Golden doodle or Irish doodle?

Garysligo

Hi there, we are trying to decide on the latest member of our family. Both the golden and Irish doodle seem a great dog but advice on these two breeds would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

tk123

Genuine question - what makes you think they're a great dog compared to other crossbreeds or a poodle or retriever? If it's because they're supposedly non-shed then it's the luck of the draw - I just posted recently about the amount of hair that comes off my neighbour's doodle. Like more than my two put together came off him when I brushed him recently :eek:

Garysligo

tk123 wrote: »

Genuine question - what makes you think they're a great dog compared to other crossbreeds or a poodle or retriever? If it's because they're supposedly non-shed then it's the luck of the draw - I just posted recently about the amount of hair that comes off my neighbour's doodle. Like more than my two put together came off him when I brushed him recently :eek:

Hi there, we are used to hair, if you have dogs it's a fact of life. So if we are lucky and it sheds less than our springers-bonus. It was as much about temperament of them and as much as anything, about looks.

alroley

As like any crossbreed, their looks and temperament are a complete guess.

Poodles and golden retrievers are beautiful breeds and don't need to be mixed.

Garysligo

alroley wrote: »

As like any crossbreed, their looks and temperament are a complete guess.

Poodles and golden retrievers are beautiful breeds and don't need to be mixed.

i have owned many retrievers and spaniels so i am aware how fabulous pure breeds are. I am now looking for a different kind of dog for my next companion.
Appearance is less a guess when the dog is in front of me. As to temperament, that is why i am asking for people's experiences.

Cherry Blossom

These designer dogs are bred by puppy farms and bybs so temprament would be highly questionable at best.

purplecow1977

These are not natural breeds
Why do people support this exploitation?

muddypaws

Garysligo wrote: »

i have owned many retrievers and spaniels so i am aware how fabulous pure breeds are. I am now looking for a different kind of dog for my next companion.
Appearance is less a guess when the dog is in front of me. As to temperament, that is why i am asking for people's experiences.

But because they are crosses of two breeds, there is no real answer as to temperament, as nobody can say which they will inherit. You also need to consider that people that breed them and put the names on that you are using are not reputable breeders, so socialisation may not be high on their list of priorities, which will also have an impact on the temperament.

I am not pushing the rescue agenda, but if you are looking for a cross breed with a good temperament, contact your local rescues, who will have dogs that have lived in foster homes, so can advise you. Most rescues unfortunately do get litters of pups, either handed in to them young, or born in the rescue.

DBB

OP, I'll be honest, and probably get shot for this, but I don't have *that* much of a problem with these designer crossbreeds, in theory.

In theory, if both parents and their ancestors are properly health-tested and have cleared the tests relevant to their breed,
AND
if both parents, and their acestors, have exemplary temperaments,
AND
If the pups have been thoughtfully reared in a stimulating, enriched environment, with regular, gentle handling, exposed to a wide variety of people, kept inside the family home for at least a few hours every day and so exposed to the hubbub of home-life, fed lots of good quality food, fed from separate bowls and supervised to ensure there's no bullying over food, have been to the vet for vaccination, microchipping and health-checks...

... then there's a really good chance you're going to end up with a really nice, pet dog. Personally, I don't care whether a dog is purebred, I'm more concerned that if people insist on going ahead and breeding dogs, which they're going to do, that they do so in a way that is designed to produce top-class pets.
To do so properly, whether you're breeding mutts or purebreeds, is pricey, labour-intensive, time-consuming, exhausting, and takes a fair bit of knowledge about the psychological developmental processes that are going on between 0-8+ weeks of age.

Which brings me on to the major problem you're going to come across in your quest for any of the Doodle crossbreeds...
In Ireland at least, there are precious, precious few breeders who come anywhere close to fulfilling one single one of those T&Cs I list above, let alone fulfilling all of them. And they ALL have to be fulfilled... there is no room for corner-cutting on any one of them... None.... if it's a nice pet dog you're looking for.

In addition, because the vast, vast majority of people breeding designed crossbreeds are doing it on a wing and a prayer, there is no effort to standardise them and they do not "breed true": there are people crossing doodles to doodles, which results in pups that look nothing like the original F1 cross... so, for example, if someone crosses an Irish Doodle to another Irish Doodle, the resultant progeny will either look very like Irish Setters, or like Poodles, or like Heinz 57s... they tend not to look like Irish Doodles. However, it's veeerrryy hard to tell what they're going to turn out like when they're small puppies at the purchase stage, it takes maybe 6+ months for the unaware owner to realise that their expensive Irish Doodle bears little resemblance to what they were looking for in the first place.
The only "designer crossbreed" that I can think of that now breeds true is the Australian Labradoodle (not a bog-standard Labradoodle), and that's after several decades of careful, planned, mapped-out breeding... It is now essentially a breed in its own right, and the Aussies are seriously protective of their lines, they do not allow any messing from would-be Doodle breeders.

So, if people are hell-bent on getting a Doodle or other designer crossbreed, and let's face it, they are extraordinarily popular now and no amount of posturing or tut-tutting from the purists is going to stop it any time soon, let's try to get people to buy nice Doodles in an informed way, from excellent stock and knowledgeable breeders.
OP, if you're going for the Golden Doodle or Irish Doodle, you'll have a job on your hands, but make sure you stick to those T&Cs I listed above, and make sure that the breeder isn't back-crossing dogs with no regard for what they're actually producing genetically. It is possible to get a really nice Doodly pet... but you must do your research first

borderlinemeath

I meet tons of poodle crosses. And the only consistency is the inconsistency. Oh and the matting of the coats. And the high instance of skin and gastro problems.

If you're going to get a poodle cross be prepared to spend a clean fortune on grooming because poodle coats are a nightmare crossed with the likes of a retriever double coat or even worse a cocker spaniel coat. I've never met a setter cross but I own setters so I know the upkeep on their coats so I'd hazard a guess it would be a disaster - fine feathery fur crossed with a dense curl?

And you'll find it doesn't look too bad until you're close up looking at it, from a distance it can look like a scruffy dog, but when you get your hands on a matted poodle cross, it's lumps of hard mats. I had to shave a dog last year because she arrived for her holidays unable to move properly due to matting. Her legs couldn't move properly due to large mats, she couldn't extend her toes and when I got down to her paws her dew claws had grown into a full circle under the matting and were digging into her feet. So for a large breed you'll be looking at about €60 every six weeks to maintain the coat.

As for temperament, cross breeders are out for one thing, to make money. So temperament isn't high on their agenda. As far as retrievers and setters go, there's plenty of nervous ones out there too.