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 my 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 coat type, which is mainly preference. There is a greater variance in the F1 labradoodle coat. There are puppies who appear more "labby" and have terrier type hair with wisps, and are more apt to shed (Charlie - labradoodle page), there are puppies with a plusher coat, such as our Maggie who does not shed, and there are puppies who can take after the poodle with more of a tight curly coat. I urge you to look at pictures and see what you like for yourself. Some people prefer different coat types to others.
As for the goldendoodle coat, I find that there is a greater similarity between the individual dogs. The puppies are almost like a shaggy golden retriever. From my own experience, I feel that there is a smaller chance of a shedding goldendoodle.

How big do your doodles usually get?
Our goldendoodle puppies are generally 55-65 lbs - the same size as the parents.
Our labradoodles tend to be a bit smaller, as we don't have large labs. They are about 50-60 lbs.

Sometimes we do have medium sized litters at 30-40 lbs, and the occasional mini litter at 20-30 lbs.

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 have recently become involved with a breeding program from 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?
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.

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 4-5 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.

Will my dog shed?
With both breeds, goldendoodles and labradoodles, there is a chance that your puppy will shed. No breeder can guarantee that your puppy will be 100% non-shedding. I can only offer my opinion, but I can and will never guarantee that your puppy will not shed. Crossing the retrievers with the poodle helps to 'neutralize' the shedding aspects of the retriever breed. As you can see in many different doodle pictures, there are a variety of coats...some shedding and some not.
If you are very concerned with shedding and allergies, I suggest a poodle. It is not fair to a puppy or to the owners who have fallen in love with their dog that when the puppy is changing from a non-shedding puppy coat to a semi-shedding adult coat that the dog can no longer stay with the original owners. I do not want any of my puppies put into this situation. A poodle has a 100% guarantee of non-shedding and is hypo-allergenic. If allergies and shedding are a small concern, the best puppy for you might be a curly F1 goldendoodle or an F1B labradoodle (also referred to as an F2). There is a more consistent coat type in goldendoodles and the F1B labradoodles are 75% poodle and 25% lab.

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. Our own labradoodle Maggie is a very smart girl who likes to stay by you. She likes to run around with our other dogs, but the minute that she comes into the house after her daily swim, she is quiet and calm. She is a very obedient girl who loves to be praised for her good deeds. Her love for food made it easy to teach her how to come, sit, stay, and walk on a leash. All that we needed was dog food and biscuits, and she was the most attentive doodle ever!

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.