Breed or mutt, which is better? Labradoodle, Goldendoodle, Labrador, Golden Retriever, or Mutt....?

Question

Please choose which would be the best bet for a family with young children.

Also, please share your reasons behind your choice, as well as any cons.

Thanks in advance, and happy holidays!!!

s/b "purebred"

Answer 1

Never know what you are going to get.

Any one of them can be trained. Do not pay any one for these. There are plenty of homeless in rescues!!!

Answer 2

Well your choice should be researched to see which one best fits your families lifestyle, try looking at www.akc.org and reading the breed standard for temperment. A mutt is always a bit of a gamble bc you don't know the parents' temperment. Just dont purchase a golden x poodle or a lab x poodle from a "breeder". They come from mills, bybs, or idiots that dont know how to breed a quality dog anyway. No ethical breeder breeds mutts, which is what labradoodles and goldendoodles are.

Answer 3

In my opinion, any puppy from the pound would be a good bet. I have raised quite a few mutts and they have all lived long lives. Pure-breeds tend to die young due to the inbreeding. If they don't die young, they have more health problems. For instance, two great dogs are golden retrievers and German Shepherds. However, both breeds suffer from hip displaysia and can develop displaysia later in life. Mutts have a better chance to avoid common problems such as that.

Having said that, my golden retriever/shepherd mix developed hip displaysia when he was 14.

In regards to the young children, I have had 5 dogs while my nephews have been growing up. My nephews pulled the dogs tongues, yanked their ears, grabbed tails, etc. - and the dogs never barked or growled at them. I think as long as the puppies are brought up being around small children, it won't be an issue. On the other hand, I never once left my nephews alone with any of my dogs and I'd ask that you do the same. A dog is still an unpredictable animal.

Best wishes and Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Answer 4

of the breeds you listed, a golden retriever. there are other dog breeds that do well with kids, you can find quizzes on the net to match you with a breed. mutts need to be rescued also. i had three mutts before my two purebred dogs i have now. i enjoy both, but always try to get an adult that is mellow, or a pup that is healthy and will pay attention to you at the shelter, if they are aloof, don't get. look up Rhodesian ridge back, Pharaoh hound, Scottish deer hound, and french bulldogs and see if they are more to your liking.

Answer 5

Labrador or Golden retrievers are both good family pets. I prefer Goldens but labs are just as good. Any dog with "doodle"in its name is an overpriced mutt. A mutt from the pound can be an excellent pet, too. You have to pick a dog that you will like. My opinion and anyone else who answers is not important.

Answer 6

a 'goldendoodle' IS a mutt... please educate yourself a great deal more before deciding if you are an appropriate home for a dog of any kind. Dogs take time, money and committement. Most of the people that come on here are whinning about how they can't do this or don't have time for that and basically are looking for validation to get rid of their dog because they foolishly and impulsively obtained a dog without knowing or caring that they require much from them instead of just 'getting a dog!' . There are many MILLIONS that die in shelters and even more millions dying out of shelters because of ignorant, irresponsible breeding and impulsive, irresponsible purchasing. Obtaining a puppy from someone who is ignorant and irresponsible enough to make mutts/goldendoodles on purpose is part of the problem - if you want a purebred, then contact a good, responsible breeder (not going to find them advertising puppies on the internet or in newspapers) and learn about the breed - or learn about the breed and go to a breed specific rescue - they will evaluate the dog and you and make sure, like a good breeder, that it is the best possible home for that dog... or you can go to a shelter and evaluate dogs there and rehome one that is destine to languish in a shelter or die due to overpopulation. But please don't be an irresponsible puppy obtainer -- you keep the back yard greeders and puppy mill going and the body piles getting bigger...

add: most of the info you are reading here is hogwash... purebreds do no 'die younger because of inbreeding' that is ignorance on face. Mixed breeds die just as if not more easily as they do not have health tested parents behind them - same with regards to temperament -- I have been bitten more by mixed breeds that any other breed -- you have to be careful regardless but don't listen to ignorance. I have owned mutts as well - some wonderful, some not wonderful. We have a wonderful little mutt in the family right now but he would be horrendous with children -- have had one of our mutts drop dead in the arms of my mother at five years of age -- there is no less disease or temperament problems in mutts than in poorly bred purebreds because basically that is where they come from. People like to believe that this isn't so but it is -- ever worked at a shelter -- a lot of dogs are euthanized on entrance because of temperament issues or health issues so you only see the ones that aren't and even they for a huge majority have issues -- I am not saying don't get one -- please get one! But be aware and educate yourself because I see too many children with parts of their faces ripped off in the ER from people not doing their homework and just getting a puppy/dog without knowing what the are doing...

