How did you decide on a doodle?

[jenn D]

I was wondering how allof you guys decided on getting a doodle. How long have you had doodle(s) and how many do you have?

I've had beagles my whole life and wanted a dog that was more people oriented and was more geared toward training/working with humans. Plus I don't care for lots of shedding. That lead us to a short list which was then narrowed to Labradoodles. We have a 10 month old and will be getting a second in January.

How about you guys?

Jenn

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

A very dear friend of mine in San Diego adopted her Doodle in 2010 and the minute I laid eyes on Iris I was "Doodle in love". My husband and I got on the internet and searched for almost a year!  Libby joined our family in March 2011 and she is the best dog we have ever had.  She is two and a half now and we can't imagine life without her!  There is a saying, "once you get a Doodle, you want another one" and it looks like that is true for your family:) Congratulations!  Libby is still and "only Doodle child". LOL

[Heather]

LOVE Golden Retrievers, don't love the shedding. My Hubby heard about Goldendoodles and we started talking to breeders. We now have "2"......The BEST Dogs we have ever had!!!! Can't imagine life without them!!! Doodles are like potato chips, can't have just one in our house. Enjoy your new Baby~

[Adina P]

Back 7+ years ago when I decided I wanted to get a dog (now that I lived in a house with a yard), I wanted to get a boxer.  But my husband (then boyfriend) suggested I look up "labradoodle" and was hooked ever since!  I fell in love with the famous "Bocker the Labradoodle" and wanted a female doodle that looked JUST like him.  I dreamed, obsessed, flipped through 101 breeder websites for what seemed like ages but was probably only a few months.  I thought non-shedding sounded dreamy, but I also wanted a doodle that was more of a scruffy labrador so I knew shedding would likely be in my future.  2-3 months before I got my puppy, Rosco (who did not turn out to be a creamy dainty girl but a HUGE red male), I was perusing rescue websites and spotted an 11 month old black labradoodle female about 3 hours away.  I forwarded the info to my boyfriend and within a day or two we drove out and brought Thule (too-lee) home!  So we each got our own labradoodle!  Thule passed away in 2010.  Later that year we found another little black doodle girl in rescue and she became our Boca.  Really it was their "looks" that drew me in and I was happy that they were a combo of two good family breeds.  I never believed the 'hybrid vigor' and 'none of them shed' fallacies, but so far they have been great family dogs. 

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

About 12 years ago, friends of ours got a wonderful goldendoodle named, Zoe. She was adorable and oh, so nice. (She still is!) Following their lead, we got Simon - a goldendoodle from the same breeder. We were drawn to the appearance, temperament and allergy-friendliness of the poodle/retriever combination. Shortly after Simon passed away, we decided to get another dog, but decided on a labradoodle, and happily brought Wally into the family.  When Wally turned six, Charlotte (also a labradoodle) joined us.  Having two doodles is one of the best decisions that we have ever made.  You will know exactly what I mean come January.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

We bred and raised Golden Retrievers for years.  I had 5 Generations!  A few months back, we lost our last Golden.  Dylan was my heart and I was devastated.  He was 13 and it was just time to let him go.   The "plan" was to wait a bit, do some traveling, and "think" about another dog.  We had seen Goldendoodles any number of times on outings and thought they were the cutest...and the fact that the shedding was nil or minimal, really caught my attention.   And I loved the fact, I would still have part of my beloved Golden in the mix!      Fast forward a few weeks, and our son's bestfriend's GF is a Vet here in San Diego and she knew of a litter.  The plan was to get a black, as to not remind me of Dylan.  But we got to the Breeders " just to look", The Pup now known as Enzo, made herself known and that we would be taking HER and only HER home.  Funny, she had been sold, her buyers had to reneg because of a family emergency and she became available that very morning.  I swear it was meant to be!!!!!!!!    Enzo has been my Therapist through the loss of Dylan...and I like to think he had a hand (paw) in helping her find us.  Sssshhhhh, not to tell Dylan or any of my past Goldens, but this little girl is smarter than they ever were!!!!!!!! ;)

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

When I was in grad school, my professor's wife invited us for dinner.  She raised Siberian Huskies.  My then fiancé fell in love with their faces and did not sneeze once, or show any signs of allergies even thought there were Sibes everywhere.  My family's dog at the time was a short haired poiner named Chan, who did provoke my fiancé's allergies.

 

After five years of marriage and one child, Pat's job moved us to California.  The lure for me was a house and a dog!

Thus was the beginning of nearly forty years of Siberian Huskies, usually two at a time.  They were great family dogs, totally child friendly, people friendly, and non allergenic to my husband, which is common.  But shed they did!!

Forty years later, as our two Siberians were aging I saw a grown labradoodle with his family.  I had never even heard of "Doodles".  I began to investigate "doodles".  Smart, people friendly, low to non shedding and possibly non allergenic - sounded pretty good to me after forty years of vacuuming daily.

