When my kids came to my wife and I begging for a dog I was apprehensive at first. We have four kids. Thinking about taking care of a dog on top of raising our children was daunting. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize all of the benefits our family would receive by welcoming in a dog.
The next step was to decide what breed of dog would be the best for our kids. When we first laid eyes on a Goldendoodle, my kids were instantly in love, and knew that a Goldendoodle was the dog for our family. Still skeptical, I spent hours researching if Goldendoodles were good with kids.
What I discovered was Goldendoodles are extremely patient with kids. They will provide gentle and intelligent companionship throughout their entire life. Being one of the easiest breeds to train kids are able to do a lot of their training. Goldendoodles are highly social, kind, and lovable to everyone they meet. You won’t be able to find a better breed of dog for kids.
Goldendoodles were named as one of the top five smartest breeds in the world. They are like the Swiss army knife of dogs. They have achieved success as guide dogs, service, dogs, therapy dogs, and sniffer dogs. Goldendoodles are an amazing animal. In the rest of this article I will outline everything you need to know before bringing a Goldendoodle into your family.
Social
Goldendoodles are highly social. Our Goldendoodle is named Finn and he is always around one of us. While I typing this into the computer he was curled up in a chair next to me. Being highly social Goldendoodles should not be left outside in a kennel. If you want to bring a Goldendoodle into your family then they need to be with the family, or they will suffer from separation anxiety.
If you are gone a lot throughout the day then there are some things you can do to help calm them down. The most effective thing that we have found is playing calming music on our Amazon Alexa while we are away. Another method we have used is using the Alexa app to drop in and talk with him while we are gone throughout the day.
Goldendoodles can also suffer from shyness or fearfulness. To prevent this you will want to give them time to socialize with other animals and bring them around people often.
Friendly
Goldendoodles are incredibly friendly. They are really affectionate with families, kind to kids, friendly to other pets, and friendly towards strangers.
Our Goldendoodle is so affectionate with our family. We take him to pick up our kids from school and he is always so happy to see them. We have two little girls that are ages three and one. We watch them as close as we can and try and teach them to be kind and soft to our Goldendoodle.
However, kids don’t always listen and I have caught them pulling his tail and hair on multiple occasions. On each of those occasions he has never tried to bite them or even bark at them. He still just runs around and plays with them happy as could be.
Goldendoodles in general do not make the best watch dogs. They are so kind and affectionate to everyone including strangers. Which doesn’t work out so great if the stranger is not suppose to be there. This can vary between Goldendoodles though. Our Goldendoodle will get a little guarded and vocal when strangers come around. Still when we have visitors it doesn’t take our Goldendoodle long before he has warmed up to them and becomes their best friend.
Easy To Train
The Goldendoodle is a “designer dog”, basically a hybrid dog achieved by breeding a Poodle with a Golden Retriever. Poodles and Golden Retrievers are both extremely smart dogs. Because of that Goldendoodles are one of the most intelligent dogs you can find. Being so intelligent it is generally easier to train Goldendoodles versus other breeds.
Our Goldendoodle was potty trained in less than a month after welcoming him into our family. My 10 year old son and been doing the vast majority of our Goldendoodles training. He has taught him all sorts of things including ringing a bell when he needs to go out to the bathroom. If you are new to dog training this is the perfect dog for you.
Energy Level
Goldendoodles are packed full of energy. They do require quite a bit of exercise and will struggle being cooped up in a little apartment all the time. They need to have some space to run and burn off some of their steam.
Goldendoodles require at least 20 to 30 minutes of exercise daily. Something we found with our Goldendoodle is that when he doesn’t get enough exercise he will randomly run full speed though the house. He will just go crazy for a bit running around and won’t stop until he gets tired. To prevent this full out sprint through the house ensure that your Goldendoodle gets a good exercise in everyday.
Barking
Goldendoodles are known for not being very vocal. The majority of them will hardly not make a sound. However, this will vary from dog to dog. Our Goldendoodle will get vocal when someone comes to the door or when we first put him in his crate.
Being highly social he doesn’t like to be alone so if we put him to bed and the kids aren’t in the room then he’ll bark for a short amount of time. As soon as our kids are in bed he calms right down. By no means is he an excessive barker, but he can defiantly get vocal occasionally.
Grooming
Being designer dogs, Goldendoodles can be bred different ways which will affect their coat and size. Goldendoodles can come in a variety of different colors such as white, copper, tan, black, and spotted. Their hair can vary from long and straight to tight long curls. Generally Goldendoodles have very minimal to no shedding at all.
Our Goldendoodle is a f1b meaning he was bred with a mini Goldendoodle and a miniature poodle. The f1b Goldendoodles are known for not shedding at all. They are really good for people that have pet allergies because of the lack of shedding. I have never found a hair from our Goldendoodle around the house, and when I brush him there is almost no hair that comes out in the brush.
If you want your Goldendoodle to keep their signature fluffy long coat, then it will need to be groomed every 4-6 weeks. To keep the nice fluffy look you will also need to brush your Goldendoodle daily.
Size
Goldendoodles generally come in three different sizes standard, miniature, and petite/toy.
Standard Goldendoodles
Standard Goldendoodles are approximately 22 inches and higher when full grown. Females are lighter than the males ranging from 50 to 60 pounds. The males come in at 55 to 70 pounds. Being the largest of the Goldendoodle breed these dogs need to most space to run and burn off energy.
Miniature Goldendoodle
A Miniature Goldendoodle is the result of breeding a Toy Poodle with a Golden Retriever. These medium-sized dogs range in size 35 to 50 pounds full grown. Both males and females are similar weight. They are approximately 16 to 20 inches high when measured from the shoulders. This size of Goldendoodle is popular with people living in larger homes with fenced yards as well as, people with condos and town homes.
Petite/Toy Goldendoodles
Toy Goldendoodles are often mistaken for teddy bears. They are small and adorable. Males and Females ranged from 20 to 35 pounds, sometimes even smaller. They are approximately 15 inches high when measured from the shoulder. Toy Goldendoodles are perfect for smaller spaces such as apartments.
Goldendoodles are easy to fall in love with because of their fun loving nature. They are incredibly friendly to kids. One would make a great addition to your family. You will instantly be your kids hero for the rest of time by welcoming a Goldendoodle into your family.