Oh, PLEASE NOOOOOO...............

[horsemom]

I have to jump in on this discussion. I groom dogs for a living, and used to be a cruelty investigator, so I am more than familiar with puppy mills. I LOVE Goldens and Standard Poodles--they are my two most favorite purebreds. When I first heard of the cross, I thought it would be the perfect type, even though I am not a fan of dog breeding in general.

I have met only a couple goldendoodles or labradoodles that I would own (and I LOVE dogs). Most of the ones we see in our shop (there are at least 10 or 15 that come in regularly) are NUTS - very hyperactive and some are aggressive. They possess neither the good nature of the goldens or the intelligence of the standard poo. AND, they shed like any other dog.

Most of my clients who got them were misled in the amount of grooming they would require. Besides shedding, most of them get mats if they are not groomed regularly. Once they have mats, they need to be shaved, and that freaks some of these people out - they were not told that it could happen that way. They were led to believe that the dogs would not shed, and equated that to not being trimmed or shaved.

Most of the people that got this particular designer dog, are not happy with either the temperment or the haircoat---something that was fairly predictable in the purebreds they came from.

Laura

[Gemma]

What bugs me more is some of the stuff Gemma mentioned earlier about breeding for traits that end up creating health problems (back problems in dachshunds, the squished faces in pugs, bulldogs etc. that result in breathing problems, the sloped back ends on German Shepherds, etc.). Why would you deliberately breed animals that are likely to be unhealthy due to their "fashionable" physical characteristics? Now THAT is stupid--it's bad for the dogs and also for the people who have them as pets and have to watch them suffer. There needs to be some moderation in breeding for fashion/show. I think the whole dog show thing goes too far. If I understand correctly, dog shows were originally a way to help pick dogs for breeding that would be able to do their specific jobs and be healthy, rather than just for fashion like they are now.

I totally agree. There is a program about the health problems that have been bred into pedigree dogs on the BBC today:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ee-breeds.html

Here's some link to excerpts:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7569521.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7569592.stm

Gemma

[Dogmama]

We have a couple of Goldendoodles in for training. They are dull-normal at best.