Choosing A Labradoodle
Growing up, we both had dogs as part of our family. I started out with a Miniature Schnauzer and then added an Italian Greyhound a few years later (both male). My husband grew up with a female German Wirehaired Pointer. When, at 19 years old, we moved out of our parents homes, the first thing we agreed on is that we had to get a dog. (Nevermind that we lived in a one bedroom apartment.) We headed to Petsmart to rescue a small dog. After talking with the rescue’s volunteer, we learned that we had to provide a copy of our lease before we could rescue and animal. That’s when we found out that per our new landlord, “Dogs are not considered pets, and are not allowed”. So, we did the only thing we could do. We rescued a cat.
After renting for almost 10 years, rescuing a second cat, graduating from College, moving from Michigan to Florida to North Carolina andbuying our own home, it was time to get a dog. The only thing to do was decide on which breed we wanted. I wanted a program that was smart, was bi but gentle, and wouldn’t shed; a standard schnauzer or a Bouvier des Flandres. My husband wanted a German Wirehaired Pointer. So, we agreed that we would not get any of those breeds and instead would pick a good medium and one that was new to both of us.
We spent weeks looking on Petfinder.com, the local SPCA websites and Google searches trying to find a breed both of us were happy with. We finally settled on a Goldendoodle. I loved the temperament of the Golden doodles and he liked the look and smarts. The only problem… after searching, there were no Goldendoodle rescues in the Raleigh area, and no Goldendoodles at the pound. After months had passed, I was still obsessively checking Petfinder and the local SPCA to no avail and my husband had stopped talking about getting a dog because we couldn’t find one in our area.
Then, Fate stepped in. We were pulling up to Petsmart on our bi-monthly trips to get cat food, when my husband pointed to a woman and two dogs crossing the parking lot and said “That is the dog I want. I wonder where she got them”. Surprised, I looked at the dogs ando saw that they were chocolate Labradoodles. I said “Why don’t we go ask?” As luck would have it, the woman’s daughter owned a female Labradoodle and a new litter was being planned! We got home, called her daughter and put our names on the list as wanting a puppy from the next litter. That is how we chose a Labradoodle; with a chance meeting in a parking lot.
Keep reading about our Labradoodle puppy adventures and follow our puppy on Facebook!
Labradoodle In Raleigh 