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Breed guide · Dogs
She walks into any water she can find, puddles included. I dry her ears before I dry the floor.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Every guest is licked and leapt on like a long-lost friend.
What's going onThe Golden Retriever was bred to be soft and willing with people. Teach them that sitting gets the hello, and ask guests to wait for it. It protects small children and their own growing joints.
At home
A shoe waiting at the door when you come home, carried proudly round the room.
What's going onBoth parents were bred to carry birds back to a person. Keep a toy by the door that is theirs, and swap it for whatever they have taken. Chasing them makes it a game.
At home
Some Goldendoodles have eyebrows and a beard, others a smooth, flat face.
What's going onEyebrows and a beard mean the Poodle's coat. A smooth face coat usually sheds more, like a Golden. No dog is allergy-free, whichever coat they have.
At home
Head shaking after a bath or a swim, or one ear scratched with a back foot.
What's going onHanging, hairy ears hold damp, and ear trouble can start in puppyhood. Dry inside their ears after every bath and swim, and look inside them every week.
At home
Halfway round the block, they sit down and will not go on.
What's going onIn a young Goldendoodle, sitting down on walks, tiring early or a bunny hop with both back legs can be their hips or knees. Tell your vet, and keep runs to soft ground while they grow.
At home
So much coat that you could miss a lump for months.
What's going onThe Golden Retriever side carries a high cancer risk, and in both sizes cancer becomes more likely in later life. A weekly run of your hands under the coat finds lumps while they are small.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: Swimming, and carrying birds back through cold water.
In Dubai: Often a day indoors in a flat, while summer outside passes 45°C.
Their coat
Built for: Cold rivers and wet ground.
In Dubai: A curly coat that mats if nobody brushes it, and ears that stay damp.
Their joints
Built for: Running all day beside a person.
In Dubai: Marble floors, and a young frame still growing into its hips and knees.
The restless evenings, the matted coat and the ear trouble mostly come from that gap.
You cannot give them a cold Highland river. You can give them cool walks and your hands on them every week, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed and their size: the risks on a Goldendoodle's record at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Size, coat and energy vary more in a Goldendoodle than the name suggests.
Before they come home, and again from 6 months
Why
Size, coat and energy vary more in a Goldendoodle than the name suggests.
What to do
Ask the breeder which size of Poodle was used, whether the puppy is a first cross or bred back to a Poodle, and what hip, elbow, knee and eye tests both parents had. Keep the answers. Then watch their coat come in and how they meet people.
Their coat holds the loose hair until you take it out, and that is what mats. Mats trap heat and damp against the skin and hide the itchy patches.
Every age, hardest from 6 months to 2 years
Why
Their coat holds the loose hair until you take it out, and that is what mats. Mats trap heat and damp against the skin and hide the itchy patches.
What to do
Several times a week, a slicker brush and then a metal comb, right down to the skin. Start behind the ears, in the armpits, under the harness and in the longer hair on their legs. If the comb catches, a mat is starting. Book the groomer on a regular schedule.
Ear inflammation from hanging, hairy ears is on their record from puppyhood, and both parents love water.
Every age
Why
Ear inflammation from hanging, hairy ears is on their record from puppyhood, and both parents love water.
What to do
Once a week, lift each flap, look and smell inside, and clean with the cleaner your vet gives you. Dry inside the flaps after every bath and every swim. Leave their ear hair alone at home: your vet will say whether any of it needs to come out. Ear care is in your plan from six months to four years, whether yours is a mini or a standard.
Baby teeth that stay put and crowded teeth are on their record as a puppy, and dental disease turns up in both sizes later.
Every age
Why
Baby teeth that stay put and crowded teeth are on their record as a puppy, and dental disease turns up in both sizes later.
What to do
Brush every day with a dog toothbrush and dog toothpaste, never human toothpaste. At six months, look for baby teeth still sitting beside the adult ones. Dental cleaning is in your plan from age two, whether yours is a mini or a standard.
A Poodle's brain in a sociable dog makes a clever nuisance when they are bored.
Every age
Why
A Poodle's brain in a sociable dog makes a clever nuisance when they are bored.
What to do
Two five-minute sessions a day: a new trick, a puzzle feeder, or part of their dinner hidden round the house. Pay them from their daily food. It tires them out when summer cuts their walks short.
Both parents were bred to work next to a person.
Every age, hardest from 6 months to 2 years
Why
Both parents were bred to work next to a person.
What to do
If you are out for more than a few hours, arrange a walk, a visit or daycare, and leave a stuffed chew made from their daily food. If they are distressed when you leave, contact your vet rather than trying to fix it at home.
Two retriever parents. They will carry something either way.
