The latest trend in dogbook has been to vehemently defend doodles because “they aren’t going anywhere”. I, however, reject the notion that I must accept something just because the greedy are going to keep breeding and the uneducated are going to keep purchasing. Yet for many, the desire to stick it to those of us who still value ethical, purebred breeding over designer mixes has become almost a contest to see who can be the most edgy about it. So, here’s why you won’t catch me supporting the breeding of doodles any time soon.
-𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸:
An ethical preservation breeder of any of poodles and any of the breeds mixed with them would never allow their dogs to be used in such a program. Many of the breed parent clubs either have statements disclosing their opposition to designer breeding or they have it listed in their code of ethics. This leaves a couple options for where doodle breeders obtain their breeding stock: they purchase from backyard breeders or mills who will give them breeding rights or they lie to reputable breeders and breed their dogs without their knowledge. The first being wrong because it won’t be quality stock, the latter being untruthful and unethical. I have also heard people claim that “ethical” breeders will sell breeding stock to doodle breeders on NDAs. I’ve seen no evidence of this, but even if it were true being unable to disclose the pedigree of your breeding stock is incredibly shady and wouldn’t allow you to trace your lines for diseases like epilepsy.
Here is a link to the Poodle Club of America’s code of ethics (https://poodleclubofamerica.org/code-of-ethics/) and to statements from the Golden Retriever Club of America, the Labrador Retriever Club, and the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America as they are most commonly used in mixes with poodles (https://grca.org/.../articles/goldendoodles-grcas-position/
https://thelabradorclub.com/.../breeder.../designer-dogs/...
http://www.bmdca.org/club/mixedbreed.php)
-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:
The overwhelming majority of doodle breeders do not health test. Many have now begun to Embark test their dogs and claim them as health tested, even though they are not even close to fully so. A few have learned key buzzwords like OFA and are now testing hips. Even fewer still are testing for every recommended thing for every breed in their mix.
Health testing is the absolute bare minimum a breeder must do to begin the step up from backyard breeder to ethical, but health testing alone does not make one ethical and just because a dog passes does not make it breed worthy. I see many people give doodle breeders a pass on otherwise shady breeding practices simply because “Well at least they health test!”, but they would never give that much leeway to a purebred breeder.
-𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱:
At this point I’ve seen just about every poodle mix under the sun. There are your more common mixes, like poodle mixed with a golden, Labrador, BMD, or Aussie. But I’ve also seen uncommon ones that quite frankly are mixes no one ever needs, like poodle mixed with malinois, cane corso, or Siberian husky. Mixes that don’t make sense to mix structurally or temperamentally are being mixed and touted as healthy companions. With all of these mixes it becomes abundantly clear doodles are being bred for quantity and profit to no set standard.
Even the few up and coming clubs have very questionable standards. GANA (Goldendoodle Association of North America) has a written standard for what they advertise as a mix between poodles and golden retrievers, but their standard allows for merle coloring. (https://www.goldendoodleassociation.com/.../coat-types.../ ). Merle is not a naturally occurring color in either breed. So now you have an unknown breed in your mix and this unknown breed can be bringing in other unknown health concerns common to it.
-𝗢𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗱:
People will say that doodles are bred for companionship. Which is fine, the world needs good tempered companion dogs. The problem is that most are not objectively proving this in any fashion, and most people informed on reputable breeding are quick to tell someone considering breeding a purebred that “being a good pet” isn’t a good enough reason to breed. Somehow that line of thinking goes out the window when they’re asked about doodles. Since they cannot show in conformation because they aren’t purebreds with a set standard, as purebred toy companion breeds do in AKC, I would at least expect someone breeding for companionship to offer evidence that they are doing something with their dogs that proves they are worthy of being bred rather than just putting whatever two dogs they have together. Ideally that could look something like therapy certifications, obedience titles, CGCA, CGCU, VHM, etc. on their breeding dogs.
𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀:
All too often I see misguided and downright false information being given to people from doodle breeders. They claim their dogs are hypoallergenic, which you won’t get when mixing a poodle to a non-hypoallergenic breed. They claim their coats are minimal maintenance, which they absolutely are not. The unpredictable texture can make for very difficult to manage coats and they need to be brushed thoroughly daily. And since they don’t go over this with their buyers, groomers aren’t constantly seeing pelted doodles.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲:
I’ve seen doodles with prices ranging from 3,000-10,000 with prices varying even amongst the same breeder for things like coat and eye color. These prices are extremely high and for what? Most doodle breeders are putting absolutely nothing back into their program so it’s abundantly clear that their program is nothing more than a cash grab. Especially when you can get a well bred, purebred from generations of health tested and proven lines for anywhere between roughly 1,200-3,500 depending on the breed.
Basically until there’s a massive overhaul on doodle breeding as a whole, I’ll continue to say “Just get a poodle”.