The Dog Lover Thread

[LA Ute]

We are going with a labradoodle. I have put in a some time researching and this appears to be the best overall fit. Still, I am hesitant of the major time commitment I will have to make. I think the benefit for the boy outweighs the time commitment I will have to make.

I don't know your family but I'll bet you are right.

Don't listen to DH. He is clearly not a dog lover and is just an interloper here. Such people are not to be trusted.

[CJF]

We brought home our labradoodle puppy almost five weeks ago. So far so good. Fulton looks more lab than poodle, which I like. He has mostly straight hair, but soft and he doesn't shed at all. He was 9 weeks old and about 15 pounds when we got him. He is about 15 weeks old now and about 30 pounds. A good portion of his growth have been in his feet. They've grown like crazy. He is by far the easiest puppy I've ever been around. He has gone three weeks with no accidents. Completely house broken by 12 weeks old is just amazing to me. He has basic commands down. He is still a puppy and can be a little overwhelming for my 3 year old at times, but overall has been a great beginning. My boy loves him. I think he will be a huge part of our family for years to come.

[LA Ute]

We brought home our labradoodle puppy almost five weeks ago. So far so good. Fulton looks more lab than poodle, which I like. He has mostly straight hair, but soft and he doesn't shed at all. He was 9 weeks old and about 15 pounds when we got him. He is about 15 weeks old now and about 30 pounds. A good portion of his growth have been in his feet. They've grown like crazy. He is by far the easiest puppy I've ever been around. He has gone three weeks with no accidents. Completely house broken by 12 weeks old is just amazing to me. He has basic commands down. He is still a puppy and can be a little overwhelming for my 3 year old at times, but overall has been a great beginning. My boy loves him. I think he will be a huge part of our family for years to come.

Sounds like a great breed. Smart, too! Enjoy!

[marsupial]

We brought home our labradoodle puppy almost five weeks ago. So far so good. Fulton looks more lab than poodle, which I like. He has mostly straight hair, but soft and he doesn't shed at all. He was 9 weeks old and about 15 pounds when we got him. He is about 15 weeks old now and about 30 pounds. A good portion of his growth have been in his feet. They've grown like crazy. He is by far the easiest puppy I've ever been around. He has gone three weeks with no accidents. Completely house broken by 12 weeks old is just amazing to me. He has basic commands down. He is still a puppy and can be a little overwhelming for my 3 year old at times, but overall has been a great beginning. My boy loves him. I think he will be a huge part of our family for years to come.

Where did you get him? We are looking for a dog right now and considering a poodle mix of some kind. I was hoping to get one through a rescue program or shelter but the shelters are just full of hyper labs and mean pit bulls. We're not in a big hurry so we are still looking.

[bluegoose]

We brought home our labradoodle puppy almost five weeks ago. So far so good. Fulton looks more lab than poodle, which I like. He has mostly straight hair, but soft and he doesn't shed at all. He was 9 weeks old and about 15 pounds when we got him. He is about 15 weeks old now and about 30 pounds. A good portion of his growth have been in his feet. They've grown like crazy. He is by far the easiest puppy I've ever been around. He has gone three weeks with no accidents. Completely house broken by 12 weeks old is just amazing to me. He has basic commands down. He is still a puppy and can be a little overwhelming for my 3 year old at times, but overall has been a great beginning. My boy loves him. I think he will be a huge part of our family for years to come.

Awesome. We've had our labradoodle for about 3 years now. We found him at the local shelter, a rescue dog along with his brother. He is now about 3 1/2 years old and weighs about 75 pounds. He is a great dog.

Like yours, ours has fairly straight hair that goes wavy when it gets too long.

He is a very obedient dog, unless he sees a jackrabbit while out for our morning run, and then all bets are off. We can put a T-bone steak on the floor and tell him to stay and not eat it. He will sit and stare at us until we give him the green light to go for it.

If he comes in from the back yard and his paws are wet, he will voluntarily wait by the back door until he either dries off or gets his feet wiped with a towel.

He will be a great addition to the family for you guys. Our kids absolutely love Jonesy and would be devastated if anything happened to him.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Gorgeous puppy, cjf. We have a 'Goldendoodle', a golden retriever/standard poodle mix. They used to just be called 'mutts', but now are frou-frou hoity toity 'designer breed' so they command a hefty price tag. The hybrid has now been around for nearly 60 years, so perhaps it will become 'recognized' by the AKC at some point. I honestly don't care, because our dog is better than any pedigreed breed I have owned.

