Why a doodle?

[Stacy]

I'm sure this is a conversation that has come up before, but in light of all the ugly political talk going on right now I thought it might be fun to share what made people choose a doodle. Obviously because they are adorable and the best dogs ever, but is there anything beyond that? 

I'll go first! I love soft, long haired dogs. I obviously liked the idea of no shedding, though I know there is no guarantee. I don't necessarily buy into all the hype about hybrid vigor. I could have/would have gone with a standard poodle, but I can't stand the idea of docking ears or tails and they dock tails on poodles. There are a lot of breeds that I love, but would never get from a breeder for that reason. The doberman comes to mind. I think they are so fancy and elegant. But with the exception of reproductive organs I think my dog should have all the parts it came with. (No judgement, just my personal feelings) I think I would have gone with a standard doodle initially, but when I got to the point where I couldn't wait one more minute for a dog the breeder I found only had a litter of minis that were almost ready. And there was only one girl available. And Katie turned out to be my perfect dog. Now I have one of each. And while I think I would miss the ability to pick up and carry my dog around, I think I will probably stick with the big ones. I really love Ava's size. She takes up all the room in the bed, but her extra large snuggles are amazing. 

[Stacy]

People tried to tell me I didn't need another dog when I adopted Ava. But sometimes the heart knows what it needs and I have no regrets, I'm sure you don't either!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I loved having dogs, but my allergies finally got the best of me, so after our last dog left us we never got another.
Every year I would watch the Westminster dog show and yearn for a dog again.
Many, many years passed.
I remember a lady I worked with showed me a picture of a puppy she had that she said was hypoallergenic, I don't even remember it's breed. I'd never heard of hypoallergenic dogs. The seed was planted. I continued to watch the dog shows for a couple more years, each year I asked my DH if we could consider getting a dog.
Finally several years ago, he said yes! I started researching all the breeds in this category. I ruled them all out for one reason or another, but I couldn't get the doodle out of my head. I went to several breeders to see how I would tolerate them. Lo and behold, I had no problems. Now I need to say here that I still could have reacted to my eventual puppies.
But I did not.
We ❤️ our doodle so much, we got the second one.

[Stacy]

I am so glad you got your dog! I don't think I could do life without dogs, so I'm glad I'm not allergic. I'm horribly allergic to cats though. One year my college roommate insisted that if I was going to have a dog she was going to have a cat. I did a lot of allergy shots that year. But it was worth it to have a dog.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, I might be the only member here who really didn't want (or choose) a doodle, lol. I've told this story before, so I'm copying and pasting from a previous discussion. :)

I grew up with poodles and as an adult, had a schnoodle and then a miniature poodle. Clean, brilliant, funny, affectionate dogs, all of them. I also always loved GSDs, having grown up with Rin Tin Tin, along with Roy Rogers' Bullet. In 1998, I read about a GSD rescue group in my area and started fostering for them. I had a couple of amazing fosters that I seriously considered keeping, but I really didn't want a huge dog that shed. (!!!!!!!!)

When my poodle died in 2005, I really didn’t want to start over with a puppy, and decided to look for a medium-sized adult poodle or poodle mix to adopt. I wanted a dog who was housebroken, past the puppy chewing stage, good with cats and kids.  I submitted a couple of applications to some local rescue groups. I applied for one dog at a local private shelter, and was approved, but he turned out not to be a good fit for me. However, the rescue group loved my application and kept it on file. When JD was surrendered, they called me.

I almost didn’t go to meet him, that's how much I didn’t want a labradoodle, lol.  I had never spent much time around the sporting breeds, but found the retrievers I did meet to be kind of spacey and distracted, and I didn’t want a dog that size anyway. I wasn't crazy about the couple of labradoodles I had seen in my neighborhood, either. So when the rescue called me about this big labradoodle they had just taken in, I was less than enthusiastic, but the volunteer said "You really should come and meet him. He's worth it." So I did.

He was a mess. Filthy, greasy, skinny, poorly proportioned, he looked like an Irish Wolfhound/Afghan Hound mix. Too big, wrong color, curled up tail, sway backed, and where was the curly poodle

coat? But he was unbelievably sweet and well-behaved, even at 14 months. Calm, affectionate, friendly, and when I finally got a good look at his face, adorable. Still, too much dog for me. I needed time to think about it. I spent two hours with him and left without him. It did choke me up when they put him back in his cage.

For three nights, I couldn’t sleep, thinking about him. I had looked at a lot of dogs in shelters and walked away without a loss of sleep. I'd given up fosters that I really loved. Why couldn’t I stop thinking about this one particular dog?  On the third sleepless night, I realized that somebody was trying to tell me something. The next morning I called the shelter and he was still there. He came home that night, and the rest is history, lol.

Read more here: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/an-interview-with-karen-of...

[Stacy]

That is such a sweet story. It was fate. You were meant to be together. Jack is so lucky to have a mom who would go to the ends of the earth to deal with all his medical issues. Not everyone would do that. A lot of people told me to have my papillon put to sleep when she broke her leg and the surgery was going to be 2400. On a 2 year old dog. For an orthopedic issue??? You don't kill something because it's inconvenient. I believe that when you bring an animal into your home it's for better or worse. And of course there are exceptions. But you are a shining example of what that commitment means to me.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks, Stacy. :)

If only more people understood that when you bring an animal into your home, it's a forever commitment, no matter what. That's what love means, lol. 
What gets me the most is when these people who advise you to put your dog to sleep because of $$ start out by saying "I love my dog too, but..." If there's a "but", it's not love, at least not to me. 

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

AMEN!

[Stacy]

I second that!

[Stacy]

I also really enjoyed reading the rest of your interview! Fascinating. I wish you could come train me. I tried personal training a couple times and hated it. I felt like the trainers were undereducated and they were just saying "do this, now do this" without educating me on why or how. I actually let the second one keep a couple hundred dollars worth of training time because I refused to go back. I think I might actually be able to get somewhere with you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I need a trainer myself these days. :D 

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

Most have heard my version of how I got a (2) doodle.  My DH and I had never had a dog in our whole lives. Not as children and our children were never allowed to have one. We both had 12 or 24 hour jobs and it just was incomprehensible to that an animal would be in the house. I totally didn't get it.

Anyway our kids would always tell us that when they grew up, as soon as they got married they were getting a dog.  Not sure what being married had to do with it but they both did just that. 

Our daughter and her husband got the ultimate doodle, Marley, and we were spending a week at the beach with them when he was 5 months old.  He absolutely captured my heart.  He would follow me around, sleep at my side of the bed all night and look at me with those puppy dog eyes and I finally GOT IT!  I then knew I had to have that feeling in my life. That week I found DoodleKisses while researching (2008) for months all the forums and groups. There was never any reason to even look at another breed because doodles were perfect for a first time dog owner. I found a terrific DK Recommended Breeder and was put on the waiting list. Our first is Murphy, he will be 8 yrs old on Dec.18, my birthday.  

THen after 18 months, we both just loved him so much that when our breeder called to say she has a sweet girl for me if we're ready, we jumped at the chance to have more doodlekisses!  So that's where we are 8 years later.

[Stacy]

That's a great story! I had the parents who wouldn't let me have the dog I wanted. I was just biding my time until I moved out. I got my first dog at 20 and never looked back. I am all dog all the time!