How to choose the right doodle to best fit our family?

[Machelle Spivey]

I would love to get some advice on what temperment would be best for our family when picking out our goldendoodle? Let me tell you a little about my family, Me and my husband have 2 boy's an 8 year old and a 5 year old. Our 8 year old is like an old man trapped in a little boy's body he is very smart and very tender hearted. Our 5 year old is down syndrome he keeps us laughing and is also very smart. Both boy's are very calm and well behaved children we are very blessed parent's to have such wonderful kid's! We are very active outside especialy when the weather is nice, we enjoy going for walk's, bike ride, beach,park we just really enjoy being together as a family. Getting this dog is a big deal to us and we want to choose the one that will fit best. I welcome any advice you may have for us. Thanks so much!

[Adina P]

Great question. I have a little sister with down syndrome--she will be 18 this month!!! so I guess not so little anymore :-O
Here are some random thoughts on this topic:

-- some breeders do temperament tests to help you choose the best puppy for your family... do you already have a breeder and that he or she do this? that we make it easy. I personally prefer mellow dogs.

-- Before I got my labradoodle Rosco, I wanted a dog that I could train to be a therapy dog. Because of that I wanted a mellow dog and that is the things I shared with my breeder. when she had the puppy's temperament tested, Rosco was the most middle-of-the-road and mellow. This is exactly what I wanted and this is exactly what he is. My guess is that anywhere from very mellow to middle-of-the-road ( friendly, confident but not super energetic nor one that likes to take over when it comes to humans) would be perfect for your family.

-- even if your breeder does not do official temperament testing, if the breeder knows what you want, and you trust your breeder...then I would let the breeder choose or at least heavily guide your decision. the reason for this is that if you do the choosing you will be basing it on one hour spent with the puppies. That time may not be reflective of their true personalities. They may all have just played hard and are now sleepy so you can't tell which is normally the most excitable one. Or they may have just have all gotten up from a nap and again fool you. on the other hand, the breeder has spent the last several weeks watching these puppies and seeing their interaction with each other and with the people in the house and have a much better feel for their personalities.

-- finally, short of extremes in temperament...you should be fine if you just communicate your needs to the breeder. Your kids sound great and like they will make excellent little puppy trainer. here's a link to a photo of my sister "training" my dog Thule: http://doodlekisses.com/photo/2065244:Photo:1573?context=user

[Machelle Spivey]

Yes we do have a wonderful breeder, and she does do temperament testing. Thank you so much for your advice it is much apperciated!

[1qrgkdwnfqccb]

Hi Machelle,
We are, i feel very fortunate in owning, or being owned (ha ha) by one of each...we have a female F1 goldendoodle,named Izzy and we have a F1B male labradoodle, named Tucker. Izzy is almost 2 and Tucker 5 months, and to be honest, there is not a whole lot of differences between the 2...but i am starting to notice that tucker is a bit of a momma's boy...

They are both such great dogs! For the most part they are calm when we are calm, and when we are active (esp. in nice weather) they will be active....they adapt to our moods and activities!!

From what i have read they will adapt to just about any lifestyle! there was a lady in a post yesterday that is considering a doodle to live on their house boat!

I know that you are making a great choice in getting a doodle!! i personally would never own another breed of dog! They are so smart, and so kind, and just so darn cute...they really melt your heart! i know mine do!!

I would definitely go with a reputable breeder that will be able to help you choose a puppy or even choose a puppy for you, that will fit your life style... there are so many wonderful people here with wonderful words of advise and stories about their dogs. don't be afraid to ask a gazillion questions!!

good luck in your search and if i can help in anyway just ask!!

ps. my vet told me that when picking out a puppy, go with the one with the "middle" temperament ( not too shy or hyper)...but when it came down to choosing....i really believe they both choose us!!!

[2fbh0gfp1tgnd]

I agree! Middle of the road works out really good and you will be really happy. Have you chosen male or female yet? I have found that in my experience, males tend to work out better (I know, not always) with children. Although you will be out-numbered but at least you will retain your "boss" status being the only girl in the house ;-) My sister is autistic and growing up we had a female dog which was difficult with my sister, they now have a male who is wonderful with her. My sister always wanted take toys away and put them back where they belong and the female DID NOT appreciate it, the male makes it into a game and he has a great time. Good luck with your decision and enjoy your doodle!

