Standing in the park; watching Elsa charge after her ball again and again, a man shouts over to me. Is that a "doodle?" I am very use to the question and call back "nope, a poodle, just a poodle." He stood for a long while watching. He said he had two doodles at home and continued to watch. I know he was thinking "this is a poodle?" Most people have an skewed image of a poodle. That of a fluffed up, pampered pooch eating bon bons on the couch all day; the type of dog that doesn't get dirty. This of course is completely wrong, but it is what people think due to the "dog show" poodles that they have seen.
Doodles are very popular and it seems that they are getting even more so. There are everything from maltipoos, schnoodles, labradoodles, goldendoodles, aussiedoodles, bernoodle, boodles and the list goes on and on. So when someone asks if my dogs are doodles, it is because there are so many doodles out there. With the absence of Luke and Elsa's typical poodle pom poms; people don't recognize them as a poodle. Does it bother me that people think that my dogs are doodles? Not in the least, I don't care what people think they are. To me they are amazing, curly coated retrievers who happen to love doing anything as long as it's with a family member. I'm sort of smitten with the breed I'd have to say.
So what is my take on the whole "doodle" thing? It is not a yes or no type answer, there is much to consider. First off there are probably less than a handful of good doodle breeders. Good, meaning that they do all the health tests on their breeding dogs, socialize the puppies, have only a litter or two a year and temperament test. The rest? Greed, sheer greed. With the misconception that the doodle dog is somehow enhanced with a sort of super amazingness, it became the dog to have. People were scrambling to get one of these amazing dogs. They believed all the hype and as people
do, they desired one.
Sadly much of the labradoodle and goldendoodle hype; comes from a misconception of the poodle which was also created by humans. Many people, especially men do not want to be seen walking own the street with a poodle; it's an image thing. But throw a Labrador or Golden Retriever in there and they never have to admit that they have a poodle. Whatever floats your boat. But sadly it is the dogs that are suffering. My issue with doodles is not the mixing of breeds, I LOVE DOGS, ALL DOGS. What I do not love are the horrible beings who breed for profit. The people who pump out puppies so that they can have their piece of the pie without any regard for the health or well being of the dogs.
I was on a doodle site just last night. The site was filled with poodle mixes of all kinds. The list and number of puppies available was mind numbing. This is the problem. A miller, most doodles come from millers; big and small but they are millers. With the big thing being doodles, of course they all jumped in; they all want a piece of the action. It is all marketing and hype and yes we humans tend to buy into that stuff. Stupid? Yep. If it's new we want it. If they say that it's great, we want that too.
Let me just say that doodles are not super dogs; they are not healthier than a purebred dog. It is all false advertising. Just because you take two different breeds and breed them together does not give you a healthy dog. Far from it. You could be breeding two non healthy dogs of different breeds together and sadly with the doodles; this is typically what is happening. Unfortunately many of these supposedly healthy doodles are plagued with serious health issues. The general public does not understand the depth of what goes into producing healthy dogs. They've been told that the simple act of mixing a Lab and a Poodle will produce stellar health. Wrong.
I have worked with several people who desperately wanted a doodle because of the hypoallergenic aspect of their hair. Two families had their hearts broken after discovering that their children were indeed allergic to them. When you breed a Labrador to a Poodle you lose the non allergic factor of the poodle coat. Sad. What is even more sad is that the shelters and rescues are filling up with these very same doodle dogs. People get them thinking they are wonder dogs; only to find out that they are dogs, just dogs who poop, pee and puke on the carpet. They chew things and jump on you just like normal dogs.
There are many different opinions on the whole "doodle" thing. My opinion lies with the dogs. Bad people breeding bad dogs; it is very sad. These bad people dupe prospective puppy buyers into thinking that they are getting a miracle dog. When all they are getting is a dog from a puppy miller. Someone who cares far more about lining their pocket than a puppy or puppy buyer.
It all started 22 years ago and if Wally Conron had known then what he knows now; the doodle would never have existed.
Creator regrets ever creating the doodle
Do I shun a doodle when I see it? Do I think that it is an abomination of nature? No of course not. I probably bend down and tell it how adorable it is. It is after all a dog who is the product of the greedy, heartless person that bred it. It is the not the fault of the dog at all. Would I shake the hand of the miller who pumped out the puppy and lied to get a few bucks from a nice family? HELL NO. I am appalled by anyone who pumps dogs out whether they are mixes or purebreds. Those who breed dogs several times a year; using them simply as a puppy machine. People who keep their dogs in kennels and have a breed facility whether it is clean or filthy. Millers, they are all millers and deserve to be thrown in prison like the dogs that they keep.
The "doodle" dilemma runs far deeper than mixing two breeds. It is all about life; disrespecting it, cheating, robbing and the cruel treatment of. The doodle millers would not succeed if it were not for the humans always seeking the new and improved.