Is this common for labradoodles?

[El Mariachi]

I realize that labradoodles were bred to be family or guide dogs. My father's girlfriend (hey they're in their 50's!) has a BEAUTIFUL golden colored doodle with more Standard Poodle dominant features.

She stands around 24" and has a lean yet muscular build. Kind of the lean of a poodle body but the musculature of a lab. Her nose is slightly wider than a standard poodles, but not as wide as a labs.

I'm familiar with the breeds of Labs and Poodles, and a lot of these may sound pretty 'duh' to you (especially considering the temperaments of the two breeds), but I was just wondering if these characteristics are pretty normal.

She is a very friendly dog that is about as non-confrontational as I've ever seen without being shy.

Poodles and Retreivers are gun dogs, and wow, does it show with this one. She will never leave you alone when she's figured out you'll throw a ball for her. Not in a bad way, though.

I do see that she will never stop retrieving, often to the point where I'm afraid she'll go past the point of exhaustion. She is an amazing and tireless swimmer, and LOVES the water, but I've seen her get very tired after a while and I had to hide all the toys I could just so she would rest.

She doesn't care about other dogs. She'll inspect them, sniff them, but her attention is always on a ball or toy you can throw to her. Around other dogs, if another dog approaches the toy, she will not fight for it- but ignore it instead and come back to you.

She usually retrieves toys gently in her mouth, and I have not yet seen a toy (besides rawhide) get torn apart. The exception is a football I used to throw her- it eventually deflated from her teeth. I'm guessing this is just because the football is very large for her jaws and she may have trouble holding onto it without digging in.

You have to be very sneaky hiding a toy from her when she's in 'play' time, she will eventually figure out where it is and try to get at it- and not stop.

She's also a quick learner, at least with me. With her owner, she pulls on the leash a lot- but I've been able to get her to walk slightly ahead of me with a bit of slack on the leash and minimal pulling.

Does this sound familiar?

After being with this dog, I would consider getting one. It's unfortunate that this breed isn't as established as I'd like- I'd like to know I'm getting a lot of the same characteristics.

[MaxandMe]

El Mariachi.............hello and welcome

I have 3 doodles and will say they are very people oriented, loving, highly intelligent, light on their feet, jump high and quietly too, very comical
and they love fetch/balls or about any game you will play with them

they train well and sometimes easily getting bored with the same routine

what you describe is all too familar for many of us here........
they are established by some breeders for temperament, health,
certain coat characteristics : fleece, wool, hair, very low to nonshedding, generations f1, f1b, f2 or australian multigen and so on. Many breeders here test for
Hips, Eyes, Elbows, vWF, DNA to rule out other diseases, and more.
some do crate training and microchipping before you get your puppy too.

they aren't recognized by the AKC but are by ckc, ukc and others.

it's all in what you want and the love you can give one of these dogs

ps. many of us started out with one and have either 2 or 3 now such as myself.

[lindamarie]

Hi El Mariachi and WELCOME!
Your doodle sounds like a wonderful dog!! ........and so far, because mine is one 5 months old, it all sounds familiar.
My Bogie is more labby. He's very interested in other dogs and people and loves to play.
My brother has a Standard Poodle. When I explained some of Bogart's traits compared to his poodle, he says..."That's the LAB in him!"
Where Bogie will practically drool all over people to get petted and play with other dogs, Samson, my brother's dog has the attitude of, "pet me if you must." Samson is more interested in the things you describe so it sounds like the poodle traits are more dominant....IMO!!
Have fun!!!! She sounds great!

[Jac]

Hello and welcome!
I have experienced all of the traits you mentioned...but I have some dogs with more Lab instincts and they DO chew up toys, dig and chew things they shouldn't.
You are right, there is no set standard for the breed, but quite frankly that is what makes them wonderful to so many people. You can find a doodle with almost every personality trait that you like (and some you don't).
What I suggest is that you select your breeder long before you select a dog. It is so easy to fall in love with a puppy, but if you have a trusted breeder and they assure you of the traits of both parents (and they test as Ann Marie mentioned above) then you have a much better chance of getting what you like.
I am sure that you realize that even the AKC accepted dogs, although they do conform to certain appearance standards, do tend to have traits that are unlike others in their breed.
If your breeder takes "any ol' Poodle and any ol' Lab" and puts them together just to sell dogs, you are likely to have problems.
Another part of this equasion is that dogs are dogs...every single dog, whether or not they have great instincts, MUST be properly trained. None of them come by their perfect behavior completely by accident. I would suspect that this lovely dog you describe owes his/her great character to genetics AND training.
Best wishes to you.

[lmtoth2]

Hi

I agree w/the others that it totally depends on the dog. My doodles have the following characteristics you mentioned:

Dexter (F1B labradoodle) - loves people more than anything! Absolutely loves other dogs. Is interested in fetch, but is more interested in making it into a catch me if you can chasing game. Has a soft mouth, but will destroy/shred toys. Very smart, but has a mind of his own - will do things to benefit himself and not necessarily to please us. Is very goofy, loving, non confrontational and cuddly. He is definitely not shy at all.

Kirby (F1 Irish Setter-Poodle) - Completely fascinated with fetch - will keep playing until you make him stop. Is very interested in people - moderately interested in other dogs. Does not have a soft mouth - we make him drop toys - will shred toys very quickly. Smart - will do things to please us. Much more serious (but has a silly side that comes out sometimes) and is very loving. He is fairly non-confrontational and friendly - he is occasionally leary of situations.

[DebBrown]

My doodle is very similar BUT he loves, loves, loves other dogs. He does like to fetch but he'd rather be playing with another dog if possible. And, YES, he is tireless. It seems he can go for ever.

Deb

[Cinsmom]

Hi El Mariachi,

You have described my Cinnamon to almost a "T". She also will play fetch until she drops. We've never had to hide toys though, and it probably wouldn't do any good. She'd find them and bug you until you gave in.

We come first, then another dog. If she can get someone to throw a ball, the other dog might as well be in Siberia.

She'll let the other dog have her toy, but she'll steal it back if given the chance.

And she LOVES the water!!!! We really have to watch that she doesn't get too tired swimming and make her stay out of the water for a "breather".

She has torn up toys, but she has her favorites that are still intact.

She walks well on a leash, but we don't let her in front of us. It's a dominance thing.

I wouldn't put all these traits into the breed, they are just so different! It is up to the dog, just like your kids are different, so is the dog. But I'll have to say that Cinnamon is the smartest dog we've ever had and I think that's one thing that you can count on to be a standard!

[gracielou]

Hi and welcome, this does fit what most of us see and want in our doodles goldendoodles or labradoodles.

This is why temperament testing the parents is so important. Then you get the desired results in the puppies that you are describing here. Doodles for the most part have most of the qualities you have mentioned but I have seen a few that are very hyper and jumping off the walls, also I've seen a few that didn't get along with the other dogs. This is not typical of doodles however and I think with the proper screening before breeding we can produce loving, playful, energetic, smart and devoted doodles that we have all come to know and love...