Gone 2 the dog

Goldendoodle Puppies and Adult Dogs For Sale

2011-05-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

Shaggy coat Goldendoodle by Goldendoodle World

Beautiful Goldendoodle puppies and young adult dogs available for sale by Goldendoodle World! UKCI registered with over 400 ofa champion ancestors dating back to the early 1930s. Visit http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/ for more details!

704-278-3647

Worldwide shipping available! Personal pick up welcome!

* spaying and neutering required.

* Blue eyes, brown eyes, multi eye color available

* Apricot, cream, Silver Frost

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Taking your Goldendoodle to work

2009-12-27T17:06:00.001-08:00

Taking your Goldendoodle to work

Author: Dee Gerrish

Bink in Holland

As the Goldendoodle dog becomes more popular, many doodle owners are beginning to take their dogs to work. As the doodle rises from its bed underneath their owner's desk, it isn't uncommon for the Goldendoodle to waltz itself from cubicle to cubicle, picking up treats along its way.

Standing and waiting happily with its nose pressed against a filing cabinet, the Goldendoodle is very patiently waiting for a glancing smile or a pat on its head. For many people, taking their family dog with them to work is just a part of their daily routine. June 22nd is "Take your dog to work" day. You should encourage your boss to allow you to bring your Goldendoodle to work if you work in a company small enough to allow this. Created and sponsored by "Pet Sitters International", nearly 500 companies in the beginning participated in permitting their employees to bring their pets to work. That number has jumped well past 5,000 here in 2009. This event draws massive attention to the value of dogs of all breeds, including rescue dogs and shelter dogs. Taking your Goldendoodle to work with you has its advantages. He or she is, after all, a mixed breed dog. By bringing your Goldendoodle to work, you are encouraging someone who may not own a pet, to consider giving one of their own, a good home.

Perhaps they've never considered this type of dog or they've never seen one. Perhaps they were thinking about adopting a shelter dog but were afraid of giving a mixed breed dog a chance. The Goldendoodle dog will surely put all of those fears to rest as soon as your co-workers meet him or her. Even if for one day, the Goldendoodle dog can demonstrate how well behaved they are; how friendly they are; what wonderful companions they can be and how little they shed. Taking your well-behaved Goldendoodle to work with you can show others how this simple gesture can increase company productivity not to mention lower absenteeism! Taking your Goldendoodle to work also helps to encourage interaction and socialization. A pet friendly company gives dog owners a peace of mind. Employees can work late and still be able to feed, walk and care for their Goldendoodle companion. For other employees, this policy can ease stress and anxiety. Dee Gerrish, of Goldendoodle World says, "Many of our customers take their Goldendoodles to work with them. I hear it all the time.

They say it helps them to not worry so much about how they are going to get home in time to take their new puppy out for potty breaks and it definitely helps them become a better dog owner. Their Goldendoodle is a companion dog who needs them just as much as they need the dog. Both the doodle and the owner benefits from a pet friendly work place". Employees who are able to bring their Goldendoodle to work agree that this type of policy is a great perk! Their doodles can accompany them where ever they go because their owner is always around. The Goldendoodle hybrid can become very lonely when left home for hours on end waiting for their owner to come home. Dee says, "Everyone benefits from having a Goldendoodle around! Look at it this way, how many people do you think will be uncooperative at work if a Goldendoodle comes up and licks your hand or gives you a friendly smile?".

"Jack Trout and friend"

GUIDE TO PERFECT PETIQUETTE

*Your boss would probably be more willing to permit you to bring your Goldendoodle to work providing that you:

1. Teach your Goldendoodle basic obedience commands.

2. Socialize your Goldendoodle with other dogs.

3. Don't bring squeeky or noisy toys to work.

4. Be careful to not bring your Goldendoodle around those with allergies unless they specifically ask you to.

5. Make sure your work area is large enough to accomodate your doodle's bed and other daily needs.

6. Make sure your Goldendoodle isn't a noisy barker.

7. Make sure to remove your doodle's collar tags so as not to disrupt co-workers.

8. Only walk your Goldendoodle in designated areas.

9. Always clean up after your Goldendoodle when he or she goes "potty".

10. Ensure you bring enough water and food and treats for your doodle.

*About the author: Dee Gerrish, of Goldendoodle World, has been writing about the doodle dog since 1999. Dee is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog for the entire southern region of the United States. More information can be found on Dee's Goldendoodle World website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com

About the Author:

Dee Gerrish has been a private, professional breeder for 13 years as of Jan. 2009; She was a respite and foster care provider in Mannheim, Germany and won many community awards for her dedicated service. Dee Gerrish is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog for the entire southern region of the United States. Dee has been writing about the Goldendoodle dog since 1999.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Taking your Goldendoodle to work

Breast cancer in Goldendoodles

2009-12-23T20:26:00.001-08:00

Breast cancer in Goldendoodles

Author: Dee Gerrish

When we think about breast cancer, we usually think about women getting this disease. We seldom stop to think about men having breast cancer, much less a canine having breast cancer. Although the Goldendoodle hybrid is a relatively new hybrid, we must take into consideration that as this hybrid ages, the possibility of breast cancer is there.

The Goldendoodle hybrid became first known as a "labeled" breed in the United States around 1997. I am not sure who the first breeder in the USA began advertising this beautiful dog, but I do know when we began our Goldendoodle breeding program in 1999, we were the only breeder in the entire southern region...at that time...offering them. The dog is relatively young to know much about possible "genetic" issues that may come from the Poodle/Golden Retriever mixture.

Cancer unfortunately kills more dogs than any other disease known. Approx. forty seven percent, according to canine data. Heart disease and kidney disease round out the top three diseases that kill our dogs. Because the Goldendoodle hybrid is still relatively new, there is no existing data at this present writing (December 23, 2009) that can help us know what percentage this hybrid may rank...if at all. According to the Englewood, Colorado based Morris Animal Foundation, skin cancer in dogs accounts for most of the cancer cases.

According to sources, cancer occurs in dogs (or even a person for that matter) when body cells grow uncontrollably and without purpose. Certain types of cancer can spread through out the body via the blood stream which then carries the cancer cells to other parts of the body. Some cancers remain stationary but these types of cancers can grow rapidly and invade tissue in which they are growing. Tumors that are malignant are types of cancers that are stationary. Tumors that don't spread or invade tissue are called "benign" tumors.

Today, veterinarians who specialize in canine cancer are more advanced and detecting cancer in your Goldendoodle at an early stage is now possible. These doctors are called Veterinarian Oncologists. They have three methods that can help save your Goldendoodle, if cancer is detected early enough:

1. Surgery

2. Chemotherapy

3. Radiation

Now that veterinarians have become more advanced and know more about canine cancer, they now have the ability to extend the life of your Goldendoodle including giving him or her a quality of life that wasn't available ten years ago for any canine. Most dogs who were diagnosed with cancer, faced certain death. Now, there is hope.

When your veterinarian suspects your Goldendoodle may have cancer, your hybrid baby will have to undergo a surgical procedure called a "biopsy". This means your veterinarian will remove some tissue from your Goldendoodle that can be examined carefully. A pathologist will examine the tissue or collected cells to determine if it is benign (negative) or malignant (positive) for cancer. If your Goldendoodle has a solid tumor, your vet may insert a needle and take a few samples. This type of procedure is entirely less invasive. If the collected cells suggest they are malignant (positive), your Goldendoodle will then undergo a surgical biopsy.

Unfortunately, these procedures are not cheap and the costs can be quite great. If you suspect your Goldendoodle may have a lump that needs to be further examined and tested for cancer, you will have to weigh the pros and cons regarding whether or not you can afford the required testing, procedures, vet costs and of course, if unfortunately the tests come back and they confirm cancer, long term care and the expenses regarding long term care will have to be carefully weighed.

SPOT THE WARNING SIGNS

* You find an abnormal lump or swelling that continues to become larger over time.

* Sores on your Goldendoodle's skin that don't seem to heal.

* Your Goldendoodle begins to lose weight for no particular reason.

* Loss of appetite.

* Unusual bleeding or discharge from your Goldendoodle's nose, mouth or anal area.

* You notice a foul odor from your Goldendoodle's mouth.

* Your Goldendoodle begins to have difficulty swallowing or eating.

* Your Goldendoodle suddenly doesn't have the ability to exercise and seems to have a loss of strength.

* Your doodle has difficulty breathing.

* You notice that your Goldendoodle has lameness or stiffness.

* Your Goldendoodle has difficulty urinating or defecating.

* You notice a sudden change in behavior with your dog.

Now, if you notice any of the issues above, do not suddenly become frantic that your Goldendoodle has cancer. There are many explainations other than cancer, for the above symptoms. It's very important, however, if you notice any of the above symptoms that you have your veterinarian thoroughly check your Goldendoodle out. Waiting could cause your Goldendoodle's demise.

*About the author: Dee Gerrish, of Goldendoodle World, has been writing about the Goldendoodle dog since 1999. Dee is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog for the entire southern region of the United States.

*This article is copyright protected December 23, 2009. The content of this article may not be copied, redistributed or used for commercial purposes without the expressed written permission of its author, Dee Gerrish. All rights are reserved.

About the Author:

Dee Gerrish has been a private, professional breeder for 13 years as of Jan. 2009; She was a respite and foster care provider in Mannheim, Germany and won many community awards for her dedicated service. Dee has written very popular Goldendoodle articles that are listed across the internet.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Breast cancer in Goldendoodles

Goldendoodle World has pups for sale

2009-10-27T08:35:00.001-07:00

Goldendoodle World has pups for sale

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Righting a wrong when wrong is wrong

2009-10-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

This evening I received a most interesting message by a man named "Ben". What makes it interesting is the fact on a site called Ripoffreport.com a few estranged family members have been posting untruthful accusations and allegations about me as a person and about my business, Goldendoodle World/Lake Ridge Kennel on that website and they've have been doing this since 2006.

I had noticed a comment on that site by someone named "Ben" and I had never heard of this person and knew nothing about him whatsoever. Here is the message he sent to me via facebook:

Ben Szum October 26 at 7:21pm

Re: I was the victim of identity theft

Awhile ago, it came to my attention that somebody was saying bad things about you (and several other businesses, including a law firm), on "ripoffreport.com", using my name and location as their screen-name. It turned out to be an ex-girlfriend who was using my account, which she knows the password to. She also stole my debit card at one point and made several unauthorized transactions to my account. I trusted her very much, but once I saw what she was doing, I broke up with her, contacted the police, and she's dealing with it in court. I have since changed my password, as well. She won't be bothering me, you, or anybody else in my name.

I have posted that I'm not the one saying this. She does not know anything about you, except what other people say. She's just trying to get random people mad at me. She confessed to doing this after we got into a quarrel. I'm undoing the damage she's done (Fortunately, she didn't do as much as she could've) and letting the police deal with her.

I'm going to go get started on undoing her damage to my name. Wish me luck.

*end of message*.........................................

I've since sent a message thanking him for his honesty and he appears to be a college student. If he is ligit, his message today was a warm welcome. I told him that I can't believe how cruel people can be to each other and that his honesty today was the first step in the right direction. What a very nice thing to do! How many people do you see doing this? I surely hope more than not.

This simple gesture of righting a wrong, on his part, means a lot to me. Now if only the others would fess up and come forward too.
One can only hold out hope.

AddThis - Sharing http://twitwall.com/view/?who=doodleworld

2009-09-15T14:51:00.001-07:00

AddThis - Sharing http://twitwall.com/view/?who=doodleworld

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The Top Ten mixed breed dogs

2009-08-24T06:55:00.001-07:00

The Top Ten mixed breed dogs

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Goldendoodle World TwitWall

2009-07-19T06:54:00.001-07:00

Goldendoodle World's TwitWall

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Available Goldendoodles by Goldendoodle World

2009-07-13T17:35:00.001-07:00

Available Goldendoodles by Goldendoodle World

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Doug's Michael Jackson Tribute

2009-07-11T18:04:00.001-07:00

My son gives a sarcastic Michael Jackson tribute. Hey...I'm a Michael Jackson fan...that's not right!

Goldendoodle Puppies for sale

2009-07-07T17:17:00.001-07:00

Goldendoodle Puppies for sale

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Doodleplum's Blog

2009-06-18T18:30:00.001-07:00

I found this fascinating quote today:

Many dogs perform their “guide” dog duties happily and eagerly. For a dog, performing the tasks as a “guide” dog is an invaluable service to humans. Goldendoodles would be no exception. They love people. They are eager to befriend anyone. The Goldenododle dog would be an invaluable canine for someone using them as a service or assistance dog.Dee Gerrish, Doodleplum's Blog, Jun 2009

You should read the whole article.

Dee Gerrish's TwitWall

2009-06-13T23:24:00.001-07:00

Dee Gerrish's TwitWall

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The Daily Puppy | User Information

2009-06-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

The Daily Puppy | User Information

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Support We Are The Cure - Goldendoodle World

2009-06-08T08:57:00.001-07:00

Support We Are The Cure - Goldendoodle World

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Dee Gerrish's TwitWall

2009-05-30T09:16:00.001-07:00

Dee Gerrish's TwitWall

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2009-05-25T18:51:00.001-07:00

Does the Goldendoodle make a good hunting dog?

2009-05-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

Does the Goldendoodle make a good hunting dog?

Author: Dee Gerrish

Does the Goldendoodle make a good hunting dog? Over the years, many people have contacted me asking if the Goldendoodle would make a good hunting dog and my answer is yes and no. Yes, because both the Standard Poodle and the Golden Retriever breed has been used for hunting and retrieving since both breeds have been known to exist. No, if the owner leaves the Goldendoodle's coat long and full providing this hybrid is a curly coat or a shaggy coat. Unlike the Standard Poodle, a curly coat Goldendoodle's coat does not have tight curls. The curls are more relaxed allowing briars, sticks and other particles to become entangled inside the coat. This will also occur if the Goldendoodle is a shaggy coat. I feel that the best coat type for hunting purposes would be the smooth coat Goldendoodle since the coat is very similar to the purebred Golden Retriever. Hunting is a very exciting hobby for many people across the world. Taking a trained canine into the field for hunting purposes has gone on for centuries. Originally, hunting with one's dog was for survival purposes only. Now it is simply a pleasurable sport and an activity someone can enjoy with their dog. The Goldendoodle hybrid can make a wonderful companion in the field for gaming purposes providing its coat is kept trimmed short if not a smooth coat doodle. Like the Standard Poodle and the purebred Golden Retriever, the Goldendoodle hybrid has a keen sense of smell. They enjoy the water and they enjoy retrieving. Although there are many types of canine who also enjoy hunting and retrieving, many people are unaware that the Standard Poodle was also used for retrieving and hunting centuries ago. The Goldendoodle can easily be trained as a "gun" dog or a "bird" dog. They are highly intelligent and eager to please. They are also considered to be a soft mouthed canine. It has been my personal experience since 1999, that our own Goldendoodle puppies show an enjoyment for playing in the water at a very early age. This may not be the case for other breeders, but it is the case for our own doodle dogs. The lineage of my Standard Poodles comes out of Bel Tor, Wycliffe, Dassin and Eaton lines. The history of these ancestral lines dates back to the early 1930s with many of our Goldendoodles' having master hunters and utility dogs for ancestors. The instinct for hunting and retrieving comes natural for our particular Goldendoodles. While some theorize that selecting a canine that has been genetically bred for gaming and hunting activities is the ideal way to have a canine for these purposes, many breeds are used for these activities and the Goldendoodle is no exception. The Goldendoodle hybrid can make not just a wonderful family companion, but he or she can also be trained to become an exceptional master hunter or utility dog. This terrific hybrid is very versatile and easy to work with. I have no doubt in my mind that should someone desire to include the Goldendoodle hybrid as a field companion, that they will be thrilled to have this dog by their side. * About the author : Dee Gerrish has written about the Goldendoodle hybrid since 1999. Dee is a founding breeder for the Goldendoodle dog and is one of the original goldendoodle breeders in the southern region region of the United States. Dee Gerrish was the first breeder to register the Goldendoodle hybrid with a ligit kennel club in the United States. More information about the Goldendoodle can be obtained at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/does-the-goldendoodle-make-a-good-hunting-dog-923832.html

About the Author:
Dee Gerrish has been a private, professional breeder for 13 years as of Jan. 2009; She was a respite and foster care provider in Mannheim, Germany and won many community awards for her dedicated service. Dee has written very popular Goldendoodle articles that are listed across the internet.

Goldendoodle owners who play the blame game

2009-05-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Goldendoodle owners who play the blame gameWhy do some Goldendoodle owners play the blame game over the internet when they fail to not follow proper protocol with their breeder and something occurs with their purchased pet? A Goldendoodle customer contacted me last night saying that her Goldendoodle had a seizure earlier that day and when I started to ask her questions, she immediately became nasty and said "We've had problems with this doodle since the day we bought him!".

Funny. This was the first time I had even heard from this customer, yet alone receive any documentation from a veterinarian much less her signature upon the purchase contract that we provide to every customer. She purchased her Goldendoodle from me 8 months ago and the doodle was four months of age when she purchased him. I still have two doodles from that particular litter who have been in perfect health. So far, we've not had any negative responses regarding "health issues" from anyone else who purchased from that same litter. When she made the comment that she had been having "health" issues with her Goldendoodle from the first day she purchased him, I then asked her why was I just now hearing about a problem? If she had been having problems from "day one" as she claimed, why was she just now telling me about it after eight months has passed? She got angry and began playing the blame game and when she would not answer my questions, I hung up the telephone. She then called back and my husband answered the phone and she told him she was going to tell everyone on as many websites as possible what a bad breeder I was.

I find it completely absurd that someone would purchase a Goldendoodle...or any pet for that matter....have issues they felt had a 'genetic' factor involved and fail to contact the breeder immediately and then go all over the internet to smear their name posting one sided stories just to gain public sympathy. I found one comment that this customer wrote, claiming that I was NOT sympathetic and that I did not show any empathy towards their doodle's plight.

Below is a portion of her comment: "Dee had NO Empathy at all and only got defensive about it not being her fault (which we did not call about fault). She didn't care at all what the vet said and keep in mind this puppy came from her dogs. We are heartbroken because his condition does not look good yet she simply hung up on me tonight. I am in disbelief. I have never bothered them about the many digestive problems Teddy has had since we got him at 4 months old or the hip problems he has but with the neurological problems I wanted to get her guidance and instead I got her yelling and hanging up on me. She has added to our pain. I would NEVER allow someone I care ab out to purchase a dog from them. EVER. Think twice about it !"

I found her comment baffling because she posted this as a one sided story. This customer fails to mention quite a few things. The first thing she failed to mention is the fact that she never once contacted me regarding any "digestive" or "hip" problems. Her Goldendoodle has a seizure and now all of a sudden he's had numerous OTHER health issues since "day one" ?? This is like going and ordering a huge steak dinner....eating almost all of it and then getting the waitress to bring the manager over so you can tell him or her how disgusting the food was and that you want him or her to do something about it. I've added to their pain? How is this? I fail to see how I have added to her or her family's pain. She claims she called to obtain "guidance" from me as a breeder and that I yelled at her and hung up on her? This isn't what transpired nor did I yell at her at all. I began asking her questions when she told me that her Goldendoodle had a seizure.

I wanted to know what led up to the seizure or what had transpired with her Goldendoodle prior to the seizure. What flea preventatives was she using? I've warned even on my website for people not to use topical flea preventatives on their Goldendoodle because it can cause seizures with this hybrid. She immediately said to me that she was "warning" me about the seizure because her vet told her that seizures were genetic. That's interesting especially given the fact that we've never had a Goldendoodle have a seizure while in our possession and we've never had a single Poodle or Golden Retriever have a seizure except for one time when my vet came out to our home and gave one of my Golden Retrievers a rabies vaccine and she immediately had a seizure from the vaccine and puffed up like a chow chow!! Within less than five minutes of the vaccine. This was NOT genetic. This was caused by something.I tried to ask her questions and instead of answering my questions, I was accused of not being sympathetic and she is the one who got nasty over the telephone of which caused me to hang up the phone. I am not sure what reaction she thought I was suppose to have as a breeder. Start crying?? Start saying, "Oh my god, you poor thing!" I don't know. As a breeder for thirteen years, I have to stay rational and ask questions if I am going to attempt to get to the bottom of an issue and what may have caused the issue. I don't know what she expected me to say or do but if we are both irrational, nothing will be accomplished. I asked her why didn't she call me in the very beginning if her Goldendoodle was having all of these problems and why am I just now hearing about them?

