My Non Perfect Doodles

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Appealing, adorable, non shedding, easy to train, great with kids and other dogs etc etc etc.  I love perusing the various doodle websites and am a sucker for cute videos of sweet doodle babies.  This feeds the same need in me that has me oooing and aaahing over adorable baby pictures.  But I often leave these sites with a heavy heart. How realistic are these claims?  How much is sales hype? How much is this selling a dream?  For non shedding read copious and frequent grooming and if you can't/won't do it yourself then insert very expensive frequent trips to groomer.  You get the picture.  A quick glance through some of the groups here will do any prospective buyer the world of good.  Good Breeders/Bad Breeders?  Giardia, parasites, genetic illnesses, injuries, vet insurance the list goes on and on.....

So for those of you who love puppies here is a little snippet of my day.  I got up at 6 am to bring Boris out for morning pee and poop. It's freezing cold here by the way and he spends 15 minutes finding the perfect spot while I shiver.   Back to bed we go and Riley and Boris are now on the bed and I can't find any place to put my feet. At 8am we all get up and it's breakfast time.  Boris goes out to poop and comes back in with poop trailing all over his behind.  I am in a terrible rush but spend half an hour cleaning poop off him so I miss breakfast.  This involves using my fingers to remove poop as the shampoo is doing little to shift it.  During the day my partner comes home to feed and let the boys out.  I collect them at 3pm and drive them 40 minutes to day care so they can run off some of that energy while I do some work.  At some point during the day I collect the worm meds and order dog food  ($140 gone like a flash out of my account.)  I get home and we spend ten minutes doing some much needed training as Boris is learning bad habits from his brother and is jumping up.  I am going away for three days on business on Wednesday and this has necessitated lots of planning so the boys remain well cared for and get plenty of exercise in my absence.

My boys are easy, they get on with everybody and are total love bugs BUT they are hard hard work.  Our lives revolve around their needs.  Every thing we do or plan takes them into account.  For websites to be realistic they need to ask hard questions.  It's one thing buying the 'perfect' puppy.  It's quite another achieving that expectation.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And some breeder will happily deposit their check, never mind what happens to the puppy.

They will have to buy a puppy, too, because no decent rescue would ever adopt a dog to them.

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

They even asked me if I knew anything about a particular breeder that she had found on the internet............ 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This makes me absolutely sick. I would contact that breeder and tell her the story, maybe she cares enough about her puppies not to sell them one.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Colleen, I am so sorry you have to "know" about this family pet. How terribly sad and you are right, it is always the dog that pays the price.

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

thanks Laurie:)  It's been a tough 5 days.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Me too, Colleen. Me too.

What would help would be if people would stop doing their "homework" on the breeders websites. Who researches something by asking the opinion of the person who is selling it?  Do they also ask the car salesman if this is a good car for them? Duh.

 

 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This is perfect, Nicky!  I think often people see what they want to see.  I have two Doodles...one is so easy and the other is a total "handful".  When people meet our dogs their "takeaway" is how sweet and well behaved Guinness is.  Even though I tell them about the two years of intensive training with Murph and how I still feel that I have to be "on guard" every minute when he's around other people or dogs, and his significant exercise requirements just to keep him from getting frustrated, and the fact that at least for now he needs meds to control his anxiety, they always go back to how they want a "Doodle like Guinness".  My own daughter who has watched all that we've gone through with Murph just said she'd like to start looking now for a Doodle that she could bring home next Summer when she's not teaching.  WTD....my own daughter!  It's true that she might get a puppy like Guinness, but she's just as likely to get one like Murph.  Then what....call DRC?  She has allergies....what if the puppy sheds....call DRC?  They've just spent a year and all their savings putting on an addition to their house....what if the puppy chews....call DRC?  They do not have a fenced yard so the puppy would have to be walked every time...I can't see my daughter being our in the pouring rain waiting for her puppy to potty...so when she gets sick of it then what....call DRC?  Other than during the Summer they work all day....then they have all the after school athletics and activities that they are running to....and the homework that they're helping the kids with and dinner to cook...so what happens to the puppy through all of this?  Too much stress for the family....call DRC.  I see the heartbreak ahead for the kids...this is a horrible idea, but it's my own daughter and I'm having little success in talking her out of it.  It's a good thing we have a "three dog condo rule" or I could see myself ending up with another Doodle that was "too much for the family to handle".  If I can't help my own daughter to understand I see no hope for convincing strangers.  Maybe the real answer lies with the Breeders.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I 'like' everything you just said but I think you hit the nail on the head with that last sentence.  It is the Breeders responsibility to make sure that they vet each prospective owner in a thorough manner.  In Europe there is a very strict advertising code which means that adverts have got to be honest.  Good breeders put their new owners through hoops to find the correct match.  Boris's owner was distraught when one of the puppies from a previous litter was re-homed and I was involved with trying to rescue that Doodle...it was heartbreaking.  

[Lynda Kamrath]

Your dogs sound perfect to me, but you seem to be a little overtaxed.  Yes, it is hard work and expensive to have dogs, but they bring so much to your life.  Sounds like you may have a lot on your plate right now.  Think about what you might do that can make your life easier and the dogs will play a part in that.  My dogs have been my excuse for getting exercise and I probably would not get near the exercise I do if not for them.  You dogs will fit into your life with as much time as you want to give them.  We got my first doodle when my husband retired so someone has always been around to give them the attention they need.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think there is a bit of irony in Nicky's post that some people here may be missing. It needs to be read as a cautionary tale for those who do not yet have dogs, and as a dose of reality/counter balance to all of the "doodles are perfect dogs" hype that we see every day, particularly on the breeders websites. It's an attempt to educate the uninitiated on what it is really like to have one of those "perfect" doodle puppies, not a complaint.  She has no problems managing her life and her doodles, but that's because she knew what to expect. She would like others to know what to expect, also. That way, fewer doodles will end up in rescue.

See, Nicky, that's what you get for trying to word things subtly. LOL

[Jarka, Monty & Auggie]

I have a friend who volunteers at a local animal shelter. There really are people who get rid of their young puppies saying "they are just too much work".  Duh! What did you think? That just breaks my heart.  Sorry, I don't have kids, so I should not compare. But do you expect your little toddler to behave properly at all times or know how to read and write all on his/her own?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Every time you see a DRC listing (or any rescue listing)  for a doodle who has lost his home because "the owners don't have enough time to give him the attention he deserves", etc., that's adoption speak for "they are just too much work, so they got rid of him".  

To answer your question, what they thought was what they read or were told by somebody pushing/promoting doodle ownership: that these are "perfect" little teddy bears who will fit seamlessly into your busy household without much time, work or effort at all.