i.am.smiley's Page

Hi, welcome to Doodle Kisses.

Please take a minute to read through the DK guidelines and new member information under the Help tab above, to familiarize yourself with the policies here and navigate your way around more easily.

"Sending a message" to a group is meant for the group administrators to make announcements. Nobody can respond to your message sent that way. In order to get responses to any questions, you need to post a discussion in the group or in the forum. In addition, breeder recommendations are not permitted in the forum. People can only comment here on your page or in a prviate message if you accept a friend request from them.

Please read What to Look for in a Breeder: http://www.doodlekisses.com/notes/What_To_Look_for_In_a_Breeder

This is a wonderful guideline for assessing any doodle breeder you mgiht be considering. These are really the most basic guidelines, so if a breeder can't measure up to the cirteria in this article, look elsewhere. The article also has links to the Owner Recommended Breeders groups and the various Puppies for sale group by breeders who meet the criteria.

Regarding service dogs, please be aware that there is no way to know whether any individual puppy of any breed will have the suitable temperament and abilities to do service work. If you need a service dog, your best bet is to contact a reputable and recognized service dog agency. There are many individuals who claim to train and sell service dogs, including doodles, but these are not legitimate organziations and you will end up spending a lot of money for a dog who is not able to do what is needed and may also have health problems himself.

I know you hear that doodles were bred for service work, but in fact there are very few if any doodles who are actually performing assistance/service work. I know of none, and as the co-founder of the largest doodle rescue group in North America, I hear about a lot of doodles, lol. There are many doodles doing therapy work, but that is not the same thing.

Doodle rescues will not adopt out a dog for service work. In rescue, it is essential that there be no expectations for any dog other than that he can be a loving companion and member of the household. The problem is, what happens if the dog is not suited to whatever work is required, and cannot perform it? In rescue, the dog's needs are the priority. And to be honest, out of 750 doodles that our rescue has placed, I cannot think of one who would have made a good service dog. A good service dog really needs to be bred and raised for that purpose, and even then, many do not make the grade. Many of these dogs who end up in rescue are there for or a reason, which may include temperament, behavioral, or  health issues.

These are also very high energy sporting breeds who can be very high maintenance in both their grooming and their exercise requirements. There is a lot of information here about doodles, so you can do your own research. Good luck in your search and welcome.