Doodle Discussion Forum

FORUM FAQ


PHOTO COURTESY RAINMAKER RANCH LABRADOODLES	Q: What's the Doodle Discussion Forum? A: The Doodle Discussion Forum is a place for Goldendoodle and Labradoodle owners to get in touch with each other and discuss their dogs - sharing experiences - both pleasures and problems. All Dood owners and future owners are welcome to post and enjoy the forum. The moderators ask that you understand and appreciate that the process involved in providing this forum is not effortless, and wish to thank the Goldendoodles.com website breeders, and many of its owners for supporting the site and forums.

PHOTO COURTESY JERSEY DOODLES	Q: How do I post on the forum? A: You need not subscribe to post. We suggest you ignore the "login" option altogether, as it seems to be more of an annoyance than a help. To start a new post on the forum - simply click on the "Post Message" button near the top of the page, below the introductory text. To reply to another post / thread already started, simply click on the "Post Reply" button under the post you're reading. Fill in the Author field with the name you wish to be known by on the forum. If you fill in the email address field, the forum software will send you email telling you when your post has gotten a reply. If you click on the "Show Email Address?" box, it will make your email address visible when someone clicks on your name in the Author field and they will be able to contact you directly. A caveat to "show email address?" is that your email will be visible to spammers.

PHOTO COURTESY DOODLEQUEST	Q: Is advertising allowed? A: No links to sites that are commercial or include breeders lists without permission. We request that litters and links to kennels posted on the Doodle forum be only those associated with the site breeders. No solicitation on behalf of breeders, please. There are over 100 breeders associated to the Goldendoodle website community. If you're not sure the breeder is on the list, just check here: Goldendoodles.com Recommended Breeders list

PHOTO COURTESY MAKEWAYFORDOODLES	Q: Can I mention where I got my dog? A: Yes, of course. We do ask that if your breeder is not a site breeder, that you not give their website address, contact information or litter notices, but you are certainly allowed to say where you got your puppy.

PHOTO COURTESY SHADY MAPLE DOODLES	Q: What is the forum etiquette? A: Discussion is encouraged and it is expected that people may disagree. All posters are expected to treat each other with respect and any abusive or hostile postings will be deleted immediately. We ask you not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-oriented or any other material that may violate any applicable laws. The moderators do their best to keep the forum honest. Understand that the posts made on this forum express the private opinion of the author and not the moderators, and thus are not liable for any but their own comments. Please use your own judgment.

PHOTO COURTESY FOUR PAWS DOODLES	Q: Are breeders allowed to post here? A: Breeders posting are listed on the Goldendoodles.com website, or on the new breeders list. These breeders test their breeding dogs for genetic diseases; they raise the dogs and pups in an atmosphere which meets both their physical and emotional needs; all the animals in the kennel must be vetted regularly, the pups receiving all necessary age appropriate innoculations before leaving the kennels. All breeders offer at least a two year health warranty covering life disabling genetic defects, which includes HD (OFA mild, moderate &severe). The owner of the puppy will be compensated as per the agreed-upon terms with the seller. As part of the guarantee, returning the puppy might be an option with the seller but not a requirement. Perhaps most important of all, the breeders maintain a positive relationship with the client during and after the adoption of the pup.

PHOTO COURTESY MISBHAVEN DOODLES	Q: Is there a forum for Breeders? A: There is a Breeders' Forum at http://disc.yourwebapps.com /Indices/179154.html which is available for all breeders both on and off the site where breeding issues can be discussed openly, breeding stock is made available and both new and established breeders can learn from one another. Owners are asked not to post on this forum, it is strictly for breeders or people thinking about becoming breeders. Breeders interested in joining the Goldendoodle Website community and posting on the Doodle Discussion Forum are welcome to contact Blue@goldendoodles.com

PHOTO COURTESY LUDWIG'S DOODLES	Q: What are the objectives of the Goldendoodles.com website? A: The goal of the Goldendoodles.com website is to continue to add to the resources of the Dood community in general. The goals for the recommended Breeders list are: (1) to find at least one good breeder in each state and province so that no one has to look too far to find a pup; (2) to have all the prospective owners able to find a pup available within a few months; and (3) to achieve a balance such that the listed breeders have full wait lists.