The customer then said, "Well what was I suppose to do..bring him back?" Uh...yeah. If this Goldendoodle began having problems from the first day they bought it....that is exactly what they were suppose to do! Call me and bring it back for an exchange! Not wait eight months down the road and then bombard me with multiple supposed issues that I was never aware of. This customer has failed to submit veterinarian documents. If her Goldendoodle had hip issues, she failed as a buyer to provide me with hip x-rays and other veterinarian documentation. This customer failed to submit DNA to the company to prove whether or not her doodle's issues are genetically related and not customer/owner neglect or environmentally caused related. So now this customer wants to rant and tell everyone what a "bad", "uncaring" breeder that I am and gain internet sympathy even though she is completely negligent in following proper procedures based upon the contractual sale. She has never provided us with her required signature upon the sales contract; she has not complied in sending us proof of altering as well as proof of veterinarian incidents. She has never called me one time to mention she was having any issues with her Goldendoodle and she has failed, as a buyer, to abide by the contractual purchase agreement.

Now she wants to play the blame game over the internet.If a person makes a contractual purchase and they fail to abide by the contract or fail to follow the breeders' protocol of letting them know when an incident occurs that the buyer feels has a genetic factor involved, why is it suddenly the breeder's fault and why is the breeder suddenly the bad guy or girl? It completely boggles my mind that a customer would play the blame game over the internet especially given the fact the customer is in the wrong by not following proper procedure and protocol. It is further mind boggling given the fact the customer hasn't done any testing whatsoever to even show a genetic link or component to whatever issues are affecting their canine. They just automatically assume their dogs' problems are genetically related. Her comment originally to me and even in her internet complaint was the fact she said, "Keep in mind that this puppy came from her dogs". And??? So the puppy came from my dogs...and what's the point? We still have this customers' brother and sister who have remained in complete good health. There are other siblings out there whose owners have not mentioned a single problem. The same two parent dogs have had offspring before and we've never heard of a single incident from past customers who bought a puppy from the same two parents. Neither parent dog has ever had health problems...so I fail to see the point in the comment that was made by this customer.I find it completely interesting that people like this particular customer play the internet blame game to gain sympathy from complete strangers and only share one side of the story. She wants to make ME look like an ass and warn people about buying a Goldendoodle from me when she has completely failed to prove that her doodle's issues are my fault or the dogs' parents' genetic fault. She's failed to tell the story in its entirety, removing herself from any fault or blame. If she had wanted me, as a breeder, to assist her, she would have contacted me when her Goldendoodle had the first supposed issue and would have provided me with as much information as possible which would have included providing me with as much veterinarian info/history, etc..as possible. This customer didn't call me to gain my "guidance" or assistance. This customer called to play the blame game.

*About the author: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World has been writing extensively about the Goldendoodle hybrid since 1999. More can be obtained on her website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com

Customer response to AKC article

2009-04-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

The following response was sent to me by S.B. of California. She is one of our Goldendoodle customers who owns a doodle named, "Jack Trout" and is a staunch supporter of Goldendoodles. We appreciate getting permission to repost her response:

AKC aticle‏
From: S.B.
Sent: Mon 4/27/09 5:04 PM
To: Goldendoodle World

Hi Dee,

I Bump into your communications in so many places, I don't know where best to write back to you. Just wanted to tell you how informative your AKC article on mixed breed dogs was. Thank you for sharing so much relevant information. As a doggie lover, not a doggie breeder, I am like most people who think AKC means a stamp of rigorous control and high quality. Obviously, it is not. Thanks for the good info on how it works.I was looking for a specific thing -- a dog with the loving devotion of a golden retriever, and the intelligence and non-allergic traits of the poodle -- hence the goldendoodle. I am not really into "desiger dogs" or bragging about my purebred whatnot. I just needed specific traits and the goldendoodle has 'em. Besides being such a funny guy and great companion, Jack Trout is all I could wish for.

My hairdresser, God love him, breeds standard poodles who are champions here, there, and everywhere. He wanted me to buy one of his females who became available after achieving her championship. When he offfered, I was ready, but he wasn't. When he was ready, I was traveling every weekend to see my daughter play volleyball. I couldn't introduce a new dog into our home and then be gone all the time. Bottom line: it just didn't work out. At my November appointment, he said he had found a home for her, so I began my adult doodle search which led me to you and our wonderful little crazy guy. The point of all these ramblings is that he considers Jack Trout a mutt and an embarassment to the quality dog world. He can barely talk about him, finding it difficult to accept anything crossbred with a poodle. I couldn't care less, because my needs and values are different. How silly is all this baloney!

As you said, all dog breeds started out as mixes which were refined (not always for the best interest of the dogs) until the desired characteristics were achieved. Who can defend the modern day English bulldog? "Standard" has created a dog with serious physical and reproductive difficulties. So doodle-ists must ban together and speak out. We love and treasure healthy, strong, animals with the wonderful traits of retrievers, terriers, etc., mixed with poodles. We don't want dogs with tendencies towards dysplasia, bone cancer, or other ailments reinforced by "pure" breeding! My vet is thrilled to see more and more "designer" dogs in his practice, with their hearty bodies. And, as for me and my husband and kids, we couldn't be happier. Jack is just an armful of pure doggie silliness. He is still a little shy with visitors to the house, but he is warming up quickly once they are introduced. He loves to cuddle.

He can do some tricks -- more if I only knew what more to teach him. He pesters and pokes at old Molly and gets her hopping about a bit, which is good for her. He is nuts for Golden Retrievers when he sees one. He really wants to please and is full of love. Doesn't get ANY better than that.Maybe you should form a national organization with other doodle breeders -- just for doodle people. This organization could speak up for the true "standards" for doodles -- healthy, hearty dogs wiith amazing personalities, high intelligences and low allergy characteristics. Too H*!! with other kennel clubs! They just don't "GET" it.Anyway, thanks again for the info, Dee.

S. B.

American Kennel Club to soon register mixed breed dogs

2009-04-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

American Kennel Club to soon register mixed breed dogs

Sometime in 2007 or 2008, I had blogged about the American Kennel Club being dismayed with the popularity of Goldendoodles and Labradoodles. They pretty much wrote an article ranting about how designer /mixed breed dogs are an insult to purebred dog fanciers and the entire article put down breeders for creating "designer" dogs. Lo and behold, I went to the AKC website to research my German Shorthaired Pointer's lineage/ancestry and found they had a new article claiming that beginning October 1, 2009, dog owners can begin registering their "mixed breed dogs" with the American Kennel Club and receive an AKC id number.

This news goes against everything that the American Kennel Club originally stood for. They now claim this new program fits in with their over all message for being responsible dog owners, breeders, yada, yada, yada. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not complaining that AKC is now allowing mixed breed dogs into their registry program. That is all fine and dandy. I personally left the American Kennel Club back in the late 90s for what I felt was a much better kennel club, Universal Kennel International. Why did I leave AKC? Because in the late 90s I had sold a female Toy Poodle to a woman in Georgia after I felt the dog wasn't a good match for my male Toy Poodle. Both were in my breeding program back then. I had the two dogs together for a year and we had not been able to get a litter during that time. I knew that my male Toy Poodle was very capable of siring a litter so I felt the female more than likely wasn't a good match for him. Within four weeks of the female Toy Poodle being in the woman's possession, I received an email from an anonymous person that the dog had a litter of puppies and that the woman had registered the litter with the American Kennel Club claiming HER male Toy Poodle was the sire. Well, I went back and looked at my receipt and the dates just didn't jive for her Toy Poodle to be the father to that litter. She didn't feel or look pregnant when I sold her but according to the date, she had to have been 4 weeks pregnant and she wouldn't have been showing at that stage of pregnancy. I contacted the woman and told her she would have to either give me the litter of puppies or pay for the entire litter. I sold her the female dog, not offspring that was produced by my sire. I also told her that I was contacting the kennel club because she had improperly registered the litter. I called AKC and filed a complaint and I had asked them to have this woman produce a DNA test proving that her male Toy Poodle was the sire and not mine. I was more than willing to produce evidence that my male Toy Poodle was the sire and not hers.

I completely had expected AKC to check into this situation since their website is full of claims of responsible breeding and so on. What did they do? They told me that they could not involve themselves with a "breeder dispute" and that they were nothing more than a "registrant service". I could not believe my ears. This coming from a club that makes the claims on their website about responsible breeding and how they care about the breeders who are affiliated with their club. When they refused to have this woman produce DNA evidence to prove whether or not her Toy Poodle was the sire to the produced litter after I sent them copies of the sale date, etc....I withdrew all of my dogs from their kennel club. I then re-registered all of my dogs with Universal Kennel Club International.

After withdrawing from their kennel club, they actually had the audacity to send a representative to my home some years later asking me to allow the representative to look over my records and gather DNA from my dogs. I told the representative that my dogs were already registered with a different kennel club and they could take themselves back to their office in Raligh, NC and go be the "registrant service" they claimed to be when I needed their assistance back in the late 90s. I was no longer a member of AKC, nor were my dogs and as far as I was concerned, they had no right asking me for anything. They had not come to my home asking me for records regarding the Toy Poodle or DNA evidence and that is what I had thought they were asking for. Now had he asked me for this, I would have complied. But they were not at my home regarding the Toy Poodle. I had not registered a single litter with AKC after pulling my dogs out of their club, so of course I was very angry that they had the nerve to make any requests from me since they were unwilling to assist me with the woman in Georgia. I even told the American Kennel Club that now there was an entire litter of Toy Poodles out there with incorrect AKC documentation and if THOSE dogs breed with other dogs, their entire lineage of information is a lie! If they did this with me, just how many other dogs in their kennel club actually might be improperly registered with improper lineage information? I was reeling with anger at AKC over their lack of integrity.

What I am discussing in this blog is the fact that back in 2007/2008, I specifically blogged that the American Kennel Club always seemed to jump on a "breed" band wagon as soon as a breed becomes popular. They've done this since the day they became a kennel club. It is of no secret that the American Kennel Club is all about the big bucks. They have laughed all the way to the bank for decades.

The American Kennel Club wants owners to believe that this new program for mixed breed dogs will benefit the dog as well as the dog owner. The truth is, it won't be long before the American Kennel Club will start promoting its own "standards" regarding designer dogs, mixed breed dogs and particularly the Goldendoodle or Labradoodle to bring in millions of dollars to their bank account. This opens the door for breeders to proclaim that their Goldendoodle puppies or mixed breed, designer dogs are now superior to dogs registered with different kennel clubs simply because they were assigned an AKC id number. Goldendoodle breeders will now proclaim their Goldendoodles are AKC registered and therefore of high quality than those registered with various other kennel clubs. Mark my words, I see the writing on the wall and the ink hasn't even dried yet from the board of directors of the American Kennel Club. Unfortunately many consumers are not aware of the deceitful practices of AKC. Maybe now they've cleaned up their act but that doesn't remove the fact that before they began their DNA profiling program, they allowed dogs to be registered improperly and there is no telling how many hundreds of dogs have incorrect lineage/ancestry information due to their lax attitude from years past. The kennel club we are now affiliated with stands behind their breeders and they have been more help to me over the years than AKC has ever been. Unfortunately, AKC has always been about the money, not customer service. The only service from AKC that has been of help to me is being able to obtain lineage/ancestry documentation over the internet and sometimes I still question whether that information is even correct, given my experience with this kennel club.

For years, many breeders affiliated with the American Kennel Club, have always made claims to those seeking a canine, that their puppies or dogs were superior to those registered with other kennel clubs. I completely disagree given my experience with the American Kennel Club. Had they stood by me as a breeder and assisted me when I needed them the most, I would not even have an issue with AKC. The notion that AKC is superior to any other kennel club is completely outrageous especially given the fact that there are kennel clubs all around the world who are NOT affiliated with AKC. The unfortunate aspect of it all is that potential customers believe that dogs who have an AKC identification number are better quality than those who do not and even I had the same notion prior to my raw incident. This was a huge wake up call for me. It is also a fact that hundreds of breeders left the American Kennel Club the same year that I did and it didn't surprise me. Breeders who are fanatics and pro AKC will make the claim that the American Kennel Club is better because it means their dogs are purebreds but after finding out they tell breeders they don't get involved with "breeder disputes" and that they are nothing more than a "registrant service", they will have to experience a similiar situation before finding out the truth about AKC.

Quality does not begin with the kennel club that a dog is registered with. Quality begins with the breeder and his or her decisions that affect the offspring produced. Quality begins with the breeder's integrity and honesty regarding the dogs they create and breed. The American Kennel Club states that they decided to create the mixed breed program after "extensive research". I personally believe that this "extensive research" was finding out how much revenue this new program was going to bring in for AKC. By not allowing mixed breed dogs to be registered with their kennel club, they were losing potential millions to those kennel clubs who were registering designer dogs and mixed breed dogs alike. Designer dogs began to become popular in the United States in 2001. I knew when I began breeding for Goldendoodles back in 1999, it was only a matter of time before the American Kennel Club would dip its hands into the doodle pot. According to AKC, their new program requires that mixed breed dogs who are given an AKC id number, must be spayed or neutered. AKC will charge each owner a $35 registration fee. This is a hefty fee to pay considering right now, they are requiring all of the registered dogs to be altered just to obtain an AKC id. Yeah, sure, they are throwing you a bone of a few extras, but their fee is still absurd. I guarantee that sometime in the future, AKC will lift this restriction and allow full registration to breeders of mixed breed dogs so they can then register entire litters with AKC. The more money they can bring into their kennel club, the merrier.

Dogs who are mixed breed, hybrid or purebred and who are altered, should still be registered with a kennel club for identification purposes and I am all for that. Their actual registration serves no other purpose if the dog is altered. AKC claims they are all about responsible breeding; that they are all for spaying and neutering and yet, they do NOT allow purebred dogs who are competing in dog shows to be spayed or neutered. This kennel club has always been about saying one thing and doing another. Did you know that in Europe, dogs are NOT allowed to have their tail docked and ears croppped? They are disqualified if altered in any way. AKC requires competing dogs to have their tail docked and ears cropped knowing how painful ear cropping is to the dog, itself. Tail docking isn't so painful when done a few days after birth, but ear cropping is completed after the dog is much older and there is a lot of pain involved! We ask all of our customers to send in the registration form that we provide to them so that their Goldendoodle can be registered with our affiliated kennel club. The purpose is to have their doodle identified through registration documents. We also recommend they have their Goldendoodle puppy or dog micro-chipped. Kennel registration can be done for $15. I love the fact that our affiliated kennel club offers registration documents where your dogs' photo can be placed upon the form as well as the dogs' DNA or microchip information. If your dog becomes stolen, the registration identifies your canine and becomes an important piece of "evidence" that you are the owner and the dog actually is who the form says it is. The American Kennel Club has always charged an outrageous fee and people buy into the notion that if they register their canine with this kennel club, their dogs are now somehow much better than those who are not affiliated.

I remember back in 1999 when I received a very hateful phone call from the Golden Retriever Club who was outraged over the fact we had intentionally bred our Golden Retrievers to Poodles in order to create Goldendoodle offspring. They were so incensed in fact over the idea of these doodle dogs, they wrote a blog about it on their website. The blog was basically to put down the Goldendoodle dog and those who created them or bred them. Purebred dog fanciers and dog owner fanatics rolled over in anger, spewing their venon on various dog forums. Can you now imagine what they are thinking after word came out that the American Kennel Club was now allowing Goldendoodles and mixed breed dogs alike, to be registered and affiliated with their kennel club? I can't help myself even now, from wondering how the canine fanatics will ever survive knowing their purebred pals are now sharing the same kennel club with "mutts". Surely you jest? Purebred dog fanciers and fanatics enjoy putting down the mutts and designer dogs. They fail to stop and remember that the purebred dog was once a mixed breed dog...a mutt, if you will, before dog fanciers tagged them with a fancy name and formed clubs after proclaiming their "mix" was now purebred. Well, move over rover....AKC has now come to the realization, like millions of others in the United States, that the designer dogs and mutts alike are here to stay and they are NOT a "one night wonder".

*About the author: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World has been a private, professional, hobby breeder since 1996. She began creating Goldendoodles in 1999 and has written extensively about the Goldendoodle dog. More can be read on her website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/

What kind of sleeper is your Goldendoodle?

2009-04-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

What type of sleeper is your Goldendoodle? Many doodles sleep just like humans do! They may enjoy taking up the entire bed; they may just nap on the couch; some doodles even love just snoozing on the floor or in their favorite chair.

How many times have we purchased beautiful designer dog beds for our Goldendoodles only to discover they much prefer sleeping in OUR bed, instead? Goldendoodles have their own preferred sleeping positions.

How often do we walk in to find these terrific, funny doodle dogs full of antics, snoozing in various positions? Does your Goldendoodle have a particular sleeping habit? Is he or she a cuddler? A snuggler? A loner? A sprawler? A leaner? Or does he or she prefer to burrow under blankets?

We humans enjoy shopping for our canine, furry friends whether they are Doodles, Poodles or Poms. We love our dogs regardless of whether they are purebred, mixed breed or hybrid. Much emphasis is placed on purchasing bedding for our dogs when the fact of the matter is, they prefer to sleep on our beds, couch and chairs or floor. Dog beds come in a variety of price ranges. Some can be quite expensive depending upon whether they are designer beds or non designer beds. It has been my own experience as a Goldendoodle breeder that while these dogs enjoy being pampered and coddled, they are just as happy romping around outside as they are living indoors with luxurious accomodations. Many Goldendoodles are tomboys whether they are male or female.

Goldendoodles prefer to be where their human companions are, so they don't get all caught up in the glamour of designer dog beds. They are just as happy cuddling to a soft, warm blanket tossed on the couch. A Goldendoodle owner doesn't need to spend much to provide their doodle dog with comfort. They are happy to take over your bed, with your permission of course, or claim your favorite sitting chair as their own. But if you insist on purchasing a doggie bed for your doodle, make sure that you know what type of sleeper he or she may be. If your Goldendoodle enjoys sleeping on your bed, you might consider buying a specialty bed that resembles human furniture. Perhaps your doodle would be very comfortable in owning a bed that looks just like your own?
Does your Goldendoodle have a favorite couch or chair to sleep on? There are actual designer beds that resemble a human couch or chair. If you want to splurge, you can even obtain one to match that of your own home decor. There are no limits as to the types of designer beds available for your lovely Goldendoodle. Comfort, however, is the main concern. While some designer beds look fabulous, we must remember that your doodle isn't concerned with looks or colors. He or she is concerned with comfort. This is why they prefer to sleep on your couch, chair or bed. You've obviously taken comfort into consideration for yourself and this is why your Goldendoodle enjoys taking over your precious personal space. Who can blame them?

*About the author: Dee Gerrish has written extensively about the Goldendoodle dog since 1999. She has been a private, professional, hobby breeder since 1996. More information can be obtained by visiting her Goldendoodle World website.

*Special thanks to Mindy and Marley's mom/dad for sharing these terrific Goldendoodle photos. These doodles came from Goldendoodle World.

Does your Goldendoodle have an ear infection?

2009-04-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Does your Goldendoodle have an ear infection?

The Goldendoodle is a wonderful, low shedding, low dander hybrid who is terrific with children of all ages. They do, however, have their issues. With all that cuteness comes the long, low hanging ears with lots of hairs covering them. Because the hairs are long and thick surrounding the ears, infections can occur.

Since 1999, we have come to know that the Goldendoodle hybrid comes in three coat types:

Shaggy. Curly. Smooth.

Among the three coat types of the Goldendoodle dog, the curly coat doodle seems to have more issues with their ears. The simple reason? Hair growing deep within the ear canal traps moisture and can cause bacteria to grow. Most Goldendoodles also enjoy swimming. Whether at the lake, swimming pool or the beach, water can become your Goldendoodle's enemy. The design of the ear itself, for the Goldendoodle dog, can be one of the problems they suffer these issues.

The fact that the Goldendoodle has multiple hairs covering the ear flap, is the perfect environment for creating ear infections! Bacteria thrives on moisture, especially in warm, dark, enclosed areas. Bacterial ear infections can cause your Goldendoodle tremendous pain and suffering.

Because the Goldendoodle has such thick, long, hairs over the tops of the ears, the ear itself has a difficult time drying out. It doesn't help matters much if hairs are also growing from deep within the ear canal. The curly coat Goldendoodle seems to have more issues with hairs growing deep within the ear, which is very similar to the Poodle. The shaggy coat and the smooth coat Goldendoodle do not seem to have these issues, although they can still suffer from ear infections should moisture build up or a yeast infection occur. Another reason Goldendoodles can have ear infections is due to what is called, "ear mites". These are pesky little bugs that leave brown matter within your doodle's ears and can leave a very foul smell. Although ear mites can easily be killed with medicated drops, you will want your vet to ensure this is what is causing the problem before treating.

If we look at the design of the canine ear itself, you will see that the canal begins right at the opening of the Goldendoodle's ear and there is almost an immediate drop followed by a slight angle going straight down to the ear drum itself. It doesn't take much for moisture to build up within the ear.

