Goldendoodle

He's great company, loves to play and is the sweetest animal. He's big, kind of a klutz (like me) and will fetch for hours until he's so tired he just has to lay down next to you. I'm enchanted by his poodle-like curls and his golden retriever ears. When he cocks his head and looks at me like I've just started sprouting ivy from my eyebrows I can't help but picture the dogs my kids play with on their Nintendo Nintendogs game. (Really, it was me who played Nintendogs. I had five puppies, all well trained and I upgraded to the Outer Space home. You'd only understand what that means if you played Nintendogs yourself. Fess up.)

I did NOT like my pet when he pinned our poor five year old to the wall, though. Nearly threw that dog in the pool. Apollo must be at least twice the size of my son and I know he thinks Ryan's just a little puppy to play with but mamas don't like anything messing with their babies! We've talked about it. Apollo swears he won't do it again but just to be sure, he starts puppy classes this week.

Even President Obama and his family considered a Goldendoodle as a potential family pet:

The Boston Globe article

Chicago Tribune article

We didn't rush into our decision to bring a dog into the home but we didn't know anything about Goldendoodles when we decided to get Apollo. We have one stay-at-home parent and three kids - a perfect environment for the right kind of dog. One son has a variety of allergies and it was explained to us that because of the Poodle mix, Goldendoodles do not shed a great deal. None of our children have had any allergic reactions to Apollo. We know a lot more now. Some other tips for future Goldendoodle owners:

The curly fur can matt easily. Brushing at least every other day helps.

Goldendoodles come in all sizes. Apollo is Standard Goldendoodle, the largest of the available sizes, and he's going to be BIG - 70-80 pounds as an adult. He was 35 pounds at 4 months and is just over 55 pounds at 9 months.

Doesn't matter to him how big he is, he's going to get on your lap.

I don't know if its Goldendoodles in general or just Apollo, but he loves to take a bath.

We have lots of dogs in our neighborhood. Some are real barkers. Apollo rarely barks.

Keep the rear end shaved. That fur catches everything, if you know what I mean.

They say the breed is very smart and Apollo bears that out. Within a week, he could sit, lay down, shake, go potty, get his ball and go night-night on command.

We went through four dog beds before we found one that Apollo couldn't destroy (darn puppies!). This dog cot is really cool.

The American Pet Products Association reported this past February that Americans spent over $43 Billion dollars on pet products and services in 2008. Of that figure, $11.1 Billion was spent on veterinarian services. Better treatment availability and implementation of the latest medical technologies for canine injuries and illnesses means more dogs have a better chance than ever of surviving once life-threatening conditions. With that opportunity there is an associated cost in terms of higher vet bills. To offset that cost, more Americans are finding it beneficial to obtain pet insurance and, in fact, spending on pet insurance is projected to nearly double in the next 3 years. For Apollo, the cost is less than $20/month. Take a minute now to see what it might cost to cover your pet today at Embrace Pet Insurance.



Average customer rating for Embrace Pet Insurance is 9.13 out of 10, based strongly on their generous coverage and outstanding customer service.

Poor Apollo. We wanted him to be extra-special clean for the holidays so we took him to the groomer. There was some confusion about our request and when we picked him up he'd been nearly completely shaved!!! I FREAKED! He didn't look the same at all. Didn't seem to phase him and his fur has since grown back considerably. And it's curlier. More poodlier. That's kind of funny. Poodlier....my little Goldendoodlier.

We love you, Apollo!

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