This post is especially for the brilliance behind Mommy Pie ...the master herself.
What's the impetus? Well Ms. Pie is considering getting a dog for her little one, MP. There are certain criteria the walking fleabag, ball of love and fluff must meet. For one, it has to be hypoallergenic.
Under normal circumstances, I'd reccommend a Newfie for anyone with kids who wants to get a dog. Oh sure, they are the size of starter home, and I'm sure they probably eat the same amount as a NFL team, and they shed enough to create 152 king size blankets a year but they are awesome. Seriously. You could not ask for a better dog with children.
If it weren't for my own allergies and aversion to shedding animals, we would not have taken our names off of the waiting list in December.
We finally settled on a hybrid (Because you know hybrid "anythings" are all the rage today!) that is hypoalllergenic and doesn't shed and is cute as hell. The Goldendoodle. It's a Poodle/Golden Retriever cross.
Yes yes I know, I have done little but complain about our furry Goldendoodle baby since we brought him home. But then, I don't like puppies. I know, how could anyone not like puppies? Well, the blood in these veins runs very cold m'dears....very cold indeed. But I do LOVE adult doodles. Well behaved, intelligent and loyal. Not to mention wonderful with kids, especially small kids. And now that Casey is six months old and not chewing holes into my arms and legs, I'm actually rather fond of him. More so now that I know he's a perfect little muttleman on long-ass car rides.
I know some people will groom their doodles to look like poodles and in my not-so-humble opinion, I think it makes the dogs look foolish. We're going to have Casey trimmed around the eyes because of the prevelance of eye-boogers, but they really don't need any extensive grooming, another huge plus. Oh sure, you can brush their curls out, which we do occasionally...it sorta makes them look like a huge walking cottonball.
As far as size, we have a male and he will probably be pretty big - as he comes from large stock. Males run anywhere from 70lbs-90lbs. Females are slightly smaller. And I already know you prefer your dogs without dangly bits. That reminds me, now that Casey has hit the 6-month mark, we need to schedule him for his nuts-be-gone procedure. We chose a male intentionally as we wanted a larger dog. But female doodles are every bit as loyal, intelligent and wonderful as males.
Ms. Pie, I present you with a perfect specimen of Goldendoodle...
Even with his dirty little doodle face, he's still cute!
High atop Cadillac Mountain with the hubby. He's really a breeze to train (now that we're finally getting around to it) and he picks up what we teach him with great ease. The books are correct when it comes to Goldendoodles, they are eager to please! That's for sure!
Trying to stand upright in 35MPH winds on top of Cadillac Mountain...
All in all, despite all my belly-aching about Casey, I adore the mutt. Whilst I am not fond of puppies, at all, I can finally see the great adult dog just looming underneath that annoying puppy surface. For what it's worth, either a Goldendoodle, or even a Labradoodle (a Labrador/Poodle cross, and another hypoallergenic non-shedding hybrid breed) would be great choices.
Anyhow, that's my plug for Goldendoodles.
