They say "It is all in how you raise a dog". That is not true. Although, how you raise a dog is very important, a good share of your dogs temperament, personality, traits, etc., are hard wired genetically from birth.
Dogs have been selectively bred for certain traits, for many, many years. They have been bred for certain sizes, coat types, personalities, instinctive tendencies, etc. This is how and why the different breeds were created. Each breed was created for a certain purpose.
In my lifetime, I have had many kinds of dogs, big, little, medium, pure breeds, mixed breeds, and mutts. I also handled many different breeds of dogs, from my years of being a dog groomer, and I have learned a lot from those experiences.
When I was a child, I had many types of dogs. My mom preferred small dogs, so most of them were small to medium size, but we had some large breed dogs as well. My life's dream, was to have a "Lassie", a rough coat Collie. I got her, and she was an amazing dog for me. I wanted to breed dogs, and wanted to breed the Collie's, however, my then husband wasn't a big fan, and he wanted a hunting dog. I wanted a pretty dog. Collie's are pretty. He said no. So, I went on to try to find a pretty hunting dog. Along with being pretty, the breed had to be one that was known to be good with children, and not likely to bite. I had 2 small children at the time, and was pregnant with a third. I started researching, to find a pretty and child friendly hunting dog. After a ton of reading and research, and talking to several vets, I narrowed it down to the Golden Retriever, and I have never regretted the choice. During the 30 plus years of having and breeding the Golden Retrievers, they have not let me down. I have had a non stop flow of small children, (a LOT of them), through my household, for the last 37 years. I could not ask for a better breed to have around children. Those dogs have absolutely loved those children, and vice versa.
In all of those years, with lots of Golden Retrievers, this is what I have learned about them....
They love being close to their humans and getting a lot of affection and attention.
They don't normally bark much, unless they have a reason to be bark. They aren't generally big barkers, which I love.
They aren't that difficult to groom. They may have a small tangle here or there, but nothing that becomes a big mess.
They do shed quite a bit, but a small price to pay for all of the benefits of the breed.
They are very smart and easy to train.
They are people pleasers.
I had many dogs that I cherished during my life time. I loved them a lot. When comparing the Golden's to those breeds, this is what I found.
1. My Golden's were MUCH easier to house train than the smaller breeds that I had. In general, I have had a much easier time house training the larger breeds, over the smaller breeds. The smaller breeds always took a lot longer. One little Shih tzu that I had, took a year and a half to get trained.
2. My Golden's do not bark near as much as my other breeds, especially compared to the Collie and the Lab that I had.
3. The Golden's were much less likely to act aggressive to people. My little Shih tzu was a biter, if she didn't like you. I had another little Shih tzu, that I had to rehome, because it did not want my children to come near me, and snapped at them when they tried to. I adopted a West Highland White, and had to return it to the breeder for the same reason. In my lifetime, I had many small dogs that I was around, get snappy with people. I have not experienced that with the Golden's. I know that not all small dogs are like that, some are very nice, but out of the many Golden's that I have had over the years, I have not had to deal with that.
4. The Golden's coat was much easier to maintain that the Shih tzu's or the Collie, however, the Golden did get a "doggie" smell to them a little quicker, so I would bathe them about once every two weeks, to keep them smelling good. The Golden definetly sheds more than the Shih tzu, so vacuuming is something that needs to be done regularly, along with using a deshedder to help control the issue.
5. The Golden's have been super easy to train, compared to the Shih tzu's. Those Shih tzu's only do what they want to, it seems, at least that is how ours were. lol! My Golden's were never as naughty of puppies as my Collie was. She was NAUGHTY, to put it mildly. She ended up growing out of that and becoming an awesome dog, but I was starting to wonder for a while. She was a holy terror as a puppy.
6. There is a difference in bloodlines within the Golden Retriever Breed. The field lines tend to be much more energetic than the conformation lines, or the English Cream lines.
So, after breeding the Golden's for a good 10 years, I learned about Goldendoodles. I researched them, and thought, what an awesome idea, and I went out and found an amazing male Standard Poodle. I loved the idea of the non-shedding coat, and the hypoallergenic qualities. Here is what I learned about the Poodles over the last 20 some years.
They are super funny! They make me laugh all of the time, and they look like they are laughing, quite often. They just like to have fun!
They are super smart, and almost human like at times. They understand so much, that it leaves you with your jaw dropped open at times.
