[Unitedrn]

Okay-

We are now thinking of getting a smaller labradoodle! Questions I have and have not been able to answer are as follows:
1) Are there ones for sale less than $2500? I have not found a breeder that is more in the $1000 range for the smaller dogs
2) Why are all the Austrailian labradoodles so poodle-like?
3) Is it possible to get a mini/med. doodle that looks more lab-like?

Okay, I looked through the forum and didn't seem to find these answers. So thanks in advance for your help! The search continues to find the perfect dog!!

Kim

 

[gracielou]

Since I don't raise the mini's not sure what the price range is on them I wouldn't think that they would run as high as a multi gen they usually run in the 2500.00 range.

It probably is because there is more poodle in some of the lines there is 9 areas they have placed for poodles to be bred back in and out of those nine you can pick 4 times to use the poodle. If they have a multi that sheds or sheds some they might use the poodle back to help reduce the chance of shedding in the pups. It really depends on the breeder some like that spiral curl but it is higher maintence as far as grooming goes.

I'm sure you could find one you will just have to be patience and trust the breeder if you can't visit and piock the puppy out yourself the breeder should be honest and tell you at around 5 weeks or so what they feel the build and look will be.

Keep us posted once you get your baby and post pictures of course.

 

[Tammy-Doodle Acres]

Mini/Med Labradoodle

Hi Kim,
Yes, it is possible to get a Mini/Med that looks Lab-like. We don't breed Austrailians or Multigens, so I can't advise you on that. I am not sure what your preferences are for shedding or coat-type, but I would suggest looking for an F1 or an F1b. The F1s tend to shed (much less than a Lab though) and most F1bs don't.
Another factor for the 'poodle-look' would be the background of the parents- the width of the head and snout, height of the stop, etc..
To give an example, we have a Standard F1b Labradoodle litter and about 1/2 look really Labby and I really couldn't say that any of them actually look like a Poodle, even though they are backcrosses!
As for your question on pricing, yes, there are breeders who sell their mini/med pups for less than $2,500, but I thing you would be hard-pressed to find one for $1,000. We encounter a lot more missed pregnancies and much smaller litters. I find it much more difficult to breed the mini/meds than standards, but we are very determined because we absolutely love the little ones!

Good Luck in your search,
Tammy

 

[Maureen]

Hi, Kim and ALL questions are welcome, but thank you for checking out the forum to see if you could find your answers.

I've been interested in breeding miniature-to-medium doodles for a while now, over a year, and I think that the place to start is by asking what size differences are, and what would YOU consider a medium or mini doodle? There's no standard so the answers vary.

For me, personally, we have a (medium-sized) 20" f1 doodle that we were hoping to breed to a miniature poodle, for more miniaturized f1b puppies, but it didn't go well, thanks to Fedex not scanning in the box (for artificial insemination) from another excellent breeder, so we can't PROUDLY offer mini's at this time. And as with anything that is rare, or rarely done, the miniature f1b's ARE in the $2000 range from my speaking with other breeders. For that matter many breeders charge $2000 for any f1b's, altho that's not the norm of prices from breeders on this forum, for some reason! I was struggling with the possibility of charging $2k for a puppy right up until I was spending $100's on lab costs, vet charges, and bloodwork PRIOR to giving the stud owner any money for their stud fee, and the more it cost, the more I was getting comfortable with that pricerange. Science has to intervene in order to get a 12-15" poodle to breed with either a Lab or Labradoodle.

The beauty of hybrid dogs is that you CAN get "labby" looking puppies in the smaller dogs, but that is because in both the f1 and the f1b litters there are a variety of features and how they are shared by the puppies. Linda and the others have answered your questions about the multigen puppies pretty well.

A medium-sized doodle might be your best bargain if the true miniatures are out of your range.

I hope this helps!

