Summary of the Labradoodle and Goldendoodle Study
Combined Information

There has been very little, if any, research about the Labradoodle and Goldendoodles. We often hear broad generalizations about the owners, their choices and the temperaments, attributes, health and behaviors of the doodles. Although this is not a scientific study, this study will at least provide some very good insights.

We do not know how many Goldendoodles and Labradoodles there are in the world, thus we are not able to determine what percentage our study represents of the overall population of Goldendoodles/Labradoodle and Goldendoodle/Labradoodle Owners. The response rate of this study far exceeded our hopes.

Study duration: June 22, 2006 – July 15, 2006

Two Studies were available on-line: One for Goldendoodles and One for Labradoodles

58 Questions were grouped in general areas, which included:

• Demographics
• Motivation and Education
• Selection
• Training
• Health

Questions were multiple choice with the option to add additional information for some questions.

Total participants in the Goldendoodle and Labradoodle Studies:                    572
Total Goldendoodles and Labradoodles represented:                                    721

Summary is a listing of the highest response percentage of each question:

Demographics

Females (90%), Age 40-49 (39%), Married (82%), Education 4 year degree (36%), Combined Income $106,000 - $150,000 (21%) No children in home (46%), No Children and Children in home 5-12 years old tied (26% each).

Motivation and Education

Primary motivator was the Woman of the house (66%), Considered Pure breed (55%), 64% Own First Generation (F1) Goldendoodle or Labradoodle, Own one Goldendoodle or Labradoodle (77%), The Goldendoodle is 1-2 years old (34%), 54% of the Goldendoodles and Labradoodles are Cream, White, Apricots or Golden. 32% did not consider a pure breed dog. 89% were attracted to their Potential of Low Shed attributes and their Personalities (tie), 36% did extensive research before selecting the Goldendoodle or Labradoodle.

Selection

Owners selected their Goldendoodles and Labradoodles by Internet Breeder web site (61%), Paid $1,001.00 - $1,500.00 (30%). The supplier required an application (68%), Required Deposit (74%), Owners waited 1-3 months for the Goldendoodle or Labradoodle (44%), The wait time did not impact their decision of supplier (66%), 2-Year Health Warranty (52%), Breeding parents hip tested (70%), CERF tested parents (49%), 52% did not know if other tests were preformed.

59% were very satisfied with their Goldendoodle and Labradoodle Supplier, 83% would or have recommended their supplier.

Training

37% have obedience trained their Goldendoodle or Labradoodle at least to Basic Obedience. 48% selected a Dog specialty training facility. 14% of the Goldendoodles and Labradoodles have certified Canine Good Citizens. 35% of the owners would take their Goldendoodle or Labradoodle to training classes if they were having behavioral issues. 84% feel that their Goldendoodle and Labradoodles are quick to learn obedience skills and 78% were very pleased with the Goldendoodle and Labradoodle learning ability. 52% had training success with a flat collar.

53% of the Goldendoodles and Labradoodles utilize a crate and 41% used a crate for a while, but no longer use the crate. 60% spend 10-20 minutes daily obedience training and 30% walk their Goldendoodle 30-60 minutes a day.

Health

39% obtained their Goldendoodle or Labradoodle at the age 8 weeks. 34% took their Goldendoodle or Labradoodle to the vet 2 days after getting the dog. 99% of the Goldendoodles and Labradoodles are up to date on required immunizations. 86% give monthly heartworm preventative and 82% give monthly flea/tick preventative.

63% do not free feed their Goldendoodles and Labradoodles and 73% do not use raised food bowls. 82% of the Goldendoodles and Labradoodles are altered.

83% do not have pet medical insurance, hence 18% DO have pet medical insurance.  88% of the Goldendoodles have not ingested things requiring medical attention, 12% have ingested items. 75% indicated that their Goldendoodles have no medical issues. Of the participants who indicated that they did have medical issues the primary issue was Chronic Ear Infections which was 5% of the overall studied. Many indicated that these ear infections were corrected by a change of diet.

26% Groom their Goldendoodle and Labradoodles 4 times a year. Grooming care level is Moderate (45%) and Shed is almost none (59%). 43% indicate their Goldendoodle or Labradoodle is Always Allergy Friendly.

