subject: Bringing Home The Goldendoodle Pup [print this page] Our young kids love our Goldendoodle dog! We got him as a puppy, and he is now just over a year old. The four kids were constantly asking for a pet. Years ago, before children we had both a black Labrador Retriever and a Golden Retriever. We remembered them both as nice dogs, and also the amazing amount of hair they shed. When looking for a new dog, we heard about the breeds that were a cross between full size poodles, who don't shed, and the popular retriever dogs like we had before.
We located a number of Goldendoodle breeders online in our area. In doing my preparation, I became aware of the difference between varieties of these breeds. The one I wanted was an F1B Goldendoodle, which is a Golden Retriever bred with a Poodle, crossed back to a Poodle. This is good to know, because the F1B Goldendoodles are the type that don't shed! They look a little more like a Poodle, but that's OK.
The breeders that seemed most conscientious about their dogs and reasonable about prices were a few hours drive out of town in the country, but it was worth the trip. We discovered a great breeder whose dogs had recently had a wonderful litter of Goldendoodle pups! The price was good and I picked up a 10-week old Goldendoodle boy dog to bring home.
On my way to the breeder, I had stopped by a local pet supply store, and bought a couple of things so I would be ready. I bought a wire training crate with an insert that could make the crate temporarily smaller, but I should have bought a few more things...
As I was going home, I remembered just how many years it had been since we had had dogs, and how totally unready we were. The puppy got car sick, made a mess all over the crate, then rolled in it. I had to stop and buy some wipes just to clean up the inside of my truck.
If there is one thing that I now relate to folks who are thinking about getting a new puppy, it is to be prepared!
