A few months ago I wrote a post on how to care for leopard geckos, so I thought I'd do the same for a Goldendoodle. As I mentioned with the lizards, I'm by no means an expert, but I'll share what I know. Sorry this is long! I had more to say about our sweet Bear than I thought! I snapped the pictures above yesterday morning, and he was wet from our yard, so excuse his messy face!
We've had Bear for a little over a year, and we love him dearly. I think we got really lucky with him because he has a great temperament, and he's fabulous with the boys. He puts up with a lot, espically from Abel. He's very protective of them, but in a good way. He's never bit anyone, and he typically doesn't meet a stranger. He's really laid back and sleeps most of the time when he's inside. He follows basic commands like sit, stay, lay down, and go to your crate. He shakes hands and jumps up when you tell him to, and Cooper really wants to teach him some more tricks. He understands when we tell him no, and he's pretty obedient. He's gotten to where he waits to be called for hugs and cuddles, and he loves any and all attentions he gets. He plays with the boys outside, and when we're not home and the weather is good, he just hangs out in the backyard. He loves riding in the car, and he does pretty well on a leash, but there's still some room for improvement there, especially when he sees another animal. He weighs over 60 pounds, so if he wants to go a different direction than I do, he's hard to control. He still chews on stuff like crazy, which drives us insane, but we're hoping that phase will end soon. He's done really well with other dogs he's been around, so he's a friendly guy.
We got him when he was almost 15 weeks old, so he was pretty much potty trained at that point, so it was really easy for us. At that point in time, if he didn't go to the bathroom when we took him out, we'd put him in his crate and let him out again about 30 minutes later. We did this over and over until he was regularly using the bathroom outside, but like I said, it was extremely easy with him... he never had any accidents in the house. He can now hold it for quite awhile... he's a pro at going as soon as we let him out. He's good about getting our attention if he needs to go as well.
We use a crate with him daily. I got it as soon as we brought him home, and it's his little home now. If he's stressed out or tired, he puts himself in there without us telling him to go. It's where he sleeps every night, and he never whimpers in there through the night... he really is happy in it. We got a large size because he's big and long legged, and he can turn around in it and make himself comfortable. We keep it in our pantry, so we can shut the door and turn the light out, so it's his own little room. We keep a blanket in the bottom that we can wash, and he's very content. He has a big, plush dog bed we keep in the living room that he lays on when he's inside, but a lot of time he lays on the tile floor beside it to stay cool. Sometimes we let him sleep in our room on it. We got it at Costco, and it's been great!
Since he's an F1B Goldendoodle (his dad was a Poodle and his mom was a Goldendoodle), he doesn't shed. I'll find a little tuft of black hair that looks like cotton every now and then, but we never have hair on our clothes or furniture... it's absolutely fabulous! There's never hair on his bed or in his crate or anything. I never plan on having another type of dog breed for this reason. If dog hair drives you insane (like it does me), this is the breed for you! On the flip side, his hair is a bit of high maintenance. Since he's an F1B, he has a very curly coat instead of wavy, and there is a TON of it. It's like an afro. It can get matted very quickly if it's not brushed frequently. It also gets lots of grass and leaves caught in it when he's outside, so we joke that he sheds grass instead of hair. Their hair isn't like this as a puppy, but the older they get and the more you groom them, the more the curl comes out. I love the curls, I wanted that as opposed to wavy hair, it's just a lot to take care of.
We have him groomed about every 6-8 weeks. We cut him short in the summer, and trim and maintain during the winter. Like I mentioned above, the longer his hair is, it gets matted easier, and the more grass he tracks in. It's also really hot, so we do it for his happiness as well. When we first got him, we used PetCo, but we had a couple of unpleasant experiences with them, so we changed to Aqua Dog. They were recommended by several Doodle owners I know, and we really love them! They are a little pricier than pet store chains, but they specialize in Doodles, so we've had great experiences every time. We bathe him at home too, but he hates it. It was a major fight to bathe him inside, so I've started bathing him the backyard now, and he's a little happier that way. I just wash him with any shampoo we have on hand... it doesn't seem to matter. So, despite not shedding, his hair is high maintenance.
This is what wavy hair looks like.
This is Bear's curly hairy... it's like this all over his body.
One of the biggest issues we've had is keeping his ears from getting infected. They're big and floppy, and have lots of hair in them, so we really have to work on keeping them clean. They keep a lot of moisture in them. That's another reason we have him groomed so frequently... to keep his ears pulled of hair. We've had to go to the vet twice this spring/summer for infections, and when we went for his yearly shots yesterday, we got some wash to treat them with. We know really quickly if they're bothering him because he shakes his head nonstop. We use Dade County Animal Hospital because Andy delivers there on his FedEx routes, and we're really happy with them. They take great care of him! We had him fixed at 7 months old, and we go for heart worm shots, flea and tick treatments, ear issues when they arise, and yearly checkups.
He's not an overeager eater, so he doesn't go through a ton of food. We feed him dry food in the morning and dry food and wet food in the evening. If he's not hungry, he won't eat it all. He loves any treats and table food we give him, but he doesn't eat as much as you'd expect for a 62 pound dog. He drinks lots of water, so we always keep that readily available for him. He loves to drink out of the toilet! 😂
All in all, I would highly suggest this breed if you're looking for a dog! They can be rather pricey, but we got him at a breeder in Chattanooga that had the lowest prices we'd seen. I'm trying to talk Andy into getting another one, but we're afraid we won't get another as sweet as him!
