Dog Breeds - Help Pick

[sanantone]

You might as well get a mix from a shelter. These designer breeds are a rip-off and many are ending up in shelters anyway. One of the worst ones is the puggle. People are finding that they're difficult to deal with because the mix gets the worst of both worlds. Labradoodles and goldendoodles are supposed to be great for allergies, but you don't know if the dog's personality is going to be more retriever or more poodle. Poodles are smart, but they aren't for everyone. There is little regulation on dog breeders in the U.S., so you have to watch out for puppy mills. Apparently, there is a doodle breeder in Australia that is trustworthy. They've bred several generations of doodles, so you get consistency. You won't get consistency at most places.

There is this doodle rescue that says that they mostly get doodles that are aggressive. For that reason, they will not adopt out doodles to families with small children. Again, I don't really believe inherently aggressive breeds. I think a lot of people who get these designer dogs shouldn't have dogs in the first place except for those who get them for their assumed hypoallergenic properties. The people who get caught up in these trendy designer breeds probably don't know much about dogs, only got the dog because it was a cute accessory, and didn't bother to properly socialize it. That's kind of the problem with pit bulls, rottweilers, etc. Some men get them to look macho and train the dogs to be aggressive.
The Heartbreaking Truth About Those Cute Doodle Dogs | Alternet

[mrs.b]

Puppy mills and the like are a major concern. It is why we have always naturally leaned toward shelter rescues; at least you get a basic picture of their attitudes and demeanors toward strangers, if not what their attitude will be once they settle in and get comfortable.

The more I thought about it today, though, and looked into it... They have service dogs for Autistics. While I do not think he needs that, specifically, I looked into some of those groups and not all dogs make it through full service training. I've reached out to a few of those groups to ask what happens to the dogs that were selected and made it through some of the initial training, but did not make it all the way to the end. That type of pup may be just the right compliment to our family. Hopefully the responses pan out.

Failing that, I've asked them what breeds and/or breeders or resources they use to select such a pup, and what sort of training they might recommend to settle a dog in for family life, not necessarily full-service use. Maybe I'll get some good leads there.

[alleycat]

Great idea about the SIL vetting the fog first. My girl is a rescue and we could have not asked for a better dog.