[Closed] so, it *might* be time to get a dog

Hmm that's the brand of dog I want too...

If they are anything like my chocolate labraDOR then you can't go wrong.

Not a chocolate one, but some family friends have a yellowy one and it's lovely.

Would still prefer a weimeraner, or, for something smaller, a miniature schnauzer.

[i]COLIN![/i]

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so, it *might* be time to get a dog

Why, have you got a child's face that you want biting? 😛

whats the consensus on a chocolate labradoodle?

A what? Oh you mean a mongrel 😉

Why a Labradoodle?

Get a Labrador.

We were put off getting a chocolate one, they have a reputation for being a bit thick.

We have a nice Black Lab now.

Had friends who had a black one, lovely dog. They were experienced owners their previous dog having been a Rotweiler so they would have chosen carefully and the dog was well trained. I would suggest you contact the kennel club / breeders association. FWIW Chocolate Labs are known to be slightly more highly strung than black Labs, I don't know if that carries over to the cross.

Labradoodles are brilliant dogs. Ive owned 3 collies before owning my first 'doodle,(Harley) he's as smart as the border collies, soft as butter, can be guilty of 'selective deafness' from time to time, but is a really good lad most of the time seeing he's only 2 years old. He's also a big lad for a 'doodle.

Here's Harley
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Why a Labradoodle?

Because when you combine the docility and affable nature of a lab with the intelligence and easy to train nature of a poodle you can get a very very good dog? Plus scruffy looking labradoodles are hilariously pathetic looking.

I was really hoping this thread was going to start with the sentence 'i have ice cream covering my genitals and my tongue won't reach....... '

Smell it had me in stitches 🙂 I have a huge black labradoodle living here at the mo, he was a rescue I wouldn't have chosen one, mainly due to the embarrassing name but I'd have one again they are great great dogs. I like labs temperament but have always had crosses cos labs suffer a bit in old age and a bit of interbreeding seems to sort this. I second the bit about chocolate labs being a bit manic and thick though

Get a Labrador.
We were put off getting a chocolate one, they have a reputation for being a bit thick.
We have a nice Black Lab now.

FWIW Chocolate Labs are known to be slightly more highly strung than black Labs, I don't know if that carries over to the cross.

A Load of ballocks on both counts

with the intelligence and easy to train nature of a poodle you can get a very very good dog? .

Yes because Labs aren't known for being easy to train or intelligence.

Just get a Lab.

Just get a black lab (bitch) and you cant go wrong Choc labs are as thick as mince and make sure you get a bitch whatever you do 🙂

I second the bit about chocolate labs being a bit manic and thick though

Oops I missed this one... ANOTHER load of ballocks!

black lab here too. make sure you get one from good working stock though if you want it to run and run all day. As those that have ridden with Perrin the wonderdog will tell you, they're pretty tricky to tire-out!

some shooting types dont even like yellow labs let alone chocolate ones, because supposedly they are less intelligent blah blah. i am not so sure. you get moronic behavoir from all 3 types of lab, but i think there is a perception that chocolate labs are owned by 'fashionable' types and hence they might not be as well trained as the 'serious' gundog types. make of that what you will.

labradoodles are very nice dogs imo, but they can get quite big, make sure you know what you are getting

I miss having a dog by myside. 🙁

I spent most of my early working years as a gamekeeper and ive trained and worked with all jinds of labs spanials etc so im only going off what ive learnt and from what ive seen from hundreds of diferent dogs oviously you get the odd thick black one and the odd good yellow one but as a rule blacks are best 🙂 I love the way these topics hit a nerve with some guys

We've had several Labs in the family over the years and the most insane one, by far, was a black 'un. Having said that, he was a fantastic break dancer.

I sometimes feel that folk mistake "I can't be arsed to do what you want as I'm having a rest/fun/scratch/dump/sniff etc" for stupidity in some dogs....

Despite the awful name there are some lovely labroddodles out there, plus there is the non-allergy aspect too. Still would recommend the king of gun dogs (!) first - the majestic, if occassionall wilful, flatcoat retriever.

Several of my friends have black Labradors, they're among the thickest creatures I've ever encountered. Very friendly though.

