We are getting the kids a Mini Goldendoodle for Christmas. Any one else have one? Anything we should know about them ahead of time that will be useful?

My son has a regular Golden doodle...very sweet dog...not the brightest bulb in the chandelier but very well mannered and tempered.
Recommend you crate train from the get go

Lucky owner of a full size Gdoodle. My best friend.
I've been a dog lover all my life and have had many 'friends'.

Gdoodles are a little different in nature than most breeds.
#1 and most importantly. The are very sensitive to discipline. Scold a Gdoodle to hard and he will be wary of you for life. It will accept and obey you it will only be uncomfortable doing it. They are big pussies when it comes to being corrected.

As puppies they are rambunctious and clumsy. Very clumsy as their first priority is curiosity and to whom they will bond to. They will love and obey your entire household but will bond to only one. Mine bonded to my wife as she was home with him as a puppy. He's still a very good friend to me and will lay on top of either one of us that's convenient.

They accept strangers cautiously. It's not like they are likely to bite, it's just they don't enjoy being petted or to much attention from a stranger. If a stranger is lucky, they will let them scratch their ass.

Grooming is expensive. We do our own but if not we could easily spend $50 a month. They have two coats. A wirey poodle coat embedded in longer retriever coat. Very hard to groom.

Now for the good.
One of the two best dogs I've ever owned.
They will study your habits and are smart much like a poodle in nature.
I have Parkinson's Disease. The dog has taught himself when I am going to pass out. He will let me know therefore I can avoid it. He hasn't been trained for that. If I am feeling especially ill, he won't leave my side.
He's no genius by any means, (we named him Doofus) but the only dog I had that was more intuitive was my Rottie.

They don't bark unnecessarily and are well mannered and easy to train. If they need something like go outside or an empty food bowl they will just sit and stare until YOU figure it out.

They are very loyal to their families. They will watch and place themselves between you and a stranger but if the stranger were to clap his hands the dog would jump 6 feet backward. I've often wondered if someone actually laid hands on if they would bite. I have a feeling he would nail someone from the rear, back off and do it over and over. Definitely not an attack dog lol.

When grown, they will find a place within sight of whomever they bonded with  to hang out and chill.
They won't be under foot. Very mellow and will spend lots of time sleeping  on their back. Looks like they are 'airing' their balls.

Obviously I have a special attachment to mine and can't assume all are the same. The owners I have spoken with tell much the same story and add on allot of 'smartest' and 'physic' type BS.
My belief is they just never had a good dog before. Each breed has a unique strength.
I do feel the Gdoodles is it's intuitiveness.

They aren't perfect and are goofy as pups up until about 18 months. Just be very cautious of how you scold them. Especially kids as we know kids don't understand they will scar the dog mentally.
Remember, they're big pussies.

My 75# Doofus (7 years old)
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Excellent synopsis....very much like my sons Smokey Bones...except he is smaller...He is 45#

The best dog I've ever had.

OST

Thanks for the replies so far. Temperamentally are the minis the same as the full size? Ours should only get 15-30 lbs.

We have a full size one that we got to be our daughter's diabetes alert service dog.  Dog can beat her continuous glucose monitor by 15 minutes. Greatest temperment of any dog I've ever seen. Wouldn't hurt anyone except by accident. We do our own grooming. Only annoying habit is the poodle half thinks that everyone is her friend and when loose off leash she gets excited and takes off. Sensitive stomach also.

I don't own a mini but from folks who have told me about theirs, they seem to be a little more docile a puppies. The full size has legs like a greyhound and believe they are born to run. Not run off, but will run the largest circles space allows until completely exhausted. They will actually run until they over exert. I've clocked mine with my speedo of 23 MPH. Then he will pile up and have a hard time recovering. You have to limit their exposure to heat.

Here he is. I pick him up a week from today. Attached File

Aw hell, everyone...... Post your Doodles

He's also my garage dog. It's his favorite place in the world.
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Morty. He's an F1B, he's fully grown right now and around 18 lbs.

The seller of ours claimed his parents weighed 30 and 35 pounds.  Should have asked about his grandparents, because he's 60 pounds at 11 months.  Neighbor has one four months older and is about 35 pounds.

High energy dogs.  Yesterday, took him on a half mile walk, then had to play fetch and watch him run circles around me for about 20 minutes.  Neighbor (retired) takes his on half mile walks two or three times a day.  He didn't like summer heat.  Didn't run much in the summer and obviously preferred to be in the shade.