They are a little more independent than the Golden Retrievers, meaning not quite as "needy", but still love any attention that they get from their human's, and very affectionate.
They are EXTREMELY athletic!
They do not shed.
Their coats can either be easy or hard to maintain, depending on what kind of haircut that you get for them. They do need to be groomed regularly, because their fur just keeps growing, so they will need haircuts on a regular basis. How much maintenance their coat requires, depends on how long that you keep their fur. If you trim them short, there is very little maintenance between hair cuts. If you want to keep them longer, that will require regular brushing and combing, to keep them from getting matted, but you don't have to vacuum up after them all of the time, or have fur all over your furniture or clothing.
They are very fun to train, because of how smart they are. They are sensitive dogs, so they do not require firm discipline.
The Standard sized Poodles that I have had, are not big barkers. They are better alert dogs than the Golden Retrievers, which I like, since I am hearing impaired, but they only bark when they have a reason to bark. They don't just bark all day for nothing.
Generally speaking, my Poodles have been higher energy than my very laid back Golden Retrievers, but I still would not call them hyper. Since training them is so easy, none of mine bounce off the walls and act crazy inside the house. They are all well behaved, and probably even more fun and quicker for me to train than the Golden's.
After raising and owning Goldendoodles over the last 20 plus years, this is what I have learned about them.
My F1 Goldendoodles tend to have a wavy coat, verses the curly. The F1b Goldendoodles, tend to be curlier. That can very some. The wavy coats may or may not shed a little bit. The curly coats generally are even less shedding, and more hypoallergenic than the wavy coats. The wavy coats aren't quite as prone to the matting as the curlier coats, but that all depends on how long that you keep their fur. The longer the fur, the more maintenance that it will require.
The Goldendoodles tend to give you the best of both breeds. The F1's are 50/50 Golden Retriever and Standard Poodle. They tend to get the non or low shedding qualities, but maintain a lot more of the Golden Retriever look beneath the fur, and more of the Golden Retriever personality than the F1b's. The F1b's are 75% Poodle and 25% Golden Retriever. They tend to have more of the Poodle traits, with a little of the Golden Retriever mixed in there, which also makes an amazing dog. When I have someone with allergies, I either recommend the F1b puppies, or the curlier pups from the F1 litter, to help ensure more of the hypoallergenic qualities. If someone is wanting more of the Golden Retriever personality with the low to no shedding, I recommend the F1's.
Goldendoodles are amazing dogs. There is something about the Goldendoodles eyes. They just have so much expression in them.
Goldendoodles, with the right hair cuts, seem to always look like puppies, or stuffed animals, even when they are grown. They are just adorable!
In summary, over the years, I have considered to breed many different breeds, but just have not found one that I felt was as family friendly, as versatile, as pretty/cute, as smart and easy to train, as affectionate, and all around great dog, as the Golden Retrievers, Standard Poodles, and Standard Goldendoodles. For a while, I contemplated raising the miniature Goldendoodles, but then I learned that there is a difference between the temperaments of the smaller Poodles, vs. the Standard Poodles. My larger dogs (Golden Retrievers, Standard Poodles, Goldendoodles) do not seem to be nearly as intimidated by children, as the smaller dogs that I have had, therefore, much less likely to snap at them. Even so, I always recommend that puppies/dogs and small children are never left alone together, and always supervised.
I highly recommend to ALWAYS research your breeds, before getting a puppy/dog. Genetics are hard wired into them, and if you do your research, you will have a much better idea of whether that particular breed would be a good fit for you, your family, and your lifestyle. All puppies are cute, but they all grow up to be dogs, and you want one that has been bred in a way that will be a good mesh between you and your dog. For example, if you are wanting a laid back lap dog, probably not a good idea to get a Jack Russell Terrier. If you are wanting an easy to train dog, that will always stay by your side, you will most likely be disappointed if you adopt a Siberian Husky. If you are wanting a running companion, a Bassett Hound might not be a good choice. If you want a quiet dog, you probably don't want to get a Beagle. If you want to put your dog into agility, you may be able to find a lot better choice than a Great Dane. Genetics are so important, and so are blood lines. The blood lines within a breed can vary a lot as well.
I have a lot of people that ask me about the breeds that I have, and why I don't breed the miniature Goldendoodles. I hope this answers a lot of questions, about why I stick with the breeds that I have. For me, my family, and my lifestyle, I just couldn't find anything that I felt would be a better fit.
Thank you for reading, and please feel free to check out the rest of my website and blog!