Male versus Female Goldendoodles
Experiences and advice from Timshell Farm Puppy Owners.
Kim O., owner of Oliver
Sherry J., owner of Twinkler Bean
Jennifer G., owner of Hurley
Owner of a male Goldendoodle (Oliver from Timshell Farm) speaks about her dog, and the male-female issues.
From: Kim O.
To: Linda Rogers and Barbara R.
Sent: Friday, November 04, 2005
Subject: Re: Goldendoodle Puppies All Here Now
Hello Barbara!! My name is Kim Orseno and I am the proud mama of Oliver Lewis (see pics!) who is a 2 1/2 year old Standard Goldendoodle. My husband and I originally wanted a female puppy but I opted for a male when all Linda had available at the time was males. I couldn't be happier with my fur face!! If I wasn't expecting my first child in 8 weeks I would tell Linda I would take another male in a New York minute! I am waiting until our first born is a little older so I can have my dogs spaced out a few years.
We got Ollie fixed when he was about 10 months old (Sorry Linda....it took me awhile to get the courage for his surgery!). Probably about a month before then was when he would try to 'hump' objects...but we didn't let him continue. I am a firm believer in treating dogs like children - Ollie acts how we raised him! He hasn't 'humped' anything in over two years and I'm not sure now if he would even know what he was doing!! He never 'learned' that behavior from other dogs either because we taught him it was bad. I didn't want it getting out of control when we had guests & such - what an embarrassment!! Ollie is also still a 'squatter when he pees. He has never lifted his leg in his life & he has no idea what 'marking his territory' is all about.
I am also a believer in crate training...as you can see he practically sleeps in every position in those crates!! We never shut the door anymore...but our two crates for him are his safe haven.
Oliver is "buddies" with my husband and they are playmates with each other. I am the one he runs to when he is scared of something or when he wants lovin'. He is extremely sweet & gentle and every day I thank God for brining him into our lives as he will always be my first baby.
Good luck with your choice...I'm sure all puppies are wonderful! Please let me know if you have any other questions and welcome to the world of Goldendoodle ownership!!
Kim O., Oliver's Mom.
From: Sherry J., owner of Twinkler Bean (Timshell Farm Goldendoodle male)
To: Linda Rogers Re: Male Behaviors
Aggression: Twinkler shows no aggressive behavior at all. He is very friendly to everyone he meets. We did continue on with his "socialization" as soon as we got him. (We do know that Timshell Farms starts the socialization process as soon as the puppies are born.) We took Twinkler to public places every chance we got. We carried him until he had gotten all his puppy shots. Twinkler LOVES people.........all sizes, shapes and colors of people. He is also extremely friendly and curious and wants to meet everything that owns 4 legs. If anything, he is too friendly to all 4 legged creatures. : ) He has been to dog parks and enjoys meeting other dogs off lead. He never initiates any aggressive behavior, ever. He is an alpha dog however and did show some dominate behavior when he was young. Once we learned how to become the pack leader, he no longer tried to dominate us.
Twinkler is very soft mouthed. He never grabs anything out of your hand. (I believe that is because of his bird dog heritage.) He did mouth when he was a puppy but that was not allowed, ever. That phase didn't last long either. He is so sweet and allows small children to hug and squeeze him and is the most tolerant dog I have ever met. He even seems to know that babies need a gentle touch.
Lifting Leg: Twinkler has never lifted his leg on anything. Our vet told us that 50% of male dogs don't lift their legs to urinate. Twinkler does squat which is perfectly normal. The amazing thing is, he can "do business" on command. We started saying "do business" from the day he came home. I didn't test him on this command until he was over a year old. I was traveling by car and stopped at a rest stop. I told him to take care of things and he did. From that time on, no matter where we go, we can tell him, just like you tell your kids ,to take care of things and he does. Even if it is a couple of drops, he will try.
Marking: Twinkler doesn't mark in the traditional sense. He never tries to cover up another dog's scent with his urine. He is interested in it of course but has never marked in that way.
Humping Behavior: Twinkler did have humping behavior when he was young. The vet told us that humping behavior IS dominate behavior. That was just another way he tried to dominate us or his stuffed toys. We were consistent in stopping that behavior immediately and it only lasted a few short months......and it was only on occasion, when he thought he could dominate us again. We would take him off our leg and put him in the down position, holding him there for a while. Twinkler was fixed at 7 months. He has not even tried humping behavior in so long I can't remember when it stopped. It was short lived at best.
- Finding out all you can about becoming THE pack leader will help you in all situations. Your family needs to be the boss or the dog will take that position.
- Then take your dog to obedience class so they will understand what you want from them. Learn about dog body language so you can communicate better.
- Lastly, know that your dog goes through stages. When he is a puppy, he seems happy to learn things..........then when he goes though teenage (adolescence) he pretends to forget what he has learned.........only to return to his good manners when he gets near adulthood. : )
Thanks so much,
Sherry
