Many people consider getting a Golden Doodle or other poodle mix. I recently discovered a great book approved by the Gold Doodle Association of North America. It is a fantastic book that provides a great overview of Golden Doodles! I recommend reading it BEFORE you line up a breeder or put a deposit down on a puppy.
 
It is clear that Golden Doodles and other poodle mixes are mixed breed dogs. They are not recognized as a "breed" by any organization. 
Any other breed mixed in can be called a Golden Doodle. 
They explain the F1, F2b etc.
Buying from a responsible breeder is key to getting the health, temperament and activity level that will best suit your lifestyle.
Check out breeders who are members or who follow the GANA code of ethics for breeding. They must do specific health tests on each parent. The parent dogs must be 2 years of age and not be bred after 7 years of age. 

That there are four coat types: flat, straight, wavy and curled.
Straight and Wavy are the most desirable. Flat are the same as Golden retrievers (shedding) and curly is like poodle but often heavier (and requires more work to maintain and mat often if not brushed out daily).

There are different sizes. They have different temperaments due to different sizes of poodles being used as the parent breed. (Standard, moyen, toy and mini)

There is no such thing as a truly hypoallergenic dog. Hypo means "low" allergies, not "no" allergies.
People can be allergic to the proteins in the saliva, urine and/or on the dander of dogs.

There is a new test that can be done for the gene for an incorrect coat type (which is recessive). If breeders know if their dogs carry it they can breed accordingly to improve the probability of getting more of the desired non-shedding coats.

Doodles should not be washed any more often than once a month or the dog's skin may dry out and it triggers skin issues.

They are prone to many diseases common to both breeds, most of which can be tested for:

• progressive retinal atrophy
• hereditary cataracts
• glaucoma
• heart problems
• Addison's Disease
• hip dysplasia
• elbow dysplasia
• eyes
• von Willebrands disease (blood doesn't clot properly)
• in the minis: luxating patellas
• diabetes
• cancer
• hypothyroid
• seizures
• bloat
• allergies

Puppies should not go to their new homes until at least 8 weeks of age (This is written in state laws in most states).

Golden Doodles may vary in the amount of energy/drive and exercise they need depending on what lines the parent breeds are from. Generally, lines from hunting/sport may have more energy. Conformation/show lines may have less. (English lines may have lower energy needs than American sport lines.)

That positive reinforcement is best for training a doodle.

The book: (also available on Kindle as an e-book)
The GoldenDoodle Handbook Linda Whitwam 2016

GANA Member Breeders

There is also a Labradoodle club but the breeders ethics is optional to membership so do your due diligence when talking with the breeder to make sure to see the results of the health tests. Note that the temperament of the Labradoodle is different than a Goldendoodle due to the parent breeds being different breeds.

Note: They recommend that the breeders use the Volhard Puppy Aptitude test. Many research papers have found that such tests are not a predictor of the future temperament or personality of a dog but instead more of a reflection of what the breeder has already done with the individual pup.

Some breeders also will have the pups spayed or neutered prior to going home with their families. Others will ask for proof of spay or neuter at one year of age. If you plan to use the dog as a your service dog, males should be kept intact until at least one year or age and female s 18 mos. This is to prevent the full normal bone development to occur before the hormones are removed. Removing the hormones (especially testosterone in males) can result in longer thinner bone structure, increased risk of cancer and hypothyroid diseases etc. See our other blog posts on this. Extensive research has been done on both Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds on the juvenile spay or neuter topic. 

Here is a great post on enrichment ideas for young puppies. It can be a challenge at some times of the year and in various locations to get the puppies out and about, or for some people training their own Service Dog to get out, so here is a great idea to start introducing different textures, sounds and movement at a young age.

http://www.avidog.com/articles/oh-what-fun-avidogs-adventure-box/

Since I've had several question about raising Service Dog puppies recently, here's a list of things to make sure your breeder does, in addition to the Early Neurological Stimulation Program:

General socializing: the Rule of 7s:

By the time a puppy is seven weeks old, he/she should have:

1. Been on 7 different types of surfaces: carpet, concrete, wood, vinyl,
grass, dirt, gravel, wood chips, etc....

2. Played with 7 different types of objects: big balls, small balls, soft
fabric toys, fuzzy toys, squeaky toys, paper or cardboard items, metal items,
sticks, hose pieces, etc....

3. Been in 7 different locations: front yard, back yard, basement, kitchen,
car, garage, laundry room, bathroom, crate, etc.....

4. Met and played with 7 new people: include children and older adults...

5. Been exposed to 7 challenges: climb on a box, go through a tunnel, climb
steps, go down steps, climb over obstacles, play hide and seek, go in and out of
a doorway with a step up or down, run around a fence, etc....

