Are our Doodles more High-Maintenance than other breeds of dogs???

[Frances Pendrous (Horan)]

Having recently gone through a serious illness with my rescue Johnny Boy and reading all the latest postings regarding allergies, stomach upsets, etc. etc. with other doodles, it got me to thinking that 1) are our doodles more high maintenance than other breeds? or 2) are we, as doodle owners, more neurotic about them?? Both Frankie Girl and Johnny Boy constantly need attention to their ears, their coats, cleaning their eyes, special diets, and let us not forget constant brushing to keep the dreaded tangles away...I've had dogs my entire life, but don't think I have ever spent as much time fussing and caring for them like I do these "doodles".  Any other thoughts on this matter????

[Lynn D.]

IMO, people rarely post the good on the internet. "My Echo is a perfect specimen of health."  It's more about this is what is wrong with my dog, what could this mean.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned's coat is high maintenance but other than that he is very low maintenance.  Clancy is low maintenance all the way - well, except for the shedding.  Our Springer is our high maintenance dog - anxiety, cysts, Cruciate Ligament tear and surgery.

[Camilla and Darwin]

I think that as far as grooming goes, yes doodles are high maintenance. It would be stupid to say a doodle (rather many of our doodles, not all) is low maintenance in that department.

 

Talking about the other stuff though, I agree with Lynn. I think that people post when something goes wrong with their dogs health, asking for adice. and since this is a site with only doodle owners, it makes it appear as though many doodles have health issues. I'm sure you would see the same thing on any breed forum.  

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am knocking on wood here....Peri is very low maintenance.  Yes, she is groomed every few months, but she is not a big matter.  She is not a picky eater, she is generally happy-go-lucky.  She is still only 2 1/2, so this could def. change, but I would not classify her as high-maintenance.  High energy?  UM YES. CHECK.

 

My chi is MUCH more high maintenance than Peri'll ever be (knocking on wood)....

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

I doubt it.I think the nature of the forum magnifies the problems  A lot of the "stuff" we talk about is just maintenance - brushing, mats... , but those are issues for all long haired breeds. Floppy eared dogs typically have issues with ears, the problems would be the same if we were talking about cocker spaniels or bassets. The forum exists to talk about our specific type of dogs and I think that sometimes we focus on the "problems" because we can and people will willingly listen and provide support. Although people truly have had some very sick dogs, I don't think much of it is "doodle specific." I think we are fortunate to have this site to share and to find support.  I have a french bulldog with a list of problems longer than my arm. There is not a french bulldog kisses site so I don't share that stuff, but she is a ton of work compared to my doodle and equivalent to many of the problems of the sickly (but not acutely ill) doodles on the site.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree with the others, we generally hear about the problems. It's like psychotherapy, people don't talk about how well everything is going. My two are highish maintenance in terms of coats but they don't shed so maybe it evens out. They eat what I feed them, and KOW, they are well.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think the high-maintenance issue and the illness issue are two separate things.

Non-shedding dogs, curly coated dogs, long haried dogs, are all high-maintenance. When you read breed descriptions and caveats for those interested in Standard Poodles, Bouvier des Flandres, and other similar breeds, the grooming requirements are always mentioned. As a long-time poodle owner, it always does surprise me how many doodle owners were not prepared for the high-maintenance grooming requirements of dogs who don't shed. The ear maintenance is another issue that has always been second-nature to me, and it does bother me that the information about doodles provided by breeders and other dog breed websotes doesn't go into that. Long, floppy ears + woolly hair in the ears = lots of ear cleaning and/or ear infections. These are some of the reasons that good rescue groups (and very good breeders) always prefer an applicant who has had experience with non-shedding dogs and not just with dogs in general.

