I need help! I am trying to pick out a goldendoodle puppy I need your help! :)

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Okay I've never owned a goldendoodle before. This would be my first one. I have two I'm thinking about looking at and I need your help with what you think they will turn out coat wise.
They are both F1b goldendoodles and both same age. What type of coat do you think they will get? I have them posted below. Two top pics are same one and bottom pic is the other puppy. 5 weeks old both boys. I might look at a female too in the first pic pups litter. What would you suggest gender wise too? I want one that's calm laid back loving friendly and intelligent. I also don't want one that constantly plays all the time like my Boston terrier (it's exhausting). What gender do you think would be best? Anyways back to the puppies coats I wasn't sure if they would be wavy or curly fleece? Attached pics would be greatly appreciated so I can see what your talking about.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

That's what Orwell did. As soon as I came in, he came to me and sat in my lap but left when his other siblings bombarded us and went back to his mom, played with a sibling for a while, came back to me to try and take a nap, but had to settle in front of me. He was the only one (along with his mother) to follow me back to the door.

I am a firm believer in having the puppy pick you. Generally the one that tries to cuddle with you is fairly calm. I wasn't going for either male or female, and from what I understand, sex doesn't matter. There was a girl that was very bitey (even more than Orwell :P) and would not get out of my face. She was pretty much the reason Orwell had to leave me. My boy hasn't destroyed anything in the house and was easy to potty train. He is very curious about everything and will check out what anyone is doing in the house... so he paces a lot and in this way he is "busy." I attribute to his puppy behavior though and based on his napping schedule, he doesn't crash until about 8:30 pm. 

Try to be calm when you are picking out the puppy and you will make the right decision. Or rather, some puppy will make the decision for you.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Don't be in a hurry and the right dog will come to you.  You have some ideas of what you want and I think the main thing now is to select your breeder.  Seeing them (the puppies) at the breeder's is a good way to go, but if you can't go there, be sure to get a good recommendation and make sure all the testing has been done on the parents.  It is SO important.  Don't let your heart be stolen by a puppy that will end up with health problems.  It is a very costly mistake.  Also you may want to consider the size you want because you can tell a little bit about that from the parents.  My first doodle was 105 pounds, the next one 85 pounds, and my current ALD is 55 pounds.  Really depends on where you are living.  Don't focus so much on the coat type because all goldendoodles have beautiful coats.  Hopefully soft, non-shedding, and a color you like.  Take a look at the photos on my page.  All my doodles were very different, but all had their good points and challenges.  And, oh yes, if possible, the F1b goldendoodles are super.  They are 3/4 poodle and my F1b phantom goldendoodle had the most wonderful coat.  It was so soft and very easy to groom.  I definitely suggest the F1b doodles.

[Jess & Stewart]

I had first pick of my litter (F1B mini golden doodles) and wanted the biggest, darkest red male with a straight coat because he just screamed "pick me" in the pictures I got. I went to visit and ruled out the females right away on coat type and temperment (too shy or may be too difficult for me according to my breeder). 

Out of the three males left, the one I wanted was NUTS. He was the energizer bunny, nipping, not calming down when you held him on his back etc. for the whole time. I ruled him right out because he would be too much for me living in an apartment. There was a red, well rounded but still very playful, great coat with a white chest pup and an apricot, gorgeous coat, very calm (whenever he breeder interacted with the pups, this one would already sit and wait patiently to be picked up). 

I chose the red pup mostly because of his coat but he seemed a bit more confident than the other pup. I love Stew, he did turn out absolutely handsome, playful, a crazy big goofball redhead BUT if I had to do it over again, I would have gone with the apricot because he was so calm and being a first full time dog owner aside from family pets, he would have been much easier to handle. If I get another doodle, it'll be the most calm, no matter what it looks like!

[Wendy and Myla]

Check out the Volhard method!  http://www.volhard.com/pages/pat.php

[Shari Becker]

I totally agree. Please make sure your breeder has done his/her work to ensure you have a healthy dog. And make sure there is a health guarantee of some sort.

I met breeders who told me "all my puppies are the same." And that's not true. My breeder said, "My dogs are bred for temperament. They will all make good family pets, but there will be some differences between them."

When we looked at our three curly puppy choices, they each had distinct personalities. There was one straight-haired puppy that was totally going to be a handful. He was a hoot. Wrestling and jumping and engaging everyone. My husband adored him, but the breeder said "That one is for someone with experience." 

The one that I had my heart set on was petrified of my daughters. She hid under the chair, and despite how absolutely adorable she was, I knew she was the wrong one. The other curly one wouldn't sit with me. Every time I tried to pick her up or engage her, she wriggled away. When I picked up Lexi, she tilted her head and looked at me, and then put her head down on my arm and closed her eyes. I put her to my shoulder, and she snuggled right in. 

