Hi everyone

I live in the North West with my husband and fluffy cat Boo and we've decided that we finally have the right home for a little puppy!

Completely new to the world of Doodles but one day we want children, so we are mindful now about getting a family dog and the Doodle seems like a good choice (Am I right?!) A miniature-medium Doodle would be just perfect.

Some of the "breeders" have said that miniatures don't suffer with hip problems but that sounds like bull to me?

I have seen a few mini-Doodles for sale in free-ads etc, but most do NOT have any hip scores which is a problem for me. Our cat is a persian and he suffers with lots of ailments including luxating patellas and it's important to me that our Doodle will have as good health as I can make!!

How did you all find your dogs? Is there much difference I need to know about miniatures, because most of the information is about standard Doodles.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm struggling at the minute, I'm either finding puppies for £500 who don't have vaccinations of health checks - or I am seeing pure bred Australian labradoodles for £1500, which is out of our price range (and I really don't mind what coat/Aus or not) as long as it has a wonderful temperament and coat I will be happy!

(We must have a young puppy as our cat is a house cat and used to being the boss for 5 years so a rescue Doodle wont do either.)

PS - I've had such a good search around your forum and I'm in love with all your dogs!!!! Seriously, too cute!!

Hi there - welcome to the crazy world of doodles! It's amazing how having a pet with health problems makes you ultra-cautious about health testing isn't it - I have one too, so I don't blame you!

The thing with miniatures is, although amongst poodles hip dysplasia is less likely to be a problem with a mini than a standard, with a labradoodle there will obviously be a lab in the background, which could introduce a risk. Obviously there are no guarantees anyway, and a miniature doodle will carry less weight. Also, luxating patellas is a small dog problem as a rule, so the miniatures are more likely to be at risk with them.

You've probably seen the code of practice on this site - it recommends that the parents of doodles should be hip scored regardless of whether they are standards or miniatures.

I found my first doodle on here, and the next two were from personal recommendations - I am sure you will get some breeders suggested on here - I am on the south coast so too far away, otherwise I could suggest a few!

Good luck with your search - I hope we see you on here soon introducing your puppy

Hi,
We decided to get a pup only from a breeder registered on this site and we contacted loads. All the breeders i contacted which were registered on THIS SITE had done health checks especially hip scores, whatever size of dog and we were not looking at Austrailians at all, we paid an average price for a British one.
Please don't even consider a pup unless it has had the recommended checks, any responsible breeder will do them, a breeder who hasn't done health checks on any breed is only in it for the money .

Happy searching

Good luck!

Hi! We have Lottie, a miniature F1b (that makes her 75% poodle 25% lab) from a Kennel Club breeder of miniature poodles who has about one litter of doodles a year. We saw Lottie's grandparent and her Mum and we got copies of all their health checks. We also saw the pedigree, health checks and pictures of Lottie's poodle grandfather, who had been brought in from Cheshire for stud. Lottie has been great and has had no health problems. I would recommend miniature doodle ownership. One thing you need to know is that even though they are smaller than standard doodles they need loads of exercise and can be quite strong so need to be trained!! (this is still work in progress with Lottie!)

Good luck
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Also don`t be fooled by the word `mini` Jessie is the size of a small lab so is really a medium, she was one of the larger ones in the litter.
i also agree with Nicolof`s post regading training - they have the drive of a Labrador and the speed of a Poodle, but i think most doodles respond to and really enjoy training.

Hi & Welcome . Hope you find the right pup for you. Good Luck

Hello,

We got Poppy from Preston, she's a mini goldendoodle, and has always been very happy and healthy. If you want to have a look on my other posts for pics of her as a pup and then adult, feel free. If you want more info message me!

She's actually got a black mini f1b labradoodle girl at the moment it seems.

x

Yes you are quite right, parents do need to be hip scored, also a point is that score should not be above 15 and should be made up correctly i.e 7/7 not 15/0 as that would mean a bad hip!

Another thing that is especially important in miniatures is PRA testing as two dogs can have clear BVA eye certs and produce pups that will go blind, at least one of the parents needs to be PRA tested and be normal clear!

