My closest friend was offered a whoodle - Can anyone tell me good or bad about this breed.

[Tricia Campbell]

My girlfreind was just offered a whoodle to adopt, she has 2 children 14 & 9. I don't know much about them just that they are cute. Can anyone tell me their opinion or advise?

[fergie11]

What's a whoodle?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Assuming that we're talking about a soft-coated wheaten terrier/poodle cross, the combination has never made much sense to me, as they are both non-shedding breeds. At one point, I researched the breed as I was thinking of getting one, but decided against it. Wheatens are much feistier dogs than poodles...ALL terriers are. They're tougher to train, too. They have a tendency to be bouncy, jumping straight up at people, and are not recommended with very young children because of this. Some of them have a tendency to be very mouthy with kids, too. This is very different from the laid-back personality of the retrievers mixed with the poodle temperament that we get in our doodles. Physical fences are frequently a requirement with the breeders & rescues of wheatens, because of their "bouncing" tendencies. Of course, as with all dogs, a lot depends on the breeding, parents, training, etc., as well as what size poodle that parent was. But I would advise your friend to look very carefully into the background of the dog, and what the reasons are that the dog is being rehomed.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have a labradoodle now but had a wheaten for almost 12 years--let me tell you-it was a challenge. And I was a terrier person, who had terriers for 20 years prior to getting the wheaten. All the comments below are true--they are high energy, stubborn (mine went right thru an invisible fence and had to be walked on a leash) and can be aggressive. I have a friend who is a vet and will not have wheatens as patients!
On the other hand, some of them are sweet and gentle. This breed has the hypoallergenic label which has no doubt caused a great deal of careless breeding.
With my labradoodle, I feel like I am on vacation! Seh learns so much faster and is so much more obedient. I never thought I'd want two dogs after my terrier years, but I am now hoping to get a second doodle.
This is just my two cents!

[Tricia Campbell]

Yes it is a soft-coated wheaten terrier/poodle cross, It is a puppy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So when you say "adopt" are we really talking about purchasing the puppy, or is he being rehomed through a rescue/owner?

[Tricia Campbell]

This dog was rescued by a women who takes puppies from breeders & pet stores usually after 11 weeks if they have not been sold. I adopted duffy from this women - she just charges an adoption fee that covers a vet check that she brings the dog to & shots.I think she charges around 250.00 - 300.00. I can't remember what I gave her for duffy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, this is kind of sticky, because your Duffy is from her, and of course he's a wonderful dog who you love; my Jack was originally purchased in a pet store, and although he has myriad health problems, he is the best dog on earth. Having said that, the puppies that this woman is offering for adoption are all from puppy mills...all puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills, and no reputable breeder would sell or give an unsold puppy to someone (they are usually called brokers)to be passed along for "adoption." (Hopefully, some of the breeders here will confirm this.) So there is a temperament/health risk in "adopting" any puppy from this woman. When we add into the equation the fact that the breed in question can be too nasty to live with- stubborn, aggressive, difficult to train, etc., when not well-bred & socialized (as all those who commented here have said), I'd tell your friend not to risk it. Just my opinion.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

P.S.: If the woman who is "rescuing" these puppies is truly doing rescue, she should have a 501c (not-for-profit) number; otherwise, you can be sure she is a broker, and probably the same person who bought the puppies from the mill in the first place & is now trying to recoup her original cash outlay.

[Tricia Campbell]

I think I saw that written on her paper work, I will have to dig for it when I go home.I been to her home & have spoken to her often. I know she is not a broker, she lives & breathes for these animals.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, then I think to get back to the original question, you can advise your friend based on the advice some of us here have given about Wheaten terriers as a breed, and maybe she can do some research on her own. It seems the general consensus is that they are not the easiest dogs to live with or the best with kids.

[Richard Crowe]

I am not sayin that this woman is not legitimate but, not having a 501C3 number doesn't necessarily mean that this is not a legitimate rescue. The American Maltese Association Rescue (of which my wife, Judy, was West Coast Coordinator a year or so ago) is not 501C3 designated but, is a totally legitimate rescue group.

We charged a rescue fee of from anywhere from $50 -$350 for our rescues. Our philosophy was that if a person got a dog totally free of charge, they would have nothing invested in the animal and also if a person could not afford a $50 rescue fee, they could not afford to care for a Maltese.

Sometimes we made money for the organization with rescue fees and this money was used for vet fees for rescue dogs that needed medical care. We often spent thousands on a dog and only charged $50 for the rescue fee. Other times we would get a Maltese that was young and healthy and we would need to invest nothing for vet care (our vet did a health check for our rescue dogs free of charge) and we would get a higher rescue fee because the dog was more adoptable. That fee went to the medical needs of less fortunate dogs.

We never got 501C3 certified because of the beauracratic paperwork it takes. We were able to support our rescue efforts with donations from AMA members, from events such as raffles at our national specialty show and from the rescue fees we charged the adoptive parents.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks for this info, Richard...it's always so hard to tell who's trying to help & who's trying to exploit. The more info, the better.