Aussiedoodle or Goldendoodle?

[Lisa Greene]

HELP!! We are having a really hard time trying to decide between getting an aussiedoodle or goldendoodle. I know everyone loves their dog's breed, but can you offer any advice on choosing between the too? We have two kids who are old enough to share responsibilites (walk the dog, feed, clen up, etc), we want a medium sized dog ~40-50lbs who is active, but not hyper. Definitely needs to love to play fetch (a concern about GDs - seems like some are not "fetchers" who get bored of it after about 2 throws...), swim and has enough endurance to hike/run with us. Of course, it has to be GREAT with kids and friendly. Please help us! This decision is huge and we want it to be as informed as possible before we take the puppy plunge!!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

A few more comments, have you looked up the traits of a Standard Poodle. I don't see that mentioned here.

So often, too often, many read about the traits of a Doodle.  Well, there really are no traits of a Doodle because it is a mixed breed.

And on a side note, those dogs who love to fetch also love to have socks, shirts, shoes in their mouths at all times   :)  Be prepared to have those children pick up all laundry.

I have a rule in my house. " you either leave it in the garage when you come to visit, or directly give it to the dog when you enter my home because it becomes his and I won't fight him for what you leave laying around"

[Ginny Nightingale]

My neighbor's goldendoodle loves to fetch--as you can see here, generalizing is a big no-no when it comes to doodles--and I think that it is a myth when it comes to purebreds too! I had a conversation with a woman who refused to believe my LDs do not fetch--after all, they have RETRIEVER in them--but I never taught them to fetch and they do not fetch. period.

Anyway, good luck with your search and let me add one more word that I did not see anyone mention---SIZE! GDs can be HUGE!! And maybe Aussiedoodles can too--don't know. But you need to find a breeder you can trust if you want a 40-50 pound dog--that is a popular size and many people have requested it. Then they end up with a puppy that was supposed to be that big, but is much BIGGER! They love them anyway....

Oh, and everyone wants an active dog that is not hyper--and a lot of that is training--learning self-control is part of the training process.

[Katie and Sophie]

I have an Aussiedoodle and would be happy to answer any questions you have about them! As others have said, there aren't nearly as many Aussiedoodles on the site as there are goldendoodles, but I am on here a lot and will do my best to answer your questions. Sophie is the sweetest, most mellow, smart, and easy-going dog. We are very lucky to have her, and these traits aren't necessarily what you are going to get with all Aussiedoodles. Soph was extremely easy to train and eager to please. She is just a total love bug. She doesn't have any of the Aussie tendencies with herding or nipping or anything like that. I consider her low to medium energy, but I mostly compare her to our Weimaraner (who is very high energy) in that department. She definitely does a good job keeping up with our Weim, but she just doesn't NEED the exercise that Jade does. Sophie love all people and dogs and is especially fond of kids, but I think this varies more from dog to dog than by breed. She weighs 44 pounds. I think others have offered good advice in looking at both Aussies and Goldens and deciding which of those you like best. Your new doodle pup will get mix of traits from both breeds and you really can't predict what will come from which parent. If you have any other questions about Aussiedoodles I would love to try to answer them for you!

[Angela Maynard]

I have an Aussiedoodle.  Charley is a great dog.  He is active and at times hyper but can also be mellow.  It really just depends on the day. They really need a lot of room to run.  Charley loves to fetch a few times but after about 5 minutes he just wants to lay there and chew on his ball or frisbee.  He loves long walks and everyone he meets.  He is a jumper when he is excited which is tough to control right now.  They call him "popcorn" at the doggy daycare.  He will jump over the half wall if he is put in a seperate area at the daycare. 

Our biggest issue owning our sweet Charley is the kids.  The boys are 13 and 9 and our daughter is 5.  The boys are rough boys.  Especially the 9 year old.  He just wants to wrestle with Charley which is a huge no no because then Charley just wants to play with him like he is another dog and starts to nip and gets rough.  I used to get upset with Charley but have since realized that it is not his fault.  so now my son gets in trouble when he initiates rough play.  

I think you can' t go wrong with either breed. I' d be happy to answer any other specific questions you may have.

[Jen and Annie]

I think that you could find either breed with the characteristics you are looking for - but you have to be able to choose between the puppies in a litter, based on their reaction to certain 'stimuli'. Google some 'tests' to do with puppies to understand what personality traits they are predisposed to. We picked up the pups and held like a baby to see if any resistance, we threw an object to see if there was interest, and just observed the pups playing together. You can tell a lot about personality just by observing the puppies with each other...

As all others have mentioned, dogs all have different personalities - and aren't always indicative of their parent breed. I was very careful when choosing Annie (a labradoodle) from her litter when she was small - Now, at 8 months old, she is calmer (most times!) than any other puppy I've ever had - she tends to mirror my moods which is awesome. If I'm just chilling out, she's chilling out. But as soon as I get the leash, she's ready to go wherever I'm headed. Whenever people say what a good dog she is - I'm sure to tell them that training and lots of exercise are the reasons - as certainly not all labradoodles are as 'laid back' as she is. It would be doing puppies a disservice to tell people "you should get one!" because they're all different. If someone got a labradoodle puppy expecting that it would act just like mine - they would be in for a surprise.

As far as fetch goes, (and at the risk of sounding like a hippie) - I think that you could encourage your dog to enjoy fetch if you make it super enjoyable for him or find a happy medium. Annie is not interested so much in chasing a ball - she REALLY likes to catch it in mid air - So instead of making her chase something - I toss it to her so she can catch it. thats our fetch compromise.

Have you considered a labradoodle?