That's awesome, I'd love to have some par 3's in the yard.

You have created a "retirement paradise" for men like us.

Thanks kdub ... He sure is, well beyond my original expectations. What he lacks in prey drive (that Cappy and Remi both have) he sure makes up for in his smarts and desire to please. Carol ended up with exactly what she had hoped for ... a Poodle's non-allergenic and light shedding coat with the Labs super disposition. And on top of it ... he's gonna make a better-than-ok meat dawg.

TG37:

Didn't interpret your reply as rude ... just uninformed.

One day when you get to be an old fut like me and don't give a ratsazz about hunting buddies opinions (or anyone elses for that matter) ... and unless they pay your bills or theirs is the only huntable land for 100s of miles ... you only have to make your wife and yourself happy ... and not always in that order.

So Jim, you think Rusty is smarter than Cappy and Remi?

How about his swimming and retrieving? Are Cappy and Remi faster swimmers? I remember asking you when you first got him if his paws were webbed and you said they were...so just curious.

Also, last you posted you said you didn't know if you would force fetch him because he was pretty soft. What did you end up doing? I ask because you commented about not having the prey drive of Remi and Cappy.

To me, this whole Rusty project has been fascinating and educational thanks for sharing it with us along the way. I've said all along...the way Cappy took to the boy I knew he would turn out alright.

Don't tell the Germans. They have been breeding versatile dogs for the last 100 years. They are true hunting dogs.

well then you should be there with your best friend screw the rest of em... if anybody made fun of my dog I wouldnt want to hunt with them anyway... just sayin...

Keeping in mind that Rusty is seven months old, the jury is still out on what he will be at 12 to 15 months of age. He's at a disadvantage now in that the temps get so hot early here every day that just a single 15-20 minute session each morning at opening light is about all that I can put him through until the weather cools down. Even the pond water is in the upper 80s. By then it will be virtually season.

He's a medium strong swimmer with somewhat timid entries whereas Cap and Remi are "Dock Dogs" in their full charge entries. Rusty LOVES to retrieve but lacks the fierce prey drive when chasing a hobbled pigeon that the other two have always had. Either of them would find a way over or through a 6-strand barbed wire fence and/or cattle panel to get at a crip. Rusty, on the other hand, is stopped dead in his tracks by a wildly flapping pigeon as he approaches it. Dead birds are fine, however. That will change in time. Once he has the bird in mouth he'll prance and parade with it for 10 minutes if I'll let him do so.

Rusty's FFing has been limited to my use of level 1 or 2 continuous stimulation to pick-up and hold an object if he drops it. And he handles that very well. As a result I won't take him through conventional table FF using a toe hitch, ear pinch and the "usual" techniques.

Showing his a rolled up newspaper or a very stern NO in the house seems to almost break his spirit. That's a gross overstatement but helps illustrate the very soft dog characterization I've suggested in the past. If I do correct him, changing the tone of my voice and giving him a happy "here boy" and it's wiggle-butt time all the way to me. He's extremely good natured and even affectionate. Seeks approval and really thrives on it - which is a huge plus for supplemental training with treats and atta boys occasionally

Remi is sharp. She can do things in the field and at home that suggests a highly developed canine IQ and problem solving thought process. Cappy is more of the plodding typical "Goonie Bird" lovable Lab that we all know or have. Not to say he's slow or dumb, just not as astute as Remi in learning and mastering mental challenges. Rusty seems to be at least as sharp as Remi was at that same age, we'll see.

Rusty is just now learning tracking and remote handling. He seems to understand the concepts but clearly has to train individually without Carol, other dawgs or any distractions.
Rusty is my 10th "gun dawg" in 50+ years of owning and training my own. That includes a Brittany, two Setters, two GSPs, an English and an American Pointer and the two Labs. So far I would rate Rusty in the lower 1/3 at this stage of his training for probable ultimate overall gun dawg rank ... and much of that is my fault by going so slowly rather than any particular deficiency of his.

Thanks for the run down and comparisons Cappy. I have enjoyed your Rusty progress reports and pictures of the kids!

Unless you live with someone that is allergic, can't run a vacuum, or just want's to be different (not that there is anything wrong with that), what are the reason's to choose a labradoodle over a lab if you want lab like traits? Like a lab has.

Cappy, I enjoy your post about your dog. I think he will turn out great. Just to be clear, I am not knocking you or the breed. It sound's like you got what you wanted, and you can probably write a book about the breed when it's all said and done.

So because you post a pic your a labdoodle with a bird in its mouth that makes them hunting dogs????

"that matter, the Standard Poodle predates the Labrador breed by a century and it was bred specifically as a waterfowl retriever. But don't let facts confuse you since your mind is already made up."

