Misinformation on Goldendoodles on Animal Planet

[Kim and Kashi]

Was watching Dogs 101 on Animal Planet today.  I was completely taken back by a claim made about Goldendoodles by Karen 'Doc' Halligan, DVM.  Her introduction on the Goldendoodles included this comment.  And I quote:  "If you want to have that amazing Golden Retriever personality, but you don't want all that grooming, and all the hair, this is a good dog".   I think it is so irresponsible of a so-called expert to make such a ridiculously false claim.  People actually heed her advice when deciding if a certain dog is good for their family or not.  What a dis-service she is doing not only for potential owners, but for the dogs themselves.   Sorry, Just had to vent my frustration.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's a good point, Elizabeth. I hadn't thought that the comments might have been edited, haven't seen the show. Maybe we need to contact the prodcuers of the show.

I do remember reading some years back that the same program aired a sement on LDs and said that their coats were low maintenance, lol.

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Yes, at the link that Ricki posted, you can find the Labradoodle segment, too. It makes some even more irresponsible comments, in my view; but they do try to get across the point about no dog being completely allergy-friendly.

As a university-based communicator, I have been a liaison between faculty members and members of the media many times. And, many times, faculty members just didn't understand the constraints members of the media work under, especially for television, and felt they were misquoted or their work misrepresented. And media outlets can't offer faculty members final approval of the final, edited piece before it airs!

So I can imagine this veterinarian making a longer, more responsible statement that got reduced to a sound-byte!

[Lynda Kamrath]

I actually have no argument with her statement.  The golden retrievers do have an amazing personality, and they do require a lot of grooming and have a lot of hair loss.  Adding the poodle into the mix resolves the hair problem and grooming.  My goldendoodle requires little grooming and has the poodle hair qualities.  So what is false about her claim?  I would just add that goldendoodles make better house pets.

[BG and Gavin]

I think it depends on how much golden vs. poodle is in the coat mix, and you never can tell.  Gavin has some golden genes in the coat department and is fairly easy to maintain but talk to Joanne about how difficult it is to maintain Spud's coat while others like JD shed like crazy.  Plus people I know with goldens do not spend upwards of $400 a year at the groomers for hair cuts.  The problem is sweeping statements that ALL are like this or ALL are like that.  You just never know.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Pretty close cause with tip I spent $600 on grooming last year, so the when she said "resolves grooming problem"  she was totally wrong. I can't imagine not grooming her, what a mess.

My brother has Golden Retrievers & his idea of grooming is brush once a month and shave them down in the summer.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's what I mean. "Grooming" means caring for the dog's coat, not housekeeping! This sounds like as long as you don't have hair all over the house, you don't have to do a thing. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Lynda, it just isn't possible for one parent to only pass along genes for hair and the other parent pass along of the genes for personality and temperament. Genetics just don't work that way. Genes come from both parents, and which ones express themselves in any given puppy or person is completely random.

 If a pregnant woman said to you, "My baby is going to have his dad's personality and my hair" , would you bet money on that coming true?

We all know there are goldendoodles who have coats just like Golden Retrievers, and shed just as much, and others who have coats just like Poodles, and many that are somewhere in between. We also know that much of what we love in our doodles' personalities come from their poodle heritage, not their retriever parent. They are all different.

And I do not understand how anyone can say that poodle-y coats require little grooming and Goldens require a lot. I think most people here would say just the opposite. There is no dog on earth whose coat requires more grooming than a poodle's, and a GR's coat requires little more than an occasional bath and brushing. That's why it costs three times more to have poodle professionally groomed than it does a retriever.

[Kim and Kashi]

While your Goldendoodle may not require a lot of upkeep in terms of coat, in my experience most do.  Mine absolutely does.  And this is a very popular breed around here.  Every doodle in this neighborhood has someone in the home who grooms them (as I do with mine, about 2 hours every 2 days or so), or they spend a lot of money having them groomed professionally.

Unfortunately, one who was watching that show and attempting to decide whether a Doodle was a good fit for their family may not realize what they are in for.

That is why her statement presents a problem. 

Just do a quick search here on Doodlekisses, and take note how many people have grooming/matting issues.  It is absolutely something one should be aware of prior to bringing home an innocent puppy who will require a lot of upkeep to keep him happy and healthy.

I wonder how many Doodles have been dropped off at Shelters or given back to Breeders because the owners realized they could not keep up with the cost/time required to care for the dogs coat.  And those may be the lucky ones.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I can tell you for a fact that more than one doodle has been relinquished to rescue simply because the owner did not realize how much maintenance their coats require in terms of time and money to have that look that attracted them in the first place.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I so agree with Karen And BG.

[Adina P]

What is false about her claim is the assumption that goldendoodles will GET the golden retriever personality (rather than the poodle or some combo of the two) and the poodle hair.  That is the false assumption that leads people to get doodles and then possibly rehome them when they come out with retriever hair (which is a possibility).

Let's pretend that a woman is tall and beautiful and her husband is short, fat, and ugly but is great with money and very smart.  The false assumption of doodles is the same as the husband saying: "I'm so glad when we have kids they will all be tall and gorgeous like their mother and smart like their father :-)"  Obviously some of the kids might still be short and beautiful or tall and ugly or any combo and may or may not be smart.  It's all in the way the genes fall for each kid.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Here come the marbles. But even if the poodle coat is guaranteed let me assure you that it needs tons of grooming.