We watched her play for a little while, and her personality then is exactly what she is like now. She was cautious, walking around the periphery of the group of dogs, but curious and engaged. So she would hop in, play a little, and then hop out and watch. That is my dog in a nutshell. Curious, cautious, but engaged AND loving. 

Also what they look like now is not necessarily how they will look later. When we picked up Lexi, she was the funniest looking puppy in the pack. I thought "Darn, I picked the ugliest one."  She was tiny but had pudged out sideways. She just looked like a rolly puff.  Within two weeks she looked like a totally different dog. All this to say, don't get too caught up in the looks. I would look more at the personalities coming through. Does the dog engage with you? Does it seem scared? Does it seem overly confident? Follow your heart. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Best of luck. Those are adorable puppies. Lucky you!   

[Adina P]

It's tough to really have a good idea of temperament from one visit.  Here's why.  Some of the puppies may be close to nap time and others may have just woken up...or other similar differences that can mask their true energy level. You see a small glimpse of them whereas the breeder has seen them at all hours of the day.  If she's good at spotting important differences, she'd be your best guide.

If she would be willing for you to 'try' some of the Volhard test on them that *might* be helpful, but you'd have to know what you're looking for in their responses.  Only a stranger can do the Volhard test because the breeder, since she is known to them, would not elicit the same responses.  It also is supposed to be done at almost exactly 7 weeks.

[Wendy and Myla]

We weren't allowed to pick our puppies - our breeder had them all (eleven) temperament tested at the age of six weeks.  We told her what our family dynamics were, what we did, what we wanted a dog for, and what we expected in a dog.  She then picked the puppies for each respective owner based on all of that.  We wanted a smaller, red female.  We are retired and have small grandchildren at our house weekly.  If were not happy with her choice (i.e., size, sex or colour) we could go on the list for the next litter that she had or get a refund.  When we went to pick up Myla, I picked her up and she snuggled right into my shoulder and sighed (she still sighs when she's completely content) but there were a couple of puppies whose owners had to delay till the next litter that were available.  One was a beautiful dark red. (Myla was quite a bit lighter).  I asked about that one and our breeder went to look at the temperament testing and said she would not be suitable for us as she was more skittish - she said that could easily be worked on with the right owners, but not with small children, as they could accidently drop her or hurt her and that would probably traumatize her for life!  It was something that I had never thought of and I had done quite a bit of research while waiting for Myla as I did not know if I was willing to go with a breeders pick of a puppy.  I am so glad that our breeder is do diligent in health testing and making sure that her puppies go to the right owners - Myla is the perfect fit for our family and if I had made a choice myself, I would have picked the redder puppy as I couldn't tell that she was much different than Myla when I went.  And I agree with Shari, Myla did look like she was a little porker, her back end was just so roly poly compared to the other puppies but she grew into herself and is now a beautiful beautiful dog!  Hopefully your breeder can help you, but please check out the Volhard link I sent you above - it explains a lot!!!  Have fun!

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

Our doodle is laid back but all of a sudden at nine months she wants to get into things especially if I am sleeping.  

Usually the opposite sex of the dog you have now works.  I tend to prefer females.  One advantage is they piddle a small round puddle.  The Boston Terrier and the pup should be crazy for awhile.  Good luck.

[Abigail *George & Juno*]

8-10 months has always been a rough time for our dogs, think bratty teenager? My trainer confirmed this when I had our Goldendoodle in an advanced class at 8 months. She was blowing me off (despite knowing ALL the commands and performing them minutes before) and she commented that she was just being a teenager and to keep working with her, but for the most part you just "get through it" lol. It's really not terrible, don't think terrors. It's just annoying because you *know* they are capable of behaving a certain way... They just don't want to.
Our goldendoodle never misbehaved, she just might think about things a nice long time before she decides she should do what you've asked. Now she's over a year and all of that is a distant memory. Our mini doodle is 8 months though.... And she definitely has some naughty moments!

[Shari Becker]

8 months was the worst for us, too. It was the only time Lexi was really naughty and really disobedient. Of course, I have a tween and almost tween girl, so this is par for the course for the ladies in my house. But yes, I do think it's just a phase. Having a puppy was significantly more work than I'd prepared for, but was also significantly more rewarding than I expected. It's all just part of the process. And yes, she sometimes takes her jolly good time following orders, but it's totally clear she's just taking her time because she can. Her new game is to walk away five times before putting her harness on to go outside. But she always does it because she knows she's not going outside without it on! :-)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

What concerns me most is all that sawdust. Where is this pup kept? Indoors?  Looks like it is outside, or worse yet, in a barn to me :(     That is very concerning on many levels.

Any breeders reading any of this?  Comment please!