If you are going to get a cross breed get a lurcher at least it'll be cheap.

Jimbo, I assume the first round is on the house, then? 🙂

FWIW, if it's a pub dog, my first concern would be for the social nature of the animal above everything else. He/she will have to put up with all manner of strange people, let alone other dogs(!), coming in to [i]his/her[/i] pub. If your dog doesn't play well with others, word would soon spread and that could actually affect the pub's business.

flashy - totally agree - hence the want for a small, friendly, non territorial dog that gets socialized from day one (which is why I'm not interested in rescues).

ps - I'll happily buy you a pint if you pop down - would be great to see you. Badger and Sussex currently on.

Email will follow...Got a little something else to deal with over the coming days, but would be great to come down for a beer! Good to hear it's gone ahead!

lovely dogs. like a big shaggy labberdabber really.

i don't buy into the different colours of dogs making them more/less intelligent.
my yellow lab (working lines) was born to two browns... so how would that work?

one thing though...

hence the want for a small

have you seen many in the flesh? our lab was/is MASSIVE for his age, but was dwarfed by a labradoodle (same age) at puppy training classes.

i've never seen a small one. I'd expect 30-35kg+ at a rough guess.

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Just get a Chocky lab , great dogs and not as daft as they are made out to be. Here's mine 'Charlie' , my best mate in Life.

I'm not a fan of designer crossbreeds. All the labrador-poodles we met at obedience glasses were utterly mental and dwarfed my female GSD.
Such big powerful dogs. I'm GSD biased but of that mix I'd rather have a poodle or a labrador.
I think the non-allergy element is a bit of red herring, they do still cast to a degree.

My local welcomes dogs and there is never any issue they are great to have around, the owners of the pub have dogs and the bar manager has a labrodoodle, another regular has a smaller doodle breed who's a real character. In fact because the pub welcomes dogs does more for their trade than flashes hypothesis.

FH, I agree, I'd rather drink in a dog friendly pub than a non-dog pub, but....Imagine if the landlord's dog was a yappy, fighty, bitey monster? No one else would take their dogs there! 😉

Very popular breed at the moment. And ideal if you want a big shaggy dog type thing.

At the last count, Molly encounters 6 regularly in the park, all of which she gets on great with. I walk one of them sometimes for the owner and one of them belongs to close friends who occasionally have Molly overnight. They vary in size quite a bit though, from small collie-ish to big frickin shaggy bigger than a lab size. Each one of the six is quite different in terms of temperament, obedience, sociability,etc. which is probably more to do with the owner than the breeding. Go figure eh?

All in all, a breed that can be fantastic in the right hands, but can also be quite high maintenance should you neglect a bit of tough love when they're puppies. Not for me, but Molly seems to love them all - and not one of them has ever aggressively bullied her, despite being at least three or four times her weight.

@stox - I think we should agree to disagree.

@teamhurtmore - I wanted a flatcoat but the Mrs wanted a regular lab, as it was to be primarily her dog we went with the lab. Not sure flatocats would be good pub dogs, rather lively when they are young and sadly only have half the life expectancy of a black lab.

@jimbo - I'd say from what I see here there is no negative feedback on the breed, as you say getting a pup (and one where you can research the parents temperament) and socialising him/her from a young age should mean they are comfortable in the pub environment. Almost all my favourite Surrey pubs have landlords dogs.

Every labradoodle I have met has been friendly and affectionate. They're a lovely breed, and I'm sure they would be fine as a pub dog.

I'd go to the pub just to visit the dog - so it's a business investment! 🙂

All I have to say is that SHORT HAIRED is best!
That labradododooodly thing looks like it stinks and will make a right mess of the vacuum cleaner's working parts!

Spaniel? Fun is their middle name and, if you believe my younger dog (cocker spaniel), so are cuddles and love.

Labradoodles are fine, but they are big and they do take a lot of work to exercise.

[i]they do take a lot of work to exercise.[/i]

That's a negative, is it? If so, get a bloody yorkie!

Some short haired dogs shed more than some long haired. So, the "short is best" is sometimes, and in the case above certainly is, wrong.

Got a 'brown' Flatcoat & he's the least thick dog I've had. Thicko dogs can be easier sometimes. This one takes a balanced decision each time & concedes only because I'm pack alpha, not him.

