Need help on deciding between Retrievers

[Jason]

Why I am saying is that if you have very little money, adding a dog to the family isn't a good idea, because a dogs needs require money.

Wow! Now I actually am offended. What about me gives you the idea I have very little money? Is it because my wife and I don't have kids? Do you think you know my age or how long I've been married? Why do you talk down to me in this way, with your judgement on my age, income and intellect? Do you not think I know a dog costs money? Would it make you feel better to know that our income is over four times the national average? I know I feel good about it.

Look, clearly your intentions are good and I know you mean no harm. But take it easy! And I don't plan on leaving the forum. I came here for knowledge and you all seem to really know your stuff.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

EDIT: Sorry, I REALLY mixed up my words there.

No, no, no!! I'm not saying you have little money, I'm saying that if someone has little money, adding a dog isn't the best idea.

 

[Jason]

No, no, no!! I'm not saying you have little money, I'm saying that if someone has little money, adding a dog isn't the best idea.

But you did make me answer to you. And your inquries coupled with your above line on "very little money" make it seem that way to me. But that's cool, water under the bridge.

 

[Puckstop31]

OK.... Breath everybody....

I think this is all about passion. I think it is safe to say that people here are very passionate about pets. When things like this happen on internet forums it is usually in the heat of the moment and made worse by the difficulty in projecting context when people can only use words to describe what they want to say. (Wow, Debate 101 WAS useful... LOL) The lack of being able to read a persons body language allows discussions like this to go south. I really think there was no ill intent on any party.

But, none of this should stop people from saying what they want to. When things get heated, try to remember to read your post BEFORE you click submit and try to think about how the audience will see the post considering the current context.

That is my $.05 on this. I hope this makes a little sense.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

I am very sorry, I completely mixed up my words when I was typing that. That wasn't what I meant at all.

You seem like you really want to get a dog from a breeder. Why not a shelter or a rescue?

 

[sparks19]

well there mr puckstop you are only supposed to give your .02 cents not .05 so now you are out of the convo until your extra cents are used up. hehehe i kid i kid. I do agree with you though it is easy for things to get taken out of context when you can't see their body language.

oh well no harm no foul (is that right haha)

 

[Rose's Gal]

Well, I'm jumping into this disscussion late, and I bet by the time I'm done typing this out, there will be a lot more posts. lol But anyways...

Why do you have your heart set on a Retriever of some type? Just courious. If you wanted a dog that is good with kids, there are lots of breeds that are.

Anyways, from what you are saying (forgive me...I've only read a couple posts...well, ok, actually, I read a couple, and skimmed through the rest. lol) a Curly-Coated Retriever comes to mind. They shed less than an average Lab (they still shed, but less), and they are a pretty good watchdog/guard dog.
(Oh, and BTW, pretty much all dogs are watchdogs. A watchdog barks when someone approaches the house and nothing more. A guard dog, barks, and then will back up that bark with a bite if necessary.)
Here is some info on them:
Curly Coated Retreiver info
More Curly info


If you just wanted a family pet, I would stay away from the Flat-coated Retrievers. They are mainly being bred for an active sport life. (Frequent hunting, agility, feildwork, tracking, whatver.)
Goldens, in my mind, are just like Labs, except that they are more "people friendly" and are more a "push button" breed then Labs are.

I'd stay away from the Labradoodles unless you were getting one from a shelter. In this case, I can almost assure you that the people that are breeding the mutts on purpose, are doing it irrisponsibly. So in this case, it isn't a matter of quality, it is a matter of who you are supporting.

If you didn't mind a more dominant, more watchful dog, I'd also suggest a Chesepeake Bay Retriever. You can find more info on them on the sites I listed above.

 

[Fran27]

I agree that labradoodles are probably sweet dogs. I've met one (although shortly), and she was really great. Again, if Jason wants one, I think he should probably get one, but he needs to be careful where he gets it from because they might very well have health issues.

