Irish Goldendoodle From Sunshine Acres?

[DoodleMom2B]

Hi All - new to this forum and hoping to chat with some Irish goldendoodle parents...We are considering a puppy from Sunshine Acres and would love to hear about your experiences...very curious about the addition of the Irish setter to the mix....thanks in advance!

[Ginny Nightingale]

No one is allowed to comment on a specific breeder in the forum, but you can find lots of information if you follow this link--

http://www.doodlekisses.com/notes/What_To_Look_for_In_a_Breeder

Someone with information can request to be your friend and once you accept they can send you a private message about this breeder too.

[DoodleMom2B]

Ohhh Thank You...really was more interested in Irish Goldendoodles not the breeder ....I am trying to find out what they are like as adults in compArison to regular goldendoodles...more a breed check than a breeder check...LOL. Sorry

[Adina P]

I can't think of any members who have Irish Goldendoodles...I know 1-2 that have the Irish-Poodle mix, but that's all.  I know the following members have dogs from there:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/KathyJanes
http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/Jim
http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/Robyn52

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/ROSE

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/Cheryl31
Though I think they mostly have either goldendoodles or irish-poodle mixes not the two combined.

[DoodleMom2B]

Actually the Irish goldendoodles are a golden retriever/ Irish setter hybrid Momma and then a standard poodle sire...they call the moms Irish retrievers...and the pups are Irish goldendoodles! They are beautiful and I am wondering about the addition of the setter...We had a magnificent goldendoodle that passed away so we are very familiar with traditional F1 's etc
Thanks for the info on other owners!

[Jen W]

I do have an Irish Goldendoodle from Sunshine Acres!

She is 8 months old and so much fun. I've never had a dog before so I can't comment on how her personality or energy compares to other dogs, but she stops traffic everywhere I go with everyone wondering about her color because of the red from her Irish Setter mama. She is super jumpy though, not sure if that has anything to do with her breed though, it could be because of her trainer (me) or her age.

I actually decided to get an Irish Goldendoodle because I met one at a car dealership in WI last summer and fell in love with her even though I wasn't a dog person. I asked the owner what kind of dog she was and made a mental note. When I was ready to get a dog I looked up the breed and discovered that Sunshine Acres is the only game in town (you can find other Irish Setter/Poodle mixes, but not Irish Setter/Golden/Poodle mixes.)

Let me know if you want to know more.

[DoodleMom2B]

Thank you so much.....I was curious about the energy and the general intelligence...was housebreaking an issue at all? I am asking because when I've told people about the mix all I hear is negative stuff about Irish setters being stubborn and tough to housebreak...certainly they are GORGEOUS and I am partial to red doods!

[Jen W]

Stubborn?!?!  Not at all.  At least not my dog.  Here's some general info, the good and the bad:

 

Housebreaking This was no more an issue for us than for others.  She is 8 months old now and hasn't had an accident for 3 months, and then it was because I was on the phone and not paying attention.  She learned to ring the bells when she needed to go out fairly quickly.

 

Energy I'm actually kind of surprised that she isn't more energetic.  I envisioned us taking long runs along the lake but I'm not sure that's going to happen.  She's now just old enough to run and to go out for more than a mile (the breeder advised against it for the first 8 months to protect her bones/joints) but she doesn't seem to need as much exercise as I thought she would.  She would happily spend all day running in my mom's backyard in the country though (I live in the city).

 

Intellect She is very smart!  We've taken Puppy Preschool, Puppy Obedience, Obedience 1 and are almost done with Obedience 2 and all of her trainers remark on how quickly she picks up on things. 

 

Excitability She is very easily distracted and excited by almost everything.  For a time I had to cross the street everytime another person was on the same side of the street as us or she'd lose her mind and go flying around on end of a leash like a hose turned on full blast.  The trainers gave me some good tips on how to deal with this and now with enough treats we can let people pass.  But this is one of our biggest struggles. She likely won't pass the CGC test b/c she cannot yet deal with the distraction of another dog without reacting.  But, I've seen progress so I'm hopeful.  One of the trainers told me that she sees this excitability in all doodles, though she may just be trying to make me feel better!

 

Socialability  This dog LOVES people.  This is good because I didn't want an aggressive or fearful dog, but a little bad b/c she gets so excited by them that she can't contain herself.  We are working so hard on not jumping up, but b/c she is so beautiful everyone in the world wants to pet her and they don't always abide by my instructions not to pet her if she doesn't have all 4 on the floor.  So I'm afraid that she is being trained that sometimes she does get rewarded if she jumps up.

 

Biting/Nipping  Never.  When I first brough her home and she'd mouth me I'd yip like a puppy and walk away.  She hasn't tried again since her first week home. 

 

Separation Anxiety  She does not like to be alone.  Fortunately I work from home, but I do still like to leave the house sometimes!!  For the first 3 or 4 months I had her this was hugely challenging.  She has gotten much better now though (I know b/c I leave my phone set to record sometimes) and I can finally leave her for 5 hours without worrying nonstop.  When I do leave her though, she doesn't do anything. The toys I leave out are untouched when I get home, the Kong is still full of peanut butter....I think she just sits there and waits for me.  I suspect I could leave a steak on the floor and it'd still be there when I got back.  On the plus side, she doesn't engage in any destructive behaviors while I'm out either.  I know some dogs that scratch and tear at the doors and walls and get into all sorts of trouble.

 

Again, I don't know how much of this is attributed to the traits of Irish Goldendoodles, how muh is attributed to her individual personality and how much is attributed to the way I've trained her, but I hope it helps a little.

 

I had the pick of the liter when I chose her and they sent me some personality profiles on each puppy.  At the time I thought the personality descriptors were generic and could be applied to any dog, but looking back now I can see that they nailed it.  To be honest, I didn't ask for help in deciding, mostly because I didn't know I could.  When I've had questions throughout the past months they've replied to all of my emails right away and love to see pictures of her.  I met Michael at O'Hare when he was sending other puppies to their homes and he seemed like he really cared about the puppies.  They've been great to work with.

 

Please let me know if there's any other information I can give you.  Personally, I think she's the best :)

 

 

[DoodleMom2B]

Thank you SO much for taking the time to give me all that info...it is very helpful! Dory is absolutely beautiful..

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

This was really nice of you to take the time and answer questions - kudos to you!

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

I just clicked on her picture......she's gorgeous!

[Jen W]

Well talking about my puppy is my favorite thing to do so it was really my pleasure!

[DoodleMom2B]

I forgot to add....did they guide you in picking your puppy with temperament, energy level etc?