How can DK help prevent owners from giving up their doodles?

[jamiegirl]

After seeing the doodles that are looking to be rehomed, I got to thinking how the owners must have felt or had to deal with to come to that decision. DK is wonderful for discussions but I wonder if there was a "support group" system that could offer time for the confused or troubled owners to consult with so that they don't have to resort to giving up their pets. I understand that training and behavior are the most common reasons for this. A major function of this "support system" could be to offer non-judgemental advice without making the owner feel that they or their dogs are inferior to the stellar stories that some of the other members have. The information that I get from the forums and discussions here are excellent but I have a feeling that someone who is already contemplating on giving up their pet would be less likely to post discussion forums because of lack of time and anonimity.

I don't know if this is even making sense to anyone else but I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.

Anybody else have an idea or opinion about this?

[Mommy2Max]

Oh Good! I emailed him right after he posted. I don't hit that site too often but, I got lucky with timing. I hope he is able to find a good home for his doodle. :)

[Adina P]

What can we do?

I think as a whole DK members who visit and post are LESS likely to rehome than people who have NO support group for raising doodles. The ones who lurk we may never know about.

If ANYONE OUT THERE IS CONSIDERING REHOMING...please feel comfortable sending me a private message!!! ALWAYS!

I agree with Adrianne and Karen & Jack.

Some of my thoughts (some overlap with Adrianne and Karen):

1) YES we need to be up front and honest about doodles with those who join and are 'thinking' about buying or adopting one. WE adore our dogs no matter what...but someone truly wanting a specific 'product' out of a doodle may be disappointed when their doodle is not what they think it will be. I have no qualms saying that doodles are generally great dogs...but we need to mention their energy needs, their ability to chew things up, their need for training, the sponge paws that track in mud like it was their job, the MATS, the shedding...these are not 'doodle' flaws but DOG things. They are a dog like any other dog and many of their cute quirks are not truly 'doodle' specific but dog specific. We joke about 'doodle pose' but in reality ANY dog might be found on their backs while napping. Let's not forget our favorite mixed breed is a mixed breed with variations just like kids in a family.

2) I do my best to educate members about what to look for in a breeder...I find this issue to be of utmost importance. Every time someone buys a doodle from someone who breeds casually without knowledge of this mixed breed, without experience, who claims 'hypo-allergenic', without health testing, etc...they reward crappy breeding and crappy breeding continues. I don't want anyone to feel bad for past mistakes, but we do need to really support and push for responsible breeding practices. The two people from DK who I tried to help with rehoming had ONE MAJOR thing in common: Their breeder would not/could not help them!!! That's a HUGE thing everyone! One was a 'family' (not a breeder) and the other is a prolific breeder (not a member here) in the Pacific NW. I don't know the details of the breeder issue, could have been that the breeder didn't want to refund money but whatever it was it wasn't right. By NOT standing up and encouraging folks to EXPECT HIGH STANDARDS from breeders, this stuff perpetuates!

Everyone always thinks "well who cares if they don't take their dogs back, I'm not returning mine!' And that may be 100% true, but what about the littermate who goes to Susie Q who ends up being more energy than she can handle? Or sheds because this breeder who doesn't take dogs back also is clueless or a liar about shedding? ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO ONLY BUY FROM BREEDERS WHO HAVE HIGH STANDARDS! The tough part is we have to do this without sounding like snobs. It's not about 'fancy' breeders...it's about breeders who will support this mixed breed and have the dogs best interest at heart. Since prices are prohibitive for some, ALSO tell people about the pros of rescuing a doodle...

3) I'd like to work on an article "Think You Want a Doodle?" or "Think TWICE about Buying a Doodle!" where we outline the pros and cons of doodle ownership and tell people about the hypo-allergenic myth. If any of you want to contribute a paragraph...I'll gladly accept it and edit useful parts into the article. The title should be attention grabbing -- so other title ideas are welcome. Then they can be listed in our Extra section and easily referred to by anyone.

4) I think the friendly support we give when people are having trouble with their dog is HUGE!!! That we are good at. Who knows how many people would have rehomed their doodle by now if they didn't have the 'support group' that occurs every day when we advise people about potty training, jumping, chewing things up, training ideas, etc? I know when I was on another forum prior to starting DK ... and Rosco was a JAWS puppy there were moments when I thought I'd have to send him back to the breeder because I was so frustrated. But support and a listening ear does wonders!

There are also people who won't benefit from any of this. They are the folks who don't join forums, don't look into training, or just assume it's gonne be easy so they don't research or read ahead of time. This goes back to breeders screening buyers well ... but what about those who buy from bad breeders? There will be cases we can't influence.

