Goldendoodles are becoming an increasingly popular breed of dogs across the world. The main reason behind their popularity is because they are the babies of two affectionate and loving breeds: poodles and golden retrievers. This crossbreed takes after the best features of its parents.

A golden doodle can also be called a hybrid dog. Their cuddly fur coat and amiable nature makes them one of the top choices among family pets. New dog owners will especially love them because of how accepting they are of strangers.

They are a crossbreed so it is important to first understand what their common behaviors can be and to deal with them accordingly. Since they come from two very friendly dogs, it is understandable that the apple would not have fallen too far from the tree.

Any good reputable dog breeder will be able to provide you with a decent goldendoodle. Puppy mills usually have dogs that are not well taken care of. If this is your first time getting a pet, then it is extremely important to go to someone reliable rather than have an unfortunate experience.

How Did They Come Into Existence?

The first golden doodle was bred by the famous Monica Dickens in 1969. They became popular after the 1990s when Australia and North America started cross-breeding poodles and golden retrievers at a much larger scale. More and more people are shifting their interests toward goldendoodles to have them as pets, but there is no registry or breed club in existence.

There are many online websites and communities for goldendoodle lovers and pet owners. These are the places where you can connect with fellow dog lovers.

However, since they are a mixed breed, it is best to know everything about them before deciding to get one for yourself.

What Do They Look Like?

Most goldendoodles have drop ears and a heavily feathered tail. They have oval-shaped, friendly looking eyes. In accordance with the size of their parent dogs, they vary in sizes too. Some are miniature goldendoodles, some are categorized in the large size too. The miniature ones have a height of around 20 inches, whereas the large ones can grow up to 24 inches.

Their fur coats can also come in different types: straight, curly, and wavy. The straight haired one takes it after its golden retriever parent. Wavy hair is a beautiful mix of the poodle’s hair and the golden retriever’s coat. The curly one takes after its poodle parent. Wavy-haired goldendoodles are the most common ones, they have shaggy, loose curls, which give them a floppy and adorable look.

What Are Their Most Common Characteristics?

These babies are among the friendliest dogs that you can ever find. Everything from their looks to their actions and behavior is adorable. They are friendly and amicable in nature. Their playful nature is one of the reasons why they are greatly sought after. They have a protective nature and can be shy around other dogs. Their intelligence level is quite high, which they get from their poodle parents.

Miniature goldendoodles are good apartment pets because of their size; however, the larger ones are more suited to bigger places. Golden retrievers usually have golden or wheat colored hair but poodles have a variety of different colors. This is the reason why you can find goldendoodles in many shades, even black.

Goldendoodles have the kind of fur that rarely sheds or does not shed at all. This also adds to their positives. Their fur coat is allergen-friendly too. This is an especially popular dog option after poodles, for people who have allergies. There are dog enthusiasts who want big dogs but are allergic, so instead of poodles, they go for goldendoodles.

Their Common Needs

Like all pets, goldendoodles also have certain requirements and needs that need to be fulfilled to keep them happy and lively. These needs should be met to get the best experience of having a pet. Some things that you should keep in mind when getting a goldendoodle for your family are discussed below.

Exercise Is a Must

These friendly and cuddly dogs need their daily dose of exercise and activity. Most pet dogs need their routine walk outside in fresh air. But goldendoodles are highly active and energetic dogs and they need their long walks and fetch games.

They can easily learn how to swim, and they make great service and therapy dogs. These dogs show a very low amount of aggression. As they grow older, they might develop hip dysplasia, so owners should look out for that. Aside from that, they do not really develop many other issues naturally.

Activity and staying busy actually helps them in staying happy and lively. Otherwise, they will become low and sad. Nobody likes a sad dog.

Training Is Easy

Since goldendoodles are obedient and friendly, they are quite easy to train. Their intelligence level is quite high like their poodle parents. It is best to train them with positive reinforcement as they are affectionate creatures themselves and require the same kind of behavior in return. Punishments in the form of negative reinforcement actually hurts the training process of dogs.

A golden doodle can easily experience separation anxiety also, which is why it is best to provide it with alone time training or crate training. They can be easily taught at home with very little input. They copy and learn behaviors very fast. If you teach them not to bark at new people and offer positive reinforcement, it will happen quicker than you know it.

