My parents had one and my wife loved the thing. No smell, no shedding, good sized dog for my wife and I.

We've been looking for rescues and adoptable dogs for ages and I'm kind of at the point where I'd rather just go through a breeder.

I found Aisling doodles in Oklahoma, which isn't too awful far from us and a little more affordable than some others I'm come across. Does anyone happen to have any feedback on them or any other breeder suggestions?

The closest breeders to me are up in the $3k range which is just more than we want to spend.

We have one and he is a great dog, very smart and loyal and gentle with children. Just be aware that ours barks at everything, so in that sense they are a great watchdog.  He is 13 and still sometimes acts like a puppy.  I'm not sure where the best breeders are today, but good luck with your search.

My parent's dog is the same way, but she's also socially inept with other dogs and people so I'm hoping that was part of it.

I'm also considering a poodle, I know they are supposed to be incredibly smart.

Big thing for me is obedience, I want to train whatever dog I get extensively.

Why doodlepoo when you can poodle?

Mixes are unpredictable, and there really aren’t many ethical breeders of poos and doodles. You may get a sweet, intelligent, non-shedding rockstar, or you may get a neurotic mess that mats up terribly and is a grooming nightmare.

I’d recommend going with a responsible, ethical breeder of a Miniature Poodle. They can do everything you want, and you can get the benefits of going to a responsible breeder.

Good to know.

We're actually not opposed to a poodle at all, every one I've met seems incredibly smart, which is important to me (obedience and training will be a major thing in our house). I regularly check the poodle rescue of Houston, but I'll see if what we have in the way of breeders around here.

Is the grooming requirement usually different between those mixes and purebred poodles? I'm prepared to do the once every over month or so grooming, just curious how much if can vary between those dogs.

The short answer is ‘it depends’.

The longer answer is that mixes are unpredictable, and that includes coat type too. What sort of coat the dog has depends on which copies of certain genes the dog gets from each parent. Depending on which genes get inherited from which parent and how those genes are expressed in combination (because coat texture isn’t based on a single gene), you may get the curly texture more like a poodle, more open and wavy like the cocker, a combination of the two, even wiry sometimes. And it may not shed at all or it may shed moderately, or it may shed some but due to having enough of the curly texture to the coat, the shed hairs may become entangled in the curly hairs and mat up something fierce.

Since the coat type can vary quite a bit, grooming schedules can go between every 4-10 weeks, and you need to be brushing the dog out thoroughly all the way to the skin 1-2 times every day, paying particular attention to the ears, armpits, and between the back legs. There’s also an increasing number of groomers refusing to groom doodles and poos because of their difficult coats and sketchy temperaments, and those who do generally charge more.

My wife just got a cockapoo back in October. Our previous dog was a golden retriever, so it has been quite an adjustment.
The golden was big and hairy but she was the most well behaved dog I have ever been around. Never barked, chewed anything not hers, didn't bother the cat, and was hairy.
This cockapoo is probably done growing by now, and is about 12-13 lbs. Does not shed at all, but barks all the time, and is absolutely ruthless with our 15 lb. cat.
She is still a puppy so hopefully she calms down a bit soon. Overall, the no shedding is probably the best part.
Oh yeah, it wasn't cheap.