Another random brainstorm...what if we took IDOG fliers and DK fliers to romps? IDOG has the resources to help in rehoming and their volunteers do their best to see if they can FIRST help the doodle retain their home. DK fliers would bring people to the biggest support group ever where their daily living-with-a-doodle questions can be answered by all of us who care and are happy to help. Maybe they are considering a doodle...we can point them to the article I mentioned above. Or you can carry a flier with info on doodles: Myths and Facts...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You know I would love to contribute to a "Think you Want a Doodle?" article, I think it's a great idea & very important.
Maybe we could also have one called "Let Us Help You Keep Your Doodle", where people might feel more comfortable reaching out to the DK community for help. I think that may be what Jamie had in mind when she started this discussion.

[Adina P]

Both would be GREAT! Did you get my email to your real email?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The person looking to rehome on the "meetup" forum mentioned above? Yep, going to look into that further.

[Adina P]

yup. you can't write to him unless you join, but you can email me if you want me to send him a private message with certain info.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

Those are wonderful ideas! I would put up a flier at our dog park because I am always being asked about Yankee and hear people saying their next dog will be a doodle. My doodle is extremely well behaved...not sure why but he never chewed and he listens. They meet him and think all doodles are like that.

Another good idea would be to add websites with important info on the back of the cards that people may hand out to doodle owners or potential doodle owners. I made up some cards but I would change them to add this info before I print them or pass them out. If you do up an article, we could add the link to the cards.

[Tammy & Gracie]

Adina, Are there any resources to furnish DK flyers? I am planning a romp for October and would like to provide about 50 flyers in goody bags for the attendants.

[jamiegirl]

It is good to hear that the people on the fence about keeping their doods have a resource to go to and talk them through "options". Thank you, Adina. We seem to have a lot of great ideas from everyone here. I do like the suggestion about keeping it real and honest with our responses to some of our posts. This site is great for advice but sometimes we do tend to gush more about how great they are now and how much we love them versus saying that we did have JAWS incarnate for when they were 6 to 14 months. This is not by any means a fault of successful doodle ownership but I think that it just makes the people with concerns more insecure and less likely to give it more time.

[Leslie and Halas]

This is more on the topic of doodle-gushing than rehome issues, but I'll add it anyway. I, too, am guilty of gushing about my doodle. But whenever someone asks me whether or not he sheds, I tell them that he doesn't really shed too much (not in the way a lab or golden or other shedding dog would), but he requires lots of brushing. I tell them that he mats like crazy if I don't brush him every day. At least that gives a little dose of reality and a counterpoint to the benefit of a non-shedding dog. But I know that I need to do a better job of educating people when they say he's a good, well-mannered boy. I think most of the people on DK have great dogs or are working towards having a great dog. But with any breed, they aren't just magically good. It takes a lot of training and patience to end up with a good dog. I think a lot of doodles learn things more quickly than a lot of other breeds, but they still require training. So, for me, when I think about being more honest about doodles, it includes not only correcting some of the myths, but also explaining why some of the positives are so positive. Halas has a great coat because I brush him a ton and take him to the groomer. It isn't simply a result of being born a doodle. And he's a good boy and a great dog because we've been going to obedience since he was 4 months old, and we continue to work on obedience and other dog activities every single day. Although his breeding (by a responsible breeder) has lead to his intelligence and temperament, that isn't the end of the road. It still takes a lot of training and work to get the best result out of that intelligent, friendly dog.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Not to mention that the minis are less likely to be rehomed anyway, for several reasons. Even when they're not well trained, they don't knock you over when they jump on you. They can't reach the counter to steal food. They can't drag you down the street. If Halas barked and lunged at someone, it probably wouldn't be quite as frightened as when my 80 lb monster does it. If you had to move to an apartment, it's much easier to find one that takes 25 lb dogs than 80 lb dogs. It's easier for Halas to get exercise in a smaller space. And his food, medicine, and grooming cost less. These are all reasons why there is less need to rehome minis than standards. (Their size is more predictable too. You never hear of anyone getting a mini and having it turn out to be 30 lbs bigger than the breeder said it would be.) So you can point out that you made a responsible choice in regard to size, as well.

[Leslie and Halas]

That's all true. All benefits of a smaller dog. And, you're right, I see very few minis in rescue, and the few we have seen are from puppy mills, not usually rehomes. So the stuff about taking the time to train a dog if you want a good dog is even more true for standard doodles or any big dog. Same with the brushing time. Like you said, it costs less to take Halas to the groomer, and it also takes less time to brush him myself, since he's less than 1/2 the size of a standard.

What's funny is to see the look in people's eyes when Halas runs towards them at the dog park. He stops when he gets to them or goes around them, but when they see the fluff-ball coming, the look in their eyes tells me that they think he's an 80 lb monster who's just waiting to lunge at them and knock them down.