Well I can't offer any advice on the mini doodle front as I'm the owner of two naughty standards..
Just wanted to say Hi and wish you luck with your search!
Daise, Gracie & Maddie moo moo xx

Where abouts in the North West are you? We are in Bury and got Lola from Catlow Labradoodles in Burnley. She is a miniature/medium chocolate. Her mum was a std cream labradoodle called Cassie and her dad was a miniature chocolate poodle called Horatio Caine (they must love CSI)

We also live in the North West and bought ours from a friend of a friend who only plan to have two litters from their gorgeous labradoodle polly, her owners used to breed alsations They live in Prestwich, Manchester. We sent them photos of dougal when he turned 6 months and he is now nearly 8 months old. I know they plan to have the other litter this year. There were a mixture of black and cream and they all seem quite different in some ways and identical in others. We love Dougal to bits he's so funny and gorgeous, perfect family pet..... The breeder keeps them at home until they are able to come home and they have kids around and all the puppies were picked up and not gently by her and they were all so well behaved.... so `I think you can't go wrong with one, but I am clearly biased good luck with it

We also live in the North West and bought ours from a friend of a friend who only plan to have two litters from their gorgeous labradoodle polly, her owners used to breed alsations They live in Prestwich, Manchester. We sent them photos of dougal when he turned 6 months and he is now nearly 8 months old. I know they plan to have the other litter this year. There were a mixture of black and cream and they all seem quite different in some ways and identical in others. We love Dougal to bits he's so funny and gorgeous, perfect family pet..... The breeder keeps them at home until they are able to come home and they have kids around and all the puppies were picked up and not gently by her and they were all so well behaved.... so `I think you can't go wrong with one, but I am clearly biased good luck with it

Hi maggie111

Saw this ad, thought you may be interested in.

http://www.dogsandpuppies.co.uk/Labrado ... s-for-sale

Good luck with your search

Oh my gosh - thank you all for your welcoming posts!! Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I didn't expect it to be so busy! It's a lovely lively forum!! I'm trying to reply to everyone individually, so I just want to say that every single one of you has gorgeous dogs!! I've been showing them all to my husband and going gooey eyed over all of them!! Seriously, I don't think I've seen one Doodle that I haven't wanted to sneak home!!

Bid, thank you for your detailed info, I'm glad to have it confirmed that I *do* need health scores, but as I heard it twice I thought I should check! I have read info here about what is good/bad hip scores. But I'm noticing that most places just say "good hip scores". I felt a bit awkward pushing for information and I had a realisation yesterday that actually, when I bought my house, or car - I was FULL of questions! Just because it's a cute puppy doesn't make it any different as it's a long term purchase and needs to be perfect for our family. Especially considering some of the prices Doodles are charged for!

When you say you found your Doodles on here, was that in the "litter" fact sheet of the website, is there another section of the forum where people look for prospective "parents"?

Sarah - Again, thank you for the confirmation that I wasn't crazy to want health scores! Nice to know I stumbled across the right Labradoodle site too! Am hoping this will lead to our pup!

Don't worry, I have explained to my husband that mini might mean full sized. I wouldn't get a mini-doodle if I wasn't prepared or able to have a full-sized one. I would rather have a large Doodle actually, but a smaller one would suit us better so I will get a mini and hope!

Nicol, Lottie is beautiful, she looks so unique at 75% poodle! How tall is she? Do you mind me asking who her breeder was?

The Turners - I am absolutely in love with your dog's awesome beard!!

Racholi - Thanks, I'll send you a message

Penny, had never thought of checking for PRA, thank you for the advice!

Daise, thank you! Your dogs could almost convince me to get a standard size!

Alibobs, would be v happy with pup like yours! Burnley isn't too far but their website is only showing 1 standard sized Doodle litter due.

anjmac, do you have a website or contact details from the breeder?

DevonDoodle - unfortunately that takes me to the main search page? Although I have never seen that website before so that link itself was quite good!! Which litter in particular did you think read well?

All of the personality advice is normally about standard Doodles - anyone know if the miniature poodle adds a different personality trait that you wouldn't expect from a standard doodle?

I'm hoping for a puppy that is highly affectionate, intelligent, bouncy and slightly crazy and I am hoping he'll eventually turn into a slightly more mature, loyal family dog. Does that sound about right??