Yes that is true but doesn't mean that it is not very hard to find one in either bred that can find a biscuit on its had and that's a fact as well

mine is coming along really well, he's a godendoodle though. Introduced to live birds in the last few days and is really taking off! love the dogs intelligence, and temperment, he has a strong desire to retriever which is all that really matters at the end of the day.

I have a labradoodle because my wife wanted one. Ours is a year old and a retrieving machine. She loves to swim. If we leave her on the dock and take the boat out, she jumps in and swims to the boat. She is the most loving dog we have ever owned and I have had two labs. I do not plan on hunting with her because she will most likely be trained as a service dog. Earlier today she cruised the house in my 2 year olds Superman cape.

Can you elaborate on that last statement? I know of several hunting Labs that are wonderful service dawgs as well. Why can't Ella do the same?

i have trained some labradoodle's before and they turned out to be great hunting dogs for the owner. They can be trained. i dont want to offend anyone who has a labradoodle. But, for the money you might want to look to a pure breed dog. At least you would be able to see the blood lines for hunting and trainability(Titles on the dogs). Each breed has good qualities and bad ones look for both the good and bad. Than decide which traites are most important to you. However if you start mixing breeds which qualities are you gonna get? For the money that the people are charging for these labradoodle's. You can get a good pure breed dog and train them in less time. Saying that each dog is an individual and they all learn at different rates

Designer breed.

There's too much possibiity of genetic issues. The breed is too new to determine any stability in breeding consistency.

If you want a versatile dog, stick with one of the AKC breeds.

Have you looked at a pudlepointer? They are not one of the new "designer" mixed breeds and have been around since the 1800's in Europe. I am allergic to dogs and these things were supposed to be easy on the allergies and shed very little. I have had mine for a year and he only bothers my allergies a little and only sheds a very small amount. They can be very capable water & upland dogs as I have hunted over them. Mine's not there yet.

Pudelpointer Info

New to the forum
There’s good & bad in both breeds ..BUT I’ve trained about 30 of the beasts (Which is not many..I do not take them anymore) and I can say it was hit or miss on the brains dept. Maybe 4 out of that bunch could find there food bowl..This was at the beginning of the craze maybe they have changed????

I like Labs - but that's just me. Not downing the 'doodle, just prefer the Lab looks, coat, temperament, etc.

We train for both - gun dogs and SAR dogs. We have had several along the way that were good for both. Of course, we've had some that were good for one and not the other, too. Sarge can air scent a victim over 1/4 mile away and he's great hunting, too. Bear retrieves great (hasn't been hunting yet) but he discriminates scent, too. In SAR drills at 9 months old, he found 43 victims out of 43 of various ages, ethnicities & gender. They were all forest searches and several included multiple victims in the woods placed as distractions. He ignored all non-matching scents. I'll be ecstatic if he is anywhere near as good hunting as he is in Search & Rescue!

I got 2 that I hunt with. I have had labs in the past and will probably never get another one. The labradoodles are more calm, easier to train and more obiedient. We hunt ducks and geese up here in Colorado and they do fine down to zero degree weather. Yes, you will need to get used to die hard lab. guys asking you what in the hell is that dog.....Until they see how good the dog can be. Youtube, labradoodle hunting shaggy and see my mutt on a 100 yard goose retrieve. Of course, it is all in the training anyways. By the way, the F1 B (lab and poodle mix) shed only about 1/3 of a lab. Good luck.

nice video! thanks for sharing!

I'm not knocking anyone who owns a doodle but they have got to be the dumbest dogs I have encountered..... That said, intelligence varies from dog to dog. I am sure some are worth their salt.

So does hyperness, loyalty, and all of the other "traits" that people claim these breeds have or don't have. I've seen hyper labs and i've seen calm labs, smart labs and dumb labs(mostly chocolates), fat labs and skinny labs, love to hunt labs and hate to hunt labs, tall ones and short ones. The only certainty about the labradoodle , i just threw up in my mouth when i said that, and all of the "better traits" is they don't shed as much as regular lab. That is the only characteristic that could benifit people who own this breed. All other characteristics should be based on individual dogs.

[/quote] So does hyperness, loyalty, and all of the other "traits" that people claim these breeds have or don't have. I've seen hyper labs and i've seen calm labs, smart labs and dumb labs(mostly chocolates), fat labs and skinny labs, love to hunt labs and hate to hunt labs, tall ones and short ones. The only certainty about the labradoodle , i just threw up in my mouth when i said that, and all of the "better traits" is they don't shed as much as regular lab. That is the only characteristic that could benifit people who own this breed. All other characteristics should be based on individual dogs. [/quote]

.... here we go on the color issue...
(is there a "can of worms" icon?)

.... here we go on the color issue...
(is there a "can of worms" icon?) [/quote]

It's just a joke between me and a few friends.