Does anyone have an "easy" doodle?

[April Cliber]

I know there have been lots of discussions about how much work doodles are and how they take time and LOTS of training.  For many doodles, including ones I've bred that is true.  However, does anyone have a doodle that is pretty well behaved by nature?   ....House trained really fast, doesn't jump up much and is generally very eager to please?  Overall I think our doodles that live with us are this way.  Maybe I'm very tolerant, but it seems that others have to have a similar experience.  About four months ago I placed a pup in a guardian home with a family that had never owned a dog and has three kids (5, 7 & 10)  We talked at length and I prepared them for all the work a pup would be. Every time I check in with them (usually once a week)  they tell me how amazing she is and how easy she is. She house trained in a week, doesn't jump, rarely nips and stays out of the living room without putting gates up.  When I go to visit I see these things for myself, so I know their not just saying it to appease me. 

My sister is another guardian home.  She had never owned a dog and did great!  This pup is bigger and did jump up some but overall she has a very easy going temperament and my sister always says that she's easier to raise then the cat. :o)  

This last year we've raised two pups together that are from two different breeders and they have never been "bad."  Sure they had accidents sometimes and will get into food if it's left low but overall they are really very good!  Our golden retriever has eaten two pairs of glasses and tracks in mud like no tomorrow, so not all my dogs are good all the time. :o)  And yes, we do have our days! 

 

Anyway, sorry to be so long.... I'm just wondering if anyone else has really good doodles?  I think of doodles as being very lovable, intuitive, smart and eager to please. (Even as pups.)   Am I nuts or do other DK-ers have dogs like this?

[April Cliber]

LOL, Sue!  She really will grow out of it and one out of two isn't bad!!  :o)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Yeah, I am so kidding! She is so sweet and is exactly like you'd expect a puppy to be. She nips, chews and jumps up on us and Murphy, but she also sits and lays down quickly and most sit's are without being told now, she just knows when sit;s are required. While waiting for a treat, waiting for dinner or waiting for the door to open. I am working on sit outside on leash when I stop. She comes like a rocket when you call "Come here Bella" and she will now wait while I walk away from her for almost a minute. Working up gradually. She has stopped eating the toilet and tissue paper out of the wastebaskets and has never gotten into the garbage, she has learned to stop eating her poop (yuck) and is starting to get a little more cuddly. She really is pretty easy, just a puppy. She will sit to have ears and toes done and doesn't eat the comb anymore while I'm combing her and actually lets me trim her hair without moving around much. She loves her bath now and you know how important those baths are at my house. 

She is actually easier than Murphy was, but only because we know what to do more this time than with Murphy. You are 2 for 2 with our doods!!!

[Angie, Hudson and Lily]

I would definitely say Hudson fits into this category. He has always had an "old soul" personality- right from the time we got him at 9 weeks. He was super easy to train and housebreak. He has had free run of the house at all times since he was just under a year old. He has never been  into things while we were gone and has never chewed any furniture. Most of the time he is really calm and mellow and just hangs out with me and lays near me. That isn't to say he doesn't have some Doodle moments and there are some things he could improve upon- like walking on a leash, but overall, he has been a breeze and joy to raise.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think some hard and easy is in the 'eye of the beholder.' To me Ned was easy -  not perfect - the little king, but he potty trained in a flash, nipped only a short teething time, etc. He did a bit of puppy stuff - he unzipped pillows and pulled out the stuffing, loved paper items, chewed a few cords and my glasses. He does still get into trash and the occasional Christmas decoration and he will alpha bark at some people and dogs (no maliciousness in it)   I love taking him places. He is great on a leash. He is totally undemanding and I guess both he and Clancy are low energy because while they play and get the zoomies, they do not need daily exercise. Ned does require lots of grooming.  Clancy is pretty easy also.  He destroys toys but nothing else. He did lift his leg 4 times in the month after we got him, but hasn't since. Since Clancy is an adult rescue, he has had a couple of unacceptable reactions to others - but we are working on that. I still consider him easy. I love taking him places. He is easy to groom but does shed.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Frannie said it better than I did.  Ned and Clancy are not even in the ball park of perfect, but they are easy.