What are the signs that your Goldendoodle may have an ear infection?

Your Goldendoodle may paw at his or her ears or shake their head quite a bit. Ear infections are very painful. You may notice that your Goldendoodle is rubbing his head against objects trying to relieve the pain. While your Goldendoodle is unable to directly speak to you, their body lanquage is letting you know something is wrong.

It is also possible to mistake an ear infection for a tooth problem! I once thought one of my dogs had an ear infection but after taking her to the vet, it was discovered that she needed a tooth to be pulled. So its very important to take your lovely hybrid to see your vet if you are witnessing the signs above. Your canine can lose its hearing if an ear infection is left untreated. The ears can become red and swollen. Skin infections can occur from constant scratching.
Sometimes your doodle may tilt his or her head to one side as well. Yeast infections can occur for multiple reasons. Dogs who do a lot of swimming at the lake can suffer from yeast infections within their ears because there is a lot of bacteria within the water itself. Yeast infections can be controlled with medicated ear drops provided to you by your vet.

If you notice any of the signs mentioned above going on with your Goldendoodle, please make sure to schedule a vet visit. Immediate treatment will prevent a simple problem from becoming worse.

*About the author: Dee Gerrish founded Goldendoodle World in 1999. She has written extensively about the Goldendoodle dog through various blogs and articles. Dee is a private, professional, hobby breeder and began with purebred Golden Retrievers in 1996. Dee Gerrish is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog in the southern region of the United States. Dee was the first breeder to register the Goldendoodle dog with a ligit kennel club, Universal Kennel International.

Opray Winfrey's puppy dies of parvo virus

2009-03-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

Oprah Winfrey's puppy dies of Parvo Virus

Imagine that! A celebrity's puppy contracting parvo virus! I don't know why so many people assume that the parvo virus is a breeders' fault when it can clearly happen to puppies and dogs owned by anyone, anywhere and at any time. When a canine contracts the parvo virus, it is not the fault of a breeder or owner. Parvo can attack puppies and dogs alike who are of any age, even if they have had vaccinations. According the Entertainment Tonight:

Oprah Winfrey's new puppy perishes

March 17, 2009, 7:41 PM EST
Entertainment Tonight

ET has learned that one of Oprah Winfrey's two newly-adopted puppies has passed away.
Ivan, a golden cocker spaniel mix that Winfrey adopted earlier this month, passed away late last week from parvovirus. Winfrey adopted Ivan shortly after adopting his sister Sadie earlier this month. In the March 6 episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Ivan was held up by "Oprah" show panelist Alexandra Wentworth.

ET has learned that Sadie also has parvovirus, an infectious disorder that can cause diarrhea and vomiting in dogs. Sadie is currently in stable condition.
"I'm saddened by his passing though we only had him for a weekend," Winfrey tells ET. "I remain hopeful that Sadie will pull through."

I'm not glad that Oprah Winfrey's puppy contracted parvo and died. I am, however, very glad that this incident has come to light and that it happened to a celebrity such as Oprah Winfrey who is a huge "rescue" advocate. The reason I'm glad that it happened to someone like Oprah Winfrey...if it was going to happen to anyone...is because she is known to "rescue" dogs from shelters or rescue agencies and has, over the years, taken jabs at breeders and makes the claim that people should not buy puppies from breeders because they are "puppy mills" and the list goes on at the jabs she and her other advocate celebrity friends of hers has taken towards breeders over the years. So imagine my surprise to hear that one of Oprah's puppies that she more than likely adopted from a shelter....contracted parvo virus and died!

A lot of these rescue advocate snobs who sit upon their self made, soap oprah box to voice their personal opinions about breeders point fingers at breeders when an issue like parvo virus hits a puppy that someone has adopted. Here me now, people, parvo virus can attack a dog or puppy regardless of how terrific the breeder is. Many people do not realize that shelter dogs come with their own health problems and that parvo virus can attack dogs and puppies even in the cleanest environment. I am quite certain that advocate nuts will twist the reasoning around so that the blame still falls back to where Oprah's puppy originally came from......a breeder...because that's how they roll.

But let's learn a little somethin' somethin' about the deadly canine communicable disease called Parvo Virus:

WHAT IS PARVO VIRUS?

Parvoviruses are a large group; almost every mammal species (including humans) seems to have its own parvovirus. Fortunately, each virus is pretty specific about what animals it can infect (i.e. the pig parvovirus will not infect people, the canine parvovirus will not infect cats etc.) The canine parvovirus will affect most members of the dog family (wolves, coyotes, foxes etc.) and there is a new mutation that can affect domestic cats.
Parvoviruses are smaller than most viruses and consist of a protein coat (a "capsid") and a single strand of DNA inside. It is hard to believe that such a simply constructed organism could be so deadly; however, this virus has proved especially effective at infecting rapidly dividing host cells such as intestinal cells, bone marrow cells, cells of the lymph system, and fetal cells. Parvo viruses are difficult to disenfect away and very difficult for a puppy or dog to over come.
There are many parvo virus species have been well known for decades in our society, but the canine parvovirus is a relative new, when it comes to viruses. The original canine parvovirus, discovered in 1967 and called "CPV-1" or "the minute virus of canines," did not represent much of a medical threat except to newborn puppies. However by 1978, a new variant, "CPV-2" appeared in the U.S. This newer version seems to represent a mutation from the feline parvovirus (which is more commonly known as the "feline distemper virus"), though there is some controversy regarding what the parent parvovirus actually was. Because this virus was (and is) shed in gigantic numbers by infected animals and because this virus is especially hardy in the environment, worldwide distribution of the virus rapidly occurred. At this time, the virus is considered to be "ubiquitous," meaning that it is present in EVERY ENVIRONMENT unless regular disinfection is applied. More about parvo virus can be found on this link,

http://marvistavet.com/html/what_is_parvo.html

However, it's important to note that even "regular disinfection" can not prevent the parvo virus from attacking puppies and dogs. A bleach solution is really the best disinfectant to use if their puppy or dog has contracted parvo. But too many people assume that all they have to do is bleach their floors. All areas of your home must be cleaned with a bleach solution. The solution must be mostly bleach mixed with a little bit of water. Wiping counters, door knobs, floors and most surfaces will help kill the virus. Items that were used for your puppy or dog should be thrown away. Many people assume that they can just go right out and obtain another puppy or dog after the one they had, died of parvo. This is not recommended. A person who has lost a puppy or dog to parvo virus should ensure they have bleached every area, including the bottoms of their shoes, that their canine has been around. Many make the mistake of using the same toys, the same food dishes, the same crate, etc; Germs from the parvo virus can remain on these items and I definitely would not risk it by keeping these items for your next canine. Germs are not visible to the naked eye and who is to say if the virus still remains even if you have bleached them?

Parvo virus is NOT a breeder's issue. Parvo virus is everyone's issue. In 1978, there wasn't a single dog or puppy who had protection against this deadly disease. They had no immunity whatsoever. An epidemic happened which proved quite disastrous. By 1979 a second mutation called CPV-2a occurred and this particular virus was even more aggressive. Many veterinarians used the feline vaccine on dogs because back then, vaccinations were at a premium and not that affordable. Thirty years went by and a new virus began attacking dogs. This virus was CPV-2b. Virtually all dogs at that time were exposed to that particular virus. In 2000, an even newer virus hit the United States and this particular virus was able to attack even cats! CPV-2c was even deadlier than the CPV-2b. Cats who were vaccinated against feline distemper were protected.

In 2004, an even deadlier version of the parvo virus became known to not just breeders but to everyone who owned a dog in the United States. Vaccinations that puppies and dogs had been given didn't even protect them against the new strain that happened that year. Many puppies and dogs, that particular year, were hit with this new deadly strain even though many dogs were older dogs who had years of vaccines that was suppose to protect them. It was a known fact that in New York, many Goldendoodles and Labradoodles who attended a "doodle romp" that year, had been hit by the new virus and many of them unfortunately died and could not over come the disease even with hospitalization by top vets. We, ourselves, had been contacted by just a couple of customers in 2004, whose Goldendoodle pups had contracted this particular deadly strain and had passed away. It was devestating for not just our customers, but for us as a breeder. We knew the pups had been checked out as healthy by our veterinarian and we knew for a fact we had given them the proper vaccinations. We could not understand how or why a couple of our puppies had contracted this deadly disease especially given the fact we have always taken every precaution possible to protect our pups and dogs from deadly canine communicable diseases. This deadly strain of parvo virus happened to many breeders and dog owners alike, in 2004. This disease was wide spread through the United States and it was not particular of what dog or puppy it attacked. It is a known fact that even some veterinarians who were breeders themselves, had been hit with the virus that was new in 2004 and even they were unable to save all of the puppies or dogs who had contracted that particular strain of parvo.

What WE did, as a breeder who never wanted this to happen...hopefully...to us again, was contact several laboratories who made the parvo virus vaccine and find out everything we could as to the best way to protect our puppies and dogs from this deadly virus. We switched our vaccines to a newer version called "NEO-PAR" and we were told to use a "high titer", low passage vaccine in the beginning and then reverse the vaccine during the second phase of vaccinations by using a "low titer", high passage. This way, our puppies would receive the best protection possible. We have now also included a new vaccine that has come out for distemper and we add this vaccine as the third "puppy" vaccine so that our young puppies receive at least three sets of vaccines while still nursing with their mother, which also helps boost their immune system. So far, the changes we made in the vaccine types that our puppies and dogs receive as well as implementing our "no browsing" policy, has been completely effective in protecting our puppies and dogs from parvo. We have not had a single incident of parvo since 2004. Which of course, we are simply delighted over, but we know that a newer strain of parvo can happen at any time. Breeders and shelters alike always need to be diligent in their practices regarding vaccinations but also in how they allow people to come into contact with the animals in their care. Vaccines do not mean much if breeders and shelters allow the general public to handle their puppies and dogs simply for the asking. Parvo virus germs attach themselves to every article of clothing that a person wears. They attach themselves to your shoes, hair, clothing, even car tires! Anything that you have on your being at the time of visiting puppies and dogs of any age, can become deadly due to harboring parvo germs. Without you even being aware of it. We've been ridiculed by some for our strict "no browsing" policy since 2004.......but any breeder or dog owner who has suffered a financial loss, not to mention the emotional loss, of a puppy or dog, understands why our policy was put into effect. It is because of our strict policy and our vaccination changes that we have been very fortunate to not have a recurrance of parvo attacks and we do not apologize for the changes that we made.

There is an old saying....those that mind don't matter and those who matter, don't mind.

*About the author: Dee Gerrish has been a private, professional, hobby breeder since 1996. She has written extensively about the Goldendoodle dog since 1999. Dee Gerrish has photographed, documented and researched the Goldendoodle dog since 1999. Dee was the first breeder to register the Goldendoodle dog with a ligit kennel club in the United States and Dee is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog in the southern region of the United States.

Top ten reasons why you should adopt an adult Goldendoodle

2009-03-15T16:03:00.001-07:00

Top ten reasons why you should adopt an adult Goldendoodle

When its time to adopt a Goldendoodle, what reasons have you chosen to adopt a puppy instead of an adult dog? If your someone who has never considered adopting an adult Goldendoodle, perhaps some of the top ten reasons down below will pursuede you to consider it? Many people do not realize just how much work a puppy really is, and too many people carry the assumption that they won't be able to bond with an adult dog. Adult Goldendoodles bond just as quickly and easily as a puppy. I've even heard the reason of not considering an adult doodle because people assume a puppy is easier to train! Sorry. That is not even correct. There are many advantages of adopting an adult Goldendoodle, but down below are just a few of them:

1. An adult Goldendoodle dog has a fully developed bladder. Puppies have the complete inability to hold their bladder for very long and what goes in, just as quickly goes out. Of course as time progresses and days go by, a puppy will learn to hold their bladder for longer periods of time, but I guarantee that an adult Goldendoodle is much quicker to re-train than to train a young puppy. Perhaps you intend to be with your puppy for the first week or weekend that you have him or her. But what happens after that? Do you a plan? Have you made arrangements for someone to be with your puppy through out the day to let him or her out for potty breaks every hour on the hour for the next six months? Will you be coming home from work to feed your puppy? Young puppies must be fed sooner and more often than an adult dog. If there isn't anyone going to be home during the day to help potty train your young puppy or be there for feeding him or her, I recommend an adult Goldendoodle. Adult Goldendoodles can easily be housetrained even if they’ve never had any house training whatsoever! And best of all, an adult Goldendoodle can hold their urge for going to the bathroom, more than likely, until you get home from work. Adult Goldendoodles usually do not have the urge to chew on things and are usually past the puppy chewing stage. Puppies chew on things more often because they are teething. An adult Goldendoodle has surpassed the teething stage. The teething stage usually lasts from birth to the age of six months. More often than not, it is the young puppy that has chewed cabinets, sofas, shoes, window sills, and clothing, which can cost you plenty to replace! An adult Goldendoodle, when given chew toys and bones to keep him or her occupied, is no longer in a chewing frenzy like a young puppy would be. Now what about size? Regardless of whether or not your breeder told you that your Goldendoodle will grow up to be "X" amount of weight, it is very difficult with Goldendoodles to know exactly what they are going to weigh when they turn 1 year of age. An adult Goldendoodle is as large or small as it is ever going to be unless you over feed him or her. Because Goldendoodles can be of any relative size regardless of what their parents weighed, you really just don't know how big or small your Goldendoodle will be as an adult, if you purchase him or her as a puppy. Most breeders do not guarantee sizes with hybrids simply because their actual size is unpredictable. I had heard of someone in Germany who was promised a "Mini" Goldendoodle prior to buying it from a breeder in the states and having it shipped to them. My friend in Germany told me that supposed doodle turned out to be over 50 pounds when it was one year of age! I see nothing "Mini" about a fifty pound dog! Too many breeders out there promise their potential customers "miniature" sized doodles knowing full well that Goldendoodles do not fall into size categories like purebred dogs and may grow larger than they believe they will.

If you live in a condo or apartment where size retrictions are in place, what will happen if your puppy turns out to become a much larger dog than you were promised? Are you prepared to re-home your doodle simply because it became larger than you had been told it ? I highly recommend an adult Goldendoodle if you have size restrictions due to renting policies.

2. Adult Goldendoodles are able to focus for longer periods of time. Puppies have a very short attention span. Ask any dog trainer and many will tell you that it is easier to train an adult dog rather than a very young puppy. Another issue is that your puppy must have all of its vaccinations before he or she can enter obedience classes. The advantage to adopting an adult Goldendoodle is that they already have had all of their shots and they are ready to go immediately into training classes. Don’t give in to the old wives tale that an adult dog won’t bond to you, or that you can’t teach an old(er) dog new tricks. Both of these assumptions are entirely false. Dogs are very capable of learning new tricks no matter their age. Every day is a whole new day for a Goldendoodle! Bonding with an adult Goldendoodle that takes place during training (or retraining) is every bit as rewarding as it is with a young puppy. Another advantage is that your Goldendoodle will sleep through the night and young puppies always want to go out for potty breaks, no matter what time it is! Adding a young puppy to your household is like adopting a brand new baby! Lack of sleep is common for people who adopt puppies rather than an adult dog!

3. What you see is what you get. Or is it? This is not always for Goldendoodles. Some doodles are very active as puppies, then mellow out considerably as they age; others may be very cuddly and passive as puppies, then suddenly develop into a neurotic mess with so much energy you wonder what happened! An adult Goldendoodle's personality is thought to be pretty much set........especially the baseline personality and temperament. While there may be some kinks to work out, they can be worked out with re-training much easier than a puppy turning into a wild stallion as an adult. Shelters are full of dogs that were wrongly picked out by people who didn't follow the advice from their breeder or because they were an improper match with the buyer. Every puppy is cute. But some turn into disastrous mistakes especially if they were not assigned to the buyer by the breeder and there wasn't any consideration taken by the buyer as to what type of dog would have really been a better match for their household or life style. Just as there are bad dogs with good people, there are good dogs with bad people. Mistakes can be avoided if great care and consideration is taken before adopting. Some people only take price into mind when adopting a Goldendoodle. They take into consideration other important factors like pedigree and lineage. A lot of people want to pick out their own dog and sometimes that can be the root of the problem. A lot of people only buy a particular dog simply because the price was right. They never took other factors into consideration.

4. If you’re a fan of the Goldendoodle, getting an adult dog may not be as easy as you think. While Labradoodles seem to be a dime a dozen, thankfully the Goldendoodle has not yet fallen victim to the shelters or rescue agencies like the Labradoodle has. Some doodle rescues take in dogs from shelters and breeders. Doodles who may have lived in comfortable, loving homes prior to coming to yours may have lost their family due to a tragedy in their family or because of our economic woes. With our falling economy, many people are losing their homes and have fallen victim of having no place to live and the inability to continue taking care of their doodle. Don’t assume that all rescue doodle dogs are street urchins with no training who will not withstand being on a leash or being brushed. Then there’s the added bonus of getting a doodle who is a good representative this hybrid. However, not all shelter dogs come from economic woes. Some dogs are in shelters because the owner couldn't handle the dog or afford to have it trained and they simply abandoned the animal to the street. I've personally found several of my dogs...not Goldendoodles...on the street and rescued them because I couldn't bare the thought of them living on the street starving to death. Back in 1996, before deciding to purchase my Golden Retrievers from a breeder, I had visited several animal shelters. While there were many terrific, health dogs in the shelter, there were many sick dogs there too. Adopting from a shelter can turn out to be a good thing, but then again, it isn't always advisable that your next dog come from a shelter. We ourselves have some adult Goldendoodles available who are looking for a home simply because too many people pass dogs up if they become a particular age. I've never understood it, but it is a reality. I've literally had people pass up a puppy out of a particular litter to adopt another puppy from a younger litter, simply because the other litter was 2 weeks younger than the other one! It doesn't make sense to me as a breeder, but that is what some people do. Dogs age by the day. It is very unfortunate when they are over looked simply because they are this or that age. It's silly.

5. Have you taken cost of raising a puppy into consideration? If you haven't....you may want to consider this. The first year of owning an adult Goldendoodle is entirely less expensive than raising a young puppy. All those trips to the vet to give your new puppy much needed vaccinations quickly add up. A young puppy must recieve "x" amount of vaccinations and deworming medication over a period of time. Your young Goldendoodle puppy will need a vet visit every few weeks for these regular vaccinations. Then by age six months, your Goldendoodle puppy will need an adult parvo booster, rabies vaccine and other vaccinations, not to mention it will be altering time! Depending upon where you live, spaying or neutering can cost quite a bit! I once had a customer of mine who sent me a copy of their spaying bill that was well over one thousand dollars! I was floored! Then I've seen some bills come in that were very low in cost. So depending upon your area, you may have found a veterinarian who won't cost you an arm and a leg for this procedure. Depending upon where you obtain an adult Goldendoodle, he or she may already be spayed or neutered at the time you adopt him or her. We require all of our adult Goldendoodles to be spayed or neutered if they are six months of age, prior to their new family taking them home. This is the only way we can be assured the procedure will be completed. If the buyer can show us that their veterinarian will give them a better price for the procedure and they go ahead and pre-pay their vet for the procedure, we will sometimes make an exception and allow their own vet to perform the procedure. Some breeders just want your money and don't care what you do with the dog once you take it from their possession. But my point is, most of the time, the advantage to adopting an adult Goldendoodle is the fact that they are ready for altering and will have already had all of their vaccines and deworming. You have to also take into consideration that if you intend to immediately take your Goldendoodle out into the public, your puppy has a higher risk of contracting deadly communicable canine diseases whereas an adult Goldendoodle has already built an immune system and has already had all of its vaccinations. An adult Goldendoodle is far more protected against such diseases than a young puppy.

6. Most adult Goldenododles are already socialized. Young puppies have no self control and must be corrected by dogs and humans to learn how to interact with others. Adult Goldendoodles who have been socialized with other dogs have already had run-ins with their peers, so they know how far they can push the envelope. Goldendoodles in general want to keep the peace and this is what socialization is about. Goldendoodles, even as puppies, play rough with each other. This is a learning process they go through with each other. When a puppy gets out of hand, it is up to their siblings or mother or the breeder or owner, to correct their behaviour so that they learn that aggressive play is not okay. Adult Goldendoodles are more aware of themselves in social interactions with kids, other dogs, and you.

7. When you adopt an adult Goldendoodle, you have instant companionship. Puppies tire easily because you have to think of them as being equivalent to an infant. They have a very short attention span and while cute, the fact is, puppies just want to eat, sleep, poop, pee and play for about 30 minutes before having to repeat the cycle all over again. Another thing to take into consideration is the fact you have to wait until your puppy has their last round of shots before being allowed around other dogs. Puppies also can’t run very far, and are easily knocked around or injured by small children. An adult Goldendoodle can handle themselves easier around small children who may not know that pulling on ears or tugging on the tail can injure a small young puppy. Adult Goldendoodles are more coordinated. Puppies are untrained, and must eliminate, eat and sleep often. An adult Goldendoodle is basically plug and play!