"I can't be arsed to do what you want as I'm having a rest/fun/scratch/dump/sniff etc"

Yup

[i]Some short haired dogs shed more than some long haired. So, the "short is best" is sometimes, and in the case above certainly is, wrong.[/i]

🙁 I'm wrong.

😥

You just didn't like me saying it looks smelly. (It does)

@stox - I think we should agree to disagree.

Agree! I'm not trying to cause a ruckus 🙂

I'm only speaking from my experience, I'm no expert - just a guy with a dog 🙂
I've a 14 mth old choc lab and a 4 mth old yellow lab.. They are like chalk and cheese.

It would be no fun if all dogs were the same in temperament and behaviour.

The key for me is in the time and the effort you put into them particularly in the early days.

Having said that, there is a bit of the luck of the drawer in it when choosing a dog.

 

all domestic dogs are essentially designer dogs somewhere down the line, none of these breeds naturally evolved from the wolf 🙂 so the whole 'designer dog' thing is a bit silly, cockerpoo's and 'labradoodles' in 20 years time will probably be as popular as any other dog and people will be moaning about 'springerfordshiredoodledors' or something.

My sister has 3 labs, choc, black and yellow. The yellow is by far the thickest but seems the most happy creature on earth. I was walking with him in a wood when he ran into a tree, stopped looked at the tree, then ran into it again before deciding to walk round it. Lovely dogs though.

You just didn't like me saying it looks smelly. (It does)

I couldn't give a shit what you say about some random dog in a random pic DezzieBee. But "short is best" isn't always the case is it?

No.

Sorry.

now now children, dont make me get the hose out!

I stopped my dog from shedding fur

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dont make me get the hose out!

😯

lotion, skin, hose again 👿

Client of mine has just got a spanking new guide dog, Alfie.

Yellow Lab, £50,000's worth (lifetime cost) of friendly, docile, slobbering intelligence.

Don't think they'd blow that amount of cash on a yellow Lab if they were THAT thick. 🙂

I’ve only met one labradoodle – he’s absolutely huge, completely bonkers but in a silly, friendly, affectionate way.

On the subject of long-haired dogs, we have a Tibetan Terrier (we think crossed with a spaniel). He doesn’t smell, as he gets bathed every second week, and he doesn’t shed (as he has hair, not fur). Well, I say he doesn’t smell – sometimes he gets bathed more frequently because he’s rolled in fox poo. -_-

It is worth bearing in mind that longer coated dogs require regular grooming – I think wirey and curly coated ones require stripping every now and again, and long haired ones need regular conditioning/brushing to ensure they stay matt free.

I don't get the fascination with Labradoodles. I've met as many pretty ones as ugly, as many good-natured ones as ill-mannered. To me, the hit-and-miss nature of the looks and temperament is a reflection of the lack of breeding standards. This in itself isn't a problem, but it's the fact that you pay the same for a dog from good stock as you do for a shoddy one from irresponsible breeders. (Please note I am not saying all labradoodle breeders are irresponsible...there are crap breeders in all breeds.)

Personally, I think the difference between getting an £800 labrador and an £800 labradoodle is that you have more certainty in the likely character of a labrador - you can be fairly certain that the pup will take on the characteristics shown by the parents. With a labradoodle, you don't have that certainty as the breed lines haven't established.

I reckon it's like Marzocchi forks: Would you buy a pair now, given that in their recent past they've produced some very poor forks? How do you know this years model is good? Or would you buy a pair from another company with a proven track record?

PS. There is a fourth labrador colour: Red.