Answer 7

I come from a family that shows dogs. All of my life I have had purebred dogs. Throughout the years we had mastiffs, golden retrievers, basset hounds, chihuahuas, corgis and schnauzers (we like diversity).

That said, nothing compares to the dog I got when I moved out on my own. She is a mutt (part boston terrier, brittany spaniel and pit bull) and she is the smartest, healthiest and sweetest dog ever.

I think that a lot of times with purebred dogs there is so much inbreeding to keep the dog line pure that you start to get crazy personalities and weird health problems.

I suggest going to your local animal shelter and seeing what kind of pets they have there. A lot of times there are really sweet adult dogs with experience with kids that had to be given up for one reason or the other (moving, allergies, etc.)

Good luck!

Answer 8

First off, even if you are looking for a purebred, please don't buy from a breeder. One in every 4 shelter dogs is a pure bred and if you look, there are lots of labrador/poodle mixes and cocker spaniel/poodle mixes and just really great all around mutts that you pinpoint a breed if you had to. Also there are lots of breed rescues out there, too. Just go onto petfinder and type in what you one. Hundreds (if not thousands) will pop up.

I am very partial to labs. I have a 9 month old chocolate and am active in the lab rescue that I adopted her from. Labs are great (active) family dogs. They require lots of exercise (both physical and mental) - I spend two-three hours a day exercising and playing with my lab. Also labs are not backyard dogs - they thrive when they around their people, so if you want to leave them in the backyard expect to get a barker, digger, and escape artist extraordinaire.

I don't have kids but my lab (even as a puppy - because labs really have a puppy personality for about their first 3 years of life) is really gentle with my nieces and all of my cousins kids. Just yesterday, she spent two hours letting a 2 year old follow her around and take her toys and balls and a 4 and 5 year old squeal and tug on her and it didn't bother her at all. When my nieces (7 and 12) are around she pretty much follows them everywhere and keeps a close eye on them if they get very far from the rest of the family.

From my experience, both labs and goldens have similar personalities (although labs tend to have a puppy mentality for longer than goldens), Goldens are long-haired, though, and shed more than labs. My lab sheds plenty though - I usually vacuum every other day and she gets a daily brushing (and occassionally even a runover with a lint roller). Although many will tell you poodle mixes are no shed or hypoallergenic, it's just not true. Poodles and poodle-mixes will require brushing everday to prevent matting and to remove dead hairs and will require occassional professional groomings. Also, mixed breeds will have a less predictable temperament. I'm not really familiar with purebred poodle temperaments, but when considering a mixed breed you can get anything between the range of physical, emotional, and behavioral characteristics of each breed.

Labs are happiest when getting constant attention and continuous exercise, but a tired labbie is a happy labbie. So if your kids are willing to keep throwing the tennis ball, your lab is going to be happy to keep chasing it. The same pretty much goes for a golden.

In our lab rescue, we sometimes take lab mixes and we ended up getting a puppy mill lot that closed down, so we had 11 labradoodles. The same went for the local Golden Retriever rescue getting the puppy mill lot of goldendoodles, so like I said all of these dogs are available from someone other than breeders.

Additionally if a dog is in a rescue, they have been spayed/neutered, updated on their vaccines, received heartworm and other health tests, had minor and major health problems and surgeries, and been living in a foster family who can tell you everything from if they are good with kids and other dogs to if they can't resist chewing on shoes or like to steal bread from the countertops!

Answer 9

Whenever I look at getting a dog, I never look at pedigree alone. I have had both purebreds, mixes, and mutts before and they all were great in their own ways. I look more at personality, activity level, how long or short the coat is, and over all size. Things like what exactly the dog is and color come last for me personally. In my experience, the pet chooses the owner as much as the owner chooses the pet. That is the way it was for one of my dogs and cats.

All types of pets and individual breeds have their ups and downs. There are websites out there that can help determine what kind of pet is right for you and your family, such as this artical with links to various other sites about different kinds of dogs for different kinds of people and lifestyles http://dogs.about.com/cs/breedprofiles/a/choosing_a_dog.htm

I hope that helps!

Answer 10

I think any of the above would be great. However, we have a Black Labrador which is awesome with my kids, I have a 5 year old daughter, 4 year old son and a newborn son. He sniffed the newborns head when we came home from the hospital and has left him completely alone since then. My 4 year old loves to throw a ball for him and they roll around with each other in the floor. My daughter thinks dogs are stinky and doesn't like to play with him and he respects that, very rarely tries to engage her to play - she does like to feed him though, and I think that teaches some responsibility. Good luck!! And Merry Christmas!!

Answer 11

Labrador Doodle