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[LottyJ1]

Hello,

 

I have been thinking about getting a dog after the sad loss of my horse and was considering a mini Labradoodle.

 

I need a dog that;

 

Is a puppy as we have two cats one if which is special and suffers from stress (over grooming) and neither have ever lived with a dog

Isn't too big as my mother in law will walk some days and she is very little

Good to train (good recall with lots of training of course)

Likes both short walks in the week and very long walks at the weekend

Can do agility

Good with the chooks of course!

 

Any thoughts??

 

I do also love boarder terriers but I have know some that you can't let off the lead as they run off so this has put me off a bit.

 

Thanks for any advice.

[Grandmashazzie]

I would stick to plain Labrador I think they can't be beaten in terms of temperament ,if it's trained anyone could walk it.I have had quite a few labs and they have all been and two still are the best dogs ever.

[freddie]

Springer cross lab, Smaller build, easy to train, and so so loving.. Whatever you go for, try to have a good look at the parent dog, as the pups will inherit traits!!

[Cheeky Chooky]

We have 2 Border Terriers and they are fantastic dogs but they are Terriers...and no Terrier is easy

 

I would agree with Grandmashazzie...a Labrador would probably be the most even tempered

[Cooks]

I would say cocker spaniel

[jasperaliceuk]

 

Meet Milo, my mini labradoodle

 

He is now five, well trained through loads of effort: good recall and basic behaviours, loads of tricks, assistance tasks (only because I can, not because I need!). They are intelligent and lively dogs although the minis seem to have a reputation of being slightly less goofy than the larger ones.

 

Size varies with the minis. Milo is definitely a medium sized dog - small lab or collie. One thing he does do is shed for England. If someone tells you categorically that labradoodles are hypoallergenic and don't shed then they are misinformed. It very much depends on the dog and type of coat so is no guarantee.

 

Further info can be got from www.labradoodletrust.com - the rescue site. Sadly because of their popularity, misinformation about eventual size, liveliness, coat qualities and hypoallergenic claims and non realistic expectations of puppy/dog ownership there are now many needing rescue.

 

Milo is good with animals - he is not averse to a chase if they run - but on the whole he has no great prey drive - but this is not the case with some other labradoodles who will chase down deer, rabbits etc. Milo is such a fussy dog he likes his food prepared - and I'm really not kidding - he won't eat things in chunks, finely sliced carrot or apple it must be!

 

He lives with four cats and five chickens - mostly peaceably - he is out with me when the chickens free range and I trust him not to attack but he has chased. Same with the cats.

 

I love Borders but the only one we know well has a penchant for completely disappearing for an hour or two. Cockerpoos seem to be the dog of the moment.

 

Sue

[LottyJ1]

Thank you for all of your great posts and advice.

 

I do love Labradors but I’m always a bit worried about pure breeds of certain types due to health problems (we have a much loved golden retriever when I was a child who was purchased from a kennel club breeder and bred in the house and we saw the mum and older sister and he ended up with hip dysplasia, arthritis etc at five). Also I’m concerned that a pure lab would be a bit big - are girls always smaller than boys in labs? My MIL is only 5ft on a good day!

 

Springer cross lab would be nice - are they not a bit hyper?

I love boarders and always have done but yes the ones I know and have walked (always on the lead) have a habit of vanishing for well over an hour giving their owners lots of worry!

 

Cocker spaniels are lovely but I also know you have to take care and ensure it’s not a working strain?

 

Thank you for the lovely picture of Milo - Don't worry I know that they do shed and it depends on the coat as to the degree but what ever happened it wouldn't be a problem. Our cats leave hair everywhere so we are used to that!

He sounds lovely and I know that the training is hard work but we have a local family who train police dogs and do puppy training up to Gold award and I love just working with animals so will enjoy it.

[superkitty]

This is really interesting, because I'm going to see some labradoodle puppies on Thursday night, hopefully to pick one and pay a deposit! Nice to hear from people who actually have one!

[Cooks]

There are plenty of decent show strain breeders out there, if cockers are a possibility. But beware there are lots of bad, if the price seems cheap I would beware, as decent cockers with all health checks done on parents etc are not cheap, we paid £600 for Lily as a guide.

 

Working strain cockers are lovely, they are just a different temperament it's just about what you want, but I am sure a working cocker would love agility I always think working cockers are more lke springers but that's only my opinion.

 

Regarding shedding, apart from her puppy coat, Lily does not shed very much at all. My yorkie never sheds. Always something to bear in mind if you have family members with allergies that might visit or asthmatics.

