goldendoodle/labradoodle

[banen]

Does anyone have any experience hunting with a goldendoodle or labradoodle?  My wife wants to get one but I am curious if they would make a good hunting dog (flushing and retrieving).

[Don Fischer]

Sounds to me like you should look for a Golden, a Labrador ar a Poodle. Someones going to tell you just how great this that or the other is and what your really getting is a mixed breed dog you'll probally pay to much for that will have traits from both sides that may well conflict. Honest breeders have been breeding good purebred dogs for years for certain traits and along comes someone promoting what is really a mix breed as the end all to your problems. Problem is, they have no track record! They raise and sell to the unknowing mutt's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ahab]

Sounds to me like you should look for a Golden, a Labrador ar a Poodle. Someones going to tell you just how great this that or the other is and what your really getting is a mixed breed dog you'll probally pay to much for that will have traits from both sides that may well conflict. Honest breeders have been breeding good purebred dogs for years for certain traits and along comes someone promoting what is really a mix breed as the end all to your problems. Problem is, they have no track record! They raise and sell to the unknowing mutt's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good advice, I'm partial to standard poodles.

[jrlinz]

Sure, a mixed breed like this can turn out great.  But, it leaves much more to chance than sticking to an established bloodline of an established breed.  Get a lab.

[Mikey]

Ahab:  me too.  I think the Standard Poodle is a great dog and am thankful the AKC finally listed them in the working dog breeds as the retreivers they are.

Don Fischer:  you are absolutely correct.

I have seen both of those new breeds, one an accident due to a roving Standard Poodle male and a lonely female Labrador - cute, but strange looking, friendly but a bit out of proportion.  I have seen a couple fo goldendoodles and they too appear somewhat out of proportion next to a purebred Standard Poodle. 

If you want a dog to retrieve and not shed, get a Standard Poodle and train it.  I think all I remember dooing with mine was training them to 'drop' or 'give' what they had retreived, whether it was, ummmm, 'tasty' or not (lololol).........JMHO.  Mikey.

[bucktales]

My wife ran into a labradoodle owner at the vet today.  Said she paid 3K for it.                                                                         Let's see... 10 pups @ 3K each , I think I'm in the wrong line of work 

[moxgrove]

One thing to remember: They are bred only to be helper/family dogs. No consideration is given to hunting . Just like the people who think registry papers make dogs compatible for good breeding. On the other hand they do make great helper dogs. I volunteer training dogs for the hearing impaired and they really tend to do well.

[tourangeaud]

Get a pure breed curly coated retreiver (CCR)  instead of a mixed breed dog.  http://www.curlycoat.org/

This is where I got my boy from.  A very good breeder of CCR's.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k39/tourangeaud/snuffie7.jpg
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k39/tourangeaud/snuffie4.jpg

[thxmrgarand]

I have never seen one of the poodle crosses.  However, I have an Irish Water Spaniel that many people mistake for one, or they think I have a very deep-chested standard poodle.  This IWS is great as a retriever.  He is as clever as a monkey and a very tough dog.  I only have one dog at a time (4th dog now; IWS in 1960's, lab in 80's, chessie in 90's, now IWS) and for a retriever that is a constant companion this IWS is ideal but so was my chessie.  I bought a service dog coat for this guy on EBay so he sometimes goes right on airliners with me when we head south for pheasants.  I sure wish that bird dogs lasted 75 years and shotguns lasted only 12 or 13 years rather than the other way around because I hate burying dogs and I like buying shotguns.

[Ranger J]

We have, I guess you would call them a ‘golden healer, and a ‘border healer’ from the same litter.  Mama was an undiscriminating blue healer.  The golden healer is 6 inches taller, will play fetch the ball all day long, swims every time she gets close to water, is shaped like a tall setter with long mottled black, gray, & white hair.   Her sister the border healer looks at the golden blue healer X like she is nuts when she is chasing the ball, will hardly get her toes wet around water and has border collie markings.  Both are death on squirrels, which is what I am probably getting at.  My guess is that the border healer will make the best squirrel dog.  Heck, she may even round a herd of them up like on TV and bring them back to me.  If someone would work with the golden healer she might make a great duck dog.  If  I was serious about having a dog to hunt birds or one to trail coons or even retrieve ducks I think I would be safer looking for an established breed, like a English setter, or a red bone hound or black lab.  On crosses you never know what you’re going to get hunting wise.  Other than that they make great family pets and often  good squirrel dogs.
RJ