About Labradoodles

It is essential to dog-proof your home before adopting a labradoodle or any other dog.  Whether puppy or adult, an energetic dog can have catastrophic effects on any home.  The first, most basic dog-proofing step is to completely remove anything you don’t want chewed or swallowed from the floor, including clothing and shoes, particularly ones that have been worn recently.  Move all trash cans out of reach or close them securely, as the contents of a garbage can are a smorgasbord from heaven for any dog.

Wrap exposed electrical cords and tie up any window treatment cords.  Put all toxic chemicals in an area your dog cannot reach.  The same safety latches and gates used to restrict access to children work well to keep pets out as well.  Remove all toxic plants from your home and yard, and isolate foods that are harmful to dogs, which include onions, raisins, and chocolate.   Gum and nicotine patches, while not food items, can also be extremely harmful to an overzealous dog or puppy. 

It’s important not to set your labradoodle puppy up for failure when it comes to chewing.  If you have items that you don’t want chewed, remove them from the area that the puppy will be in.   Watch the puppy closely, keeping him confined in a safe area like a crate or a room when you are not present.  An unsupervised puppy with the run of the house is an invitation to have one of every pair of shoes, among other things, destroyed by those determined little teeth!

When you find your labradoodle puppy chewing on something inappropriate, take it away and replace it with something appropriate such as a chew toy.  A loud noise can often be enough to distract the puppy for a minute.  Use chew deterrent solution on forbidden items to give them an unpleasant taste and deter the puppy.  Make sure the puppy has lots of toys that are appropriate to teething discomfort, ensuring that there are no squeakers or loose parts that can be swallowed.  Rotate the toys to discourage boredom.  Finally, be sure your puppy gets plenty of activity to encourage healthy rest.

Labradoodles seem to be absolutely everywhere right now.  Celebrity owners such as Tiger Woods, Jennifer Aniston, and Barbara Eden have made the breed very visible.    Other trends illustrating the popularity of the Labradoodle are the inclusion of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary, a Labradoodle game piece in the ‘Here and Now’ Monopoly game, and the award-winning ‘Lucky the Incredible Wonder Pup’ animated toy.

The labradoodle was originally created in Australia in the late 1980s to be a hypoallergenic service dog, and many labradoodles have indeed proven to be outstanding service dogs. However, due to the speedy propagation of the breed by people who wanted to cash in on this idea, labradoodles that are available today cannot reliably be expected to be hypoallergenic, and they do require some regular grooming.  Doodles, as they are fondly called by their fans, are available in a range of sizes.  There is little uniformity in their appearance–some favor the poodle portion of their ancestry, while others resemble a shaggier Labrador.  Doodles are clever, energetic, funny, and intelligent.  Eager to please, doodles are generally straightforward to train and are ultimately capable of learning many unusual tricks.  They are too friendly and nonaggressive to be reliable watchdogs, and can be mischievous if not kept in check by their people, who they love dearly but may occasionally try to outsmart.