About that site, they probably do a lot to give a good reputation to labradoodles, their dogs are beautiful, but when a breeder has so many dogs, I just can't believe that they live in good conditions. Having a huge pen is great, but what about human contact? Socialization? Maybe what they say is right and their dogs have got genetical and health testing, so the puppies might be good as well, but I will still have my doubts about the way they take care of their dogs. The puppies and moms are in cages, and I really don't think that with so many litters all the time they can take care of the puppies as they should.

Again, I have nothing against labradoodles, I just think that most of the breeders that breed them are just in for the money and don't socialize the puppies as any responsible breeder would. And I'm not sure that place is much better.

I also do not feed my dog innova. IN FACT I spoke with my vet about what to feed my dog and Innova was not one of the ones he even brought up. So Innova is not the be all and end all of good dog food.

Your vet is an idiot. No offense though, as all vets are idiots when it comes to food. I wouldn't be surprised if your vet advised science diet like mine And I wouldn't be surprised either if the vets didn't even know Innova. And yes, Innova is the 'be all and end all of good dog food', just look at the ingredients, those don't lie like vets...

 

[sparks19]

lol my dog isn't even a watch dog lol. When someone knocks on the door he just runs to the door and cries until we open it and he can see who is there lol but he almost never barks unless he is barked at first lol

so lab/coonhound mixes are out of the question if you want a watchdog lol well at least mine is

as for the food thing, my dog gets bad gas from anything that has ANY chicken in it lol and some beef stuff so we had to put him on a lamb and rice diet. but now he is fine he still has gas sometimes like when he is sleeping under my feet and has no control over it haha.

 

[Rose's Gal]

Oh, and if the dog is going to be around kids, sometimes a Lab or any other Retriever and toddlers don't mix. Not that the dogs don't like the kids, they are just a little bit to hyper around them. (As puppies anyway.)
I remember when Blackie was a pup...he'd knock myself and my older brother over (I was around 5 and Jacob was around 7 or 8), and he'd tackle Wesley and JeanAnne (Both around 2) so much, they were afraid to go near him!
So if you are planning on having kids, or the dog is going to be around young kids, I'd suggest adopting an older ( 4yrs maybe) Lab or Retriever from a shelter. Or even a younger one that has allready proven that he isn't hyper like Labs/Retrievers normally are.

 

[Rose's Gal]

I didn't know we were talking about dog food, but I feed both of mine Chicken Soup for the Dog lover's soul. I find it a very good food.

 

[Fran27]

I wouldnt worry for the kids, by the time they are there the dog should be older if they get a puppy now. I know my 6 year old nephew is scared to death of Boris lol! I'm working on getting kids, but i'm not worried because Boris should be calmer by the time I have them.

 

[Jason]

No, I don't think you did. I think you just saw the home page. It's hard to find the link to the site but it's there. Try www.labradoodle.com. It's got to be the most informative site on the web for labradoodles. It talk about everything including diet, conditions, and GENETIC TESTING. Let me know if I'm still mistaken.

Again, just because they write it doesn't make it so, but at least they know what they're talking about.

I'm sorry, I meant for you to try this address:

http://www.labradoodle.com/doodle_adoption.html

 

[Fran27]

I saw it after I posted. It still doesn't change the fact that for me it's a dog factory and they probably don't socialize the puppies as they should, because they have way too many litters all the time.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

Well, I'm jumping into this disscussion late, and I bet by the time I'm done typing this out, there will be a lot more posts. lol But anyways...

Why do you have your heart set on a Retriever of some type? Just courious. If you wanted a dog that is good with kids, there are lots of breeds that are.

