Temperament: More Poodle or Retriever or Others

[ej]

I have been asked this many times.  And I am interested to hear from my fellow DK-ers.

 

Let me start by saying, from what I have read about Standard Poodles, I see more Poodle temperatment in Koda than Retriever.

 

He is bouncy, full of personality and charisma, yet rather standoffish (he greets new people and dogs with 3 seconds of tail wagging and sniffing, then he walks off like he is not too interested). He is friendly and patient with family and friends, but he only shows his love and affection towards DH and myself.  He is very trainable, eager to please us and only us.  Highly in tune with our state of emotion -- e.g. he senses when we are nervous towards meeting a stray dog, he becomes alert and gets into his attack stance, ready to lunge!  I believe he senses "bad" characters too.  He had lunged up and snapped at one of my neighbors, whom we later found out that he is known to be a pretentious and insincere person.

 

[Holly Doodle]

I think Holly has equal traits of both dogs. Her poodle traits include high energy, pushy for attention, she's very smart, and she has long skinny legs. Her retriever traits include her love for fetching, she's very social and loves to meet anyone or any dog, she's easily distracted by small things, she'll eat anything (including rocks, sticks, grass), and her coat type is slightly wavy hair more like a retriever. I love her for all of her traits and I wouldn't want her any other way!

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

I just came across this discussion and think that the Golden-half is the one that's more dominant in Knox! He hasn't met a stranger and has had the hardest time with the "don't jump on people" rule! He is an attention-hound!! He likes attention so much that he actually WANTS me to watch him "do his business!" Knox acts like a TANK when he needs to get something out of his way (the baby-gate, a chair, etc just get plowed down!). He really hasn't learned to jump high, but I think it's because he's a bit bottom-heavy! If poodles are supposed to be somewhat delicate, then something must have happened with Knox! Maybe he's just a golden with the perm!! ha! He will eat anything you put in front on him (not too crazy about his food with Angels Eyes mixed in, but he'll eat it when he realizes that nothing else is coming!). Knox looks like he is always smiling, and I guess he should be...his life is pretty good!

[John Doerich]

Our goldendoodle, Woody, looks like a poodle and walks like a poodle. He loves other dogs and people, perhaps too much, because we have a hard time keeping him from jumping on anyone he meets. What is surprising is that he won't go into water. So much for the retriever and poodle genes. He is very food oriented and will eat anything he is given and anything he finds on his own--including paper, plastic, cardboard and even stones. We have to watch him very carefully when off leash or even on leash. We have had a couple of scares. Recently he ate a large amount of dough that my wife had made for scones. She left it on the counter for a minute and when she returned it was gone. He survived. He is smart and is a therapy dog. I guess I would say he came out 50 - 50.

[Gabriele Kennedy]

Chili is very well trained has very reliable recall, sit , stay, stop, even 'wait' at the edge of a street but he will not do a thing he doesn't want to do for strangers.. He looks up " you are not my mom" and walks the opposite way.. I didn't believe it when my friends first told me ... He is soo good with. Better than any other dog I have owned. Not until we went on a walk together and I witnessed for myself ... I was shocked .He really has attitude with other people... Then I called him he came instantly (really rubbing it in) .. my friends call it the " you are not the boss of me" doggitude ... only mom is the boss of me..

I think that is VERY poodle.. All the retrievers I know want to please everyone.. family or not...
Plus he is smarter than most retrievers...
He does have a very sunny personality .. that is probably golden happiness

Doodles are just the perfect blend :-)

[Jerri Hubbert]

Having had many of both poodles and labs, I am of the opinion that there is definitely a really good mix there! It really depends on the situation as to how my Molly-Girl will act, (and she is always full of surprises). As she has been growing up from a pup to a big one year old over the past year, it was that she would behave one way or another. The past few weeks however, have been a real treat. It has been a lot of fun watching the integration both sides of her personality. She is a really cool dog. I'd have to say,if some one asked- the breed favors neither side! Labradoodles are their own sort of magic!

[cheryl & oliver]

I think Oliver is really 50-50. He has a wonderful personality, he loves all people and other animals, loves kids, he isn't constanly on the run, he gets the zoomies every now and then, but he is pretty much a calm dog. He loves to meet and greet people, he doesn't know what a stranger is, and people just love to come over to him...He eats up all the attention, and he is the mayor of our block here. He will sit on our driveway or front lawn and just watch the world go by. He is pretty smart, learns quickly, but can be stand offish if he wants too. Never to my husband or I, but every once in a while, I notice that he will greet people, play for awhlile and then go and sit down by himself. He will eat anything, and he does, we have to watch him very carefully, he loves paper, plastic, and leaves and twigs are a favorite...He loves the world and the world seems to love him...My favorite thing with him is when he comes over and puts his paws on our shulders and gives my husband or I hugs. He knows he can do this with us, but no one else.. He will first put his paws on our knees, then look at us, and then we say ok, hug time, and he puts his paws on our shoulders, and lies his head on us. It is amazing. .So all in all, I don't know if he is more poodle or more golden, but whatever he is I am in love with this dog, and he knows it, lol....I love when he sits in that butterfly position and tilts his head when we talk to him...He pays more attention to me then my kids did a lot of the time, lol...Just love this big moose of a dog....