53% of the Goldendoodle and Labradoodle Owners participated in Doodle romps (play groups). Goldendoodle and Labradoodle owners are happy with the personality of their Goldendoodle or Labradoodle (85%) and people who meet their Goldendoodle and Labradoodle love the dog type (91%). The Goldendoodle and Labradoodle, overall is very healthy (89%), is not overly aggressive (82%) and they would get another Goldendoodle or Labradoodle, if possible (76%).

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Labradoodle Study - 2006 Summary

Total participants in the Labradoodle Study:                                   218
Total Labradoodles represented:                                        306

Demographics

Females (90%), Age 40-49 (41%), Married (83%), Education 4 year degree (35%), Combined Income $106,00 - $150,000 (21%), No children in home (49%), Children in home 5-12 years old (26%), noting no children and children over than 21 totaled 48%.

Motivation and Education

Primary motivator was the Woman of the house (68%), Considered Pure breed (56%), 44% Own First Generation (F1) Labradoodles, Own one Labradoodle (72%), The Labradoodle is 1-2 years old (32%), 38% of the Labradoodles are Cream, White, Apricots or Golden. Owners did not consider any other breed before selecting the Labradoodle (30%). 90% were attracted to their Potential of Allergy Friendly Attributes and their Personalities (tie), 39% did extensive research before selecting the Labradoodle.

Selection

Owners selected their Labradoodle by Internet Breeder web site (60%), One group paid $2001.00+ for their Labradoodle (24%) and another group paid $751.00-$1000.00 for their Labradoodle (22%). The supplier required an application (71%), Required Deposit (72%), Owners have an immediate availability to get their Labradoodle (39%), The wait time did not impact their decision of supplier (69%), 2-Year Health Warranty (50%), Breeding parents hip tested (67%), CERF tested parents (51%), 52% did not know if other tests were preformed.

59% were very satisfied with their Labradoodle Supplier, 81% would or have recommended their supplier.

Training

35% have obedience trained their Labradoodle at least to Basic Obedience and 25% have had Intermediate Obedience training. 50% selected a Dog specialty training facility. 13% of the Labradoodles have certified Canine Good Citizens. 34% of the owners would take their Labradoodle to training classes if they were having behavioral issues. 86% feel that their Labradoodle was quick to learn obedience skills and 78% were very pleased with the Labradoodle learning ability. 53% had training success with a flat collar.

59% of the Labradoodle utilize a crate and 35% used a crate for a while, but no longer use the crate. 58% spend 10-20 minutes daily obedience training and 30% walk their Labradoodle 30-60 minutes a day.

Health

32% obtained their Labradoodle at the age 8 weeks, 46% obtained their Labradoodle between 9-12 weeks of age. 35% took their Labradoodle to the vet 2 days after getting the dog. 99% of the Labradoodles are up to date on required immunizations. 81% give monthly heartworm preventative and 83% give monthly flea/tick preventative.

66% do not free feed their Labradoodles and 75% do not use raised food bowls. 78% of the Labradoodles are altered.

85% do not have pet medical insurance, hence 15% DO have pet medical insurance.  89% of the Labradoodles have not ingested things requiring medical attention, 11% have ingested items. 72% indicated that their Labradoodles have no medical issues. Of the participants who indicated that they did have medical issues the primary issue was Chronic Ear Infections which was 5% of the overall studied. Many indicated that these ear infections were corrected by a change of diet.

25% never groom their Labradoodle and 44% (combined) indicated that they groom every month or four times a year. Grooming care level is Moderate (34%) and shed is almost none (56%). 45% indicate their Labradoodle is Always Allergy Friendly.

53% of the Labradoodle Owners have not participated in Doodle romps (play groups). Labradoodle owners are happy with the personality of their Labradoodle (96%). The Labradoodle, overall, is very healthy (92%), people who meet their Labradoodle love the dog type (89%), is not overly aggressive (81%) and is not overly submissive (78%).

Editors note: we did our best to not censor any comments. In order to maintain the anonymous attributes of the participants of the study we did feel we needed to edit two comments.