 

I am guessing the yorkie would not be on the cards though she would be great if you said you wanted a dog that would curl up on your feet/lap all day though

[Cheeky Chooky]

This is really interesting, because I'm going to see some labradoodle puppies on Thursday night, hopefully to pick one and pay a deposit! Nice to hear from people who actually have one!

Oooh lovely! Make sure you take some pics pleeeeeease!

[Redwing]

Have you considered a Poodle from a non showing line?

 

I am constantly amazed by how tough, rugged and easily trained Poodles are, they neednt be trimmed in to funny shapes and when just given a simple trim a couple of times a year some people are hard pressed to recognise the breed!

[jasperaliceuk]

Superkitty - Amarante by any chance?

 

Sue

[LolaLayla]

Have you considered a Poodle from a non showing line?

 

I am constantly amazed by how tough, rugged and easily trained Poodles are, they neednt be trimmed in to funny shapes and when just given a simple trim a couple of times a year some people are hard pressed to recognise the breed!

 

I have a miniature poodle who is now about 10 months old and honestly she would tick all your boxes plus being non moulting. I agree with what Redwing says (although I trim Lara about every 8 weeks) and I would say she is really 'plucky' and not a 'soft' dog at all. She is loving, lively, adaptable and goes with the flow. She is also a good size to be portable, although some larger dogs can be over friendly and can trample her due to her stature. She completed her obedience classes and now is doing really well in agility training. She was so easy to house train and can, sit, down, heel, side, bow, fetch her ball, stand/walk on her back legs and she rings her poochie bell to go out. She was out free ranging with the chickens today as I was moving the eglu to the summer area and she did not attempt to go for them. I know this makes her sound amazing but she really is. She is my first dog and I read a lot about training and asked a lot before I got her. She goes in a crate at night and when I go out, and she is really happy to have it as her sanctuary. Her parents were not highly strung and I think that is the key to look at their nature when selecting your pup.

The only thing I can say about any 'doodles' is you are not sure how much of each breed you will get in the mix. So size, coat and temperament will be a surprise. Good luck with choosing your puppy

[Lavenders_Blue]

I do love Labradors but I’m always a bit worried about pure breeds of certain types due to health problems (we have a much loved golden retriever when I was a child who was purchased from a kennel club breeder and bred in the house and we saw the mum and older sister and he ended up with hip dysplasia, arthritis etc at five).

 

I would just urge you to be a bit cautious about thinking that crossbreed = healthy dog. Whilst a good old fashioned mutt may well have well diluted genes (for want of a better phrase) and less chance of hereditary disease, a first cross is still 50% of each parent, if that makes sense, so there's still a reasonable possibility that there may be hereditary disease present. I would always suggest buying from health tested parents if you're going for a cross breed such as a labradoodle.

 

Good luck with finding a dog, it's exciting isn't it? Keep us updated with your progress!

[newcountrygirl]

Borders are great dogs. They have a big heart and are fearless but - they do like to go exploring and certainly have a mind of their own. In the past - before I went Border mad - I had toy poodles and I have to say they were very loving, easily trained and brave too. Also they dont shed hair unlike my Border who could supply enough for a jumper at least twice a year!

[superkitty]

LottyJ1 - sorry, didn't mean to butt in on your thread And I was sorry to hear about you losing your horse I hope you manage to find something...I just got a bit overexcited then at seeing 'labradoodle!'

 

Amarante don't have any at the moment, these ones are in Lowestoft but are all vet checked etc. I'm strangely nervous about going (what if none of the puppies like me?!) but very excited. But I will stop hijacking other people's threads now and watch with interest to see what other people say about labradoodles.

[LottyJ1]

LottyJ1 - sorry, didn't mean to butt in on your thread And I was sorry to hear about you losing your horse I hope you manage to find something...I just got a bit overexcited then at seeing 'labradoodle!'

 

Superkitty - I'm glad you did as I would love to know how you get on!

 

Thank you for all of your replies - so interesting to hear of experiences everyone has had.

 

All of our animals seem to end up with one problem or another so even a cross breed will be special if it ends up with our family! After our experience with the retriever I will always do some research into what problems affect a breed and ensure we find out everything possible - I enjoy doing that as my degree was in Animal Science but then I end up scaring myself!

 

I love all dogs but I think the OH would leave me if I came home with a poodle just because of all of the stereotypical reasons which is irrational but that's him i'm afraid!

 

I do like the idea of a cocker so I will investigate further and perhaps go and see a few breeders and decide from there. I do like the working strain but I just worry although we are very active we may not be active enough!

 

Thanks everyone!

[Lavenders_Blue]

I love all dogs but I think the OH would leave me if I came home with a poodle just because of all of the stereotypical reasons which is irrational but that's him i'm afraid!