[1qrgkdwnfqccb]

i so agree with what ken has said about the males...i never thought about it too much, i always thought that izzy was getting irritated with tucker just being a puppy...she has never shown any aggression...but you can just see it in her face...but tucker..heck you could do anything to him and he could care less! i would think a male would do best as well!

[Steve Drury]

Curious. Do you have more reasons to believe it's a male/female thing? and not just two different personalities?
We joke that our 6 month old female goldendoodle has OCD. She likes things the same way all the time.
She gets into her bed from one side only--even though it is accessible from all sides. She won't drink unless the water dish is to the right of the food dish. If I arrange her toys so they look like they're playing with each other she immediately separates them---then leaves. She's a hoot. I just thought she was a little quirky. But you think it's gender related?

[1qrgkdwnfqccb]

i honestly am not sure anymore, izzy was "dizzy" before tucker came along and now just seems grumpy (in a good way) like a big brother is with a whiny little sister.

it is very hard for me to tell if it is male/female...labradoodle/goldendoodle/ or just 2 different personalities???
but i have heard male are more loving, and are more willing to please their owners

.but so far Izzy is the winner in that dept.but tucker is only 5 months (we refer to tucker as the dumb moose) (in a good funny way) and i don't believe izzy "got it" until she was about a year old. and what i mean by "got it" is understanding english...ha ha

but in all honesty i don't see a huge difference except for the age at this point!

[1qrgkdwnfqccb]

please don't think i am female bashing here...lol... Izzy is a fantastic dog...and i am only basing my opinion on what i have read about male vs. female...i have only had 1 male (besides tucker) and we rescued him when he was 7...so i had no knowledge of a male puppy until tucker.

the reason we chose a male is because i had read that the best combo for the 2 dogs getting along because of the age difference was male/female. i wanted to make sure the change was going to be a good one for izzy! but both my dogs have been raised and trained the same way, i am the sole trainer (with some help from my kids) but with izzy, my husband worked out of state and with tucker he now lives at home but is always working.

dogs are like humans, everyone is different, and i have had a lot of members ask me if i see a difference...well the answer is yes and no...but it is like asking me if i see a difference in my 2 daughters....it is a tough question to answer due to many factors!

But in your case i would definitely have the breeder make some suggestions on which puppy to choose! because...as adina said there are so many things that could factor in how the puppies are acting when you go to look at them!

when we went to pick out tucker, they were all nuts, it was crazy...running, jumping, biting! two of the puppies took my daughter, peyton out and the rest piled on her to give tons of kisses, so it was very hard to tell. so i just sat back and let tucker choose us. and he was the one that kept coming over to me and plopping on my lap. it is such a hard decision to make, and one that you may question at first...but as lauren said, i agree in that it is how they are raised...your dog will most likely adapt to your life style and you will have many years of enjoyment! and wonder what you ever did with out him!!!

good luck and keep us all posted!!

[Machelle Spivey]

Thank you so much for your thought's on this I really apperciate it a bunch! To answer your question we will be getting a male. Growing up my husband and even myself only had female dog's so I really wanted a male. I am sure this doodle will bring much joy to the family, we are very excited!

[Machelle Spivey]

You know growing up we had a dalmation and a beagel" I know what a combo", they were both female they were both the BEST no problems with either one except the dalmation was not to fond of children,we were all teens when she came to our home so she didn't have an issue with any of us there were 4 of us 3 brothers and me "just in case anyone was wondering" anyway they were the BEST dog's ever and very SWEET FEMALE DOG'S! Then when me and my husband got married we got a dacshound "sorry not sure how to spell that" anyway my husband grew up with them and only FEMALE he LOVED them and he said there were no issues at all, however the one we had gotton was just AWFUL she DID NOT like me at all for some very weird reason she only liked my husband. She was VERY tempermental, she would squat and pee on my floor and look right at me when she did it, and was very much potty trained by the way, when people came over she barked out of control and woulden't stop and would jump in there lap and pee on them. Then when we I got pregnant with our oldest OH MY she got even worse.It was just an awful experience to the point where I had no interest in EVER getting a dog again that was 6 years ago. My mother-in-law took her in and well surprise surprise she liked it there better and has done very well over there. So not sure at all why she didn't like me, I spoiled her, loved on her, and gave her lot's of attention so NO CLUE. I am not afraid at all to get a female because of one bad experience, I just wanted to see what a male would be like because neither one of us has ever had one, that's the only reason for the switch.

[Brenda Hetzel]

sounds like that dashound was jealous of you!

[Machelle Spivey]

I agree that had to be what the problem was!