That said, our 'Dood' is one of the smartest, most even-tempered dog I have ever owned out of the twelve dogs we had over the years. He is my son's dog and is his buddy. He is a bit smaller than other similar dogs and he is around 35 pounds (2 years old now). He is playful like a Lab, but he doesn't shed and is happy to just sit quietly in at my feet or in his kennel when we need him to behave. The breed has 'hair' instead of fur, which can range from tight curls like a poodle to straight like a Lab, but it just keeps growing rather than falls out. He has the loose wavy hair, and we keep it about 1.5" - 2" long so it is just soft, silky, and clean. He will play fetch all day long, and keeps the kids thoroughly satisfied of their 'dog jonez', but without many of the hassles of dog ownership.

The 'Doods' are so popular around here that a local group has a get together at the dog park on Lake Washington every month. Here are some pics of the last event: http://www.komonews.com/news/offbeat...135467833.html

Another breed that I really like is the Portugese Water Dog. They have become very popular now and can be hard to get, but they are fantastic. In look and disposition they are very similar to a Labradoodle with curly hair.

I don't have a pic of my dog available but when his hair is long he looks very similar to this Porty, minus the white chest:

[PaloAltoCougar]

We brought home our labradoodle puppy almost five weeks ago. So far so good. Fulton looks more lab than poodle, which I like. He has mostly straight hair, but soft and he doesn't shed at all. He was 9 weeks old and about 15 pounds when we got him. He is about 15 weeks old now and about 30 pounds. A good portion of his growth have been in his feet. They've grown like crazy. He is by far the easiest puppy I've ever been around. He has gone three weeks with no accidents. Completely house broken by 12 weeks old is just amazing to me. He has basic commands down. He is still a puppy and can be a little overwhelming for my 3 year old at times, but overall has been a great beginning. My boy loves him. I think he will be a huge part of our family for years to come.
[/IMG]

That's very cool, CJF. We got our kids a dog for the first time eleven years ago, and he brought countless hours of fun and love to the family. Someday I'll post the video of when Louie showed up in a small crate on our front porch at Christmastime in 2000. Here's a video of other families with similar results...
[YOUTUBE]MDgh14043dA&feature=youtu.be[/YOUTUBE]

[marsupial]

Well, we're getting a dog. A 3-year-old retired greyhound. We'll probably get him tomorrow or Friday. Danimal and I want to name him Jimmer. The kids want to name him Gomez (after Selena). His current name is Quincy, but my good friend has a son named that and I can't have a dog with a people name (at least a people name of someone I know and someone who will be coming to the house).

[NorthwestUteFan]

I know several people who have 'Rescued Racers', and I want to get one myself one day. They are wonderful dogs.

My uncle in Las Vegas has a pair of them. They typically spend all day sitting on large pillows on the floor in the living room, and are content to sleep most of the day. You have to be extremely careful when walking them at first, because they will bolt after anything they see (they are trained to chase). If you have a schoolyard or a park nearby that is completely fenced, you can let them off the leash to run. Otherwise it can be very dangerous because they don't know about roads, etc.

And PAC, my son's dog is also named Lou or Louie. (Sometimes I call him Lucifer..)

[marsupial]

I know several people who have 'Rescued Racers', and I want to get one myself one day. They are wonderful dogs.

My uncle in Las Vegas has a pair of them. They typically spend all day sitting on large pillows on the floor in the living room, and are content to sleep most of the day. You have to be extremely careful when walking them at first, because they will bolt after anything they see (they are trained to chase). If you have a schoolyard or a park nearby that is completely fenced, you can let them off the leash to run. Otherwise it can be very dangerous because they don't know about roads, etc.

And PAC, my son's dog is also named Lou or Louie. (Sometimes I call him Lucifer..)

Yes, I am very aware of their instinct to run. This has been my only hesitation. For the last week we have been trying to instill in our children the importance of closing the front door behind them. He seems like a really sweet dog and has been tested with kids. I'll post pictures once we get him.

[marsupial]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1324916734.123167.jpg
This is Gomez, named after Selena.

[FN Phat]

She looks like she is already in love!

[FMCoug]

Somehow I missed this thread. We love dogs. We have two at the moment, both lab mixes. They are both rescues so we are not totally sure on the mix but we think the 9 year old is lab/chow and the 4 year old is lab/boxer.

They are good buddies.

[filsdepac]

We got an 11 week old French Bulldog last Friday and had a somewhat stressful weekend but now getting into a good routine. I've never had a dog before so I'm still learning how to raise a puppy, but so far so good. Her name is Posey.

[Katy Lied]

Just an interesting dog tidbit. Airlines won't take brachycephalic (smushed faced) dogs. Too risky – they die too easily in cargo. My sister found this out when she tried to take her boston terrier on a family vacation to Utah. She lives on an island so unless she wants to kayak over, the dog won't be coming along.

Something to think about when you're shopping for a dog.