8. If you’re considering adopting a Goldendoodle puppy to save a life, consider this. Most people get swept away by the cute factor of puppies. All puppies are cute no matter what breed of dog they are! That's just a fact. Many people go to shelters looking for a puppy, therefore most puppies in shelters have a much better chance of being adopted than most adult dogs. Adult dogs are less likely to find a home than a puppy. I still haven't figured out why this is a fact, but it is an unfortunate one. When you decide to not adopt an adult dog, and if it's in a shelter, that dog is more than likely running out of time and yes, if you decided to adopt an adult dog from a shelter, then you are saving its life. Why not save a life that is running out of time, with fewer chances at being adopted?

9. Adult Goldendoodles are very grateful when adopted and integrated with a family who has children. Nine times out of ten, a Goldendoodle dog enjoys having children to adore them and play with them. A Goldendoodle is a very loving, intelligent dog regardless of their age. They are usually very happy go lucky type of dogs who can become a great asset to your family no matter what age they are. Many people make the mistake of not considering an adult Goldendoodle basically because of inaccurate assumptions.

10. If you've decided to add a Goldendoodle to your family, good for you. The Goldendoodle, no matter what age that he or she is, is a wonderful hybrid who will provide your family with many years of happiness. But don't forget that regardless of what age your dog is, they are a huge responsibility and dogs nowadays are not cheap to raise. Since becoming a breeder for Golden Retrievers in 1996, we've watched our expenses and costs continue to rise and at the same time, people are still out there wanting to pay 1996 prices. We began our Goldendoodle program in 1999. Believe it or not, we are still selling our Goldendoodles for the same price today....2009...as we did in 1999....but people continue to ask us to take less. In these hard economic times, we'd love to be able to take less, but vets and the stores where we purchase our supplies from won't accept less. Everything has gone up in price and fewer people are adopting dogs since they are losing their jobs and their homes. If you can not afford to adopt from a breeder, do consider to adopt from your local shelter and don't forget that adult dogs are in need of a loving home just as much as a young puppy. An adult Goldendoodle can give you just as many years of happiness as a young puppy can. The best thing of all is that you won't regret your decision for adopting an adult dog. Think of all the good that has come from this decision!

**About the author: Dee Gerrish, of Goldendoodle World, has written extensively about the Goldendoodle dog since 1999. She is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog in the southern region of the United States and was the first breeder in the United States to register the Goldendoodle dog with a ligit kennel club, Universal Kennel Club International. More of Dee's articles can be found on her website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/

About the Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodle

2009-03-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

About The Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodle

In just a short amount of time, the German shorthaired pointer has become one of most popular gun dogs in the United States. This breed has earned its popularity gradually, without much fanfare, through its own merits. The German shorthaired Pointer is not only a fine hunting dog, it has a fantastic nose along with much desire and ability; couple this with speed, stamina, style and guts and you've got one helluva dog! This breed is highly Intelligent with a huge desire to please. These are two of the German shorthaired Pointer's most valuable assets. This beautiful breed has the ability to cover much terrain, This dog's versatility makes him or her a wonderful companionship around the home. Affectionate and playful, the German Pointer is a huge hit with children of all ages.

Whether directly or indirectly, all pointing dogs owe their hunting instinct to the Old Spanish pointer. The tendency to pause at the scent of a bird (which even occasionally happens with the Standard Poodle who was used back in their day, for hunting) was much appreciated by the nobility of the day. However, the Old Spanish Pointer's surly attitude and plodding ways left alot of room for improvement. Regardless of the tools used by the hunter, he wanted a more pleasant and friendly canine companion. As times changed for the hunter, he also wanted a canine that was more agile in the field.

Even before the shotgun was created, the bird hunter had crossed the Spaniard with a couple of spaniel types (water and springer more likely) hence the setter was born. The English, Gordon and Irish setters all had their beginnings in this manner. When the Old Spanish pointer was crossed with a mixture of foxhound and greyhound, the result was an English pointer with great speed but the dog had too much of a killer instinct and not enough nose. The setter was then crossed many times with other types of dogs to improve its temperament. Even the Bloodhound was added in the mix to create a better sense of smell and adding the mixture of foxhound provided these dogs over time, greater stamina, a slicker look and a much improved nose for hunting.

Now lets add the fine qualities of the German Pointer with the Standard Poodle's fine traits and qualities and you've got an outstanding, low shedding, family pet fit for any king or queen. The coat of a German Shorthaired Pointer is tough and similar to that of the Labrador Retriever. When mixed with a purebred Poodle, the "Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodle" will have similar features as the German wired haired Pointer only their coat is softer and longer. They will sport a thicker facial beard similar to our Goldendoodles. The German Shorthaired Pointer matures early and are bred to the water. At age seven weeks, these lovely dogs take an instant shine to playing in the water and seem to have a natural ability for swimming. It is not uncommon to see the "Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodle" picking up the instinct for retrieving at age 16 weeks. The Germans make a point of the fact there is no English Bloodhound in the shorthaired Pointer but do admit that the Bloodhound played a role in the early development of the German Pointer.

It was the 1872 whelped, brown and white (liver/white) Hektor I ZK I (ZK, Zuchtbuch, stud book) still showing his Old German beginnings many generations back, who was dog Number 1 in Volume I of the German Stud Book. Few realize how close we dog lovers came to never having a purebred Deutsche Kurzhaar. Thank God for the enlightened and dedicated few breeders who hung on despite the odds against them. They will never know what pleasure they have provided generations of American hunters. Our Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodles rich heritage flows strongly through their veins, improving and strengthening this wonderful hybrid. They are a practical, good-looking, utility dog capable of excellence whether in the woods, field or home. The Standard Poodle was used back in their day for hunting and retrieving which allows the intelligence, desire for hunting and retrieving as well as swimming traits to be fixed in our Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodles. Add to this the low dander, low shedding, soft, fluffy coat and all around versatility and the impossible has been achieved. We introduce this new, beautiful hybrid to dog fanciers who seek something unique and beautiful.

About the appearance of the Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodle:

The German Shorthaired Pointer is a clean cut, lean, well balanced dog with short soft hair. The Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodle, has a coat that is softer, fuller, thicker and longer than that of the German Wired Haired Pointer. Our DKD's will sport a full facial beard, natual long tail, low hanging ears and eyes that allow their souls to shine through. As with the German Shorthaired Pointer, their nose is large. The larger the nose, the better. The true beginning of the German Shorthaired Pointer in the United States came with the importations by Charles R. Thornton, a physician, of Missoula, Montana, back in 1925. Dr. Thornton imported only the best-all top German-Austrian bloodlines. Goldendoodle World will unveil the Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodle in the near future. This is a hybrid that we will introduce for the dog fancier seeking a unique hybrid whether for the home, field or farm. We expect our Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodles to be very sturdy, have nice strong legs, good feet, even temperament, agile grace and make a congeniel companion. Over time, we may even bring about the curly coat. We expect our Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodles to have expressive eyes and a well shaped head. Their ears will be long and broad and their appearance will be extremely elegant. We expect our DKD's to have smart movement and the last point made, they will be strikingly beautiful like the German Shorthaired Pointer and the German Wirehaired Pointer. The combination is a smart move on our part and we wanted to bring to the table an entirely strikingly beautiful new hybrid that would be very versatile and at the same time make a great pet.

As with the purebred German Shorthaired Pointer, the DKD will need little to no training for field fun. Flushing birds comes natural to the GSP and we expect nothing less from our DKDs. As Retrievers, they are at home on land or in water and they will locate dead or wounded game in the heaviest brush or briar. If you decide to use a Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodle for gaming, you will want to ensure its coat is kept short for easier maintenance. We will discuss the DKD more as time passes by. Interested? Give us a call at 704-278-DOGS.

ABOUT OUR FOUNDING BITCH

Merry-Belle, our purebred German Shorthaired Pointer, will be the founding bitch for our Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodles. She will be bred once she completes and receives full health clearances of which we are now obtaining. Merry-Belle will be tested completely including obtaining hip clearances before being bred to produce our first Deutsche Kurzhaar Doodles. We do intend to also include having her CERF certified as well. At the age of 2 years, her xrays as well as Cerf exam will be submitted to the OFA board for rating. Merry-Belle has an impressive pedigree of numerous Champions holding CH, FC, AFC, NFC, DC titles. Merry-Belle's great grandfather is German Import, DC AFC Bobo Bom Waldrand. Other terrific bloodlines include Fritz Von Thalberg II and Longacres. We are on the look out for a heavily titled Stud Standard Poodle with the proper clearances, when the time comes to seek a mate for Merry Belle. Since our own Stud male Poodles are aging, we will be using outside stud service for Merry-Belle. The stud dog we seek must be pure white and this will be a tedious selection process since we want to make sure there are no dark colors within the first three generations of the stud dog. Colors of ancestors are important when breeding a dog of color. It is our desire to have DKDs with alot of "ticking" (Freckles) as well as patches about the coat similar to the purebred German Shorthaired Pointer.

Using a dark colored stud dog would not produce the desired effects we are hoping for. Color genetics of the breeding dogs is very important when creating a new hybrid. We also expect the considered stud dog to have a lengthy Champion pedigree so that the offspring have a rich family history. While we are still very adament that health clearances and ratings only pertain to the breeding dogs and have no bearing on the offspring whatsoever, the German Shorthaired Pointer is a new breed to us and is the only reason we will ensure that our founding bitch obtain such clearances. When breeders have their breeding dogs go through various testing prior to breeding, it is only to give the breeder a peace of mind. Such testing has no bearing on those who obtain and purchase the offspring. We never considered having our Golden Retrievers tested because we've raised and bred the Golden Retriever since 1996 and know the over all quality and health of our Golden Retrievers. We've owned our Standard Poodles since 1999 as well as researched their lineage for 2 full years, going back as far as the early 1930s. Our Standard Poodles carry over 400 OFA Champion ancestors out of Bel Tor, Wycliffe, Dassin and Eaton lines and therefore we know the over all quality and health of our own Standard Poodles. We only want to produce the finest specimen possible so that we can continue offering only the best doodles to those who seek them.

Known health issues for the German Shorthaired Pointer breed: Pyometra, entropion, ectropion, epilepsy and fits (At the present time there are no known screening tests for epilepsy and it is recommended that only affected dogs not be bred.), Hip Dysplasia (although HD is not common in the German Shorthaired Pointer; Hip Scoring can be done from 12 months of age, but a conclusive hip evaluation cannot be made until an animal is 24 months, as this disease can only be diagnosed definitively when the dog is two years old or over.),Von Willebrands disease, Gastric Torsion (Bloat).

Some helpful links: Dog Training Collars; Gun Dog Supply; GSP news; Training Videos; Pet Fences; Retriever Dummies; Pointing Dog Journal; German Pointer Club Of America; GPS Dog Tracking; Training Books and Magazines

*About the Author: Dee Gerrish has been a private, professional, hobby breeder since 1996. Dee Gerrish has written extensively about the doodle dog since 1999. Her popular doodle articles can be found all across the internet.

*Special notation: A malicious person has been copying Dee Gerrish's blogs and articles and re-posting them after having taken her words out of context and interjecting the articles, blogs and journals with their own words that seem quite sarcastic in nature, but making it appear as if they had been originally written by her. Dee's original articles can be found at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/ , http://www.articlesbase.com/ , http://www.buzznet.com/ ; Her articles have been placed on multiple websites across the internet or picked up on sites owned by others. However, some authors have changed the context of the original articles, blogs and journals and they have added their own words, which did not come from the original content written by Dee Gerrish.

Teach your Goldendoodle respect and structure

2009-03-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

Teach Your Goldendoodle Respect and Structure

Have you purchased an adult Goldendoodle? Did you rescue one as an adult? Many times people will buy an adult Goldendoodleand believe if and when there is a problem going on, it must be the dog. They never stop to think that the problem could be them or the fact they are not providing the proper training for their Goldendoodle or that they are not being a proper dog owner. The old saying "An old dog can never learn new tricks" is just that! OLD! That is a very antiquated belief.

Dogs live for today, and today only. They don't have the memory capacity to remember their past or live in the past and they certainly do not have the capacity to live for the future. But we as humans can and do. Often times a doodle owner will not make corrections to the problems they are experiencing with their Goldendoodle right at the time they are having the issue. They wait and correct later...believing the doodle has the capacity to remember their past mistakes, when in fact, they can not.

It is never too late to make corrections to bad behavior but you most certainly want to make corrections immediately, instead of later. Teaching your doodle GOOD behaviour right away will establish YOU as the doodle's leader and taking charge immediately, will teach your Goldendoodle that YOU are in charge. You as the doodle owner, need to have patience and confidence that you can lead your doodle and not the other way around. Nervous owners have the most problems with their doodles. Because they don't set any rules or bounderies. While Goldendoodles are not in any way an aggressive dog, the fact remains that they are a dog and as submissive as these dogs are, they can still turn out to have behavioural problems if you, the owner, do not take charge right away.

Behavioural problems occur because the owner allows them to occur. Give a dog an inch and they will certainly take a mile. There are tons of training information that can be found in bookstores as well as all over the internet and there certainly are plenty of books with conflicting information. Just like baby books written by supposed experts, dog books will all vary with their information per author. Everyone also has their own personal opinions as to what the best method of training is....just ask the "Dog Whisperer". I love his show, but he does believe he is the GURU of dog training. Everyone has their idea as to what type of training method works the best. The problem? Most people are not professional dog trainers who can offer a doodle owner SOUND training advice. This means, the doodle owner gets alot of inaccurate, bad advice and that includes alot of mis-information that can be found over the internet. So, if you are having behavioural problems with your new adult Goldendoodle, make sure to hire a professional dog trainer who has many years of experience. After all, you wouldn't hire your family member or your mailman to remodel your home or fix your plumbing if they did not have alot of experience in that department, would you?

Training your Goldendoodle or incorporating dog training is not breed specific. Training needs to be specific for your doodles' personal needs such as dealing with temperament, drive or other issues that may be occuring with the individual dog. It doesn't matter how large or how small your Goldendoodle dog is...where it came from....who created or bred it....what gender it is...none of that matters. A solid plan needs to be created for your specific doodle, by a professional dog trainer so that your doodle gets the right start. Having a good beginning is very important. A doodle owner must remember also, that training is not just for the dog. It is for YOU as well. You need to learn how to get your Goldendoodle under control. You need to learn how to live in harmony with your Goldendoodle and your Goldendoodle certainly needs to learn how to live in harmony with his or her new family. Training helps the doodle owner learn about his new dogs' character and what its traits are...both learned and genetic.

Training for you and your Goldendoodle will help build confidence. Not just with your Goldendoodle, but for you as well! It is inaccurate to say that Goldendoodles who come from rescue shelters have behavioural issues because they "were abused" prior to finding their way to a shelter or that they have behavioural issues because they "came from a puppy mill". Nine times out of ten, the reason a Goldendoodle has behavioral problems is because they did not have a healthy start with their original owner. It is more than likely their problem came from NOT having learned any bounderies or proper living structures when they started with their original owner. Temperament issues are not always genetic. While they can occur from faulty genetics occasioally, most often their issue did not come from their genes. Some breeds such as German Shepherds or Rottweilers and Dobermans may have temperament issues because they have faulty genetics. It may be that many dogs of these breed types have high "faulty" drives, especially those with extensive Shutzhund in their lineage. But people who purchase breeds who have high drive personalities or come from aggressive or high working lines, are usually aware of what they are getting into when they purchase this type of dog.
A Goldendoodle is not usually a high drive dog. Most Goldendoodles are very laid back and very family oriented. Most enjoy being with their family. But on occasion, a good Goldendoodle can go bad and again, nine times out of ten, the reason a good Goldendoodle goes bad is because it did not have a healthy start with its original owner. Just as there can be bad dogs, there can be bad owners. Most behavioural problems stem from bad dog ownership. It is not always the fault of the dog. As much as we want to humanize a Goldendoodle, the fact remains they are a dog and dogs "react" without reason. Goldendoodles with behavioural issues need leadership and they need to obtain that leadership from their owner in a positive way. Poor leadership comes from dog owners who treat their dogs like children, instead of treating them like dogs. Just as bad parenting can create bad children, bad "parenting" your Goldendoodle will create a bad doodle.

It is very sad when these bad owners relinquish their Goldendoodles to shelters or worse yet, have them euthanized just because the owner could not incorporate proper pack leadership. Many do not incorporate any sort of training whatsoever and worse yet, many attempt to incorporate training and then fail to follow through and turn around to blame it on the doodle. It's really a shame! Goldendoodles are usually submissive dogs. A proper start in teaching your Goldendoodle that you are his or her leader of its family pack is to give your Goldendoodle some isolated time away from the general public. You want to have a week or two of just YOU and your Goldendoodle. Some doodles may need more time of "isolation" but you'll have to use your own judgement. The important thing is to NOT give up on your Goldendoodle. Remember, patience.

What does social isolation mean? Well, simply put, it means that you do nothing more than feed your doodle; give him or her a clean place to live and to sleep; give your Goldendoodle plenty of water; take him or her for walks for potty breaks and provide for only his or her basic needs. That's it. Nothing more. The owner needs to just go about his or her business. Other than providing your Goldendoodle with his or her basic needs, the owner should just pretend the dog isn't even there. No petting. No cuddling. No coddling and certainly no childish chatter. This structure is NOT meant for young puppies or a Goldendoodle who seems to be falling into step with basic obedience and learning quite well. Rather, this structure is for adult Goldendoodles who were purchased as an adult and who needs to learn sound structure.

The proper way to isolate your Goldendoodle is to obtain a large or extra large crate and then place a lightweight blanket or sheet from the middle of the crate to the back. This helps give your Goldendoodle a sense of security. You will eventually remove this, but for now, this is what you should do. While there are many trainers who suggest a plastic crate, I highly advise against this.
The reason is that I've personally witnessed more commotion coming from a plastic crate than a wire crate. Dogs can sometimes feel claustrophobic in a plastic crate because of the fact they can't see out of it except for the front door area. With a wire crate, your doodle can see all the way around. That is, when the blanket or sheet is not covering up one half of it. I recommend either a large or an extra large crate. Despite the fact some trainers will tell you that the smaller the crate the better or that crates with dividers is the best, I personally have not seen this as being the case! The less room your doodle has to move around, the bigger the mess! Wire crates are great because you can easily slide out the tray and take it outside and hose it or spray it off. If you need to, the wire crate can also go outside and be hosed down. Plastic crates are harder to clean because you will have to get way inside of it and on your hands and knees to clean it.

Some may think that isolation training is cruel. I beg to differ. Back in 1996, a woman had brought over this little rat terrier because they were moving and didn't want to take her to the shelter and so they asked me if I would like to have her and give her a good home. She seemed calm enough and lovable enough when I pet her. The woman handed her to me and I carried her inside of my house. All hell broke loose when I put her down. For some unexplained reason, she bolted from room to room looking for a way to jump out of my windows....with them being closed! I tried to get her to calm down and talking to her and trying to pet her, but she then decided she was going to try and bite me. For my own sanity and her own safety, I fixed a large crate with bedding and newspapers and then I got my broom with soft bristles and had to hold her down with the bristles while I slipped a leash around her neck. She tried to fight me with the leash, so I slowly moved her into the crate with the bristles of my broom by pushing towards it and into it. I slipped off the leash over her head. Then, I took a lightweight blanket and covered half of the crate so that she could have some privacy and "alone" time. I felt the blanket would give her a sense of secuity. I placed a bowl of fresh water and food inside of the crate and I left her alone for 24 hours. I didn't even try to take her out for a potty break. She went on the newspapers and I cleaned them up the following morning. I assured her everything was fine by speaking to her in a soothing voice and I gave her liver treats by just tossing a few inside of her crate near her food bowl. I wanted her to understand that I was NOT going to hurt her and that she had to rely on ME for her living essentials and basic needs. By the second day, she was still staying toward the back, so I did the same thing over again. Fed her. Gave her water. Gave her liver treats. Cleaned her crate and left her alone. I checked in on her frequently and talked to her in a soothing voice. By the fourth day, she was coming towards the front of the crate and licking my hand. Her signal that she was ready to accept me as her leader and that she was showing me respect as her leader. I then placed a leash on her and took her outside for a walk and potty break. When she was done, I brought her right back and left her alone in the crate.