Anyways, from what you are saying (forgive me...I've only read a couple posts...well, ok, actually, I read a couple, and skimmed through the rest. lol) a Curly-Coated Retriever comes to mind. They shed less than an average Lab (they still shed, but less), and they are a pretty good watchdog/guard dog.
(Oh, and BTW, pretty much all dogs are watchdogs. A watchdog barks when someone approaches the house and nothing more. A guard dog, barks, and then will back up that bark with a bite if necessary.)
Here is some info on them:
Curly Coated Retreiver info
More Curly info


If you just wanted a family pet, I would stay away from the Flat-coated Retrievers. They are mainly being bred for an active sport life. (Frequent hunting, agility, feildwork, tracking, whatver.)
Goldens, in my mind, are just like Labs, except that they are more "people friendly" and are more a "push button" breed then Labs are.

I'd stay away from the Labradoodles unless you were getting one from a shelter. In this case, I can almost assure you that the people that are breeding the mutts on purpose, are doing it irrisponsibly. So in this case, it isn't a matter of quality, it is a matter of who you are supporting.

If you didn't mind a more dominant, more watchful dog, I'd also suggest a Chesepeake Bay Retriever. You can find more info on them on the sites I listed above.

Very good post, Andrea!!!

 

[Jason]

I saw it after I posted. It still doesn't change the fact that for me it's a dog factory and they probably don't socialize the puppies as they should, because they have way too many litters all the time.

What would be considered an acceptable ratio of humans to puppies in a respectable breeder? If I do choose to buy from a breeder (likely), this is one of many questions I'll need to ask.

 

[EliNHunter]

The problem is that 99% of these doodle and poo breeds are irresponsible. They have 0% interest interest in having these dogs accepted by the AKC as a breed other than for the fact that it'd be nice to be able to list their dogs as AKC registered because many people view AKC registered as valuable, healthy, and well behaved.

These dogs are supposed to be crossed only ONCE -- a lab to a poodle and the puppies are a "labradoodle" and there's no further breeding. I.e. you don't breed a labradoodle to a labradoodle and get a "real" labradoodle. I hope everyone realizes that. All the fine traits associated with a labradoodle (or goldendoodle or whatever hell thing they might come up with next) is just with the FIRST cross puppies that are produced.

 

[EliNHunter]

Just another note. I've had both goldens and labs and they both shed just as much... in fact, the golden's hair was easier to clean up because it was longer. I know the food you feed has a HUGE impact into the coat and how they shed. Just keep that in mind, too. The breed doesn't rule the sheddiness

 

[Jason]

Just another note. I've had both goldens and labs and they both shed just as much... in fact, the golden's hair was easier to clean up because it was longer. I know the food you feed has a HUGE impact into the coat and how they shed. Just keep that in mind, too. The breed doesn't rule the sheddiness

Great post, thanks.

 

[poeluvr]

hello everyone, i read all the posts so i feel im in this convo. I am a kid so noone please bite my head off. well im 16 i know all about dogs though through volunteeering, and breeders in my family. ok i had a golden jason,they are affectionate well mine was.
mY DOG WAS GREATUMM..NOT MUCH I CAN SAY YOU PROBABLY WOULDNT already KNOW. O, SINCE YOUR EXPECTING CHILDREN, ALTHOUGH GOLDENS ARE EXCELLENT WITH KIDS YOU HAVE TO INTRODUCE THEM, AND TEACH THEM when THEY GET OLDER THEY ARE THE BOSS OVER THE DOG . oops cap locks sry. goldens have strong backgrounds like pack dogs. This happened with my dog we didnt teach my dog that mylittle brother was not someone he could step on cuz hew was smaller then him, he often nipped him. it wasnt that he wasnt social cuz he was. it was he saw my brother as a weaker pack member resulting in them never having a strong bond. i found this out. since your having kids later if you get a golden he may also see as he came first and get posesive, surprisingly enough goldens are like that , im guessing because they can be so affectionate with their owners. I loved my golden. actually i only had him till he was 6. when we got him we had a big house but because of financial situations we had to move to an apartment, and knew it was no fair to my golden to keep him there. we ended up giving him to a loving family farm looking for a golden.
hope you find the right dog jason!
goldens are lovely, labradoodles cute (dont worry i have what i guess youd call a jack-pom pomeranian jack russell lol), and labs are sweet, good choices!