6. Eaten from 7 different containers: metal, plastic, cardboard, paper, china,
pie plate, frying pan, etc....

7. Eaten in 7 different locations: crate, yard, basement, laundry room, living
room, bathroom, etc...

Source unknown

Not all labs are equal.

Temperament and health problems are linked to the genetics of the 'silver' labs.
https://notosilverlabs.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/the-dilute-gene-in-labrador-retrievers-health-problems/

Interestingly, the few I have met locally all have had either skin issues or been over reactive dogs. Are you willing to put that much time and energy into a dog with health and temperament issues that may not make the grade as a service dog?

Do you research before you make your selection. Genetics are important!

In many parts of the world, a service dog is considered a valuable caregiver and are actually paid. The fee covered food and toys for the dog and saves the health system up to 29,000 pounds a year for a human caregiver.

And costs incurred may also be a deduction for income tax purposes for the handler in some countries. Check into it in your country.

In Canada, typically it is only the costs to maintain service dogs provided by non-profit societies that can be deducted, but save your receipts and ask your tax man in case the laws have changed in the last year. 
In the US, you can deduct the costs for an owner-trained service or assistance dog (but not an emotional support dog or therapy dog).

Alzheimer's Alert dogs are dogs that are trained to help the caregiver but also provide emotional support and companionship to the person suffering from Alzheimer's. In some cases, they can also lead a disoriented person home.

Some common tasks they are trained to do:

*Stay near the person with Alzheimer's Disease and interact with them for companionship.

*Alert the caregiver (usually a family member) when the person is on the move. For example, if the person gets out of their chair or out of bed, the dog goes and gets the caregiver to prevent wandering. The dogs are trained in the same way hearing alert dogs are. One specific sound the chair makes as the person stands up becomes the cue for the dog to run for help. It would be considered a 'one way alert' (one way alert video). If the dog needs to take the caregiver to the person, it would be called a 'two way alert' (two way alert video). If this occurs at night, the dog will also need to wake the sleeping caregiver.

For our sound alert video examples: replace the alarm clock sound with the chair squeaking the floor or the person's feet hitting the floor. The dog runs and finds the caregiver, gives the trained alert, and brings the caregiver back to the person with Alzheimer's disease.

*Since people with Alzheimer's also lose their sense of smell and do things that might cause them harm (such as burning food, overloading washing machines etc), the dog's nose can be used to alert the caregiver to these smells. Pair the scent of food burning in the microwave, or the burning rubber of a washing machine with the alert behavior and add distance from the caregiver. Train a two way alert so the caregiver knows where to go. Some dogs do these alerts naturally and their technique (alert behavior) can be refined.

*Push or nudge the person with Alzheimer's away from doors. If alarms are on the doors, go get the Caregiver.

*Remind the caregiver to help person with Alzheimer's take their medication.

*They can be trained to guide the person home if they become disoriented. Walking is a key way to decrease the need to wander. The "Home" cue has the dog lead the person safely home, navigating obstacles etc.

The temperament of an Alzheimer's Support/Alert Dog is key, as they must be very social and have high play drive, yet calm enough to lay for hours by the side of the Alzheimer's person. They must also be resilient to the rapid changes of mood displayed by some people with Alzheimer's.

While scientists do not yet understand the exact trigger* (see below) that dogs recognize to know a seizure is coming, they do know that the foundation of response training is simple: reward a behavior the dog does (pawing, grabbing sleeve, getting agitated in any way, barking, licking, etc) while the owner is having a seizure. This is called a conditioned response. A dog trained this way is called a seizure response dog, one that responds to the seizure as it is happening.

A seizure alert dog is able to predict that the seizure is coming. Some dogs appear to have this as an innate ability while others can develop it. This is not something that can be trained so far as we know today. What may happen over time is the seizure response dog learns to look for smaller and smaller clues (whatever they are) to predict the seizure will happen so they can get rewarded sooner (an example is a dog that is fed on a regular schedule that starts 'asking' for supper earlier and earlier.) Some dogs can predict seizures up to 45 minutes in advance.
(Source: European Journal of Epilepsy Seizure Brown, Steven W, Dr. & Val Strong 1999)

BC Epilepsy Society defines the difference between the two dogs:

from: http://www.bcepilepsy.com/files/PDF/Information_Sheets/Seizure_Response_Dogs.pdf

Of course, training a seizure response dog is more complicated than simple behavior conditioning. In order to be a valid service dog in any jusidiction, the dog also needs to have all the foundation behaviors, such as basic obedience behaviors, being calm in public, ignoring distractions like food, kids, other dogs, cats, and people, plus it is recommended to have at least 3 specially-trained behaviors such as responding to the seizure by providing comfort, getting help, pressing an emergency alarm, dragging harmful objects away from the person as they are having a seizure, carrying information about the handler's medical condition, rolling them over to prevent airway blockages, blocking the person from falling down stairs, helping to re-orient the person as they come out of their seizure, helping the person to stand after a seizure (called bracing), guiding their disoriented person to a predetermined location for help, or reminding their person to take their medication regularly. 

