[Sara Davenport]

My husband and I are considering adopting a 16 month old labradoodle from my friend. The dog was bred by my friend's aunt and is a second generation doodle (both parents are doodles). The dog is cream color, very long legs, tail curves over the back, slender body and face, straight hair on legs and wavy hair on back. Boby shape looks more like poodle but hair looks more like lab.

My friend has 4 small children (three are under 7), lives in an active suburban neighborhood and runs three businesses out of her home. She and her husband want to get rid of the dog because he is "too much dog for our family." My friend has not had the time to train the dog or take him to obedience school. They want to get a smaller, older, trained dog that is a better fit for their young family.

I have observed the dog's behavior at her house. He is great with the kids, loving and friendly. But, he is very high energy and runs around outside a lot of the time (they have invisible fence). She does not have him inside the house much because he is untrained and, therefore, unruly in the house (70 punds of dog bouncing around like he is still outside). The dog is caged trained and sleeps either in his cage in the garage at night or on his bed in the front foyer (which is closed off from the rest of the house).

My gut feeling is that is in a opportunity to get a great dog that will be a great companion, but he definitely needs behavior training. He loves to play fetch and he does know the words sit, down, shake, and come. He does those things, gets his treat, and bounces off again. He definitely does not know "stay."! He also does not know how to walk on a leash (he only knows how to drag you around behind him). At 16 months, he is still like a lovable, affectionate, bouncing, untrained puppy.

We live in the country and have 13 acres of land. We also have a 10 year old son who has wanted a dog forever and we have always said, "when you are older." My plan would be to start with putting the doodle on a long line outside with access to shade and a large dog house with food and water. We will enroll in obedience school immediately. We (the whole family) would spend time playing with the dog outside and also practicing our behavior training. We already own a large dog crate so in inclement weather he would be in the house in the crate. As he becomes more trained, we would gradually allow access to the house over small time periods. I should also say that I have a registered quarter horse that I have raised from a yearling, so I am familiar with the time and committement it takes to train an animal.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Are we insane to do this? Has anyone else taken a Doodle that was over a year and trained him to be civilized?

One more thing - as a child I was forbidden to have any pets. But all my friends had either labs or doodles, and they were all fabulous. Hence my interest in this dog.

I apologize for the length of this posting, but I wanted to acurately explain the situation. All advice would be really appreciated. Thanks. Sara
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Sara and Gunner (the doodle doggie)

[MaxandMe]

HI Sara and welcome.

1st....that doodle really is a people dog and needs to be sleeping inside the home along with being with a family more as they are NOT meant to be alone alot

2. Doodles even at his age with love, patience, sense of humor can be trained. obedience training would be great and your son could go to classes with you.

3. at 16mos old that doodle is starting to mature but still needs guidance
as kids do not raise themselves nor do dogs....doodles are quite smart, learn quickly but need reminders

4. SO while it may take some work, think if this is something you're willing to do during the adjustment period and committed
as it could turn out to be great. Also a tired doodle is a good doodle

Keep me posted ....also if you do searches on this forum (search button is towards top of page) you'll find so many great articles on training, and more

lastly is this doodle's personality one that would fit in your home, your family and your hearts. doodles are awesome dogs but need much attention and love
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Annmarie, Max,& Peanut
Forum BLOG ARTICLE LINK http://blog.labradoodle-dogs.net/

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

[L's Mom]

[Sara Davenport]

Thanks for the reply. I understand that this breed needs lots of love an attention. My son, husband ane I are all animals lovers and I know we could give the dog a lot of love an attention. My husband is self employed and is often home, my son will be home soon on summer vacation and I am home more after May 18th graduation (I work at a college). I would definietely have him in the house as much as possible as soon as possible.

I had not thought about taking my son to obedience class with us. An excellent suggestion.

It's great to hear from someone in Rochester. We live in the country in Skaneateles, NY, not far from you.

Thanks.
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Sara and Gunner (the doodle doggie)

[MaxandMe]

WOW you are about 1.5 hours from me or a tad less....years ago i used go out there all the time for pig roasts hahhaaaaaaaaaaa
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Annmarie, Max,& Peanut
Forum BLOG ARTICLE LINK http://blog.labradoodle-dogs.net/

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

[blueteal]

It sounds like you know what you are up against and that
training is an absolute. I would just say that this breed does
better when they can be with their family members and as long
as you do not leave him out in the yard for long periods of time
on his own then you have a good beginning. These dogs do well
when they have regular excercise along with obedience training.
They are a great source of joy when they are allowed to be complete family members.................
Good luck and as long as you are willing
to put in the time as you have mentioned with leash training you will be
amazed how fast they learn...........
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Sue & Denver & Ryder


Denver Meets Ryder Today!!!!!!!!!!!

[annabelles mom]

sounds like a very loveable dog. As others said, they are smart and loving and can easily be trained.
Also - they are People Dogs and need to be with their humans, I would not recommend leaving him outside on a lead by himself and especially Not at night - since he is crate or foyer trained at night, I would continue that until you feel he is trustable to sleep in your son's room but No I would not leave him out at night
Good luck if you chose to adopt him
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Mary & Annabelle
Zippity Doodle, Zippyity ay, My O My what a WonderDoodle Day !

http://www.picturetrail.com/luvlabs

[Sara Davenport]

Got it. We will be outside with him as much as possible when he is outside and make sure that he is inside with us, in crate or foyer at first at night until we can trust his behavior out of crate/foyer.

Question - Is it possible that he is currently so rambunctious during the day because he does not get enough time and attention from the people in his life? They are around him, but not interacting with him. He is currently alone and totally separated from people at night.

any thoughts?
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Sara and Gunner (the doodle doggie)

[blueteal]

[Sara Davenport]

Thanks so much for the encouragement. There is a small 1% of my brain that is afraid that this dog is crazy and that is why he runs around outside all day. But the other 99% of my brain really believes that he is just lacking attention, companionship and training.
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Sara and Gunner (the doodle doggie)

[annabelles mom]

remember also, 16 months is still puppy so yes he will probably have lots of energy but that is Normal and they are such people dogs, they need tons of interaction and play time with their humans. And dont forget the loving time, lots of petting and snuggling, which with a 10 year old I'm sure won't be a problem
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Mary & Annabelle
Zippity Doodle, Zippyity ay, My O My what a WonderDoodle Day !

http://www.picturetrail.com/luvlabs

[gene]

He will surely take patience and a huge sense of humor. Kudos to you for putting so much thought into it. I have 2 rescues myself and my Rumor was 26 months old when I got him....had spent all his life in a crate by a family who thought he was too high energy. With exercise and lots of TLC....he is an amazing dog and I can't imagine my life without him. He can't be kept in a crate at all since he soils it.....never knew any different. He can still be quite hyper at times (think Tigger), since he never really got to be a puppy, but with exercise and his brother and sister, he is changed dog. I've had him since December and the change in him is miraculous!!

Good luck to you and your family and God bless you for giving the dood a second chance at a forever home filled with love!!

PS: Rumor says ignore the bad haircut his daddy gave him......

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gene , jonah , miko and rumor

http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p46/jonahfus
"A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down." - Robert Benchley

[debbildog]

[hmz819]

I can always tell when Maya needs exercise. She will be bouncing off the walls just like you describe this dog. After a vigorous game of fetch or a walk she is a calm dog. So I would agree that he is probably so rambunctious because he needs exercise and love.
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Heather, Morgan, Maya, and Sadie
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion-Unknown

[deepnite10]