feeding is your puppy's age. Three months old = 3 cups, four months old = 4 cups, 5 months old = 5 cups. We usually stop at 5 cups, at which your puppy should eat until his first birthday. If he is still growing, continue with 5 cups. Afterwards, bring the feeding down to 4 cups/day. If your dog is not as active and seems to be 'full' or getting fat, cut it down to 3 cups. Your dog will tell you if he is still hungry. If your puppy just won't settle down and he seems to be 'bouncing off the wall' he is probably still hungry. Depending on your dogs' energy level, he will need to eat more or less than these guidelines. If you are a very active family and your dog is always running or swimming, your dog will need to eat more than the next door neighbors dog who spends his time sleeping on the couch.

If you have a mini or a small medium, it will definitely need less food.

How often should I feed my puppy?
When the puppies leave here, they are eating 3 times a day. Depending on your time table, I would cut down the feeding at 3-4 months old to 2 times a day. Feeding your puppy more often will result in potty training problems because it will seem like your puppy is always going to the bathroom for the simple reason that it is always eating.

Are these dogs easy to train?
With every breed you will have puppies that were easy to train and others that seemed to be more aloof when it comes to obedience. I have found that both the goldendoodle and the labradoodle are wonderful dogs and very smart. Sure there are some doodles who are more high energy and will require more basic training than others. We have selected our own dogs based on their amazing temperments. Our puppies are very eager to learn because they love to please people.

Is a doodle gentle and friendly like a lab or a golden?

You tell me...a picture is worth a thousand words. This is Dawson the goldendoodle and Isaac.