The idea is to give your dog the understanding that they must respect you because you are there to be their leader and because they are going to have to rely on your for their survival needs. You may indeed be there because you want to love them and shower them with lots of affection, but in the beginning, you only want them to understand that you are the leader and they need to respect your pecking order. On the fifth day, my little girl was my shadow. She has been with me since 1996. To this day, she follows me where ever I go and at night, she sleeps under the covers near my feet. The only word I have to say is "OUT???" and she comes right out from under the covers and makes a B-line for the front door. She obeys me and she respects me as her leader. This is how it should be. From that fifth day on, she has never had to go back inside of her crate. You are teaching your dog many things during this brief isolation period. You are teaching him or her to obey you as a leader; that you are providing him or her with a safe and secure home; that you are the one who provides the control and living essentials and that you are not going to harm him or her. Your Goldendoodle should always be on a leash the moment he or she comes out of its crate. This is because you are teaching your Goldendoodle that you have complete control over its every move. There will come a time when the leash is not necessary, but for now.....it's a must.

You are teaching your Goldendoodle to bond. During this isolation period, there should be no distractions. Training is about YOU and the dog. This is essential to training. No neighborly pats on the head. No vacations trips. No trips to the store. No socializing outside of your home. This isolation period is for bonding and teaching pack order. Setting up a sound structure makes the rest of obedience training easier because you have now gained respect from your Goldendoodle and they have now learned that you are the leader in charge. Remember not to use harsh training methods with your Goldendoodle as they are sensitive dogs. No yelling. No hitting. No screaming. No loud commands. This only reinforces negativity. If you want your Goldendoodle to respect you, you will have to act like a respectable leader. You want to be fair and you want to train your Goldendoodle in a fair way. You must be consistant and use repitition. It is quite unfair of you as the leader to be strict one day and then lax another.

Your goal is to teach your new adult Goldendoodle to earn your respect and affections. As hard as it may be to NOT want to pet and coddle, you must not do this during training. Be fair. Be consistant. Be a leader. Your Goldendoodle will more than likely howl and cry and carry on during this time, but its imperative that you NOT allow your Goldendoodle out of the crate just because he or she is howling and crying. If you have checked to ensure that all is well, ignore the crying as hard as it may be. If you give in, you've lost your position as the leader.

Leaders are firm and leaders don't give in. Do you ever see an alpha dog give in to those he or she has accepted into their pack? Never. Those inside of the alpha's pack must learn to respect and obey their leader. Period. During training, you should pet your doodle but don't over do it. If your doodle does something to earn being pet, then of course he or she should be pet. If your Goldendoodle does something to earn being praised, by all means give him or her praise. Your doodle must earn being rewarded and being pet or praised is a reward. You should never pet your Goldendoodle if he or she pushes for affection. When your adult Goldendoodle demands your attention, they are showing dominance. Some Goldendoodles can be "mouthy". Do not encourage your doodle to use your hand as a chew toy or to pull on your hand with their mouth. This can encourage the dog to bite if he or she does not get their way. It is not up to your Goldendoodle to decide when and where he or she receives YOUR attention. Your the leader, remember? If your adult Goldendoodle is pushy about attention, this means your pack order has been compromised and you must regain leadership quickly!

Those who want to train their Goldendoodle will ask, can I play with my dog during training? The answer is no. You do not want to play with your Goldendoodle DURING training. Play time is EARNED time. Providing your Goldendoodle has earned the right to play by obeying you during training, then he or she has EARNED playtime and yes, at that time, you can then play with your Goldendoodle. During training you should not go out and purchase new things for your doodle. Your Goldendoodle should be focusing on you...the leader! This is bonding time, remember? New toys or items will distract your doodle from the goal. During training, you should also not allow your Goldendoodle to have access to all of his or her toys. Toys are earned. When he or she is finished playing with the toys you have allowed him or her to play with, then the toys are put up and placed out of sight. Out of sight...out of mind. You are the leader and must be the one who decides what and when your doodle can play with.

Even when playing with your Goldendoodle, it should only be done while on the leash. Remember, you are in control during training. Once training is complete, your Goldendoodle will have loads of time to be off leash.

So you have purchased your doodle as a family pet? Most people do. But when you first bring home your Goldendoodle, your children need to let the Goldendoodle first become acquainted with his or her new home and the new rules and the new leader of the pack, which is you. Children who are young should never be in charge of training your Goldendoodle or setting the rules. Your children can and should be a part of the training, but always under supervison. Young children are not mature enough to handle the training of any type type of canine of any size or gender. Many parents make the mistake of putting children in charge of training and handling the family dog. Training is very involved and requires maturity and of course, experience. You are setting you and your family, including the dog, up for failure if you put your child/ren in charge of taking care of and training the new family pet. Many accidents happen because a parent assumes that a "friendly" dog of any breed is okay to be left alone with a toddler or infant or even small, young child. Sometimes with tragic consequences. I remember a story about a daschsund of all dogs being left in a room alone with an infant laying inside of a playpen. The mother went to the bathroom and was only gone for approx. 2 or 3 minutes. Tragically, the mother came out in time to see the daschund mauling the baby due to it tearing a hole into the playpen mesh. The baby died. I'm guessing....so did the dog after it was euthanized. This was a family dog who had been around the baby numerous times. It only takes one time for a dog to tragically injure or kill an infant or young toddler. Dogs do not act with reason. They merely react and who knows what goes on inside of a dog's head. Do not humanize your dog. A dog is a dog is a dog! Babies and small, young children are off limits to any type of dog unless supervised by a parent or responsible person such as the child's caregiver.

Can you teach your Goldendoodle to respect your child as a pack leader? I seriously doubt it. So don't do this. Establish the rule that your doodle is not permitted around your young child without being supervised. It is very difficult to keep a child away from their new "family pet"; it is hard to tell your child NOT to pet or praise your new doodle or to allow the neighborhood children over to "play" with the new pet...but this must be a rule that is strictly obeyed the first week or two of training. You are setting up bounderies and teaching your doodle a sound structure....rules set by its leader of the pack and until this is learned, your child must know that this is a training and bonding period. Your Goldendoodle needs time to bond with its new family pack...not the general public and certainly not the neighborhood. Once your Goldendoodle has been trained and completes basic obedience, non family members should be off limits.

Many people who desired to purchase from us wanted to come into contact with our adult dogs or our other puppies and dogs. This is strictly forbidden by me. I intentionally prevent non family members from petting or coming into contact with my adult dogs and I expect my personal dogs to NOT become stranger friendly. I expect my personal dogs to bark at strangers and to be wary of them. Some people say, "Well, I want to meet the parents so I can judge how the puppy's personality will be". That's complete and utter nonsense! The fact that I intentionally keep my personal dogs away from the general public and have taught them to be wary of strangers, means there is no way you can judge one of my puppies accurately by meeting them. None of my personal dogs are aggressive towards strangers but someone may perceive this and I don't want any of my puppies being unfairly judged.

Your Goldendoodle is more than likely a very personable type of dog. In the many years of creating them, we have never had any turn out to be aggressive dogs. They have very sound genetics and because of their genetics, they are easily trained. However, a good Goldendoodle with sound genetics can be ruined by a bad owner who doesn't set up proper bounderies or a sound structure to live by. Start your Goldendoodle in the right direction to begin with and you will always have the best dog you could ever ask for.

Author/breeder: Dee Gerrish. Copyright June 2008.

About the Author: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World has written extensively about the Goldendoodle dog since 1999. Dee is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog in the southern region of the United States. She was the first breeder to register the Goldendoodle hybrid with a ligit kennel club. More about Goldendoodles can be discovered on her site at http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmdvbGRlbmRvb2RsZXdvcmxkLmNvbQ==

*This article is a re-post due to malicious tampering of my original My Space account.

What is a first generation Goldendoodle?

2009-03-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

What is a first generation Goldendoodle?

What does "F1" mean? What does "F1B" mean? Why is there so much confusion about the term "First generation Goldendoodle" ?

It seems to me that many people are having problems understanding what constitutes a Goldendoodle as being a "First generation" hybrid. It's quite easy to understand if you have some knowledge with basic genetics. It may seem complicated to those who do not understand the basics of genetics. Simply put, a First generation Goldendoodle is any Goldendoodle dog that comes from two parents who are not closely related, regardless of whether or not both Goldendoodles are Goldendoodles or if one parent is a Poodle and the other parent is a Golden Retriever or whether one parent is a Poodle and one parent is a Goldendoodle. The offspring are STILL considered Goldendoodles and they are STILL considered first generation when neither parent shares the exact same parents themselves. That's it in a nutshell. Nothing complicated about it, but so many people...including breeders.....just can't seem to grasp the concept.
Instead, some people believe that a first generation Goldendoodle only comes from a 50/50 mix...meaning, coming from one parent who is a Poodle and one parent who is a Golden Retriever or some people believe that Goldendoodles are "f1B" if a Goldendoodle is bred to a Poodle or Golden Retriever or to another Goldendoodle. I'm sorry to burst the genetic bubble, but that belief is not accurate at all. If you really want to get technical, lets first ask "First generation of what???". What is the Goldendoodle a first generation of, exactly ? Are they the "first generation" upon their family tree? Are they the first generation to both of their parents? Technically and accurately speaking, if neither parent are directly related, the answer is YES. All offspring, in reality, that are born to two parents who are not directly related and who DO NOT share the same parents themselves, are FIRST GENERATION DOGS.

What exactly does the term "first generation" imply anyway?

When speaking of "generations" it is generally implied to mean parent/child. The parents have children and thus, their children are "first generation". When those children have their own children, they then become "second generation". When we speak of the Goldendoodle being a "first generation" it is implied to mean that the offspring come from two parents who are not closely related or who are not related at all....whether the same breed or different breed, the offspring are always "first generation" when neither parent are directly related to each other. I've had so many people try to convince me that a Goldendoodle isn't a first generation Goldendoodle unless if comes from a Poodle/Golden Retriever parent. Again, I hate to burst your genetic bubble, but that's not correct. With purebred dogs, both parents are the same breed and their offspring are first generation providing neither parent shares the same parents themselves or direct relatives within their first three generations of pedigree. If you bred two parents who were related, together, then their offspring would be "second generation" . When we speak of Goldendoodles being an "F1B", the "B" means "backbred". A very nice term for implying the dogs are inbred....backbred to a close relative. Just because a Goldendoodle is bred to a Poodle, does NOT imply the offspring are "F1B". If a Goldendoodle is bred to a Poodle and the Poodle within the Goldendoodle's genetic structure is NOT related or closely related to the other Poodle used for breeding, their offspring are "first generation". If a Goldendoodle is bred to a Golden Retriever and the Goldendoodle used for breeding is NOT closely related or related at all to the Golden Retriever within the Goldendoodles' genetic structure, their offspring is still a first generation.

Genetic diversity is very important when it comes to hybrid dogs, period. Due to the fact many purebred fanciers inbreed their dogs, the entire reason hybrid dogs have fewer health issues is due to the fact their genetic structure is wide and varying. A genetic "bottle neck" is created when two dogs are bred together and share the same lineage. It's one thing to have similar ancestors or share similar ancestors down through the pedigree, its quite another to have the same exact ancestors down through the pedigree. We have created the Goldendoodle since 1999. We have been purebred dog breeders since 1996. We know for a fact that dogs are healthier and have entirely fewer genetic issues when they have a wider variance in their genetic structure. Goldendoodles who come from two related parents will have genetic issues much more often than Goldendoodles who come from two unrelated parents. When a breeder says they create "multi-generation" Goldendoodles....that means you'd better be careful of buying one of their dogs. Multi generation Goldendoodles are highly inbred dogs and are at a much greater risk for genetic issues. I definitely do not believe in multi-generation doodles or even purebred dogs. I've never agreed that even purebred dogs who are bred back to a direct relative is a good thing. Such dogs can be at a higher risk for behavioral issues; health issues and genetic issues. Many undesirable traits come from dogs who are born from parents who are too closely related.

When Gregor Mendel began his hybridization experiments with pea plants in 1856, knowledge of how heredity works was limited. Experimenting with hybrids has been going on for many, many years. Many things had been guessed at or not exactly known as to how genetics + hybrids really worked. Some characteristics, called discrete traits, did not produce a state of being between two parents. The children of a brown-eyed father and blue-eyed mother do not end up with an intermediate eye color; rather, the children inherited the eye color of a single parent. This occurs with people. With dogs, it is quite different. The offspring CAN inherit an intermediate eye color and we've witnessed this with the Goldendoodle dog. In 2006, we bred two Goldendoodles together that were not closely related. They had a different Golden Retriever parent and a different Poodle parent. The only traits the Goldendoodle dogs had in common was that they had the same eye color (Blue); The same coat type (curly) and both were the same color (apricot). We intentionally bred both Goldendoodles together so that we could increase our chances of having blue eyed Goldendoodles.

We were not sure what coat type would occur since both doodles had a curly coat. We were quite surprised to learn the following:

*smooth coat/blue eyed/first generation Goldendoodle

1. This pairing only produced 2 blue eyed doodle offspring.

2. Out of four offspring, 1 puppy had brown eyes. 1 puppy had green eyes. Two of the puppies had blue eyes.
3. Out of four offspring, 3 puppies had a smooth coat and 1 puppy had a shaggy coat. Not a single curly coat was born to parents who had a curly coat themselves.
4. Out of the four offspring, 2 puppies were cream. 2 puppies were apricot.

If we assume that each parent contributes a single chromosome to his/her offspring for a given trait, how is it that we had 3 smooth coat Goldendoodles born out of this pairing and neither parent had a smooth coat? How is it that we've seen a variance in size regarding the offspring, regardless of the sizes of either parent and how is it that we've seen a variance in eye color for the Goldendoodle offspring, regardless of the eye color of either parent? We personally have come to know that Goldendoodle dogs can inherit their traits, appearance, sizes, temperaments and coat or eye coloring from their entire lineage of ancestors. We have come to know that Goldendoodle offspring do not inherit traits exclusively from their parents. We know that their entire lineage plays a part of what and whom they become. Gregor Mendel proposed that some genes are dominant while others are recessive. Since 1999, we have come to realize that our Golden Retrievers Do carry the dominant genes. They dominate personality, color and at times, they dominant coat traits in our Goldendoodles. On occasion, we do see Poodle traits dominate in a select few offspring. For an experienced breeder, it is quite easy to spot the dominating gene. The inexperienced breeder will only be able to rely on information they obtain via the Internet and not all of the information is clear, precise or accurate. Hence, why there is so much inaccurate Goldendoodle information over the Internet. Much of it drives me crazy.

Especially because I've dedicated an extensive amount of time documenting the coat changes; The many coat phases; the personality types; The coat types; The coloring and markings; I've lived, breathed and basically dreamt day in and day out, the Goldendoodle dog. It is very frustrating to try and explain the facts with regards to the Goldendoodle dog to inexperienced people who want to challenge what it is I've come to know through personal experience and my countless hours of research. There are some days, I just don't even try. Some people don't want to know the facts, they only want you to tell them what they want to hear and not what the facts are and I don't like to try and teach someone about the Goldendoodle dog if they are not interested in actually learning and knowing facts vs. rumors or what they've "read" over the Internet. I LOVE writing about the Goldendoodle dog and what I've come to know. It's quite obvious that the Goldendoodle dog is a passion of mine, given the fact my website is so extensive and comprehensive where the Goldendoodle is concerned.

*Dark apricot, first generation, curly coat Goldendoodle

I love talking about the Goldendoodle to anyone who wants to know.....and I might even get into some heated arguments with people about the Goldendoodle dog because I'm very passionate about what it is I've come to know to be facts and I am NOT one for believing rumors. The Goldendoodle dog is a very stimulating, entirely new field of study for me. I've created the Goldendoodle dog in nearly every imaginable way and my research has helped literally thousands of people over the years. Some people you just can't convince and it is those people that really need to become breeders themselves or otherwise just shut up. That sounds harsh, but I'm very direct and honest. I don't need to argue with an inexperienced doodle person who doesn't know what they are talking about. They don't know what they are talking about because they haven't done the research on a personal level. They haven't spent the time that I've spent, nor have they indulged themselves in documenting facts and taking thousands of photos as a part of their documentation.

Darwin's problem explaining "blending" and the preservation of variation was essentially solved. However, while Mendelian genetics provided a way to refute arguments concerning the lack of a mechanism for the preservation of variation through inheritance, Mendel's results went largely unnoticed until 1900, when the laws were independently "rediscovered" by several geneticists -- Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns, and Erich von Tschermak -- some 34 years after Mendel's original publication of his findings in 1866! Speaking of genetics, Let's talk about genetics for a little bit.
Evolution can be described in many ways; one way to look at evolutionary change as a change in genotype frequencies over time. If organisms are considered evolutionarily successful if they have more offspring, and offspring are created from genes, then changes in gene frequencies (or more specifically, genotype frequencies) will reflect successful evolutionary phenotypes. Researchers in the field of population genetics examine populations in terms of differing proportions of particular genotypes in order to determine what, if any, evolutionary forces are active in that population. Genotype frequency and gene frequency are closely related variables, and both are easy to measure. The simplest case is one genetic locus with two alleles (A and a) and three genotypes (AA, Aa, and aa).

Each individual has a genotype made up of two genes at the locus and a population can be symbolized like this:

Aa AA aa aa AA Aa AA Aa

This is an imaginary population with only eight individuals. To find the genotype frequencies we simply count the numbers of individual with each genotype. Thus:
frequency of AA = 3/8 = 0.375frequency of Aa = 3/8 = 0.375frequency of aa = 2/8 = 0.25
The extent of variation in natural populations is such that every individual must be genetically unique. Evolution from the origin, to the modern diversity, of life must have required more variation than existed in the original population.

Where did the extra variation come from?

Several processes can generate new variation in a population:

• Recombination between existing chromosomes produces new chromosomes with their own unique sequences and many new genetic variants of a character like body size were probably generated by recombination.

• Migration is an important source of new genetic variation: when individuals arrive from distant parts they will often have different genotypes from the local population; they thus provide new genetic variation.

Both recombination and migration work with existing allelic variation; they put existing variation into new genetic, or geographic, combinations. Important though this is, if there were no pre-existing allelic variation, recombination and migration would not generate new genetic variants. Recombination between identical chromosomes produces the same identical chromosomes over again.

• Mutation is the original source of genetic variation. Even in a population in which all copies of a chromosome were identical, new genetic variants would arise by mutation.

Random events in population genetics - What is random sampling?

Gene frequencies may change by chance
Even when natural selection is not operating, the gene frequencies may change a little from the previous generation just by chance. This can happen because the genes that form a new generation are a random sample from the parental generation.

Random sampling

Random sampling occurs whenever a smaller number of successful individuals (or gametes) are sampled from a larger pool of potential survivors and the fitness of the genotypes are the same. Random sampling works at every stage as a new generation grows up but it starts at conception.
In every species, each individual produces many more gametes than will ever fertilize, or be fertilized, to form new organisms. Using the female trout as an example, it has many thousands of gametes of which a tiny fraction will ever become zygotes.

The successful gametes which do form offspring are a sample from the many gametes that the parents produce. Provided the parent is a heterozygote, such as Aa , it will then produce a large number of gametes, of which approximately one half will be A and the other half a . If that parent produces 10 offspring, it is most likely that five will inherit an A gene and five a . But because the gametes that formed the offspring were sampled from a much larger pool of gametes, it is possible that the proportions would be something else. Perhaps six inherited A and only four a , or three A and seven a.

Random sampling can have important evolutionary effects such as genetic drift and the founder effect.

What is the Founder effect??

Using Polydactyly as an example......extra fingers or sometimes toes ..... is one symptom of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome. The syndrome is commonly found among the Old Order Amish of Pennsylvania, a population that experiences the "founder effect." Genetically inherited diseases like Ellis-van Creveld are more concentrated among the Amish because they marry within their own community, which prevents new genetic variation from entering the population. Children are therefore more likely to inherit two copies of the particular recessive genes that lead to genetic disease. Because of their closed population stemming from a small number of German immigrants -- about 200 individuals -- the Amish carry unusual concentrations of gene mutations that cause a number of otherwise rare inherited disorders, including forms of dwarfism. Eastern Pennsylvania is home to beautiful farmlands and countryside, but it's also a gold mine of information for geneticists, who have studied the region's Amish culture for decades.
The founder effect can occur in dogs when a breeder inbreeds their dogs and does NOT use a wider variation of genes to create their dogs' offspring. Maybe not perhaps by having extra fingers or toes, but by other undesirable traits such as personality disorders, behavioral disorders or physical issues as well as internal issues. When dogs are too highly inbred, some do not even survive their first birthday. The female dog can miscarry the entire litter or one or two of the puppies can suffer from what is called the "fading syndrome".

