The more questions I get, the less I talk about the positive doodle aspects

[jenn D]

So I don't know if I'm just weird or what (well ok I know I am weird ;) ) but the more people "ooh" and "aaah" around my doodles, the less I talk them up and instead end up pointing out their less desirable traits. Maybe I'm a doodle traitor. I don't know.
Every school day when I pick up the kiddos (I have 2 elementary school kids) I usually take one of my boys. I get to do some socializing and training in a hectic environment and it works well for us. It's kind of my "proofing" time. How well did I train PB&J (Big Mac is still getting acclimated) to do x,y, or z. Can they still listen in chaos. Plus I get a chance to teach the kids how to approach dogs and how they like to be touched.
Anyway, my boys do pretty well in this environment and I get a lot of "wow he is so well behaved! We want a doodle. How do you get one, etc."
While I personally love doodles, I grew up with all different kinds of dogs. I really researched what I wanted for many years before becoming a doodle lady. I don't think everyone should get a doodle. They are high energy dogs. I know I have 4 doodle boys! What people see is many hours of dedicated training and lots (LOTS) of daily exercise to tire these doods out. In addition, people generally do not see the things I still struggle with when I train, like 4 doodles barking at the door bell or Jake trying to sneak socks.
So I try to be honest with people about the work it takes. But they look at me like they don't believe it. I tell them about the cost or time time and frequency of grooming and keeping up a coat whether you go to a groomer or do it yourself.
I try to explain to people if they are interested in a dog to write down their typical family activities, plus things you would and wouldn't like in a dog (cuddly, a hiker, amessy drinker, barking, digging) and then decide first IF any dogs is truly right for them and second what breed matches their lifestyle and desires. I get blank stares.
Like I said I feel like a traitor to the breed. I love doodles, heck I love dogs. But they are a lot of work. At least they are work for me. Fun work, but work none the less.
Ok rant over. Off to take my 2 legged kiddos to school.

[Heather Martinez]

I agree with this! During Teddy's evening walk, my family often stops off at Starbucks or Trader Joes. When it's my turn to wait outside with Teddy, I sit on a bench and he sits up on the bench with me (to prevent him trying to eat cigarette butts on the ground). People always come up to greet us and comment on how well behaved Teddy is and want to know what kind of dog he is. When people express interest in getting a doodle, I always tell them that it took a LOT of training to get Teddy this way. And that a doodle puppy is a lot of work. Teddy was 2 years old before he really became a "good old boy" to use my trainer's terminology. Questions about being hypoallergenic and shedding come up also. I explain the genetics (Teddy is an F1) and that he does shed, although not as much as a golden retriever. I agree with everyone, it's so important to educate people!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Well, I think you're a SUPER MOM for one. 2 elementary kids and 4 high-energy dogs! You have your hands quite full. It makes sense how you portray the breed. I mean, let's face it, you've taken on other's 'throw aways' and turned them around into great pets. You've put a ton of work into them and only you know how much. As Karen said, you're an advocate for the breed, and good on you, for it.

[Angela Wilson]

This is also reassuring to people with doodle pups who think they were somehow fooled because their puppy is exhibiting annoying, but not uncommon, dog behaviors. The idea that these dogs come as well mannered as their dedicatedly trained older counterparts is absurd. We're in puppyhood now and I know our boy, Crosby, will be a great dog. He's smart, attentive, and sweet (despite his tendency to jump, bite and sometimes tear my clothing), but he's learning each day what's okay and what is not. I think you're right in explaining more than one side! We had a Labrador before Crosby, and it think we thought he was going to be far less active....that hasn't happened yet. Haha...this site keeps me looking at the positives!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

I have to say something that supports how great they are. My two have been so good, I was prepared before I got them to
Spend a year putting up with crazy puppy behavior. Yogi has always been an old soul. Maci has more puppy traits, she likes to chew on wood (furniture and our wood deck), but other than that she has been a great puppy so far.
I do let people know that there is a lot of grooming involved, but I have been impressed by their temperament. I'm sure all doodles are different, and I just wanted to add that to this thread for people to know both sides.

[Bren & Reagan]

Agree, agree, agree!  I can remember several times being approached about why I got a doodle when I had Bindi.  "Cute dog, I hear they are easy to train, but do you know how many dogs are in the shelter needing a good home?"  Over the years I adopted several dogs when my children were at home, they left the nest and I decided on precious Bindi.  All dogs take 100% of training, love and consistency.  

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

What everyone else said! I can't really add much to that, LOL!  Honestly, I'm the same. The moment I hear "OMD I WANT ONE SQUEEEE" - yeah, that's my cue to swing into my "Ayuh, here's some things you need to know" speech.

I don't see it as being a "traitor". Traitorous is lying to people about the reality that is living with and caring for a doodle. They need to know, and the doodle deserves for them to know, before they bring one home, that some of them shed (if you don't believe that, feel free to clean under my sofa), that they are often high-energy (there's a reason I call Declan "Twinkle-Toes"), that they're not born trained, and that they take a LOT of work (or expense) to groom.

I call them my "chocolate box" dogs - you don't really know what you're going to get until they're pretty much grown. I explain that they're a cross between really quite different breeds, so they'll end up with something somewhere on the spectrum between one breed or the other and they'd bloody well better like both breeds before deciding to bring a doodle home. Having the pair that I do really drives that home for people, once I explain that they're brothers. It's obvious that they have very different body types, coats, and personalities.

Hat's off to you, Jenn, for being able to raise two kids and four doodles! Keep being honest. You're doing these guys a solid favor!

[jenn D]

Thanks guys. I always marvel at the fact that 4 doodles are at times easier to manage than my 2 kiddos. I just got back from open house at school and I'm more exhausted than taking the doods for a walk!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Good for you, Jenn. You're not weird or a traitor. People need a dose of reality before they make an innocent dog and themselves miserable.  It's not usually experienced dog people that tell me they want a doodle.  I find it's often first time or inexperienced dog owners.  I try to tell them doodles are not for the faint of heart.  The grooming, the exercise, the hours of training, the hypoallergenic myth (even if your doodle doesn't shed, everything ends up in that coat and in your house :) They can be really well behaved one minute and clowns the next.  But one other thing I tell people is if you want a doodle, plan on including them in your activities or look for another breed. Maybe my guy is just weird :) but he needs people (and hugs) and to be "out and about" with me as much as he needs air. If he could talk his first words would be, "so what are WE going to do now?" unlike my other dogs who were pretty much happy to keep the "home fires burning." 

[jenn D]

So true Cheryl. All my guys need to be with us humans. They would not do well at all as backyard dogs. They are integrated with the human part of our family more than any other dogs I've had.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

That's funny. Lucy has this look she gives us all the time, that says, "So what are we going to do NOW?" Its her signature look. Both mine love hugs, too!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Good for you.  I think you are just being honest.  Any puppy takes a lot of work and training and many doodles are very high energy.  I think it is important that people understand your doodle didn't just come "out of the package" so to speak well trained and calm.  You have an especially important audience as they all have kids which adds another dimension to training a puppy/dog.  You go girl.

[Debbie]

This really hit home for me when I took Sundog to the library to work as a therapy dog in the reading program.  Many mothers just absolutely loved her and thought she was the most well-behaved beautiful wonderful dog ever and wanted one just like her.  Then I looked at their children who weren't exactly the equivalent of a therapy dog.  Sundog had a lot of patience with them, but, then again, she also had more than 8 years of training and experiences and socializing and etc....  A couple of these moms really made me nervous.  I don't think they believed how much work has gone into Sundog (and Barney too).  I didn't see the consistency that was needed with Sundog in the interactions they had with their children.