We chose the Australian Labradoodle (this was just before all the flap about Beverly Manors et al in Australia) because they were multigenerational and more apt to be low to non shedding and no allergenic, and there was a breeder within in driving distance so we could "test drive" Pat's sensitivity.

The rest is history Roo and Tigger, adorable, smart, non shedding, don't bother Pat's nose and all dog!

 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

LOL...I swore my next dog would be named "Dyson" in honor of all the years of vacunnng up Golden hair.

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

I met my first goldendoodle on July 20, 2008, at our daughters wedding. He was 5 months old and totally changed my mind about what having a dog meant. DH and I had never had one as children and our children never had one while growing up ( yes, I regret that now). That very weekend, I found DK and read everything I could about doodles. At the time DK was pretty young so it was possible to read most every post in every group!!!
Up until meeting Marley, dogs were just another animal, that didn't belong in a house and the last thing I needed was another thing to do or take care of as I was raising my children. Boy was I so wrong. Marley brought a companionship and unconditional love and a quiet sweetness into my life and I just knew I had to have that in my home too.
DH would watch me read posts on DK for hours and months until one day he said, "why do you keep reading about dogs, we aren't getting one"! Well we all know what happened about 7 months later as we welcomed our Murphy into our home.
It wasn't long (about 18 months later) before I needed my own doodle since Murphy by had become DHs faithful companion. So then we got our Bella.
While researching, I liked the idea of no or low shedding, but it wasn't the highest trait on my want list, so it really wasn't what drew me to them. I just loved how people described their doodles and how they were such a part of their lives and families. I never really researched any other dog, and still don't care to. I hope to have a doodle in my home for the rest of my life.

[William]

Love this thread! I can't explain exactly what drove me to "Doodles"?? But I can say that since childhood I had always wanted a dog(s) that looked/act like labradoodles! I have 3 :-)

[Jennifer and Jack]

One of the doctors who used to take care of me had golden doodle dogs.... On I think it was my third visit with her ever one of her dogs was killed and the other was severely injured in a freak of nature accident... I was not a dog person really at all .. and I could not understand why she was crying a bit through our visit as we had just driven several hours to see her.

When we got in the car to go home, we felt so bad for her and confused why anyone would cry over a "Dog" but I sent her a condolence package for her, and a get well dog package for her dog that was still alive and hurt.... My heart was just sad that someone was hurting.

Through subsequent visits... she would always show me pictures of her dog that passed and also of her current dog... They were adorable.... and I loved them..... As time passed we started talking via email and on the phone about my medical stuff that would always turn into the dogs...  

I became way to sick to work but refused to quit... literally going from working  to admission to the hospital every time I worked without fail...... Finally I was pulled from work because I was incapable of working in a critical care area because my bodies ability to run a code was not there and I was devastated.

I guess in turn she felt bad for me and was talking to me about getting a dog... I was going to get some kind of poodle mix from a back yard breeder because it was way more affordable and I had no idea what I was doing.. the back yard breeder told me to tell her what combo of dog I wanted and she would make it.. BOY oh Boy am I grateful.

My doctor got wind of the fact I was looking and she sent me a picture of "little green ribbon boy, a four week old toy golden doodle.. She thought any bigger would knock me over when I tried to walk and I said I LOVE HIM.. but I thought she was showing him to me for her.. because she wanted to get a second doodle... but secretly I loved him for me from the first time I saw him....

The next thing I knew I had received confirmation that the dog was paid for in full and what airport did I want him flown to? It was so much fun and amazing but I had no prior doodle knowledge until this doctor..

As a result of Jack a former what I thought was a friend of mine got a doodle too.. They are cute little buggers...

[Amy & Albee]

Jennifer, I had no idea about your story of getting Jack. Such a sweet gesture by your doctor and what a positive experience! How fun that must of been (and hectic!) to plan for your puppy arrival =)

[a.k.a. Rodney]

These are some great stories....mine is sort of shallow & void of any drama. We had signed on with a breeder for a YORKIE ....but the breeder emailed me one day & said I'm afraid...she will be to big for your back issues...we agreeded to split the deposit, b/c I felt badly about her being held up for months over this pup..and her being so honest about the size for me. At that point I got more serious about looking at other breeds b/c all I heard during the "waiting period" were bad stories about Yappy Yorkies....every dog I came upon as I looked around my community I inquired about the specifics of the breed. I finally determined a Doodle was for me...somehow I found DK while surfing the web. And when I inquired about breeders...I received the "Talk101" from one of the DA...( read this, can' t discuss breeders on the forum etc. etc). I found my breeder after I dodged a bullet or 2 from some puppy mill people
Eventually, One of the DA privately advised me on a few safe breeders...Thank The Lord! This breeder as it happened was just about to create a litter of Petite doodles....we ended up several months later with one of the smallest...she understood my need for a "scoopable" pup! It seems it was meant to be!! We have been blessed with a fabulous canine companion & a wonderful trainer who has brought the best out of our Doodle ....we couldn't be happier ...and a lot of credit goes to one particular DA & of course DK in general!!!!