Labradors, Goldens, and Standard Poodles are known for their wonderful temperament and ability to be trusted with children. Doodles are great with children and are easily trainable. If properly socialized, they get along exceptionally well with other dogs. Due to their Labrador/Golden nature, they have the ability to learn special tasks and can be of assistance to persons with disabilities. Doodles are not aggressive by nature and develop special loving bonds with their family members. Doodles LOVE water. They are amazing swimmers and make great retrievers. A tennis ball, a good throwing arm, and a body of water would be all you would need for hours of fun. Doodles make great hunting dogs and will go the extra mile to make sure that whatever it is they are supposed to fetch arrives in your hand as soon as possible.

Doodles are medium-sized – again not extreme. Extremely large dogs are prone to bone defects, a short life span, and heat intolerance. Extremely small dogs have mouth problems and delicate bones and joints. On a more practical level, toy dogs are usually not good with children who they can find threatening, and anything over about 90 lbs eats a lot and is too big to fit in the car comfortably.

Another great reason to adopt a Doodle Puppy is their exceptional intelligence. Although many people love their independent (a euphemism for almost totally untrainable) terriers, beagles, and spaniels (apologies if you own one) there is no doubt that an easily trained, responsive “willing” pup is very rewarding to own. By the same token, a highly intelligent and extremely active working dog can be totally unsuitable as a pet unless you live on a farm. Doodles are trainable without having a strong working drive or being overactive.

Wooly/Curly Coat – Very similar to a Poodle’s hair with tight wooly curls along the torso, head, and legs. This coat should be cut twice a year to keep it from becoming too long. Longer coats take more maintenance. This coat does not shed.

Fleece Coat – This coat consists of long loopy curls over the torso, head, and legs. The coat should feel like soft fleecy wool. The phase between 8 and 12 months of age is a transition phase as the adult coat comes in. During this time, brushing may be needed to strip the coat until the adult phase is reached. This coat does not shed.

Straight/Wavy Coat – The most low-maintenance coat of the three. This coat varies in length and often develops short waves along the back with feather-like tufts of hair on the ears, tail, and above the eyebrows. This coat does shed.

Crossbreeding is a way to produce healthy dogs in a single generation and at the same time take advantage of the opportunity to combine characteristics of different breeds – as long as the parent breeds and individuals are chosen with care.

Labradoodles have been used by the Guide Dogs Association in their efforts to breed a hypoallergenic guide dog. Poodle crosses make excellent pets. Labradors are the archetypal family dog, renowned for their friendly nature and trainability – as family pets, they are hard to beat and I have not been able to think of a better crossbred combination than a Labrador Poodle cross.

Stanley Cohen in his book “Intelligence of Dogs” ranks 79 dog breeds in order of intelligence. Dog trainers were asked to score all breeds for various behavior traits. Poodles scored second only to Border Collies for intelligence (without the Borders need for space and work to do) and Labrador Retrievers were 7th. Both breeds score low for aggression. For “reactivity” (or excitability) Labradors were among the lowest – Poodles scoring in the middle. (In case you were wondering, the dog that rated lowest for intelligence was the Afghan.)

In theory, the cross would be a medium size, smart, healthy, shaggy dog that is not too prone to obesity and matures reasonably early. A breeding program should select dogs on health first. Then they should look for dogs that are easily trained gentle and friendly without being too excitable or too shy and which don’t bark except when disturbed. Any sign of dominance aggression should be selected against.