Loves his family, especially children.  May be too rough with small children--jumping on them and could knock them down.  Ours takes virtually every step that I take.

Ours greets us by standing on his hind legs and giving a hug, every morning.  And every time we come in the house.  I have to sneak out in the morning, or trick him into going in a room and closing the door.  Otherwise, he holds on to my sleeve when I try to leave.  When I return, I call my wife, so she can go in a room with him and close the door, or else he jumps on my dress clothes.

I think ours if quite smart.  He learned how to push open the door to come in the house.  Couple months later, learned how to pull it open from the inside.

Ours thinks he's the neighborhood watch dog.  I think he already knows the neighbors, kids and their vehicles.  He lies on the back of the couch, looking out the window.  Reacts to anyone moving around, car doors closing, any odd noise.  Mostly, he goes on alert, no barking.  But when someone walks past our house, very fierce bark.  We have glass front door.  If someone rings the doorbell, he stands and the door and has a fierce-sounding bark.  Several solicitors have left by the time I've gotten to the door.

We've been wondering when our dog will calm down.  The neighbor said he noticed a little difference after his dog, but not much.  I'm resigned will be the same until next summer.

The ladies at work want me to bring him by.  A couple have offered to keep him for a weekend.

Mine sounds allot like yours and began changing to a more chillax personality about 3 years.
At 7 he still gets whatever toy he wants out of his box every evening but it's just a 10 minute 'the world revolves around me' spell. He will sleep all I would let him unless he's outside.

I did have to get him neutered at about 5 because he was very male dog aggressive. He would want to attack most any dog and if it had balls he went insane. Vet said his testosterone was off the charts so I made the difficult decision. He's back to his old self and becoming more sedentary  which was to be expected.

They have an insane prey drive. Mine will set on porch for hours stalking summer lizards. If there is a mouse within a mile he will find it. Smart enough to back away from snakes so far though.

Keep your eyes peeled for fatty cysts under their skin. They are somewhat prone to them and they grow amazingly fast. Best to get them taken off surgically immediately.

Your right about the barking. If he's inside and someone is outside he doesn't know or a truck pulls up it sounds like the hell hounds of satin. Almost like a mastiff bark. If he's outside he will greet you if he knows you and run 60 yards opposite direction to sit and bark if he doesn't.

We have a full sized. Awesome dog. Super family friendly. Really nothing bad to say but she’s big ha. Great personality and good guard dog. The minis are cute but I like a bigger dog.

Damn he’s cute.

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I have a full size.  Mine is a huge doofus as well. Smartest dumb dog I've ever seen.  She somehow keeps my son from sleep walking, which was a problem till she started to sleep in his room and now the only time he has sleep walked since, she was not here.  I don't know if she gets on top of him or what, but she is his service animal now.  
taught herself how to use lever handle door knobs, which can be a problem...

great family dog.  We will probably get a mini for my daughter.

Looks identical to mine.

Great looking dogs, guys. I grew up on a farm and we always had large dogs. Over the years, we had a Dalmatian, Lab, GSD, Boxer and a Mastiff.

One day my wife and I just got done messing around and she was laying on the bed facing me. All of a sudden, she levitated off the bed about a foot and let out the loudest scream. My mastiff was laying on the floor and she got a cold wet nose in her buttcrack. I almost laughed until I passed out.

She was not happy, and won’t agree to another big dog.

Ha man I hear ya. Big dog is a lifestyle. Pic from tonight playing in the kitchen.

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I had to get a bigger vehicle for her. Recently got into a Tahoe and she loves it.

Here he is...named him Marlin. Attached File


Facing off with a rabbit I found...

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@217

How is the doodle working out?

My wife is currently proposing getting a golden doodle.....either regular or possibly mini. I’m unsure of them at this point.

He is awesome!

He’s easy to take care of and has a great personality. Everyone loves him!

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@Camel

Sounds like is working for you, nice!

The ones my wife and daughter are looking at are apparently medium sized labradoodles. The mom and dad are 35-40lbs. They went to look at the puppies yesterday.

I’d like to get a full size one, as I like a “regular” or big size dog. Our last dog was a 180lb Great Dane, so a mini or medium doodle would be a change.

The grooming of these is another hang up I have on the doodles.  If we get a full size, I will be grooming it to look like a lion.

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