By the way, if you haven't glazed over yet, I found out something fascinating while trying to get our Yankee bred at the vet's office: She's an f1, and is BARELY 20" at the shoulder..... Our st. poodle Sheba is a SOLID 24" at the shoulder.....and Sheba weighs 46lbs, Yankee weighs 61lbs! This is why I don't recommend having a weight standard for measuring a doodle, as much as a height-standard. :wink:

 

[sleepyhollowkennel]

Maureen,
Good idea to point out the height/weight thing! That is SO TRUE and often forgotten.
Lee Ann

 

[Unitedrn]

Thanks again for the information. I have been in touch with Shauna from Chicago Labradoodles. Upon inquiring about her mini doodles she plans to have ,she has informed us (from her experience) that mini's take longer to potty-train, stay longer in the puppy stage, and have more energy than the standard. Does anyone here agree or disagree with these statements? I know the dog she wants to breed she says is more energetic than her standard size dogs. We are now thinking that we might want to 'adopt' or rescue one that might be out of the 'puppy stage' or at least be half way through it. The chewing and jumping are real reasons we are so hesitant. We really want a smaller size dog under 15 inches if possible. I feel like there are so many varying thoughts on temperment and it might just be luck and good training to make a wonderful dog. Thanks again for any advice.

 

[sleepyhollowkennel]

The smaller the dog, the faster they mature physically. For example, small breed dogs reach their adult size between 6-8 months whereas a large breed dog may not reach his full size until 15-18 months.

It is true that large breed dogs are usually easier to housebreak.

Food for thought, many dogs are in a rescue situation because the previous owner did not take the time to housetrain the dog. It is never too late to housetrain a dog!

 

[mssteuer]

Food for thought, many dogs are in a rescue situation because the previous owner did not take the time to housetrain the dog. It is never too late to housetrain a dog!

I can attest to that. We took Maggie in at 9 months of age, and she wasn't housetrained at all. It only took about 2 weeks for her to get the hang of it. I would even suggest it's a lot easier to housetrain older dogs than puppies (obviously they have bigger blatters and more control).

 

[Maureen]

hi, I'm just going to join in the chorus....we got Yankee at 11mo. old and she was not housebroken. It can happen! Especially with a crate method. She just had to be taught. It did surprise my vet tho, who wasn't very hopeful we would be successful.

But as for little dogs being tougher to housebreak? what's the reasoning behind that? I don't get it, and have no experience. And, I haven't ever heard that before, on a broad basis.

And the claim of smaller dogs being more energetic? I can introduce you to Labradors that would defy that claim, I'm pretty sure. :wink: And some of the breeders with miniature poodles that I've spoken to (or emailed) say their pets are sweet and mellow, not more energetic than larger breeds.

I don't want to argue for the sake of argument, but I do think that breeders (including myself) need to be careful to frame those kinds of claims as being within their own experience, unless there's data to support it.

 

[sleepyhollowkennel]

In my experience little dogs are harder to housetrain. I raise and live with 3 to 100 pound dogs to give you an idea of my frame of reference.

Not sure why this is true, but I believe the messes from little ones aren't as noticeable, so their messes can sneak up on a person often times going unnoticed unless you run around barefooted or in sock feet.

This is probably the reason they take longer and may be harder to housetrain--lack of attention in the human as to when the puppy/dog starts circling...signs it needs to eliminate can be less noticeable and easier to hide in a a toy breed!

 

[Maureen]

thanks, Lee Ann, I was wondering about just that kind of potential pattern, including the smaller "mess" but haven't had a small dog (smaller than a st. poodle) since childhood!

But what you are saying still doesn't imply anything about any particular breed, right?

thanks...I was hoping you would chime in, with your variety of dogs in your home

 

[sleepyhollowkennel]

It's definetly not a breed thing that I have noticed, but more of a "stupid human trick" not seeing it happen, then not detecting it and then not neutralizing the smell. When you don't remove the smell, then that spot becomes the potty spot for the new dog and any other dog in the house.