In Australia 🇦🇺 goldendoodles were named in the top twenty most popular dogs! I bet you Australians think goldendoodles are worth the hype. 👍 What are goldendoodles exactly? They are the hybrid combination of a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. 

Goldendoodles typically end up with the best qualities of both of their parent dogs, the outgoing and friendly personality of the Golden Retriever mixed with the intelligence, trainability and curly coat of the Poodle. 🐩 This powerful combination of great qualities makes for an amazing dog of any breed. So to answer the question, yes, I think we should all agree with Australia’s opinion of the Goldendoodle, they are worth the hype! 🤗 

Goldendoodles tend to be affectionate, trustworthy human oriented dogs. They are gentle with children and other family pets. They are very loyal and playful and they have very strong retriever instincts. 🎾

A couple of minor down sides, goldendoodles are not recognized by the AKC  but they are recognized by the American Canine Hybrid Club. Goldendoodles are very high energy 🔋 dogs and they are far too friendly to be used as a guard dog, although they may bark when visitors arrive at your home. 

The Golden Retriever was not registered as a breed until 1908 under the name of Golden Flat Coats. 🧥 In 1903 they were renamed to the Golden Retriever we know today. 

The Poodle finds its origins in Germany 🇩🇪 where it was originally bred as a hunting dog for waterfowl. 🦆

One of the first documented breedings of the Poodle and the Golden Retriever was by Charles Dickens’ Great-Granddaughter in 1969.

Doodles in general were originally made popular in the 1990s after a veterinarian who was located in Australia attempted to create a hypoallergenic service dog 🦮 by breeding a Poodle and a Labrador. 

Once these doodles became popular in the 1990s the goldendoodle was soon to follow as an alternative to the labradoodle. 

These doodle combinations were originally only bred with standard sized dog breeds. These new dog hybrids were soon to be considered the “designer dog” and became extremely popular on social media. ⌨️

Doodles are now available in many different generation variations (FB1, FB2) and also in various sizes. 

Sizing it all up

Today’s goldendoodles are available in 2 different sizes. Goldendoodles can be either standard sized or miniature. The size of the doodle is determined by the size of the Poodle 🐩 used in the breeding combination. 🐾

Standard goldendoodles weigh between 45 to 100 pounds and are 20 to 24 inches tall.

The miniature goldendoodle can be 15 to 35 pounds and 13 to 20 inches tall. 

Goldendoodles can have different combinations of the two breeds in their appearance traits. 😀

Color Coding, Fur Real

Goldendoodles have a medium length curly or wavy hair type. The hair can be a combination of black, white, gray, reds and browns. The goldendoodles coat may also change color after they have moved out of the puppy stage. Usually the hair will become lighter after the first shed of puppy fur. The goldendoodles fur type has a lot to do with the breeding generation (FB1, FB2) and which parent had the dominant genes regarding fur.  However, there is never a guarantee of what the hybrid puppy will look like. Goldendoodles have a low tendency to drool  🤤 and also a low tendency to snore. 💤

Goldendoodles may shed minimally and they need to be brushed daily to prevent matting of the fur. They will also need their hair clipped ✂️  once every 4 to 6 weeks. You can either hire a local groomer 💈 or learn to clip the hair yourself. Goldendoodles will also need to have their ears checked and cleaned regularly to prevent ear infections. Poodles have long ear hair that needs to be trimmed and your doodle may inherit that trait from their Poodle parent. 

Let’s quickly go over the “hypoallergenic” topic. The AKC asserts that “there is no such thing as a completely hypoallergenic dog”. Unfortunately people with dog allergies are usually allergic to the dog dander 🦠 , not the dog’s fur. Granted the dog fur can be a carrier for the dog dander it is not the cause of the allergy. The old school of thought was that less dog hair = less allergen. So breeders would attempt to have as many Poodle genes in a dog breed as possible to lessen dog hair shed. Unfortunately, this does not change the level of dander. Please be cautious regarding the labels of “hypoallergenic” if you have dog allergies. If you would like more info on this please read 22 Hypoallergenic Doodles. ◀️

Working it out

Goldendoodles are highly active dogs that require at least 60 minutes of exercise per day. 🏃 They are energetic and they need plenty of activities to keep them out of trouble. They are a good fit for active and outdoorsy families that like to stay moving. Goldendoodles also benefit from having a fenced yard to run around in. 🏡

Miniature goldendoodles are still active but they are more relaxed than their bigger goldendoodle bothers. Minis would have no issue chilling on the couch 🛋️ with you as long as they get about 30 minutes of activity per day. 

Come, Sit, Stay

Goldendoodles are high energy 🔋 dogs that need quite a bit of attention. But the good news is that they are sweet, easy to train and love 💗  to work with their owners. The goldendoodle is easy to train due to the intelligence of the Poodle and the trainability of the Golden Retriever. Goldendoodles tend to have a nice combination of the temperaments of their parent breeds. Neither of the parent breeds are known for being excessive barkers or for digging so goldendoodles shouldn’t carry on those traits. 

Goldendoodles intelligence and high level of obedience makes it a great candidate as a service dog 🐕‍🦺 in many capacities such as guide dog, therapy dog or scent detections. 

A few negative issues that the goldendoodle may have is separation anxiety, especially during the puppy stage. 😩

Also, this breed may need extra training around cats 🐈‍⬛ and other small animals. Since both parent breeds have a history of hunting and retrieving it can make the prey drive very high in the goldendoodle offspring. 

All dogs need early socialization and puppy training to ensure that they do not develop bad habits. Without proper training the goldendoodle can become hard to handle. Owners need to make sure that they get the dog plenty of training and daily exercise 🏃 to make sure that they are not bored. A bored puppy can quickly become a destructive puppy. 

Goldendoodles respond well to positive reinforcement training and can be trained to participate in many healthy activities such as agility and obedience. They do well when they are given a job or task to complete. 😁

Quality of Life

Goldendoodle are a very healthy breed that can live between 10 to 15 years. Mixing 2 pure bred dogs results in a healthier breed than the pure bred parents due to creating a higher genetic diversity. However, goldendoodles can still be susceptible to the diseases that both of their parent breeds would be. ❤️‍🩹

Goldendoodles are prone to hip dysplasia, canine cancer, skin allergies, ear infections, bloat and stomach issues and a few others. The good news is that the majority of these medical issues can be tested for in your dog. 💊

So now you want a Goldendoodle….

If you are thinking about getting a goldendoodle you must make sure that you are in love with any combination of traits that a doodle surprise could offer. 🎁 Your doodle may look exactly like a Golden Retriever but act exactly like a Poodle. Would you be ok with that? What about the other way around? If you can love 💗  ALL of the traits of both parent breeds then DO IT! Doodles are the best! 

I would check at Poodle rescues and also at Golden Retriever specific rescues, they may have a mixed breed/hybrid there as well. Also check regular rescues. Just realize that if you want to rescue you may have to wait to find your dog or travel to pick it up. But there are great benefits to rescuing instead of buying. 👍👏

If you decide to buy a puppy please do your research on the breeder and don’t be afraid to ask the right questions. And good luck to you! I hope you find your forever puppy! 🥰