Because defects can vary wide and greatly, it is of great importance that the Goldendoodle breeder become experienced in their selection of breeding methods. Some people can challenge me all they want with regards to the Goldendoodle dog, but we are up for the challenges and will argue with whomever wants to debate the issue regarding first generation Goldendoodles vs. F1B Goldendoodles. There isn't a single advantage in creating a second generation Goldendoodle...much less an "F1B". Breeders can argue amongst themselves or with others as to what the term "F1B" means, but we personally will never change our view that "F1B" means the Goldendoodle is an inbred dog. A breeder who creates the "F1B" Goldendoodle will create the Goldendoodle from a 50/50 mixture; meaning, the Goldendoodle comes from a Poodle/Golden Retriever mixture. They will then select one of the offspring and when that offspring becomes old enough to breed, they then breed that Goldendoodle BACK to its brother, sister, mother or father or close relative. Perhaps they even breed it to another Goldendoodle who shares its same ancestry. This is the true meaning of the "F1B" Goldendoodle. We have never created a Goldendoodle in this manner, nor would we want to. We have not ever created a purebred dog in this manner, but many show breeders have. Hence why so many purebred dogs have so many issues, today.

If individual dogs share the same parents or very close ancestry, there's a greater likelihood that the recessive genes of the "founder" genes will come together in the cells that produce offspring. Thus diseases of recessive genes, which require two copies of the gene to cause the disease, will show up more frequently than they would if the two breeding dogs were not closely related. Further studies have been completed regarding inbreeding.

HIDDEN VARIATIONS

The fact there are hidden variations at the genetic level is yet another reason why inbreeding (creating F1B Goldendoodles) carries with it an increased likelihood of the expression of a deleterious or lethal allele. It is very likely that all individuals carry some deleterious alleles which are left unexpressed from generation to generation, primarily because the frequencies of these alleles in the whole population is very low. While outbreeding (creating offspring from two unrelated parents) (or exogamy) will significantly reduce the probability of a chance encounter between two individuals carrying the same deleterious alleles, inbreeding will significantly increase this probability on the basis of degree of relatedness. Again, this is why the Goldendoodle hybrid, when created properly by experienced breeders, is a much hardier, healthier dog than their purebred counterparts.

All dogs, as well as all living animals and plants, including humans are made up of living cells. Each microscopic cell is a building block of life that contains a specific set of "biochemical blueprints" called chromosomes. The complex molecules instruct the cell and make it possible for the cell to repair and reproduce themselves. As an example, whether a cell is supposed to be part of an organ such as a heart, or a part of your skin or whether or not its role is to grow hair upon your head, arms or legs. Breeders who study the basic concept of genetics, found out a long time ago that many traits, such as hair coloring of dogs, could be manipulated to produce new coat colors or even new eye colors by breeding two dogs that have one particular coat color or a particular eye color. Breeders found out they could also remove such coloring if they wanted to, in the offspring. A British mathematician/biologist named R.C. Punnett developed a straight forward, yet very powerful statistical tool called the PUNNETT SQUARE to predict the outcome/offspring of breeding individuals with known traits of various characteristics. Even though both parents may have a particular coat color...lets say "Black" (Bb), about 1/4 of the litter of puppies will have buff coat coloring. Why does this occur? Each parent's pair of genes responsible for determining coat coloring has one recessive buff gene (b) that was passed along to the offspring by their parents and/or their grandparents and so on. This is how we explain eye coloring of the Goldendoodle dog. When a breeder has a puppy with an eye color that neither parent has, you can be sure the eye coloring came from a recessive gene that was a part of the parents' lineage down through their heritage.

This also explains the SMOOTH COAT Goldendoodle.

The Golden Retriever has a smooth coat. The Poodle has a curly coat. When we bred a blue eyed curly coat Goldendoodle to a smooth coat Golden Retriever, interestingly enough, all of the offspring had brown eyes and all of the offspring had a shaggy coat except for one smooth coat who looked like a carbon copy of her purebred Golden Retriever mother. The shaggy coat was a recessive gene carried by the Goldendoodle sire who had littermates himself, as well as ancestors with a shaggy coat. As with the Goldendoodle to Goldendoodle pairing who both had a curly coat and yet did not produce a single curly coat in their offspring, we know that the parents themselves both carried the recessive genes to create the blue, green and brown eyed doodles who had the shaggy coat and smooth coat.

The origin of the Goldendoodle

Goldendoodles originated from the crossing of a Poodle and a Golden Retriever. Some argue that the Aussies (Australians) created the Goldendoodle first and some argue that the Canadians created the Goldendoodle first. Who actually started the Goldendoodle doesn't matter.What matters is the fact that Goldendoodles have actually been around much longer than most people realize. Dogs have been mating outside of their own breed since the beginning of man. Every purebred dog in the world began as a mixed breed dog or came to be as a result of many mixtures of other breeds. Lets say that we give the Golden Retriever the letters (GR) to represent the gene pair for the Golden Retriever and the Poodle (PP) to represent the gene pair of the purebred Poodle.

The offspring that comes from this pairing is quite accurately predicted by the Punnett's Square:
GR+PP=GD (Goldendoodle)

Predicted Breed outcome of the litter= 100% Goldendoodle.

When a purebred Golden Retriever is bred to a purebred Poodle, the entire litter of puppies produced is composed of first generation Goldendoodles (GD). They become adult dogs whose physical appearance can be much different than either parent including a variance of physical traits that neither parent dog has, itself. For example, neither Golden Retriever or Poodle has a full facial beard trait that their children, the Goldendoodle, has itself. Neither the Golden Retriever or the Poodle has a shaggy coat that the Goldendoodle child has. But the Goldendoodle dog DOES carry some physical traits and attributes as that of their parental dogs.

The Goldendoodle does have almond shaped eyes similar to its Golden Retriever parent. The Goldendoodle may have either a Poodle temperament or a Golden Retriever temperament, depending upon which gene was more dominant. One of two of the pups may have a curly coat that is similar to its Poodle parent. Some of the offspring may have very long, slender legs that is similar to its Poodle parent and some may have shorter legs that are more similar to its Golden Retriever parent. Sometimes the coat type or length of coat is determined by the Golden Retriever. Again, we have come to know by experience that it all depends upon the dominating gene.

Although most Goldendoodles exhibit a favorable combination of their traits and characteristics from both of their parental breeds, they will still retain those alleles (meaning variations) from their parents that were NOT expressed within their first generation. These hidden variations/recessive alleles are analogous to the "buff" coat color discussed up above regarding coat coloring. This is why you may see Goldendoodles that come out of the same litter, have different colored eyes or different coat colors or who have different characteristics amongst each other such as a variance in sizes. While some Goldendoodle breeders believe they can "purify" the Goldendoodle by creating multi-generations or by backbreeding and inbreeding, it doesn't seem statistically possible to "purify" the outcome of further generational breeding beyond 50% Goldendoodle. Applying the three "unique" gene pairs (GR, PP, GD) created in the Punnett Square which predicted the second generations....it just doesn't all add up when you go beyond that range.

The Punnett Square can not take into account the selective breeding methods being used by Goldendoodle breeders who are involved in attempting to establish this hybrid as a "recognized purebred dog". It could technically require up to 15 generations (or more) of very fine selective breeding of unrelated Goldendoodles to guarantee ALL subsequent generations of the puppies the same "statistical/genetic purity" as the first generation litter that come from a Golden Retriever/Poodle mixture.Although the Goldendoodle dog IS recognized as a registered hybrid with many kennel clubs, we older breeders may never see this hybrid as an AKC recognized purebred dog, in our lifetime because it will require an extensive amount of breeding from a select few breeders who then create their own kennel club to create their own Goldendoodle standards just as the breeders did for the purebred dog back in the very early days of man.I can't think of too many breeders who desire to keep 15 generations or more, of Goldendoodles, just so they can attempt to "purify" this hybrid.

The Goldendoodle dog is quite a unique dog as it is now and I don't see why we as breeders need to change this. Those who desire to argue what makes a first generation doodle, a first generation, can argue all they want. Genetics determines what a first generation is, whether plant, animal or human and this fact can not be removed, despite the arguments.

Resources:

Genetics

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/anthro/bioanth/ch2/chap2.htm
http://www.mulberryfarm.com/canine-genetics_explanation.htm#cockapoo-genetics

About the Author: Dee Gerrish is a Searchwarp.com winning, founding, top 100, featured Goldendoodle author. She has been a private, professional, registered and certified breeder for 12 years as of Jan. 2008. Her extensive, comprehensive, educational research about the Goldendoodle dog has helped numerous people across the world. More information can be located upon her doodle website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/ On a doodle quest? Check out her website and give her a call.

Domestic violence affects the family pet

2009-03-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

Domestic Violence affects the family pet

Domestic violence has always been a problem here in America. But it isn't just a problem that affects humans. It also affects the family pets who can be caught in the middle. You can watch it on the Discovery channel nearly every day, which is basically why I no longer watch the Discovery channel. It pains me dearly to see the horrific crimes that are commited upon innocent animals who have no way to defend themselves.

Take for instance a man who burned his girlfriend's kittens to death on his charcoal grill because she packed her bags and left for her mother's house after they became combative during a very heated argument. The man later called his girlfriend to tell her what he had done. The woman, rushing home, saw the smoke coming from the grill and to her horror, there lay her kittens dead. Burned alive. Of course the police were called and the man was arrested, but he didn't serve much jail time. Had it been his girlfriend laying upon the grill, he would have gotten life in prison or the death penalty. As it was, they were merely kittens. I am sure he got nothing but a slap on the wrist. A paltry fine for his horrific deed.

Unfortunately, here in America, crimes against animals doesn't fetch much jail time. It doesn't surprise me that so many animals die at the hands of people who are just teetering in the brink of being a killer for people. When a person is aggressive and hard core enough to kill or maim or severely injure an animal, there's definiately something going on with that person that isn't right. But these people barely get jail time and know that for now, the courts will give them nothing more than a slap on the wrist which is why they do it. Domestic violence is a problem for American society. Even if the family pet isn't killed, many are severely injured when they get caught up in the battles between family disputes. Sometimes the person who causes injury to the family pet, during a domestic dispute, does so to "cause emotional duress" to the person who has bonded the closest with the animal. Some do so to keep the intended victim from leaving him or her and some do it for pure spite. Many who cause injury to a family pet during a domestic dispute have anger issues they are unable to control.

It is unthinkable to most of us that anyone would cause injury on purpose to their family pet. They love us unconditionally regardless of how dysfunctional we may or may not be. Perhaps that is the dogs' downfall. Too compassionate. Too caring. Too trusting of humans of whom some do not deserve such love, care or trust. So far, only three states -- Maine, New York and Vermont -- have enacted laws permitting family pets to be included in protective court orders involving cases of domestic violence. Such court orders are meant to shield animals as well as spouses and domestic partners from abusers. An additional 12 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, have considered "pet protection" legislation. It is such a shame that all of our states have not hopped upon this protective bandwagon. Every state should enact laws to protect family pets as well as animals, in general. We need laws to recognize the deep significance of strong relationships held between human and pet. All of our states need to acknowledge that for most people, a pet is part of the family and therefore can become a victim – and a pawn -- in the horrendous cycle of domestic violence.

Facts:

Seven out of every 10 families with minor children include a pet -- more than 64 million households in total.
Research shows that pet abuse is a predictor of domestic violence. Paying attention to pet abuse can save human lives.
Studies show that up to 71% of battered women report their pet was threatened, harmed, or killed by their partners.
A national survey found that 85% of women's shelters indicated that women seeking safety described incidents of pet abuse in their families.
Batterers threaten, abuse, or kill animals to demonstrate and confirm power and control over the family, to isolate the victim and children, and to prevent the victim from leaving or coerce her/him to return.

Domestic violence shelters and animal protection organizations have begun partnering to develop "safe havens" for pets of domestic violence victims because many victims delay leaving out of fear for their pets' safety. All too often, batterers punish victims for leaving by killing their pet. Yet, with the help of over 100 safe haven programs currently operating today in the U.S., many victims no longer have to choose between their safety and their pets.

Like many professionals working to protect victims of domestic violence, Jeanne Yeager, Executive Director of Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence in Maryland, supports adding pets to protection orders. "Such measures will provide much needed protection to clients with pets. Pet protection orders will offer victims of abuse an alternative to staying in abusive relationships for fear of what will happen to their pets if they leave. I agree that more needs to be done. As a matter of fact, most shelters do not allow family pets to be brought with the person seeking shelter which can cause those in need of protection, to not leave an abusive situation. Not wanting to leave the family pet behind can make a person stay in a situation they should not stay in. Unfortunately, as incredible and cruel as most cases sound, the Human Society has more than 200 such cases on their list that could easily be considered among the 100 most extreme," said Bartlett, deputy manager of animal cruelty issues for the Humane Society of the United States and is among those who came up with the idea for an annual list of the 100 worst cases of animal cruelty.

For most of us, deliberate injury to our family pet would not even be considered. For those with questionable mental health, expressing their outrage upon an animal who can't protect him or herself is far too easy. But seeing horrible things happen to animals at the hands of people is nothing new to Nancy Cummings, president of SARAH Inc., a Stratford-based animal rescue organization that cares for injured and handicapped dogs.

"I don't think there's any way to explain how people can do these kinds of things to any living, breathing being," Cummings said. "But it seems to be the nature of the human beast. If a person is going to choke a rabbit or shoot a puppy, they need to be locked up and given serious attention and rehabilitation. I agree it's just a first step when people hurt animals because how do you know who will be next children, old people, spouses. If they can do such horrendous things to little furry creatures who can't defend themselves, it's obvious they just like to prey on the weak."

We need tougher laws and the only way that can happen is for people to lobby for them. Writing letters to your congressman is a start. Laws need to be changed nationwide. It's not just this or that person's problem. It's everyones' problem. We need everyone to get involved to make changes in our legal system. Every person can make a difference, even if they don't believe so. Mass murderers Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Albert DeSalvo (the "Boston Strangler") and other serial killers committed heinous acts of animal cruelty before brutally maiming and killing their human victims. We need more people to get involved at protecting the innocent.

Breeder/Author: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World. 2007.

Should I micro-chip my Goldendoodle?

2009-03-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

Should I micro-chip my Goldendoodle?

Many pet owners are encouraged to micro-chip their pet to help recover them in the event they become lost or stolen. As a breeder for 11+ years, we always encourage pet owners to have their puppies micro-chipped. However, some states are now mandating mandatory micro-chipping. I had never heard of this until the other day when I came across a website that seemed to be written by a canine activist. Their website seemed to be geared towards canine politics, if you will, but I found it interesting all the same. The site goes on to say they believed that mandatory microchipping was an invasion to the privacy and civil liberties of all dog owners and that such laws would have a great impact on the lives of everyday pet owners, especially those with targeted breeds like the Pitbull, Rottweiler, Doberman, etc. The article goes on to say they believed that mandatory microchipping laws would force dog owners to chip their dogs. That this would allow the local government to track and monitor dogs and their owners. Honestly, I don't see what the problem is but maybe I'm just not a very political person and I have nothing to hide. Personally speaking, it seems that every time one hears about a child or person being attacked by a dog, nine times out of ten, it was caused by a Pitbull.

Too many people are using Pitbulls and Rottweilers as fighting dogs and it's a known fact gangs use such dogs to protect their property because they also have illegal things going on. Of course the issue isn't just a problem with the dogs mentioned. It is the violence and the type of people who own these dogs that are causing the problems. The other issue politically charged animal rights activists say are problems with the micro-chip is that the chips themselves cause cancer in the dogs who have been chipped. I don't know if they are only basing this theory on one article but supposedly a 9-year-old male French Bulldog was examined by a veterinarian for a subcutaneous mass located at the site of a microchip implant. Cytologic examination of the mass was suggestive of a malignant mesenchymal neoplasm. The lymphoid cells were positive for CD18 and CD3. No aluminum deposits were detected by the aurintricarboxylic acid method. A diagnosis of fibrosarcoma morphologically similar to feline postinjection sarcomas was made after conducting many tests. Fibrosarcomas at the site of injections have been reported in dogs and ferrets. Furthermore, neoplastic growth at the site of microchip implant in dog and laboratory rodents has been described. But who is to say that indeed this cancer was caused by the chip? Sure it seems suspicious, but how many other dogs and cats were found to have the same type of cancer after having a micro-chip implanted?

Enough to convince me that we should now stop micro-chipping our pets? Should we all have to worry that micro-chipping our family pets will somehow give the government more access into our lives? Or are these fears just suggested by paranoid activists who believe we should be concerned about why states are now making it a law to micro-chip our family pets? Is there a difference between a sex offender and a dog owner? Not according to those rallying a petition to stop states from making micro-chipping your pet mandatory! While I disagree with this notion, many have the same beliefs that its nothing more than the government stepping further into our lives by keeping pet owner information stored in their government databases. Called "spy chips" by most activists, mandatory micro-chipping of breeding dogs and family pets have been passed by Florida and Texas. Other states are proposing the same laws be passed, including New York. Over all, I have to say that I believe having your family pet as well as breeding dogs micro-chipped is a good thing. For one, its helps the breeder identify their breeding dogs if they have dogs who are nearly identical in appearance and size, to include the same gender. It helps identify the dog if a pet owner's dog should be lost or stolen.

A micro-chip will help the pet find its way back home if he or she somehow gets away from its home and is picked up by animal control or a humane society or some other service that has micro-chip scanning devices. I personally own a micro-chip scanning device and use it if I find a dog wandering the streets. Collars can be removed but a micro-chip is forever! A micro-chip will actually outlast the life of the dog and the capsule is very, very small. About the size of a grain of rice. Many breeders and dog owners micro-chip their dogs and cats voluntarily. I don't think we should become so paranoid as to believe that the government is now going to watch over us through our pets. Micro-chipping is becoming very popular not only with animals, but for credit cards and humans alike. The following article was written about the plans of American Express: " The top brass at American Express, chagrined at the discovery of its people tracking plans, met with CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) last week to discuss the issue. One outcome of the meeting was a promise by American Express to review its entire patent portfolio and ensure that any people-tracking plans be accompanied by language requiring consumer notice and consent.

The meeting was organized after CASPIAN called attention to one of the company's more troublesome patent applications. That patent application, titled "Method and System for Facilitating a Shopping Experience," describes a Minority Report style blueprint for monitoring consumers through RFID-enabled objects, like the American Express Blue Card. According to the patent, RFID readers called "consumer trackers" would be placed in store shelving to pick up "consumer identification signals" emitted by RFID-embedded objects carried by shoppers. These would be used to identify people, track their movements, and observe their behavior." The article goes on to discuss further about the issues of using such tracking devices and while some were indifferent to the idea, some were greatly opposed. Just another method of big brother stepping in? The VeriChip implant is a glass encapsulated RFID tag that is injected into the flesh to uniquely number and identify individuals, or pets for that matter. The tag can be read by radio waves (scanners) from a few inches away. The highly controversial device is being marketed as a way to access secure areas, link to medical records, and serve as a payment instrument when associated with a credit card or pre-paid account. But is this all hyped up worry like what we saw when the "bar code" was introduced? Many people opposed the bar code on items we purchase in supermarkets and stores, but we seem to have now embraced the bar codes, not giving them a second thought any more. I think after all the fuss dies down, the same will be said about the micro-chip implant. Once something of the future, the micro-chip is finding its way into the market for all sorts of useful reasons.

Author/breeder: Dee Gerrish 2007. Goldendoodle World

Creating the Ultimate Designer Dog

2009-03-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Creating the ultimate Designer dog

Is is possible to create designer dogs through DNA selective testing? With modern technology right at our finger tips...you bet your sweet DOODLE, it is!
Faster? Stronger? Keener sense of smell? More muscles? Shorter? Thicker coat? The list could go on. But is this playing God, with dogs? We have already seen animals being cloned. Genes determine who we are as humans. They also determine what the animal will become too. But, what if we could create our Own special dog? Create pets that are designed for individual families? Is this possible?

Located in Ithaca, NY, the Baker Institute is a part of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. Today, the Institute serves society through discoveries that will have both an immediate affect and long term implications. Along with their historical strength in the study of infectious disease and immunology, the Institute's medical geneticists have gained prominence in recent years through the development of practical tests for detecting carriers of defective genes and strategies for control of genetic diseases. These researchers also investigate a variety of diseases affecting both animals and humans, including osteoarthritis, diseases of the eye, and reproductive disorders. In 2006, the Baker Institute Mapped out the canine rod cone dysplasia type 2 (rcd2) to a region of dog chromosome 7. Their achievements are numerous where the canine is concerned. But who will be the first in achieving a true Designer dog? A dog that is simply created by mixing a variety of specific genes to give someone seeking such a dog, something unique...only to them? Do you think this could become a reality?