Although there are professional trainers out there who do the training for you, it is not difficult to manage it at home either. They learn from the behavior of others. Your actions will actually end up teaching them more than any training session will.

This breed is very friendly around kids, which makes it very easy to train them on how to behave around kids. It will not be dangerous to let your kids play with them as they are a loving ball of fur. They are innately careful and kind around kids.

Having said all that, they are still animals and you cannot be completely certain of their behavior, so it is very important to initially supervise them before leaving them alone with kids.

They Need Socializing

Just like a friendly person needs to be around people to feel alive and happy, goldendoodles are amiable creatures, and they need to be around humans or other dogs to be in their best moods. These dogs are innately curious and calm in nature. Just like their poodle and golden retriever parents, these dogs don’t find it difficult to make friends wherever they go.

However, it has been noted that some goldendoodles can be a little aggressive around new dogs, so it is better to gradually let them out. The main reason behind this is that they have usually stayed with their littermates for the initial few weeks of their life, so it may take them some time to get used to very social environments. If they are socialized with other dogs from the beginning, they tend not to show such a form of aggression when meeting new dogs.

Their loving and bright temperament make them great companions for people who have disabilities. Added to this, as it is easy to train them, they also learn certain characteristics that can help a disabled person. They do not have a very strong prey drive. This makes them overly friendly and gentle with all other beings

How Is it Living with Goldendoodles?

They are playful dogs, so they need a place to flop around. Even though miniature goldendoodles can live in an apartment, it is highly recommended to have a fenced backyard so that they have enough space to romp and play.

They are intelligent beings and they tend to get bored easily, so it is important to get them involved in activities so that they stay away from trouble. Everyday, at least 30 minutes of exercise and play is their very basic requirement.

When you leave them alone in the house, it is highly recommended that you keep the television or radio switched on so that they do not feel lonely. Simple dog toys or any kind of activities can keep them involved for long periods of time. They are very social and it will keep them in a good mood.

Since they are house pets, they tend to not get very dirty and it is recommended to give them a bath once a month or every other month. You will need to brush their hair everyday so that it does not get matted. But if you are one of those people who likes dogs with short hair, then even that will not be an issue and you can brush their hair once a week.

They Love Water

Who doesn’t love a dog flapping its body in water? Goldendoodles will give you exactly that image in your backyard pool as they love water. This is the reason why it is easy for them to learn how to swim. They love being playful. This is why they love baths too. It is always a good idea to give them a bath if you can think of no other activity for the day as it will lift up their spirits. It also keeps them neat and tidy around kids and as house pets.

It is also a good idea to have a kiddy pool in your backyard for the dog to have fun in if you do not have any other option.

Their Natural Instincts

Since the goldendoodle is a relatively new breed and has not been studied as much in depth as other breeds, it is difficult to list down natural instincts.

In a lot of ways, people are sitting slowly and gradually learning from their behavior. As it is a cross breed, it tends to show many similar characteristics to poodles and golden retrievers but is not exactly like either of them.

This is why it is extremely important to get your goldendoodle from a reliable breeder and not someone who is inexperienced or a puppy mill. The main reason is that an experienced person may have trained the dog wrongly or the breed may have serious health or behavioral issues.

Like a lot of other dogs, they have the habit of barking when they get bored or if they meet new people or dogs. In some cases, this can be easily trained out of them. In others, you just have to be patient. If you bought a dog from an inexperienced breeder, then the dog might have issues such as biting, excessive barking, digging, timidity, and aggression.

Goldendoodles don’t know how to hunt and cannot be independent as they are mostly friendly in nature. This is how they naturally should be if they are bred by the right people and in the right environment. Since they are friendly dogs, they will not be good guard dogs.

What Should You Be Careful About?

One of the major things that you should be careful about is giving them good and positive training. Any form of aggressive behavior around them will only set them off or make them learn negative things. Since they are naturally kind beings, it is important to treat them the same way.

Be careful about anyone treating them unkindly or with aggression. Since they learn from behavior, whatever they see, they will do.

Conclusion

Goldendoodles are great companions that need a positive and happy environment to thrive. Their devotion to their owners has no boundaries because dogs are naturally very loyal creatures. It is important to never try to teach a goldendoodle anything by using negative reinforcement.