On the long-haried/short-haired debate, we have a golden retriever (LH) and a flatcoat retriever (SH). The golden carries smells/dirt [u]much more[/u] than the flattie for sure. Both lovable in their own (different) ways though!

edit: for Mrs Toast's post - golden's have a more attuned fox poo radar than flatties as well!! 😕

there's an absolutely MASSIVE labradoodle that walks near us called 'yogi' it's brown, awesome hair and a generally awesome looking dog. dumb as anything but very patient and gentle. apparently its only 11 months old but its the size of a bear

alfie the 'cockapoo' however is quite simple, amazing. he's Cookie's new best friend and watching them play and chase each other last night made me feel all warm and fuzzy 🙂 handsome dog too

EDIT - i think we might have rehomed a gay dog... he prefers to play with the boys, doesn't like getting his paws muddy or getting wet, pees like a girl 90% of the time, well he's a delicate flower until he's chasing the boys then he's all 'mmmmm let me sniff your anus'

I was walking with him in a wood when he ran into a tree, stopped looked at the tree, then ran into it again before deciding to walk round it

This is not an unusual occurrence IME. 🙂

I wouldn't necessarily say it was the behaviour of a 'thick' dog, maybe he was just testing the laws of physics.....

Rescue dog ?

nobby +1.

standard behaviour for my lab.

I know three labradoodles. They are all absolutely bonkers. Friendly enough but to my mind, really stupid.

Get a golden retreiver. Mine's are basically floorcoverings most of the time but are also more than happy to walk, run, swim for as long as you like. They do cast a lot mind.

I looked long and hard into getting a doodle, you can get different sized ones depending on which variety of poodle is in the cross, Standard or Miniature presuming not Toy. But some doodles, those crossed with Standard poodles can be absolutely massive.

Also what's the fascination with "clever" dogs, wish my Lurcher was a bit more stupid, the sneaky bar steward.

If I was going to get another dog I'd be looking at Cockerpoos, the ones that I've met in puppy training classes have been wonderful dogs, both to look at and temperamentally. (Small sample granted)

As if Labradoodle wasn't bad enough, do you really want a dog called a Cockerpoo?

It is getting really silly now!

we have a miniature black labradoodle.
doesn't shed a single hair.
1 year old yesterday and nice and compact (prob fully grown).
fantastic temperament (sat on the sofa with kids having its hair "styled" at the moment....)

none of these breeds naturally evolved from the wolf

No they evolved from pyre/village dogs. I thought everyone knew that. Have you not read 'the greatest show on earth' 🙄

As for what to get Slovakian wire haired pointers are the niche mongers dog of choice.

have you seen GoldenDoodles?

Black Labraddoodle with a hint of silver here. Brilliant dog, great temperament, very smart, easy to train, great with our young kids and people in general.

In the home she's super chilled. Out and about she's energetic yet controllable. Loves to swim and retrieve.

GoldenDoodle
Stupid name. Nice dog but I'm sure everyone says that about their own. We got one because we wanted a scruffy looking mutt. Also liked the idea of 'mongrel vitality'. Ours is clever and friendly, pretty timid. Very good with bikes and I ride with him all the time. With poodles being thin, under their fur they are much lighter than the respective retreiver or lab and so seem to cover ground faster for longer.
Just my experience
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Nice dog.

Seems like these Poodle crosses have daft names but are good pets.

Golden Doodles? Lovely dogs, often mistaken for a man in a dog suit!
A lot of you guys are talking right out of your arses though; mistaking a dog being responsive to your commands to being "intelligent". The dog thinks you're smart enough to give the orders; you think the dog is smart to follow them. There's a slight problem with this rationale...
Smart dogs are smart enough to think for themseleves and ignore their fikko "owners"!

Labradoodles were bred to not shed hair! They are supposed to be for people that are allergic to or sensitive to dog hair. Ignore the bit about shedding blah blah blah. Never heard so much bollocks about hair colour and intelligence. Had a Choc lab for 11 glorious years. What a dog loyal superb with kids, super easy to train and the biggest thief where food is concerned. Got a 3yr old English golden retriever at the moment. Sheds less than the Lab. Can't go wrong with a Lab.

Black goldendoddle here! They do get big =-O

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I have a friend who got one, an Australian doodle, about spaniel sized and totally brilliant, though a little silly. Have spoken to a pro about it, she recommended a cockapoo as its a nice size and tends to be a little bit less bonkers. Looking for breeders in the south now for a spring time puppy all being well. All over it now, I've wanted a dog for so many years and I'm finally in a position to get one.

Thanks for all the posts, looks like they are highly regarded in general.

Bonkers is fun though, Spaniels are a barrel of laughs.

Bonkers and well trained in the holy grail.