Canine geneticists have come a very long way, especially since our modern technology is getting better and better. Our environment being what it is, may be the driving force for those seeking "designer" dogs. When I think of a "designer dog"...this is essentially the reality of what comes to mind. A dog that has been put together by a canine geneticist according to my desires and wishes. Dogs created to specifics. Yes. Now we are talking about "playing God". We already have hybrid dogs that have become wildly much more popular than the purebred, which angers many purebred breeders. But, it is what it is. A new fact of life. Man's best friend, the dog, is proving that it has, yet again, figured out a way to lend a helping paw. The identification of canine genes is not only improving the health of dogs, but is also helping researchers identify genes controlling human diseases and develop treatments. Yes, as much as I hate to say it, dogs are used greatly in many experiments and tests. Some agree it is for the betterment of human kind...some disagree completely.

Dr. Dennis O'Brien, a professor of neurology at the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine and an expert on neurodegenerative diseases, says he is thrilled about the recent identification of genes that cause two types of rare epilepsy in dogs and humans. "It's very exciting. I think it shows the power of canine genomics to (be able) to start answering some of these questions," Dr. O'Brien said. Berge Minassian, MD, and other scientists at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, turned to the dog in their hunt for genes that cause Lafora disease in humans. With Lafora, seizures begin in the teenage years and increase in frequency until they cause death, usually within five years after the onset of the first symptoms. The researchers had identified one gene in humans but knew there was at least a second gene, because some families couldn't be linked to the first gene. "I knew that Lafora is, relatively, frequently reported in dogs," Dr. Minassian said. "I thought perhaps if we found families of dogs (that) have this disease, it may help us find the gene and, from there, the human gene."

While dogs and cats are used for testing and experiments, they are also man's best friend. Dog and cat alike. Goldendoodles are called, by some, designer dogs but I beg to differ. Goldendoodles have not been created from test tubes or by Canine geneticists. They are selectively created by designer breeders. The dog itself is not a designer dog, but I do consider the breeder who only creates hybrids, a designer breeder. That's not a bad thing. I myself am a "designer" breeder.

Sometime in our future, REAL designer dogs will occur. We will be able to select and design our family pets in a very real specific way. As time goes by and scientists collect more and more DNA of family pets and varying breeds, they will soon have an entire collection to choose from. They can mix and match and perhaps, you'll even be able to check off a list what it is you desire in your own personal, designer dog. ALready breeders can know before their litters are born, what colors to expect through DNA testing. Canine DNA holds more keys than we realize, to knowing what to expect with offspring. Mark my words! Canine DNA is going to go to places they've never known before!

*AUTHOR/BREEDER: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World. http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/

Goldendoodles and allergies

2009-03-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

It's not surprising that myths and misconceptions about Goldendoodles and allergies exist. Some are factual to a degree, but others are totally incorrect and often influence our attitudes or knowledge about dealing with sensitivities to pets. Here is what I believe to be true with regards to allergies and Goldendoodles:

Goldendoodles ARE NOT Hypoallergenic:

Any animal with fur or feathers can trigger an allergic reaction.These include cats, dogs, rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters,ferrets, mice, horses, cattle, monkeys, goats, pigs, chickens, and birds. Of these, research indicates that cats are by far the worst offenders, followed by dogs and horses.

While some animals seem to be more tolerable than others, there are no dogs, cats or other furry animals that do not cause allergic responses. It makes no difference whether an animal has short hair,long hair or how much it sheds.

Cats cause more severe allergic reactions than other pets:

The major cat allergen is an extremely potent one called Fel d1. Secretions from the sebaceous glands of the skin are the primary source of Fel d1, but it is also deposited on the fur through the saliva when cats clean themselves through the licking or self-cleaning process. Eventually the Fel d1 flakes off and becomes airborne to trigger the symptoms that characterize allergies to cats. Male cats generally produce more allergens than females do.

DANDER:

The problem is not with the pet's hair. It is the dander, or microscopic scales of dead skin (similar to, but much smaller than the dandruff on the human scalp) which pets are constantly shedding that is the cause. They are so tiny that you seldom, if ever, know that they are circulating in the air or laying on the furniture and carpets.

URINE:

Recent studies indicate that urine (protein), from cats and dogs as well as from ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, and mice, contain allergens which can also trigger allergic reactions.
Short-haired or long-haired dogs - Doesn't matter:
All dogs – short-haired, long-haired, wire-haired, curly-haired, even hairless—are potentially allergic. Allergic reactions to dogsare not caused by the hair or fur but by dander (the tiny scales ofdead skin) and by sebaceous and salivary gland secretions. Short-haired dogs can cast off as many allergens into the environment as long-haired ones do.

Goldendoodles are not hypoallergenic:

Just because a Goldendoodle may shed very little, it does not mean itis "hypo-allergenic". It is surprising how many Goldendoodle ownerspurchased this hybrid because they were told by their breeder that theydid not cause allergies. Not true! Goldendoodles DO shed...but shed inphases and shed very little.

While it has recently been established that some dogs cast off more allergens than others, there are no non-allergenic dogs. The reason Goldendoodle dogs are thought to be "safe" is probably because they are shampooed and groomed regularly and therefore cast off less dander in the home.

Some people may have more problems living with a dog that shed hair profusely because of the excessive amount of loose hair contaminated by dried saliva and dander clinging to it shed from the pet onto the rugs, furniture and the dogs bedding and favorite lounging places. Frequent vacuumings are usually necessary, along with the use of a moist sponge, to pick it up.
A Goldendoodle puppy begins their shedding phase at the age of 6 weeks or slightly younger.Some people may have issues with a very young doodle puppy. Goldendoodles are usually completed with their shedding phases by the age of one year. SOme allergy sufferers have less allergy reactions to an older doodle puppy because of the fewer shedding phases. Some peoplecan have allergy issues AFTER their doodle turns one year of age.Puppies usually produce fewer allergens and depending upon what exactlya person is allergic to, some have less allergy issues with young pups.

People cannot be allergic to some breeds of dogs and not to others
The possibility of dog breed-specific allergens was first investigatedmany years ago, reports Dr. David Knysak of the Department of Medicine Allergy Division of the University of Michigan Medical Center. Subsequent studies have determined both qualitative and quantitativevariations in the antigen content extracts derived from different dogbreeds, however, he adds, no breed-specific allergens have been found.

It is true, though, that an individual may occasionally become sensitized to or build up resistance to a single breed over a period of time. Another reason why people may think they are allergic to certain breeds of dogs is that some dogs shed many more allergens than others,a process which may produce a higher level of exposure and consequentlymore allergic symptoms.

Restricting your Doodle to one or two rooms of the house does not help:

The longer your doodle lives in a home, the more its allergens will have permeated the entire house to cause symptoms. Isolating your Goldendoodle to one or two rooms in the home does not contain theirallergens. Air currents from forced-air heating, air conditioning andfans spread the allergens through the house. We do not recommend restricting your Goldendoodle to just one or two rooms unless you have become allergic to him or her.

Such particles tend to remain airborne for hours, even in homes with minimal disturbance. Once they do settle, vacuuming or walking on the carpet, sitting on the furniture, fluffing up cushions pillows and thepet’s bedding, raising or lowering the blinds, and opening or closing the drapes or curtains causes tremendous amounts to be set loose in theair once again.

People cannot tell if they will be allergic the first time they encounter a pet. This is a myth and a mistake that many people make when in search of the perfect family pet due to allergies.No one is allergic to a substance the first time he or she comes in contact with it. Sensitization, or the process that leads to development of symptoms, requires repeated exposures over a period of time, anywhere from days to months and possibly years. Sometimes, though, only a few minutes of a pet's presence is necessary. People who come in contact with a cat, for instance, or who enter a room where a cat has been, may react to it within seconds. Other times a pet can be kept for many years and then suddenly its owner will become severely sensitive to it.

Being allergic does not mean that you can't own a doodle or that you must give up one you already have.....If you are allergic to six things, get rid of three of them and you maydrop below your allergic threshold, and become symptom-free. Find out from a physician what your particular allergen is, and if it turns out to be pet- related, try to reduce the allergens in the environment. Using air cleaners or filters could be a start. Your physician may also be able to prescribe medications to lessen the symptoms associated with allergies. If you are allergic to fur, a breed of dog that doesn't shed very much may be your answer.

Dander is a common culprit in allergies to dogs. A dog can be bathed up to twice weekly to try to alleviate the excessive dander production. Be sure though to use a medicated pet shampoo prescribed by a veterinarian if you have found that your dog is having skin allergies and not an inexpensive alternative which can dry out yourpet's skin and worsen the problem for the both of you. A non-allergicmember of the family should brush the dog often, preferably outside.It is important to know that a Goldendoodle can have dry skin and usinginexpensive Shampoo can further irritate the skin causing the dog itself to have allergies. We recommend Pantene as well as a tad bit ofPantene conditioner.

The Goldendoodle hair samples are from two seperate doodles of different ages. We welcome you to join our doodle world if you have found this hybrid to be the perfect fit for your family.

© 2007-Author/Breeder: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World

When Goldendoodles are void of a facial beard

2009-03-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

When Goldendoodles are void of a facial beard

When we think about the Goldendoodle dog, we usually think of them as being one part Golden Retriever and one part Poodle. Since 1999, we have gathered enough researched information from our own experiences to now know Goldendoodle fact from fiction. From Mara's litter (see photos on our website under the link "available doodles"), we have come to know that using a Goldendoodle sire to a Golden Retriever dam will produce Goldendoodles who have twice the Golden Retriever DNA. Not only will it produce Goldendoodles with twice the Golden Retriever DNA, but at least 1 or 2 of the puppies in the litter will have an identical appearance of the Golden Retriever. However, a unique sequence occurs as the puppies become closer to 4-6 weeks of age.

From September 1st, 2007 we have watched each puppy begin to obtain a very simliar appearance and coat as that of our Goldendoodles when they have one parent the Poodle and one parent the Golden Retriever (ie...50/50) with the exception of ONE Goldendoodle (the only female in this litter) who is void of the normal facial beard. She has picked up more Golden Retriever traits BUT has not shed a single hair as of yet. Her body coat in the beginning was smooth like the Golden Retriever but then it began to become thicker. However, as of September 25, 2007 her coat has not become fluffy like her brothers and has remained very similar to the coat of the Golden Retriever. We had encorporated a male Goldendoodle with beautiful sky blue eyes into our breeding program for Goldendoodles in hopes of offspring not only carrying the blue eyed gene but perhaps of having blue eyes themselves. Each puppy in this litter was born with brown eyes, to our dismay. BUT, they do have the blue eyed gene within their genetic structure.

We use to get alot of calls from people who bought a Goldendoodle from other breeders and they had questions about their Goldendoodle not having a facial beard or the shagginess of most Goldendoodles they saw in photos. Their breeder had told them their Goldendoodle was a 50/50 mix or a mix with a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. This litter has proven what we knew all along to be true. You can pretty much be sure that if you own a Goldendoodle that resembles the Golden Retriever in nearly every way....is void of the facial beard.....and has nearly an identical appearance as that of a Golden Retriever...... the sire to that puppy's litter was a Goldendoodle who was bred to a female Golden Retriever. Interestingly enough, when a Goldendoodle is sired to a female Poodle, the Goldendoodles pick up twice the Poodle DNA and each of those puppies will have more of the temperament of a Poodle as well as the body structure of the Poodle and yet when a Goldendoodle is sired to a female Golden Retriever, the Goldendoodles pick up twice the Golden Retriever DNA.

EVERY GOLDENDOODLE IN THIS LITTER EXCEPT FOR THE ONE FEMALE, has begun to obtain a facial beard and shaggy coat. The female has still not shed a single hair. That's the cool part about this litter. It was my original belief that if a Goldendoodle was bred to a Golden Retriever, that the puppies would shed. I still believe that if a Goldendoodle has alot of Golden Retriever DNA in its structure and is bred to a Golden Retriever, that the offspring will shed. But we elected to use a Goldendoodle who had twice the Poodle and had more Poodle within his DNA structure so that we could encorporate enough Poodle into the offspring to reduce the shedding that is very similar to the 50/50 mix. It has now been our exerience that the Goldendoodles that came from a Poodle mother and Goldendoodle father, had more curls to their coat and picked up more of the Poodle personality/disposition.

Our experience has taught us thus far, that If you are a Golden Retriever fan, you will completely enjoy either the 50/50 mix or the mix we are talking about....a Goldendoodle with twice the Poodle sired to a purebred Golden Retriever. We have found also that if you are a Golden Retriever fan, you will NOT be able to appreciate the personality or temperament of any doodle that has twice the Poodle DNA. It has also been our experience that such a mixture does NOT work out that well for those who either have young children in their home or who befriend the entire neighborhood or do alot of socializing. Our experience thus far has taught us that Goldendoodles with more Poodle do much better with families who have adult children...no children or children who are at least over the age of 13. Goldendoodles with twice the Poodle are somewhat skiddish; do not befriend strangers easily and do not want to befriend your entire neighborhood. I won't lump all doodles with twice the Poodle into this category but am just discussing what has been our experience thus far. Althought in 11 years of being a professional breeder, we've had only a couple of rehoming issues and 2 of the rehoming issues was with doodles that had twice the Poodle. To date, since 1996, I can only remember three rehoming issues from the top of my head and we've produced quite a few litters since 1996. 2 out of the 3 had twice the Poodle. The other rehoming issue was from a doodle that had been abandoned at a boarding facility and adopted by an elderly couple. From those three issues, we've discovered it was the owners inability to understand their doodle and their reluctance to actually incorporate obedience training that caused their issue. Had they made the effort to actually use a professional dog trainer to help them with their situation, I believe the placements would have worked out. Some people call a dog trainer and then never use them.
Either the training was going to cost more than they could afford or would cause them to actually make an effort at changing their dogs' behaviour....it's hard to say what the reason was that they did not actually stick with a training program or use a training program.

Those who are experienced with the Poodle....have owned Poodles before or are at least very familiar with the Poodle have the most successful placements with Goldendoodles who have twice the Poodle DNA. We actually only desire people with more Poodle experience to adopt doodles with more Poodle so that they don't become surprised or frustrated with the personality. We encourage everyone with young children or children who are NOT adults, to adopt a Goldendoodle with more Golden Retriever DNA because children usually have alot of friends and children want their dog to participate in activities with their friends. Most doodles that have twice the Poodle do not want to become involved with numerous people at any one time. They seem to be wary of large crowds of people or screaming, running, yelling children. There are some people you can't convince of this but it is those people who have the most placement issues. Those who do not listen to the advice of their breeder always have the most problems.

This is the first time that we intentionally used a Goldendoodle sire with more Poodle traits to breed to a female Golden Retriever. I have always been leery of matching a pair like this because I was not sure about the shedding element. I did want to know, however, if a Goldendoodle would be void of the facial beard, the plume tail and the shaggy coat if it came from this sort of pairing. As such, this litter and our litters that turned out to have more Poodle DNA has taught us a great deal concerning breeding methods and what to expect. We were able to notice the difference in coat type from this most recent litter, at approx. 6 wks of age. This further backs up our original claim that a breeder would be fully aware by age 6 weeks whether or not their doodle puppy will either be void of the facial beard or have a facial beard as well what coat type the doodle would have.
Many people in the past emailed us regarding their doodles purchased from other breeders whose doodle was void of the facial beard asking if their doodle would ever have one and we now can back up our prediction that any doodle with a smooth face and void of the "V" shape by six weeks of age will NOT have a facial beard as an adult and the breeder is fully aware of this fact if they are an experienced breeder. We noticed the difference between this particular female and her brothers right at the time the puppies began to get their fluffy coat and this generally takes place between 4-6 weeks of age. All of the puppies in this litter have the Golden Retriever temperament and disposition but we noticed another difference!

The female in the litter that we are discussing has more of a stocky, Golden Retriever build but she has the long, narrow "field retriever" appearance in her face that we saw in alot of our purebred Golden Retriever litters when we bred them. We do not breed purebred Golden Retrievers that often because my allergies have become much worse as I've gotten older and I've remained more of a Goldendoodle fan just for allergies alone. The males on the other hand have a much smaller body structure and are smaller in size. The female has taken more of her mothers' appearance and size and the males have taken more their fathers' size and body structure but still have the Golden Retriever temperament. The males in this litter are very shaggy and have the full facial beard already! I'd like to also note that many people who are not experienced with the Goldendoodle dog do not realize that there are numerous coat changes and phases before their doodle turns a year of age.

Even the facial beard will change in texture. I always hear people tell me...well...that puppy doesn't seem to have very long hair and it doesn't seem to have a very full facial beard. Yes! That's correct! Because the dog is just a puppy! So many people assume their doodle should automatically have a thick, fluffy coat....a full facial beard and a really thick plume tail. No. That is not what happens.

The Goldendoodle's coat is a gradual process from the day they are born until the day they turn a year of age. Once they are an adult, that's it. The coat is what it is. The coat will always continue to grow and will always be in need of coat maintenence if it is a shaggy dog. That's a given for any dog with such a coat. But we think that if someone really wants a Golden Retriever but can't handle all the shedding that comes with a Golden Retriever, they'll be happy with a doodle that is void of the facial beard and the shaggy coat and has more of the Golden Retriever appearance.
Their coat will not be long and thick or shaggy, nor will they have a shaggy, facial beard. The coat will be easy to maintain and they will not have the shedding coat like their purebred counter part. The doodle that I mention up above will make a perfect companion to your neighborhood...your friends....your children of any age. Now we have given the purebred Golden Retriever breeder something to be jealous of! A Goldendoodle who could very well pass for a purebred Golden Retriever yet NOT shed! You are very welcome.

Author/breeder: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World. All rights reserved. 2007

Lyme Disease and your Goldendoodle

2009-03-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

Lyme Disease and your Goldendoodle

Lyme disease can occur in dogs if bitten by a tick. Lyme disease was first discovered in 1975 by Allen Steere, here in the United States. There had been a mysterious outbreak of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis near the community of Lyme, Connecticut. In 1982, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease was discovered by Willy Burgdorfer, who isolated spirochetes belonging to the genus Borrelia from the mid-guts of Ixodes ticks. Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne illness in the United States.

As we near the warmer months, Goldendoodle owners need to pay special attention to ticks. Some topical treatments like "revolution" will help prevent ticks, but we also have come to know that Goldendoodles can sometimes have organ failure from these topical treatments, over a long period of usage. You have to remember that these topical treatments are toxic chemicals that can cause health problems with your Goldendoodle.

So what to do? Veterinarians have a vaccine to help prevent lyme disease in dogs. We highly recommend that all Goldendoodle owners, as well as other dog owners, vaccinate their canine to help protect them against lyme disease. Another tick illness is called "Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever". I can personally relate to this particular illness since many years ago, I had contracted "RMSF" after being bitten by a tick that had fallen out of a tree when my husband and I were clearing trees out of our back yard near a wooded area. Symptoms for "RMSF" are very similar to Lyme disease. Joint pain, fatigue, feeling flushed, fevers, chills, swollen lymph nodes, severe headache and muscle pain. Many people assume they are coming down with the flu but find out through a blood test that they have contracted one of these tick-borne illnesses. Your Goldendoodle can show the same symptoms including redness or rash around the area bitten by the tick.

Without treatment, a person or a dog can die. Symptoms can appear anywhere from 1 day to 1 month after the bite. This is why diagnosing a tick borne illness can be quite difficult, especially in dogs. There are stages to the disease itself. The first stage being redness or a rash surrounding the bitten area.

The second stage, once the bacteria begins to spread, begins to affect bodily functions. Problems can be any of the following:

*Meningitis * Numbness in the arms or legs, including pain. *Paralysis of the facial muscles which usually only affects one side of the face. * Abnormal heart beat.

The third stage can occur weeks, months or years after the original bite from the tick. Without antibiotics to treat the disease, lyme disease will progress and cause damage, if not death.

Chronic Lyme arthritis—brief bouts of pain and swelling usually occurring in one or more of the large joints, especially the knees

Nervous system problems, including memory loss and difficulty concentrating
Chronic pain in muscles and/or unrestful sleep

If a blood test has confirmed lyme disease or rocky mountain spotted fever, antibiotics will be prescribed. Treatment can last from 2 - 6 weeks depending upon the severity of the illness. Tick prevention will also help reduce the chances that your Goldendoodle will contract either tick born disease, but it is important to know that a lyme vaccine is available for your doodle dog and its very important as we near the summer months, that your canine obtain this vaccine.
If you feel comfortable giving your Goldendoodle vaccinations, a lyme disease vaccine can be obtained by visiting either "Omaha Vaccine" or "Revival Animal". The vaccine is given intra muscularly and is very easy to give to your Goldendoodle.
More information about Lyme disease can be obtained here: http://www.acponline.org/clinical_information/resources/lyme_disease/patient/diagnosis.htm

*About the author: Dee Gerrish has been a private, professional, hobby breeder since 1996. She has owned dogs all of her life. Visit her website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/ for more doodle information, photos and videos. Dee Gerrish is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog in the southern region of the United States. She was the first breeder to register the Goldendoodle dog with a ligit kennel club, in the United States.

