Why do I breed dogs?
I breed dogs for the same reason I became an animal behaviorist. I have a lifelong passion for dogs. I was planning to become a veterinarian. My first job after college was at an animal hospital.
What I witnessed at the animal hospital shocked me. Most of the dogs who came through our door never to come back out were put down due to behavior problems. By far. Every vet, vet tech, and animal attendant knew it.
And yet, nobody really knew what to do about it other than to recommend some training classes. The training classes rarely helped. Teaching dogs to sit on command, useful as that is, doesn’t really help a pet owner whose dog chews the house while she’s away or urinates in the same corner most nights.
That’s why 98% of owners who surrender their dogs never seek professional help for behavior problems.
So I resolved to learn how to help solve dog behavior problems and went to graduate school to study animal behavior. Now more than two decades later, after advising and helping owners fix problem behaviors, I want to start preventing problem behaviors from emerging in the first place.
The most common dog behavior problems–biting, house soiling, and chewing–can all be most effectively prevented during the dog’s first 14 weeks of life. There is a golden window for a puppy between its sixth and twelfth weeks of life when these problem behaviors can be substantially eliminated.
Behavior problems often begin with dog breeders. So I resolved to raise puppies that would never have these problem behaviors in the first place.
Why do I breed mini labradoodle puppies?
I breed this Labrador Retriever and Toy Poodle cross, because I think this designer dog gives owners the best opportunity for lifelong companionship. There is little doubt that Labs have always been the premier service dog and therapy dog breed. Their temperament and willingness to please set them apart.
The two most often cited drawbacks to owning a Lab, however, are that they are so big and that they shed a lot. Crossing a Lab with a Toy Poodle significantly reduces and sometimes eliminates both of these issues.
The reason why I don’t breed the more popular F1B or Australian Labradoodles is because they are at most only 25% Labrador Retriever. Poodles can be friendly dogs, but on average, Poodles are not nearly as willing to please their owners as Labs. Dog behavior matters more than dog appearance in my book.