Conclusion:

Some of the comments Labradoodle Owners provided give the best insights to how they feel …

• Have owned many breeds, this one is most pleasurable, agreeable, loving, obedient. Highly recommend!
• These are such smart dogs, very quick learners and very obedient. Everyone comments on their good behavior.
• Great dog, but definitely needs a strong owner. Very independent and demanding.
• Very smart, easy to train, not food motivated, wants to please us, crazy for other dogs, called "the friendliest dog in the world" by our neighbors.
• Labradoodles are addicting!

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Goldendoodle Study - 2006 Summary

Total participants in the Goldendoodle Study:                      354
Total Goldendoodles represented:                                      415

Demographics

Females (90%), Age 40-49 (38%), Married (82%), Education 4 year degree (37%), Combined Income $86,000 - $150,000 (44%, two groups tied), No children in home (43%), Children in home 5-12 years old (27%), noting no children and children over than 21 totaled 45%

Motivation and Education

Primary motivator was the Woman of the house (64%), Considered Pure breed (55%), 84% Own First Generation (F1) Goldendoodles, Own one Goldendoodle (81%), The Goldendoodle is 1-2 years old (35%), 70% of the Goldendoodles are Cream, White, Apricots or Golden. Owners considered the Golden Retriever before selecting the Goldendoodle (34%). 88% were attracted to their Potential of Low Shed attributes and their Personalities (tie), 33% did extensive research before selecting the Goldendoodle.

Selection

Owners selected their Goldendoodle by Internet Breeder web site (63%), Paid $1,001.00 - $1,500.00 (43%). The supplier required an application (64%), Required Deposit (76%), Owners waited 1-3 months for the Goldendoodle (50%), The wait time did not impact their decision of supplier (63%), 2-Year Health Warranty (53%), Breeding parents hip tested (72%), CERF tested parents (47%), 52% did not know if other tests were preformed.

60% were very satisfied with their Goldendoodle Supplier, 85% would or have recommended their supplier.

Training

39% have obedience trained their Goldendoodle at least to Basic Obedience. 46% selected a Dog specialty training facility. 15% of the Goldendoodles have certified Canine Good Citizens. 37% of the owners would take their Goldendoodle to training classes if they were having behavioral issues. 81% feel that their Goldendoodle was quick to learn obedience skills and 79% were very pleased with the Goldendoodle learning ability. 51% had training success with a flat collar.

48% of the Goldendoodles utilize a crate and 47% used a crate for a while, but no longer use the crate. 63% spend 10-20 minutes daily obedience training and 30% walk their Goldendoodle 30-60 minutes a day.

Health

46% obtained their Goldendoodle at the age 8 weeks. 33% took their Goldendoodle to the vet 2 days after getting the dog. 99% of the Goldendoodles are up to date on required immunizations. 92% give monthly heartworm preventative and 80% give monthly flea/tick preventative.

60% do not free feed their Goldendoodles and 70% do not use raised food bowls. 86% of the Goldendoodles are altered.

81% do not have pet medical insurance, hence 19% DO have pet medical insurance.  87% of the Goldendoodles have not ingested things requiring medical attention, 13% have ingested items. 79% indicated that their Goldendoodles have no medical issues. Of the participants who indicated that they did have medical issues the primary issue was Chronic Ear Infections which was 5% of the overall studied. Many indicated that these ear infections were corrected by a change of diet.

28% Groom their Goldendoodle 4 times a year. Grooming care level is Moderate (55%) and Shed is almost none (61%). 41% indicate their Goldendoodle is Always Allergy Friendly.

60% of the Goldendoodle Owners participated in Doodle romps (play groups). Goldendoodle owners are happy with the personality of their Goldendoodle (93%) and people who meet their Goldendoodle love the dog type (93% tie). The Goldendoodle, overall is very healthy (85%), is not overly aggressive (82%) and they would get another Goldendoodle, if possible (79%).

Conclusion:

Some of the comments Goldendoodle Owners provided give the best insights to how they feel …

• I have had and known many dogs in my life... but I have never met a dog like my Goldendoodle. These are very special dogs!
• She is not low key but also not hyperactive, just active.
• My Goldendoodle has the most awesome personality smart, affectionate, calm, easy-going, friendly. as expected...the perfect pet!
• Wouldn't trade him for anything else, ever.
• WE LOVE OUR GOLDENDOODLE!

N. Beth Line, Director
International Doodle Owners Group
DoodleNation@aol.com

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