PHOTO COURTESY ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOLDENDOODLES	Q: What should I look for in a breeder? A: There are many good breeders both in and outside of the Goldendoodle website community. Be sure to do your homework when finding yours. Here’s a page that will be helpful - choosing a breeder

PHOTO COURTESY TIMSHELL FARM	Q: Can I enquire about a breeder's reputation here? A: Future owners are encouraged to post queries about any breeder they are considering. Please use your own judgment when considering the replies. It is not uncommon to get different views from different people. Please understand that there are some who would abuse the truth to help sell their own dogs. Also, the same two complaints told over and over can sound like a score of them. Be aware of whether people leave their real name and email address and are accountable for their opinions. As much as we try to prevent phoney posters, sometimes we miss people who are less than honest about who they are or who they represent.

PHOTO COURTESY HARDLYABLE STABLE	Q: Where can I find a Doodle to rescue? A: There is a great site dedicated to poodle-cross dogs in the Rescue Poodle Crossed Dogs Also, when Doods from site breeders need to be rehomed for any reason, they are listed here

PHOTO COURTESY OLYMPIC LABRADOODLES	Q: How do I post pictures? A: To assist you in posting photos, or to alter the fonts in your message, check out the HTML Cheat Sheet The easiest way to post pictures here is to upload them to http://photobucket.com/, copy the "Direct Link" URL address of the picture, and paste it straight into your message (no HTML code required). - thank you to Linny for this information!

My name is Blue Sterling and I'm the moderator of this forum and webmaster to Goldendoodles.com My academic background is in Health Science and I have a B.A. in Psychology. In the Fall of 2000 my family was looking for the perfect dog and through an internet search discovered the Labradoodle. At that time in southern Ontario, Labradoodles were nowhere to be found - but we had Golden Poos! While I was waiting for my two Doods to come home from the breeder I built the Goldendoodle Website (all of 7 pages) and put together this forum to try to meet other Goldendoodle owners.

As soon as people started finding the Goldendoodle Website, they said 'Gorgeous dog - where can I get one?' and I realized that I had a responsibility to refer only quality breeders, because these were families like mine, looking for a healthy family dog. I made it my goal to listen to owner feedback and to list only responsible breeders on the site. At that time we knew of three breeders in North America and as you can imagine they got busy pretty fast. In the years since, the site has grown to over 800 pages, and the breeders list on the site has come to have an extremely good reputation in the Doodle community and has served to create many proud and pleasantly amazed new Dood owners.

We were fortunate back then in that Kate Schoeffel often posted on our forums. Kate is an honours geneticist, Vet and breeder of miniDoods in Australia. She and others like her helped to shape what would become the `norm' of Dood breeders. The first year or two most of the Dood breeders shared similar philosophies of testing their breeding dogs and providing good health warranties. Since it's inception, this forum has always been moderated by myself and other volunteers. At first, a handful of like-minded breeders were welcome to post, and that has grown to include the over 100 breeders listed on the site.

If a breeder is interested in being listed on the Goldendoodle Website, I will first interview them asking questions about their breeding program. I look for candor in regards to health testing, and good warranties. If I feel that the program looks good, I will collect owner feedback. If they get great feedback from the owners, then I will ask the breeder if they care to join the site (there is a fee for listing).

For over eight years I've tried to help people find responsible breeders and be responsible owners. I advocate more testing and better warranties from breeders. I answer correspondence, provide resource, post Romp information, update the database and individual Dood pages on the site. If anyone ever has a problem working with their breeder through the warranty, I try to help by acting as an advocate on their behalf - whether the breeder is listed on the site or not. It's been my experience all around, that most problems between any breeder and owner are usually just about miscommunication, and once the process starts up again it all works out.

The Goldendoodle website now requires a small team of people to manage it and help moderate the forums that Dood owners and breeders use. We have a great resource section which is always being added to - and I'm especially proud of Jan's accomplishment - Hip Dysplasia - A Mini - Tutorial for the Puppy Buyer

One of our Dood community's glowing achievements is the Working Doods section. A few years ago I sent out letters to every working dog group that I could find asking if they had ever used a Labradoodle or Goldendoodle. One or two said that they did, but also some of them were interested in working with a Dood, and asked if I could find breeders to donate pups to them. What has followed has been a wonderful testament to the qualities of these hybrids and also to the generosity of our breeders. The very first Goldendoodle Guide Dog, Richter, graduated as a guide dog from Guide Dogs of America on May 1st, 2005. Richter was bred by Amy Lane of Fox Creek Farms

One of the biggest joys of the Dood community is its forums. The Doodle Discussion Forum was the first forum on the net for Goldendoodle and Labradoodle owners and it was started in January of 2001. The first breeders forum - the Doodle Breeders' Discussion Forum - was created about a year later as a place for all Dood breeders to share information and trade dogs.

Now, there are many other Doodle forums and they are each different and fun in their own way, each providing resource, and many with their own breeder or groups of breeders providing litter information. Let us all revel in our Doods!