[Roxanne Ochs]

I think CeeGee is more lab in her body shape and temperment and she's pretty cautious when introduced to new stuff but hasn't met anyone she didn't like (unless it was one of the guys who took her into the field for rattlesnake avoidancen training!)and will play fetch till your arm falls off. My husband has had poodles and she very agile like a poodle but she has the nose for birds and small animals and will track till she finds whatever she's after but that also is a lab and poodle trait. So I guess she's 50/50 but whatever she is, she's a great dog. I'm so lucky to have her.

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

Hhmm, I'm not too sure on the difference between golden retrievers and poodles. Goldendoodles have been my first experience with either breed.

In our household, we have two goldendoodles. Our four-year-old goldendoodle Daisy Mae belongs to my parents, though she is pretty much my dog. She came from a breeder; her father was a poodle and her mother was a golden retriever. When she is wet, she looks just like a poodle. She has a narrow, pointier muzzle and long, skinny legs and up until recently, a very skinny and lithe body. She's more of an apricot/off-white color. She's an athlete and could fetch all day long. Daisy is occassionally aggressive with other dogs which has been a problem. She has many fear issues, which she has had since we brought her home at eight weeks old. In fact, when my mom visited her at the breeder at six weeks old, Daisy was shaking from fear. She constantly looks over her shoulder. She is standoffish with strangers and avoids being petted by them. She is extremely intense. If there is something she wants, she stares at it, looks to us, and stares at it again until she gets it. She never forgets anything, meaning where her toys are or if someone has scared her in the past. There have been two occassions when someone has made her pee on the floor; she could sense the person did not like her and it scared her I guess. (She was a bit high-strung up until age two.) Let me emphasie that noone has ever struck her. We don't know where this fear comes from, unless something happened to her at the breeder's. She also loves to swim and has jumped into our donkey watering trough. She's extremely affectionate with me and must be near me; not so with other people.

On the other hand, my seven-month-old puppy is completely different. His muzzle is more square, like a golden retriever. Basically, he looks like a golden retriever with a slight perm and still looks very golden-retriever-like when wet.. He's already Daisy's size (about 60 pounds) and our vet thinks he'll be close to 90 pounds. He's extremely goofy. He has long legs, but his body seems more like a golden retriever's. He also loves to fetch and carry things in his mouth; however, he doesn't seem to like water yet. He LOVES people, all people; however, he's very calm and sits for me while greeting them. Everyone can pet him, except toddlers. He hasn't been around many little kids and seems a bit scared of them. He's very affectionate and doesn't show much fear. If something scares him, he doesn't panic. He sits quietly and watches the scary thing for a moment. I got Barley from a pet store. Maybe the socialization there helped him. I'm not a fan of pet stores and I didn't want to get a dog. I was just there to look at the cute puppies. However, I fell in love with his personality and I couldn't stand the idea of someone else taking him; he was already "my" dog. Both of his parents were goldendoodles. I wonder if that makes a difference.

[Gabriele Kennedy]

Doodles usually don't get their doodle doos until after a year of age. Your Puppy's fur will likely change a lot.

[Sue Robin F]

I had 3 Golden Retrievers plus a litter of 11 Goldens Retrievers before Moses. My 3 Goldens had different personalities .... all were extremely friendly and loving, however 2 were jumpers and countersurfers, my last one never ever jumped up ,never ever stole food and was quite the thinker. some of my last Goldens traits may have seemed poodle like.
Moses came from a puppy mill when he was 16 months old and had many fears and difficult issues, but was always so very sweet.
Moses is a wonderful combination. He looks much more like a poodle and stands and has a graceful gait like a poodle. He is not a jumper or counter surfer, has a heart of gold and an extremely gentle nature. He loves everyone and has never shown any aggression. He 'works the room' meaning that he will greet every person individually where ever we go. If there is food available like at a picnic he will not steal any food but will prefer to be with people. At the dog beach he has gone up to strangers while they are lying on their blanket and he has gently lied down next to them with his head on their shoulder. He is extremely calm and friendly. He is not easily distracted and will observe what is going on around him. He has never gone in the water. He is extremely bonded to my little older Havanese and will allow him to eat out of his bowl.
Moses is a Therapy dog and a very wonderful one. However at times he is so calm, that he will lie down and appear to be asleep when children are reading to him, but he is actually listening. He will be very patient when I groom him. He seems to have the best traits of each of the breeds. I feel very lucky because I could not imagine a more wonderful dog. Sometimes his goodness scares me because I cannot imagine not being with him. I am sure many of you know wht i mean.

[Gabriele Kennedy]

Yes , sometimes there is so much love it feels frightening

[Sue & Willy Babe]

I think Wilson is more of the Retriever side he does have the legs of a poodle loves too greet people, wants to be petted, can be easily trained to and wants to please, goes up to people to be met then goes away, has the big fluffy tail of a retriever.
Wants to be with the family all the time Likes to have fun if the other dogs are misbehaving in the backyard he stops then.

He is just a lovable hugable doodle !!!