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.

 

[Camilla and Darwin]

I think Darwin is more Golden than Standard Poodle. His behavior towards people is completely excited lovebug. They always say that dogs can sense when people don't like them... not Darwin! With dogs or people he runs right up, his entire butt wagging, and never stops. My dad absolutely can't stand dogs... well Darwin ignores that completely. If there is a group of people in the backyard, OF COURSE Darwin chooses to go plop himself down between my dad's legs. If there is a tiny yappy dog trying to attack him? He thinks it's playing and does the play bow... we always have to pull him away before he gets bitten! It's kind of cute, but sometimes really frustrating. Of course... this could be a puppy behavior, not necessarily Golden Retriever. Another Golden trait is that he LOVES food of any kind, and is not a picky eater at all. He's trainable, but not extremely intelligent, which also is more Golden than Poodle.

[ej]

Camilla, it is Interesting that you mentioned about food. Koda is rather selective with food. We can see his obvious preference towards different brands of kibble. He refuses green peas (unless they are blanched in hot water and mixed in well with his food), and he is always a little suspicious with new foods (he sniffs and licks it before chowing down). Zooey is the total opposite, she would eat anything you offer her. We often joke that she would eat a piece of cardboard, lightly buttered.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

People sometimes ask me if my son is more like me or my husband. I tell them that although he inherited my husband's ugly charming hammer toes and my blue eyes, he really is his own person... and it's sort of the same thing with the dogs. They may have some personality traits that can be traced back to the poodle or retriever parts of their genes, but their total personality is much bigger than the sum of the two parts and I don't really think about which trait is coming from which "side of the family." What really IS important to me is how they behave around other people and dogs and that they are good doggy citizens who don't bother anyone and like to have fun and chase squirrels (as for my son: substitute squirrels with teenage girls) :)

[shelly]

Hmmmm.... Tori's not a GOLDEN doodle, but I definitely see the poodle traits in her that you have mentioned, Julie. BUT... she also has many australian shepherd traits as well... she's protective of all of us and DEFINITELY herds us wherever she wants us and she TRULY corals my youngest 5 year old nephew every time he comes over. I say she has the 'best' of both breeds (although I think I'd rather be less of a herder and protector)

[ej]

Hey Shelly, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I neglected to add the other poodle-crosses, this discussion is definitely not limited to retrievers X poodles... let me now edit the title. I really love to hear from everyone :)

[Adina P]

Rosco is a total lab in personality! If he can sit instead of stand, he'll sit. If he can lie down instead of sit, he'll lie down. He adores food (any) and has never met a stranger.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Gracie Doodle is an F1 Goldendoodle and seems to have more Poodle characteristics IMO. She has the hips and body shape of a Poodle, long legs and the walk of a Poodle and is very, very smart. She is very agile and can jump straight up in the air. She can clear a 4 foot fence from a standing position. Actually, the only thing I see in her that is Golden Retriever is her obsession with the tennis ball and her tail. Her gorgeous plume is GR fur where the rest of her is soft wavy hair. She is not interested in food at all and loves to be in the water which I guess is a Retriever trait??? Not having owned either breed I don't know how to compare the personalities. Gracie is goofy, silly, sweet, loving, gentle, loyal, happy, non domineering, fun and well adjusted. She does not have separation anxiety and is happy to go anywhere (except the groomer...too much barking). She does not like a lot of noise and loud sounds and does not like dogs that bark or bark in her face. She does not like going to dog parks because of all the barking and aggressive dogs. She is OK at Doodle Romps and I think it is because we all congregate in one area and she knows they are "one of her". Gracie is a very soft, floppy girl and loves to sleep in every morning. But, get her out in the country or wide open spaces and watch her fly. She is the most graceful dog you have ever seen run. She stretches out her long legs into full stride and leaps and jumps over anything that gets in her way. She is so free and happy when she is running but she always comes back to us when we call. Some of the characteristics that I have mentioned I am not sure which breed they come from but all in all I would lean towards the Poodle side.

[ej]

Koda enjoys clearing obstacles too. He is a very "vertical" dog, he leaped over the childgate when he was little. He leaps and bounces, spins and changes direction in mid-air. Definitely more agile and athletic than my Golden. Given an option, Zooey would walk around the obstacle than to clear it. Koda would spot it from a distance and speed up in anticipation to clear it.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Gracie Doodle sounds amazing. She really does sound like she got the "best characteristics" of both breeds.

[Joyce & Wilson]

Nancie, You just described my F1 goldendoodle Wilson to a "T"!! : ) They are so irresistible!

[Ronnie & Emma]

For Emma (F2B Goldendoodle) - mom is a mix of a goldendoodle and a poodle. dad is a mix of golden retriever and poodle.
she is still very young (17weeks) ..i would think a lot of trait could just be puppy trait. the breeder told me she thinks emma is more poodle like compared to her other sisters.

On walks, she would wag her tail like crazy to greet people. This includes strangers of all ages. When she hears or sees someone come home, they dont come and see her ..she starts barking and then she starts to whimper.

she loves to play fetch ( especially with the tennis ball) ! if i drop the ball and it bounces really high up ..she gets really into playing with it. I woudl say she is not really a big chewer...unless you leave her by herself..then she gets mischievous.

I havent had a golden or a poodle ..so i owuldnt really have something to compare to.
ijust know she's very goofy and just loves to attention. wherever i go ..she would sit next to me. BUt, if i bug her too much ..she would walk to a different corner to nap.

I agree with Eva. Dogs are just people they have their own personalities. So we cant really say their personalities are fully related to a particular breed.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I have one of each. Guinness is certainly a "Poodley Doodle". He is a mini ALD will a Poodle body and coat. He is smart and sort of a "thinker" (cautious and deliberate). He's very athletic and did great in agility. His approach to people is his one strong retriever trait. We had a wonderful Lab, and the way Guinness approaches and relates to people reminds me very much of him. He loves everyone, and is happy and excited whenever he meets new people. Guinness loves a party...the more people the happier he is. Murphy is only six months and a standard ALD, but right now he seems much more like a Lab. He's definitely not a "thinker"....very impulsive. He is smart in that he learns commands quickly, but he's not really a problem solver. Food is a total motivator for him...he loves ANY food. He even loves the smell, and he won't leave the kitchen as long as there's something cooking. I cooked a pork roast on Sunday, and I swear he spent the whole time right there where he could enjoy that smell. He also loves people, but not as enthusiastically as his brother. He has the body of a Lab...very boxy. There is not a graceful bone in his body. I put out a video yesterday of the boys running at an off leash park, and I commented that when the retriever genes were being out, my guys must have been in the back of the line. Murph has no retriever instinct or skill, and Guinness has a little, but nothing like my Lab.