[Frannie & Callie]

Callie isn't perfect in her behavior, but somehow she's still easy.

[Jennifer Tramell]

Both Webster and Charlotte have been "easy", unfortunately, this can be a disadvantage.  They are so eager to please and quick to follow my leadership that I have been lax in my training.  As an example: when outside they stay close to me and are very attentive so I forgot that I hadn't taught the official "come, this is not an option, stop what you are doing and come immediately!" command. 

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

My Webber was a real challenge during his adolescence  because he was so smart, had SO much energy, and I didn't know what I was doing.  After three obedience classes and TDI certification + 2 years of age, he is an easy, well behaved doodle.  He never chewed anything and I left leather shoes on the floor and he potty trained without any mistakes in the house.  He was left alone in the house by the time he was six months old.  Nipping was never an issue.  My Seda came calm.  She is extremely easy and eager to please.  However, she picks up anything interesting she can find and takes it to her crate to chew.  That would be two pairs of my reading glasses, the grooming tools, the leather cell phone case, etc., etc!  She had a number of mistakes with pee in the house.  She is nine months old and I crate her when I leave the house...she cannot be trusted yet.  In my experience some dogs are easy about some things and it is different with each dog.  Of the two, Seda, who gets into more trouble, was easier than Webber who never destroyed anything.

[Linda and Murphy]

Murphy is an extremely easy dood. I got him as a puppy at a time in my life when I really needed something to be easy....9 months post Katrina. He has been absolutely wonderful. 

I say that with great confidence as a babysit my son's 13 wk old Weimaraner that I affectionately call the devil dog.

[Melissa & Porter]

Porter is an easy doodle, his flaws are from my "training" (as in drop that for a treat.  Go figure Mr. Smart Dog steals stuff if he is hungry or bored). 

If I were not a first-time dog owner, I am sure he'd be a model citizen.  But in spite of my total lack of experience, he is deferential to humans, comes when called, backs off from highly valued stuff (aka the hambone he found or the rabbit he killed), and doesn't pull all that much on the leash (I know that is a low standards).

I think he was born submissive to people and add that to some formal training and A LOT of socialization and exercise, he's pretty easy.

The one thing I would like to change is how he barks at his buddies if they ignore him.  It is annoying.  I call him inside to distract him, then let him out again in hopes they will reorient their play, but I wish I could get him to understand "no bark."

[2m42srv7vi6sq]

I believe that, an dog that is raised in a home with older well-behaved dogs, becomes a great dog.

CJ has really never had "obedience training".  she was born into a home with three older dogs and has just alwyas done what they do, when they do it.  She knows all their commands and actually behaves better than they do.  When I say sit, her butt is the firsat to hit the ground, when I whistle for them, she is the first one back to the house.  She was "housebroken" by 9 weeks becuase wh barked to go out, just like the big dogs.

however, that all said.  i think that the "great doodles" wind up with a little less attention because they ARE so well-behaved.  I know that we always have to make the little extra effort to notice her and give her personal time.

Her mother, on the other hand is still Dennis the Menace in furry pants!

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

 

When a friend of mine had a litter of Labradoodles I was very interested to watch their personalities develope - and see if this changed as they got older. I spent time every week with the litter and really saw their personalities appear from around 4 weeks old.

 

I noted 2 particulary chilled out pups. Today they are still extremely laid back and Bingley (who we kept) has been the easiest dog I've ever had. He is now 9 months old. Very easy to train - never goes off when he's off lead and is just there asking 'so what are we doing next mum?'. He is so gentle and calm. The exact opposite of his mum who is super bouncy, and has been since they got her at 8 weeks.

 

Welly on the other hand (3 y/o GD) has been a little tinker!  Next time I get a pup I will try to spend as much time as possible with the litter before deciding which pup to pick. Either that or go to a veryexperienced breeder who knows the personalities of their pups inside out.