Let's talk doodle

2009-02-27T10:10:00.000-08:00

Lets talk Doodle

Back when I started with my Goldendoodles in 1999, many people here in the United States had never heard of them. "What is a Goldendoodle?", they'd ask. Even though the truck I drove had photos of a Goldendoodle all over it. My husband and I would have to explain to everyone that a Goldendoodle was exactly as what was visually seen on our truck.

Many years has passed since I first began creating Goldendoodles. Yes, I said, "creating", simply because back then I didn't "breed" them. We had to first create them....see if we liked them.....before we could keep some and place them into our breeding program. Back then, I was a purebred Golden Retriever breeder and would have never considered mixing any of my Golden Retrievers with a Poodle. Don't get me wrong. The Poodle is a fantastic dog, but there is far too much coat maintenence required of this breed and I had no desire to own a dog that I'd have to spend countless hours maintaining the coat. I wasn't even sure I'd like the personality of a Poodle, much less own one. But in 1999 I fell in love with a Poodle that I eventually named Scisco's Kid. I would later add another terrific boy that I named Darby. He has since crossed the rainbow bridge in his sleep, but I was very glad that I had kept a couple of Goldendoodles from his last sired litter back in March of '07.

Both of my original Standard Poodles helped begin my Goldendoodle breeding program. Scisco's Kid is still with me, but he is neutered and retired. Both dogs have produced some of the finest Goldendoodles out there. A couple of our past doodles live in Europe, with the remainder live in the United States. It has been a "learn as I go" experience with the Goldendoodle dog, which is why alot of the information on my Goldendoodle World website has changed over the years. I've had to update my information as I've come to know it, experience it and see it for myself. What I've come to know and what I've already discussed quite a bit on my website, is the fact the Goldendoodle dog comes in three coat types. JUST three coat types. If a breeder has told you otherwise, then they have not educated themselves properly or learned enough about the Goldendoodle dog to tell you the facts. There are only three coat types for the Goldendoodle dog: 1. Shaggy 2. Curly 3. Smooth

I want to talk a bit more about the shaggy coat because alot of people seem to be confused and I can see why. Indeed, many photos on the internet may show you Goldendoodles who have been trimmed down...so it isn't easy to tell what type of coat the dog has. Many photos may show you various types of hair cuts and so you can't get an idea of what the coat really looks like untrimmed. The shaggy coat Goldendoodle has lots of wispy hairs that go in every direction, all over its body. There will even be waves or slight curling at the tips of the shaggy strands of hairs. So, let's get a closer look at the shaggy coat Goldendoodle. (photos can be viewed on our Goldendoodle World website.)

The shaggy coat Goldendoodle starts out looking like a purebred Golden Retriever puppy. Their body coat is soft, short and every doodle pup has a lovely round head. They are oh, so adorable! I've come to know that the more ripples about the coat within hours of birth, the shaggier the coat will be. A Goldendoodle puppy that is going to be curly as an adult will have multiple ripples from its head to its tail, within four hours of birth. You could literally take your finger and feel the ripples because they feel like little tiny bumps along the coat. But this article is about the shaggy coat Goldendoodle. When I had my first litter, I was confused after seeing the puppies as newborns. I wasn't sure what had happened because they looked just like Golden Retrievers. But an amazing transformation began to happen by the time the pups were just four weeks of age.

My Goldendoodle puppies began to look like fuzzy little teddy bears! Every day their coat continued to become thicker and shaggier and the hairs around the face began to peek out. By the time these little doodle buds were eight weeks of age, their coat was very fluffy. Now the one thing people need to remember is that a Goldendoodle puppy's coat is never the end result of what the coat will look like as an adult. I've had many people look at a Goldendoodle puppy and make the remark, "Oh...I thought it was going to be shaggy." But I had to explain to them...yes, of course they are going to be shaggy. Goldendoodles are never as shaggy in the puppy stage as they are an adult. The coat of a Goldendoodle will go in phases. I've literally counted 10-15 coat changes from the time a Goldendoodle is born up until the time they turn one year of age.

The shaggy coat Goldendoodle will look scrawny and as though they have stuck their paw into a light socket by the time they are six months of age. Like a teenager, they are going through a growing phase. Some shaggy coat Goldendoodles will have long, thin legs similar to the Standard Poodle and some Goldendoodles will have short legs and a stockier body. There is no way for a breeder to actually "breed" for either physical appearance, so don't ask your breeder for one "body type" over the other. A Goldendoodle, regardless of coat type, will literally take after any one of their ancestors because all of their ancestors play a 100% role in what or whom they become as an adult. Unlike the purebred dog, hybrids have not been refined down through the years to look exactly this way or that way....but as a Goldendoodle breeder since 1999, I can definitely tell you that all three coat types do have the same exact coat traits or similarities regardless of what breeder your dog has come from so long as the breeder sticks to the golden rule of creating first generation dogs only. Don't get confused. Stay with me here. Many people do not understand what the term, "first generation" means. The term "First generation" implies parent to child...not dog type. When I say that it's important for the breeder to stay with the golden rule of creating only first generation dogs, I mean that in order for the Goldendoodle to have very similar coat traits per coat type, the breeder must not breed two related dogs together. For example, a breeder must only pair up two dogs who do not have the same exact parents or same exact pedigree within the first three generations. The two dogs used for breeding should not have shared parents, grandparents or great-grandparents. They should not breed a brother and a sister together; a mother and a son together; a father and a daughter together or a grandchild to its grandparent. Many show breeders do this, which is why the purebred dog has so many genetic health issues running through its bloodlines. So, Goldendoodles who come from a Goldendoodle/Golden Retriever mixture or two Goldendoodles or a Goldendoodle/Poodle mixture can still be first generation dogs if the parent dogs do not have shared, direct ancestors in the first three generations of their pedigree. If the children come from two parents who have different parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, those children are first generation. Many breeders will tell you that their Goldendoodles are "F1b" simply because they bred a Poodle to a Goldendoodle and they imply to you that their Goldendoodle pups are "backbred" simply because the Goldendoodle was bred back to a Poodle. This is not the correct meaning of "F1b". The correct meaning of "F1b" is that it means a Goldendoodle was bred back to a Poodle who shares the same ancestry or parentage as the Poodle within the Goldendoodle. They are really saying that they have possibly kept a Goldendoodle puppy out of one of their past litters and bred the dog back to its Poodle father or mother or possibly grandparent. Many show breeders for purebred dogs do this because they are trying to pull specific traits out of the dogs they create for show purposes. I'm here to tell you that a breeder can not have their cake and eat it too. Something will be lacking, some where, if their dogs are back bred or inbred. There's a reason that people should not create children if they themselves are directly related. There's a huge risk for genetic issues and that's why it isn't recommended. So is the same for dogs.

Every single shaggy coat Goldendoodle will have very similar features, as an adult. A shaggy coat Goldendoodle will have a full facial beard, a nice plume tail and a body will of shaggy hairs. Every Goldendoodle, regardless of coat type, has a single coat. The coat hairs itself sprouts away from the body, the tail, the legs and the face in every direction. The hair can become very thick and the shaggy coat Goldendoodle does require alot of coat maintenence. This is the only downside to owning a Goldendoodle who is NOT a smooth coat. A doodle with a shaggy coat or a curly coat, who lives outside or enjoys many outdoor activities is going to be one messy dog if the coat isn't kept trimmed, washed and brushed on a weekly basis. If your doodle does alot of swimming at the beach, lake or inside of a personal pool, you may not want to have your doodle's coat remain long and shaggy. Of course if you don't mind all the coat requirements, then the coat can remain as long and thick as you personally like.

The tail of a shaggy coat Goldendoodle is actually must thicker and longer if left untrimmed and this goes for the body coat as well. Every Goldendoodle, regardless of coat type, has a tail that rides high up over the back. Their tail curls up over the back because believe it or not, the tail of a Poodle also rides high up over the back if left undocked. I had never known this, myself, until I purchased a Poodle who for some reason, never had its tail docked. I later had my vet dock the tail and I will tell you that I will never have another adult dog's tail docked. It was a painful experience for my Poodle, for about two weeks. All dogs should have their tail docked when they are two days of age, if their tail is going to be docked. It is virtually pain free and little to no bleeding whatsoever. I would never recommend anyone dock the tail of an adult dog. If their tail has not been docked as a newborn, leave it natural. I have no idea why the breeder of one of my Poodles had not docked the tail. In Europe, it is against the law to dock tails or crop ears. All dogs in Europe have a natural appearance, including show dogs. I had not known this either until my husband and I had visited a couple of dog shows in Germany. It was then that I learned that they do not permit any dog to have its tail or ears altered in any way, shape or form.

There's a reason the Goldendoodle has become so popular and it isn't just because it's a low shedding dog. The Goldendoodle is soft, cuddly and incredibly sweet. The Goldendoodle, regardless of coat type, is a very happy, outgoing dog who loves affection and enjoys being with their human family members. The amount of love a Goldendoodle has to offer is simply unbelievable. Most Goldendoodles work out for children of all ages, but we have found that the smaller the doodle, the less likely it would make a good candidate for children. Many Toy sized dogs are nervous around children or a large group of people. I'm not sure why this is, but it just seems to be a fact. It seems to me that the very small Goldendoodle would prefer to be a lap dog and usually gravitates towards only one person and not an entire group. Goldendoodles 20-25 pounds or more are better able to handle a lot of activity and seem to be more suited for children. Especially small children. I've never recommended any family obtain a toy sized dog if they have small children. For some reason, many people want to buy their small kids toy sized dogs. As a breeder, I never thought this was a good idea. I have found that many breeders of toy sized dogs feel the very same way. Some will not even allow their little dogs to be adopted by families with small children. It just isn't a good match.

The shaggy coat Goldendoodle has alot of love to offer. They are very funny to watch as young puppies and they will certainly give you alot to laugh about. But puppies are not always a laughing matter. They are a lot of responsibility and require a lot of work. Many people assume that it is very easy to house break or potty train a puppy rather than a young adult dog. Well, I will be the first person to disagree with that notion. Young puppies have absolutely no self control whatsoever. They do not have a fully developed sphincter muscle and physically can not hold their bowels in check for very long. Puppies also have a very short attention span. They literally do nothing as a puppy, except eat, pee, poop, play and sleep. Playtime for a puppy is generally high activity for about 30 minutes and then off they go for a very long nap. This is why I don't understand why so many people have the idea that training a young puppy is much easier than training a young adult dog. I've completely found it just the opposite. As I write this article, I have a German Short-haired Pointer that I obtained as a five month old puppy. She had never been exposed to the indoors of a home...no potty training experience and was afraid of everything because she had not been exposed to anything other than other puppies. Smart and incredibly loving, her intelligence springs out through her eyes. She's a very high activity level type of dog, so getting her to calm down and relax has been a challenge. We are still working on self control. Since I'm not a trainer whatsoever, I've been teaching myself how to train this particular puppy. I want her to learn to live indoors, so working with her every single day is very important. Personally I will share with you what has worked for me, for housebreaking a puppy who was never exposed to any type of potty training. Every day gets better, so let me get that out there right now. Some people have the notion that they are going to get a puppy and within a few short days, housebreaking will be a thing of the past and their puppy will magically become housebroken over night. If you are one of these people who thinks like that, you'd better make sure that the dog is one hundred percent housebroken or you will be looking to find your dog a new home very quickly. Impatient people will need to hire a professional dog trainer or farm out their dog to a professional dog trainer who keeps the dog until they are fully trained. This type of nonsense is for lazy people who want instant gratification. Trust me...those type of people exist and they are out there. Yelling, screaming, getting upset and freaking out won't help your puppy or dog learn how to use the bathroom or behave while inside of your home. Positive reinforcement works and I will be the first person to tell you that you should always keep your puppy or dog on a retractable leash if you want the housebreaking to go quickly. I learned this from experience.

Let's talk about potty training for just a few seconds and then we'll get back to the shaggy coat Goldendoodle. What I personally discovered is that placing your puppy or dog on a retractable leash and taking your pet to the same exact area, each and every time, will make the process go faster. A retractable leash is nicer than a standard leash because you can allow your dog to move further out away from yourself and you can also retract the leash to give a short, quick jerking motion if your pet isn't doing what he or she is suppose to be doing. You must have control of the leash and its movements for the sake of potty training. If you puppy or dog wants to start taking off in a direction that you do not want him or her to go, just jerk back on the leash by releasing the lock and letting the leash retract back into the handle and give a slight jerk at the same time, with a very quick, short command of "NO" at the same time. Then release the leash to go back out of the handle so that your dog can continue to do what it was that you wanted him or her to do in the first place. I used a harness on "Merry-Belle" (my German Shorthaired Pointer) and not a collar. It was easier to control her movements with a body harness. I kept the harness on her all the time for about a month. After she began to associate the harness and the leash with going outside to potty, I was then able to graduate her to a neck collar. Now I can simple take the end of the retractable leash and wrap it around her neck and clip the leash unto itself and not even worry about a collar if I am going to take her outside in the yard. You will want either a harness or neck collar if you take your dog out in public. But for simple front or back yard trips, you don't have to place the collar on your pet every time. I never leave collars on my dogs full time. Ever. Dogs have a strange way of getting caught on something and this can be deadly if you are not supervising your pet or at home. Never leave a collar around your dogs' neck if you are not at home or supervising your dog. The consequences can be deadly and I can't stress this enough to people who have never had this unfortunate experience. If you have been lucky enough to never experience the consequences of your dog hanging itself from getting its collar caught on an object while you were not at home, then your one of the lucky few and it could just be a matter of time before you will experience this horrible tragedy. Believe it or not, even crated dogs can hang themselves with deadly consequences if you place it inside of the crate with its collar on.

I began to notice with Merry-Belle that if I took her outside for potty breaks while on leash and to the same exact area each and every time, she would do her business immediately. However, if I simply asked her if she wanted to go outside and I opened the door for her to zoom outside, all she wanted to do was run around the yard to play. So, its important that you place your dog on the leash each and every time you are taking it outside for potty breaks. With a puppy, it seems like you've had to take the dog out every ten to fifteen minutes! It can become exasperating and sometimes frustrating. With Merry-Belle, no sooner than I brought her inside from using the bathroom outdoors...it seemed she had to go again. Literally within minutes! Or at least it seemed like minutes. Another important thing to remember is that your dog can not talk to you through yelling, "Hey, You! Take me outside!" . Your dog will look at you as if staring. Your dog will sometimes whine. It will sometimes constantly come up to you as if wanting to play...when it really is asking for you to take him or her outside for a potty break. Since you just came back inside, you will think they want to play. Not! They want to go back outside. So...learning the signals to communicate with your dog or puppy is essential. As the days go by of bonding, both of you will soon learn to speak each others' lanquage. Think of your dog as being a person from another country. They don't speak your lanquage nor do you speak their lanquage. You wouldn't yell at the person if you could not communicate...even though it would be frustrating to not understand what that person was telling you. So, through body lanquage and other signals, you have to teach each other how to get your messages across. Merry-Belle will now bring mer her toy and drop it at my feet if she wants to play. If she needs to use the bathroom, she will come and sit next to me or stare at me or whine at me. She now knows it is important to communicate to me that she needs something. I've also learned how to communicate with her and understand her signals. So, it's really important that you teach your dog or puppy how to communicate with you if he or she needs something and if you pay close enough attention to your dog, you will see that they also are teaching YOU how to communicate with THEM through their own body signals.

I discovered that Merry-Belle loves to play with specific toys. She loves to carry around anything that squeeks! She particular enjoys toys that has something for me to grab onto at the other end so we can tussle with it. So, you can use a simple favorite toy as a "treat" when your puppy or dog has done what you wanted him or her to do. Giving food treats isn't always a good thing because your canine can become very over weight which is not good for its joints or heart or other internal organs. What I did with Merry-Belle for housebreaking, was that I released her from the retractable leash after she did her business and then I tossed her favorite toy for her to play fetch with. She soon learned that playtime was AFTER she did her business and not before. Releasing your pet from the leash soon AFTER he or she has used the bathroom outdoors will teach him or her that play time comes after and not before pottying and by playing with your dog AFTER it has done its business and not before, also teaches your dog to associate the outdoors with pottying and not for playing. Dogs are relatively simple creatures if we learn how to communicate with them. Repitition is also key to learning. Doing the same thing, at the same time, every single day over and over again helps your dog learn faster. As I said, I'm not a dog trainer nor do I claim to be. But I can share with you what has worked for me and perhaps what I've learned will help YOU too.

Now, if you want to learn more about the shaggy, curly or smooth coat Goldendoodle and your on a doodle quest....take the time to visit our website at http://www.goldendoodleworld.com as I've spent since 1999 writing about the Goldendoodle and taking hundreds of snapshots of not just the dog itself, but of various coat phases and changes! Plus, since 1996, many of our fantastic customers have shared with us, photos of the dogs they have purchased from us and by sharing their photos with us...we've turned around to share them with you. Our Goldendoodle World website is the most comprehensive, educational, extensive doodle site on the internet and we hope you'll enjoy not just our website....but join us too! We ship worldwide and we welcome everyone to personally come to our home to pick up their next doodle dog.

**About the author: Dee Gerrish has been a private, professional breeder since 1996 but has owned dogs all of her life. Dee Gerrish is one of the original founders for the Goldendoodle dog in the southern region of the United States. She has written extensively about the Goldendoodle dog since 1999. Dee Gerrish was the first breeder to register the Goldendoodle dog with a ligitimate kennel club in the United States...."Universal Kennel Club".

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People love to love dogs

2009-02-26T01:46:00.001-08:00

People love dogs. People love to love dogs. People love to own dogs. What type of dogs do people love to own? Well, all sorts of people have fallen in love with dogs over the centuries. Famous people own dogs. Poor people own dogs. The average person owns dogs. Dogs even sometimes live at nursing homes and dogs have performed many functions for centuries. In some Asian countries, dogs sometimes even become food.

Have there been famous people with famous dogs? Yes! Through out history, many famous people have owned famous dogs. Will Rogers once said, "If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went." Most people who are dog people will agree that most dogs are nicer than most people.

Dogs are not judgemental nor do they care how much money you earn. Dogs do not even care if you have a job so long as you make it YOUR job to give them love and lots of hugs. Joe Weinstein said, "My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3 a can. That’s almost $21 in dog money." Dogs are very basic, simply creatures and they are surely not as complicated to understand as humans are. People make life complicated. Dogs do not.

Dogs make great pets for many people, especially senior citizens. They provide companionship and instant friendship. Dogs do not mind how old you are. Dogs will love you even if you are in diapers! Young or old. Over the centuries, dogs have provided valuable service to people. From assisting fire fighters to helping locate victims of earthquakes! Dogs can be trained to help people who need assistance with personal chores. From ringing bells, to picking up small items to helping the blind get around. Dogs can even learn to perform multiple tricks!

Many people who love to own dogs have a need with learning how to train their dogs. Casar Milan is a well respected dog trainer with alot of terrific information on how to train your dog! His website provides alot of great information. Some people go to college to learn how to become a better dog person. Seriously! Check out this link if you are interested in getting a degree on becoming a better dog person! Dogs think, feel and react very much like humans. That's why people and dogs go together like peanut butter and jelly! But you'd have to be a dog person to agree with this notion.

Dogs actually help people understand themselves better as human beings. There are millions of people on our planet who own dogs. Some people shouldn't own dogs and some dogs shouldn't be around people. You can see dogs virtually anywhere! You see people throwing a frisbee for a dog in a park. You see people walking their dog on a sidewalk. If you visit Germany, you will even see dogs riding on a trolly or sitting besides its master at a local cafe. Some people have more pictures of their dog than of their children. Some children prefer their dog over their friends. Some dogs prefer one person over another.

Many people will tell you long stories of how their dogs have enriched their lives. Some people don't even want to discuss dogs at all! Sometimes a person will think they are not a dog person at all until they meet a dog. Then suddenly that non-dog person becomes magically transformed. Some people are morons around dogs and some dogs think some people are morons. Dogs can make us laugh. Dogs can make us cry. Dogs can make us mad and dogs can make us happy. Not everyone loves dogs and not every dog loves a person. One thing is for sure, however!

Dogs have been around for centuries and we will continue to see dogs for as long as we see people.

*Author/Breeder: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World cc@2009

*Photo courtesy: Goldendoodle World: http://www.goldendoodleworld.com/ and Goldendoodle owner, Cheryl as well as Goldendoodle, Sonny.

(Sonny is a male Goldendoodle that was purchased by Cheryl from Goldendoodle World. Sonny has been featured in a magazine article