But I do agree with the others that the many illnesses we hear about here on DK are not specific to these dogs. If you looked at any breed-specific forum, you would see lots of posts from people whose dogs have various illnesses and ailments, regardless of the breed. Doodles are prone to all of the illnesses that plague the parent breeds, but perhaps some doodle owners read the nonsense about these mixes being healthier than purebreds and bought into that. Unfortunately, it isn't true, especially when the parents are bred at too young an age for some of these diseases that cannot be tested for to have shown up yet. The allergy issue is a good example. Labrador Retrievers are one of the breeds most often affected by Atopic Dermatitis, or inhalant allergies. A really top-notch lab breeder who doesn't breed dogs before the age of 2 or 3 would have seen it by then and eliminated those dogs from her breeding program. But since it rarely shows up before the age of 1, and often not before 3, a good percentage of doodles seem to be affected. And of course, the Lab lines are so far back in some of the higher generations, it's hard to know what was passed on. Golden Retrievers have the highest incidence of various cancers of any breed, I believe. There again, it's hard with mixed breed dogs to know what runs in which line.

But it's also true that we hear about the sick dogs, not the dogs who are perfectly healthy.

 

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

I'd say that Cooper is higher maintenance than any other puppy I've had.  Besides the grooming issues (including trying to find a competent groomer), he's had an ear infection for 2 months, he's allergic to vaccines so he has to get them a month apart (Bordetalla in July, Rabies in August, DHLPP in Sept.) which requires driving there to drop him off and then driving back to pick him up as he has to stay all day for observation, he had horrible car sickness until he was a year old and vomitted everytime he rode in the car, the microchip the breeder had put in migrated into his abdomen so he had to have it surgically removed when he was 6 months old, he dug holes in our yard until he was a year old.  Since we live in Northern Michigan he turns into a snowball magnet anytime he goes outside for more than 10 seconds in the winter (We have a thawing area in the kitchen for the snowballs to melt off of him.) 

I don't know if any of these things necessarily have anything to do with him being a doodle though.  I'm that person that always gets the "duds."  I get a new boiler installed and it breaks two weeks later.  I buy a brand new house and 6 weeks later I discover I have 93 leaks in my basement and an inch of standing water.  I buy a brand new refrigerator and dishwasher and the motors break in both of them 6 months later.  (All true stories) 

I just call him my "problem puppy" and figure we were meant for each other.

 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I have one of each.  Guinness is very low maintenance (especially now that all his digestive issues are fixed).  He gets a bath and trim at the Groomer every six weeks, and in between a quick combing of his tail and ears and weekly ear cleaning (it takes about two minutes).  That's it.  I can take him anywhere...he's well behaved and awesome in the car.  Overall, he's a real easy non-shedding dog.  As for Murphy's coat...same story as Guinness  His food issues are also a thing of the past.  But he is a real handful.  I think once he gains a little maturity and we get further in his training, that will also change, but for right now he's pretty high maintenance.  By this time next year I firmly believe that I will be saying that both of my guys are "low maintenance".  Lots of us have really young dogs, and I do believe if you put the time into them at this point, it gets so much easier later and you get to relax and enjoy them.

[Carol Brand]

Based on my reading of this board, I'd say yes.   I can't speak for retrievers, but Doodles certainly seem more high maintenance than Poodles.  I've been on three different Poodle forums, but this one seems to get way more owners coming to ask questions about their Doodles.    Overall, on the Poodle forums, we don't see the same number of grooming, feeding or behavioral issues that I see on this board.

 

Part of it may be 1st time dog owners.  I don't think that Doodles are easy for folks who have never owned a dog before.  Part of it may be unrealistic expectations. I still see Doodle sites that say that you don't have to brush or even wash your Doodle but a couple of times a year.  Plus, pretty much every Doodle site makes them out to be the perfect family pets. (As though that magically happens without consistent and systematic training.)

 

Maybe Poodle owners just have a better idea of what they are getting into.  

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I have to agree on the first time owner thing. When I first came into the doodle forums back in 2008, I was really struck by how many doodle owners had never had a dog before, or at least had never been responsible for the care of a dog before. I think there is a certain percentage of doodle owners that never even wanted a dog before. I even started a discussion about it on another forum, and I got quite a bit of disagreement about my opinion that these were not the best choice for 1st time dog owners.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think you're absolutely right about unrealistic expectations, Carol....."they're too cute for their own good".  I think we see these really cute fluffy dogs and we forget about the fact that they're a retriever and poodle mix, with all that comes along with that.  I also think that some of the breeder sites are promoting them a bit unrealistically.