One question a potential puppy buyer should ask themselves is what do they want from their puppy? When you are considering a cross-bred puppy it is not enough that you have settled on a "breed". You must know what traits you want from that cross. So, as the puppies themselves, the breeders of them are all different in what they want. Some breeders just want to turn out puppies to keep this "fad", as some call it, supplied; some breeders want very poodly dogs, such as breeders of F2Bs; some breeders just don't have a clue what they want but they are trying to do their best. I am not any of these things. I might have been the clueless one the first time or two but I figured out what I wanted pretty quick and have selected my breeding stock for it.

Below are traits I strive for in F1 Goldendoodles:

1. Temperament. I prefer a dog that has an "adjusting" personality. If you are sitting on the couch they lay calmly at your feet but if you pick up a tennis ball or want to go for a run they are ready to go, as well.

2. Structure. Square head and overall bone structure is important. I do not want a long narrow poodle face. Short square noses accompanied by a high rounded forehead is ideal.

3. Coat. In an F1 it is more about texture than look. I like a nice medium texture. Soft enough it does not look stringy and coarse enough that it holds and they do not shed. This usually results in a nice flowing, gently waving coat when allowed to become long, or large swooping curls when kept at a shorter length.

4. Intelligence. Poodles are generally just too smart for their own good and the sanity of their owners. Goldens are just dumb and happy. Their goal in life is to make their human happy at all costs. Poodles live to make themselves happy. Once again a proper balance in a cross is important. The goal is a very intelligent and highly trainable animal that also has a desire to please you. My puppies tend to lean a little more to the intelligent side than the willing to please side but that is ok by me. I always give everybody my little talk on how a poodle is and how to handle it before they take their new puppy home. Especially if they were previous Golden Retriever owners. There is a big difference.

5. Size. Ideally one of my puppies would mature to about 55 lbs and 20-25 inches. They do range from 45-65 lbs, however. I will compromise on this for better quality in the other areas. To me size is not important to quality, only to the marketing aspect.

Below are the traits I strive for in an F1 Aussiedoodle:

1. Temperament. I prefer a dog that has an "adjusting" personality. If you are sitting on the couch they lay calmly at your feet but if you pick up a tennis ball or want to go for a run they are ready to go, as well. With Aussies this is a little more complicated, Aussies, as a breed, are aggressive due the type of work that they are bred for. In order to get a family friendly animal I have to basically choose dud Aussies that are not aggressive enough for livestock work. I still want them to have the determined attitude and drive, because that is obviously what a potential owner wants from them, but be more reserved, calm and laid back. It is much more difficult to get the proper personality with Aussiedoodles. There is a fine line you must walk and you must always personality test and make sure they are placed with the correct family.

2. Structure. Square head and overall bone structure is important. I do not want a long narrow poodle face. Short square noses accompanied by a mid-height forehead is ideal for Aussiedoodles. Neither a poodle or an Aussie have much in the way of forehead height so I can't get that in these puppies as I can in a Goldendoodle.

3. Coat. In an F1 it is more about texture than look. I like a nice medium texture. Soft enough it does not look stringy and coarse enough that it holds and they do not shed. In an Aussiedoodle this presents as a "bunny-fur" type coat.

4. Intelligence. Poodles are generally just too smart for their own good and the sanity of their owners. Poodles live to make themselves happy. Australian Shepherds have a high prey drive, they are bred to work livestock. They are very intelligent and trainable dogs and do not differ a whole lot from the poodle in intelligence other than they actually do strive to please their owner but not in the dumb, happy way of the Golden. You have to find the right individual dogs to make a properly balanced puppy. Being both intelligent and willing to please.

5. Size. Ideally one of my puppies would mature to about 45 lbs and 18-21 inches. They do range from 35-60 lbs, however. I will compromise on this for better quality in the other areas. To me size is not important to quality, only to the marketing aspect.