Every age, most of all 6 months to 2 years
Why
Two retriever parents. They will carry something either way.
What to do
Keep a soft toy by the door and hand it over when you come home or guests arrive. When they take a shoe, swap it for their toy or a treat. Chasing them makes it the best game in the house.
A thick coat in 45°C heat, on a dog who will keep playing past the point they should stop.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
A thick coat in 45°C heat, on a dog who will keep playing past the point they should stop.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark, and carry water. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds: if you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Ask your vet what length of summer clip suits their coat.
In a standard Goldendoodle, Hip Dysplasia (a poorly fitting hip joint) is the first risk from puppy to prime adult, with Elbow Dysplasia (a poorly fitting elbow joint) up to four years. In a mini, a slipping kneecap or loose hips come first.
Every age, most of all while they grow
Why
In a standard Goldendoodle, Hip Dysplasia (a poorly fitting hip joint) is the first risk from puppy to prime adult, with Elbow Dysplasia (a poorly fitting elbow joint) up to four years. In a mini, a slipping kneecap or loose hips come first.
What to do
Put rugs where they turn on marble and a ramp up to the sofa, and lift them down rather than letting them jump while they grow. No long runs on hard ground until your vet has looked at their joints. Short, steady exercise beats weekend marathons, and keep them lean. Your plan looks after their joints from the puppy visits: hip and elbow screening for a standard, and a hip and kneecap evaluation for a mini.
A thick coat hides lumps, weight gain and sore skin, and cancer is common in later life.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
A thick coat hides lumps, weight gain and sore skin, and cancer is common in later life.
What to do
Push your fingers to the skin over their whole body, including under the jaw, in front of the shoulders and behind the knees. Weigh them once a month and write it down. For any new lump, contact your vet the same week you find it.
Four of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Mini or standard Goldendoodle
A standard Goldendoodle has a Standard Poodle parent and grows into a large dog. A mini Goldendoodle, also called a miniature Goldendoodle, has a Miniature Poodle parent and is medium-sized. Ask which Poodle was used: it sets the size, and the two sizes carry different health risks.
Colours
A Goldendoodle can be any shade of gold, from the palest cream to a deep, rich gold, like the Golden Retriever. Or they can take one of the Poodle's colours, from black and silver to apricot and café au lait.
The first six months
Goldendoodle puppies need their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration first. Keep play on soft ground and lift them down from the sofa, because hips and knees are the first thing to watch in a puppy.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Put rugs or runners where they turn and run, and a ramp or step up to the sofa. Keep shoes, socks and the laundry basket out of reach: a Goldendoodle puppy will carry off anything that fits in their mouth.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder for both parents' hip, elbow, knee and eye test results, and keep them. If anyone at home has allergies, spend time with the puppy first, because low shedding is not the same as allergy-free.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
She'll keep finding water. If she shakes her head after, dry her ears and call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Before 1900
The Poodle brought ducks back out of the water for hunters, and its name comes from the German "pudeln", to splash in water. The Miniature Poodle was bred smaller from the same dog.
What they still carryThe curl, the quick mind and a love of water.
1868 to 1911
On his Guisachan estate in Scotland, Dudley Marjoribanks bred a yellow retriever called Nous to a Tweed Water Spaniel called Belle, and their puppies founded the breed. The Kennel Club recognised it in 1911.
What they still carryThe gentle greeting for everyone, the feathered coat and the soft mouth.
1989
In Australia, Wally Conron bred the first Labradoodle as a guide dog for a blind woman whose husband was allergic to dogs. Crossing Poodles with retrievers soon became the fashion.
What they still carryThe hope that a Poodle cross could suit a home with allergies.
After the Labradoodle
Golden Retrievers were crossed with Standard and Miniature Poodles for a friendly family dog with a coat that sheds less. There is still no breed standard for either size.
What they still carryTwo retriever parents, bred for the family.
2012 onwards
Since 2012 the Morris Animal Foundation has followed more than 3,000 Golden Retrievers for life, to find out why the breed gets so much cancer.
What they still carryA reason to know every lump under the coat.
Today
Here a Goldendoodle lives in a villa or a flat, a thick-coated water dog in a hot city.
What they still carryTwo water retrievers' love of a swim, in 45°C heat.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Goldendoodle suits you, so might these.
LabradoodleThe same kind of dog: a large Poodle cross, with a Labrador for the other parent and a little more to say.
CavapooAlso a Poodle cross, but a good deal smaller and part Cavalier, so a flat suits them well.
Golden RetrieverThe same soft, friendly temperament as the Golden side of the family, in a coat that sheds a lot more.
Standard PoodleA similar size and a coat that sheds very little, in the Poodle side of the family, with curls that need more grooming.
