Mini Doodles and Kids

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Good morning everyone :) 

So I have been trying to get some more information on mini doodles but whenever I try to look things up online all I find is a ton of doodle bashing :( I just sent out our deposit for a mini doodle so of course its a little unsettling to hear so many negative comments on mix doodles so I thought THIS would be the best site to find some positive and helpful information on these precious doodles. 

One of our concerns is how have your doodles interacted with kids? We have two small children, my 18 month old who absolutely LOVES dogs we are not too worried about him, but our oldest is 3 and a half and she's a little more reserved. A family member of ours has a labrador retriever who is SUPER hyper and that kind of intimidates my daughter a bit, have your labradoodles or goldendoodles also experience this trait? If so how have you tried to mellow them done when they are with the kids?

Another question we had was how big have your "mini" doodles grown up to? Originally we had planned to go with a standard doodle but after seeing that they can grow as big as 100lbs we decided a mini would be best for our family. A lot of the articles I have read mentions that larger dogs are better for kids as opposed to smaller breeds like a yorki would that also apply to the mini doodles??

[Amy and Annabelle]

I have 7 1/2 month old mini golden doodle. I think she is done growing for the most part. She weighs 12lbs and is almost 12" at the withers. The breeder thought she might make it to 20lbs, but I don't think she will now. I have a 2 year old grandson and a 6 year old granddaughter. Annabelle does get pretty excited to see them. She would jump on them if it were up to her. Maybe she wouldn't be so excited to see them if she lived with them and saw them every day.  She has mellowed out a lot, but still has a ways to go. She is very playful. At night though, she will chill and watch tv with us. She sits between us on the couch with her blanket. I do give her a bully stick to occupy her...girl loves to chew. Also from about 12 weeks to 20 weeks, she was a biter. She wasn't trying to be mean, but puppy teeth are razor sharp. At any given time I had 5 or 6 bites on me that broke the skin. Luckily she outgrew that.

I did have a golden retriever years ago, he weighed about 85lbs. He was a gentle giant. We adopted him from a shelter so I never saw him as a puppy. He was about 2 years old when we got him. He was very good with kids and our cat. My little nephew could crawl all over him and Charlie just laid there and let him. He let the cat sleep with him in his dog house. When he died the cat was very depressed. That is how much she loved him.

I hear ya on the negative comments. My husband has strict orders not to tell anyone she is a golden doodle. Sometimes they guess. Otherwise she is a poodle mix. My husband could care less what other people think or say so he would tell them. I told him I really don't care either, but if we are out enjoying a walk, I don't want to get an ear full on my choice of a pet. Why people think it's their place to do that is beyond me.

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Thank you so much for your reply! Your doodle is too adorable!! :) Did she mellow out on her own as she got older or is it something you've been working on to get her to that point? 

[Amy and Annabelle]

Thanks...Probably a little of both. I think getting older is part of it. It is hard to tell for sure. We have a trainer that comes to the house twice a month to work with her, and then we work with her every day. All the snow finally melted so we got to take her for a walk on a park trail over the weekend. She did great. A lot of people, kids, other dogs and bikes and she did not try to go play with them. Well there was one dog about her size she wanted to play with, but the other dog wanted to play too. But for the most part she just kept on walking. She was kind of afraid of a large dog, but she didn't really do anything but move farther away from him. The large dog was barking at her. She used to be terrified of bikes, but is now used to them. She walked 3 miles. She came home and took a long nap.

[Paige and Leo]

I guess my goldendoodle is not mini but medium. He is 10 month old now and weighs 26 lbs. Standard was too big for our family. We have friend and her doodle was 90 lbs. the 25-35 range was perfect for us. I do know they have smaller and that might be what you are thinking of. I don't have experience with the 12 to 15 lbs doodles. Leo is wonderful with everyone but that is temperament as well.

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Thank you so much for your reply! Your doodle is so precious! The 25-35 range is what we are looking for too, sort of a compromise between me and my husband since he likes large dogs and I like small ones. We also think the range would work for the kids since its not too big but not too small either. Was your doodle also mellow with everyone or was that something you had to work with to get Leo to that point?

[Paige and Leo]

You will love that size. We spoke with our breeder a lot because I have special needs child. Mine are older than yours but needed a pup that might do service work or therapy work. The breeder picked him based on temperament. He was middle of the road guy. Not hyper but not overly scared\ shy. He was perfect with the boys and kids around here. He of course nip and bite in the beginning as all do. We used gentle cue and was good. We started training at home basic stuff right away. Then he has been in obedience class from about 12 weeks. Good Luck with your new fur baby!

[Paige and Leo]

And my aunt also got a litter mate from same litter. She is a bit bigger than Leo and more out going hyper. She did great with us too. She comes over all the time and will settle down quickly with training.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I have a mini ALD who weighs 22 lbs, and he's wonderful with our grandkids.  I'm not sure how much the size factors into how they behave with children versus temperament.  Look for a breeder who values temperament and breeds to produce puppies who are calm and balanced versus focusing primarily on coat and overall looks.  Clearly health of the parents is also a key component.  I'd also look for a breeder who socializes her puppies and exposes them to children at an early age.  Our mini was raised in the home with the family who had young children until he came home at 10 weeks.  I think this made a big difference.  Good luck!

[Ginny Nightingale]

I know a mini that is 22 pounds and wonderful with everyone--especially kids--but it does not happen automatically--you will need to get the pup to obedience classes and put in the time to train the dog--having the kids around from the time the puppy comes home usually is a big help too--I find that dogs that are raised with kids in the house are just calmer overall---if trained, that is--there is a lot of commotion in their lives, I guess and they are not the center of the universe, so they seem to be more laid back...I am sure it does not always work that way, but it is what I have seen.

As far as your reserved daughter, make sure you let her go to the dog and not force it--let it happen naturally. I bet she will come around in no time!

[Michelle Rodriguez]

Thank you so much for your reply. We're definitely going to take things slow with our daughter and the puppy. We don't want to push the puppy on her and risk her getting fearful of the puppy and creating a stressful environment for both her and the dog. That's a big concern of ours so we've been doing a lot of things to prepare for the puppies arrival. 

[Wynnie & Jim]

You have received very good advice from the above replies. I have a mini Goldendoodle who weighs 22 lbs. My DW and I have four grandchildren. The youngest of the children are 6 and 8 years old. The breeder of our puppy (Wynnie) socialized the litter with her children so the puppy came to us well acquainted with children. Our grand kids loved to hold her and play with her. Wynnie has been playful and gentle with them.

But puppies are puppies and need to be trained. Sometimes, Wynnie, as a young puppy, was sweet and sometimes crazy. My DW had a couple of puppy bites and I had one pant leg torn by those razor sharp puppy teeth. But, we were patient, calm and loving. We also worked hard on training and at 1-year Wynnie passed the AKC "Canine Good Citizen" test. She now is taking Agility Training. She is the sweetest dog ever at 16 months. She greets people with great respect. Everyone who meets her loves her and says that she should be a therapy dog.

But, be forewarned that any puppy is work. Brushing, training and feeding are part of the bargain when you buy a puppy. If you invest the time and the effort in your mini, it will pay off big dividends for you. Of course, the same thing can be said about children. Spend time with them and love them, and you will have well adjusted and happy kids.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Almost all puppies are wild and wiggley.  The kids and the puppies need to be protected from each other in many ways. The puppies should not be hugged, carried or grabbed by the little humans, and the puppy has to be taught manners so they don't jump and scratch or mouth your kiddos.  The smaller the dog, the more fragile they are yet the more manageable.