Not all dogs seem to be able to predict seizures. Some studies suggest only 10-15% of dogs can alert to seizures before they occur. Success may depend on the type of seizures the owner  is having. Psychological seizures are induced by stress and epileptic seizures cause a change in the chemistry in the brain. For some seizure suffers, having an alert dog can lead to less frequent seizures. Further research still needs to be done in all these areas.

Even if a service dog does not learn to alert to a seizures, their handler can still benefit from the dog as s/he can stay with the person and comfort them as they recover (by laying beside them), lick them as they re-orient, or go get help as the seizure is happening (or the other tasks listed above). Of course, seizure response dogs offer constant emotional support as well.

Is it possible to train your own seizure response dog? Yes, if you have frequent seizures (I.e. your seizures are not being well-controlled by medication, some studies suggest once a month or more) and you have help from a person who can reward the dog while you are having a seizure (or you have regular access to a person who has seizures frequently.)

Update: A small group of individuals interested in testing what might be the biological cue for the dog to alert have discovered that it is likely something in the scent given off by a person who is about to have a seizure.

Here is what one of the members wrote me:
"Seizure Alert Project Phase
1: An empirical study of the capture, preservation and measurable use of seizure scent for training purposes
Anyway…….I firmly believe that 1) there IS an odor,
2) it can be captured and stored
3) the dogs can be trained to distinguish it and alert to it.
Just like every other scent driven alert, the difficulty in testing is locating donors and obtaining odor for training. "

Contact Lynn Shrove for more information on what they found. 

What is Public Access Training?

Public access training is a process where a service dog in training is gradually exposed to public places and then is asked to perfrom basic behaviors, then more advanced and finally service dog tasks. Duration of training time is added incrementally.

Public Access Training is a Gradual Process

Training for public access shouldn't be an all or nothing process. Gradually integrate your SDit's training into public places.

1. Start with acclimation to the new environment, using distance from distractions as needed.
2. Wait for your dog to offer you default attention.
3. Reshape known behaviors and tasks from the beginning (without a verbal cue).
4. Try simple cued behaviors, then more complex ones over many sessions.
5. Add duration and distance to the behaviors as the environment allows. For example: adding time in the settle/relax position and distance of loose leash walking between settles. Then add duration to overall public training sessions.
6. Specifically proof behaviors and tasks and add distractions in the environment.

When is a Dog Ready to Start Public Access Training?

A dog may be ready when:

• generalized house training (potty on cue in a variety of places)
• good focus on handler despite high-level distractions
• is able to generalize foundation behaviors to several places
• your dog is able to ignore other members of the public and other dogs
• has successfully completed the canine good neighbor (or canine good neighbor) test
• is comfortable wearing a vest or working harness or other identification (if you choose to have your dog wear it)
• can perform at least one task on cue that mitigates the handler's disability

SDit May Not Have Public Access Rights

As owner-trainers, your local laws may or may not allow you public access with a SDit. If they do not, identify public locations where pet dogs are allowed that will be useful but not too busy (avoid the big box pet stores until later in training). Get written permission to access other locations where pet dogs are not allowed.

How to Start Public Access (PAT) Training?

Start with carefully planning each session. 

Identify specific situations where your dog may have challenges. Have a look at the US public access test criterion or your regional test requirements for ideas. Here is the test that Service Dog Teams in British Columbia take. 

Start with one challenge and plan a set of 10 sessions to train for it. 

Start with short training visits and give your dog frequent breaks from training.

Evaluate after each session and then at session 5 and at the end of 10 sessions. Modify what you are training as the dog needs it. The plan may not go as you think it might. 

Isolate each challenge and train them individually in the same way.

Practice a standard polite way to refuse interaction with your dog. This is in case you need to quickly leave the situation. Two key pieces are to get the dog to face you and to say a brief verbal explanation.

Integrate the various challenges just a few at a time. 

Remember That The Public Access Test (PAT) is Only the Beginning 

You and your dog will face situations and distractions in real life that are far greater than the test. For example, a child may run up and greet your dog by throwing her arms around his neck or a man may kick at your dog or other dogs may be allowed to come up and interact with your dog without permission.  Train beyond this test requirements. The key reason for the public access test is to make sure your dog does not present a public safety hazard. 

Here is a link to the IAADP's explanation of what needs to be covered during public access training. 

British Columbia's Guide and Service Dog Assessment Test is useful as they break down the behaviors into smaller easier-to-measure steps.

Take your time and set you and your dog up for success. It's an ongoing process!

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