 

There's quite a beefy looking chap in our village who I quite regularly see walking two mini poodles! They look like super dogs and he certainly doesn't seem to be worried about the image thing!

 

I do like the idea of a cocker so I will investigate further and perhaps go and see a few breeders and decide from there. I do like the working strain but I just worry although we are very active we may not be active enough!

 

If you liked the idea of a working cocker but are worried that you might not be active enough, would you consider something like agility classes? It doesn't have to be competitive, there are plenty of fun classes around. A lot of dogs need mental exercise as much as physical exercise - I know I could run Tango all day and she wouldn't be tired, but when I used to take her to training classes she would be quite tired afterwards even though she had done very little exercise there.

Or... would you consider letting someone train him/her up as a gundog to go out out on the shoots? I know a couple of people who own gundogs and allow other people to work them.

[bluekarin]

I would love to suggest a cocker as I have one, a show type blue and tan roan. But mine is a big puller on her lead. She will walk to heel, but not all the time and when she gets a scent, she's off! But other people have much quieter ones. When we chose her for a litter of 6, she was one of the quieter ones. She certainly came out of shell away from her boisterous sisters!

A lady I see in the park walking the dog has a chocolate brown cockerpoo who is adorable. Last time I saw her she was about 16 weeks old, and walks off the lead beautifully! I would have loved one of them, but my hubby doesn't like poodles

I look forward to seeing what you eventually bring home

[Chickendoodle]

I have 2 labradoodles (one we have had from a puppy and the other we got as an adult from the labradoodle trust). I can honestly say that they are the best "breed" we have ever had. Full of character and lively and loving. Our Henry is known by everyone up on the Downs where we walk him (mostly because he takes his ball to any lady he fancies and won't go until she has thrown it )

They seem to end up with the best bits of both breeds - they do need a lot of exercise and love to run. They love company and are probably not the dogs to have if you are out a lot. Brilliant with children.

Henry was fine with the chickens - they could free range around him quite happily - but Daisy would like to eat one (she was 2 when we got her and is bird obsessed)

 

If you want a smaller dog I would also go with a poodle - I grew up with one and they are spaky, fun and intelligent dogs. You do have to factor in the grooming cost though.

 

Also need to think about possible grooming cost with a doodle. You won't know what their coat is going to be until they are adult. We have Henry clipped every 6-8 weeks during the spring and summer months and leave him to get a shaggy coat over the winter. Daisy needs no clipping at all as she has more of a labrador coat.

[LottyJ1]

Thanks everyone.

 

Defo going to do lots of training and agility.

 

I did a course and qualified as a dog groomer and although never set myself up I would defo sort out my own

 

I did the basic dog grooming and advanced that covered clipping, stripping etc the different coats.

[Mercedes55]

There are a lot of labradoodles and other "designer" dogs around now and one thing that has already been mentioned is that you have no idea when you buy them what your actual dog will turn out like as it's just like throwing all the genes up in the air and you have no clear idea how the puppy will turn out. They also seem to be mega expensive too, we saw one at our local vets and the woman paid £1,300 for it

 

I'm another fan of labradors. We have a chocolate labrador who will be 14 in June and she's not had any more health problems than any other dogs that I know. We also have a nearly 11mth old shih tzu and she is totally different to the labrador, but once again a beautiful dog with a wonderful temperament.

[Chickendoodle]

They also seem to be mega expensive too, we saw one at our local vets and the woman paid £1,300 for it

 

Golly ! We paid £300 for Henry - he is 7 and we got him just before they became trendy. Daisy cost us £200 from the Labradoodle Trust as a 2 year old.

 

We have had no health issues with either of them. Previously we had a chocolate and a black lab and they had no end of problems, epilepsy, digestion, dodgy hips, leukaemia.......I think we were just unlucky as you can be with any dog, whether pure bred, half breed or Heinz !

[Seagazer]

Well we have a doodle but a Goldendoodle and she's a fab dog. She's very clever, good with children, little furries and chickens. She's almost been taken on as our canoe club mascot now! We have had a few health issues with her, ear infections etc (she has incredibly hairy ears) but nothing too bad. She came from Champion winning poodle lines and was health checked etc.

 

The only downside with Cooks is her fur, because she's part Golden Retriever she has a curlier coat than a labradoodle plus she is a F1b so her dad was the first cross and mum a poodle. Her dad was curly too. Almost think sheep fleece They do look fantastic when their coats are long but so hard to brush.

 

The labradoodles that I've known tend to be bigger than Cooks, but as you are looking at a mini then it shouldn't be too bad.

 

Good luck with whichever breed you decide to go for.

[LottyJ1]

Thanks guys