Oodles of Doodles!

(OH the Doodles I’d Undo)

The best and most obvious launching off point when discussing these magical creatures is how extremely beautiful, they are. They come in various sizes, various coat colors and textures, and they all pretty much look like living teddy bears when they are puppies. Although these coats are gorgeous, they require the MOST upkeep of any modern “breed” of dog.  You need to be ready for lots of grooming bills and/or lots of daily and weekly maintenance to keep them comfortable. You may want to reconsider this breed combo if you’re hoping for a low maintenance new furry family member.

With increased popularity in the various Doodle mixes, we felt it was important to notify our client base of some interesting observations and similarities we frequently see in these dogs’ behavior. They are highly intelligent; both in their rapid learning style and their emotional lives. Although this at first glance looks to be a positive, this lovely trait comes with its challenges.

These dogs, often come to us with touch sensitivities, similar to a child on the spectrum who is easily overstimulated by physical touch.  This is challenging because of the high level of grooming these dogs require.

At The Mannered Mutt, we have had to frequently create a full treatment plan for doodles with a primary focus of consensual care, meaning the dog learns that humans can ask if they can be handled before doing so.  Sadly, by the time these dogs come to us, they have been groomed roughly, over handled, and sometimes physically reprimanded for an unwanted behavior.  These dogs come in to our facility, tightly wound, angry, pessimistic, and distrusting of human touch to the point of biting.  It’s very sad that we see this so often. It is possible to prevent this from happening to your doodle by finding a gentle groomer, and managing carefully this aspect of their life with us bumbling humans.

Another common area of struggle with the Doodles is that they are bored and frustrated, in even the most loving modern homes. Your specific pup may be a very watered-down version of the breeds that comprised it but you still may discover that your pup has an innate need you had not bargained for.

Generally, in the past Poodles were bred to perform a very diverse span of jobs. They may have activity and stimulation needs you may struggle to meet.  For example, many poodles love swimming, but you may lack a swimming pool. Others may really thrive on trick training, similar to poodles bred for circus work. Either way, you will struggle to find ways for them to express this need as you go about your normal work/life schedule, which can result in unwanted behaviors. These dogs tend to get frustrated and annoyed by their pedestrian/urban life, and may resort to developing a barking problem, indoor potty struggles or worse.

Another area of concern is how extremely observant they are of us and our behavior. They are keen predictors of upcoming events that they may or may not like. If the human isn’t very savvy about removing predictive events (or better yet, training with them to change the meaning for the dog) you may see an increase in separation anxiety and generalized anxiety disorders.

Lastly, because of their very high emotional intelligence, it’s critical they are never punished as a primary “training” approach. When starting a doodle puppy, it is vital you start the relationship off positioning yourself as the coolest thing the puppy could ever be around. You must always have all the best ideas, and the most fun attitude in order for them to develop a trusting bond with you. Without that bond, we see many doodles developing a pessimistic view on life with humans which is not only sad, but very hard to course correct. Another important side note when training a doodle puppy, is that you need to use variable rewards for the wanted behaviors. Don’t rely on food only, we’ve clearly seen that many doodles prefer to learn for affection, or play rewards more than food. Unfortunately, this makes them a dog that is best trained by a professional experienced with these brilliant creatures.

If you do decide a doodle mix is the dog for you and your family, please look into a game-based trainer with a proven education who will offer you a “force-free guarantee”. If you are speaking to a trainer and they seem hesitant to consider the issues for doodles in anyone of those areas, you are best to look further.  Here in the Southern California area, I and my team at The Mannered Mutt are available for virtual consults/training sessions and in person consults/trainings sessions.