Goldendoodle Magazine Interviews

Quite a few years ago, one of our Goldendoodles (Lucky) made the "Forbes" magazine with his owner, Rick Randall. Lucky, an apricot Goldendoodle from our Goldendoodle World was featured in a beautiful photograph because his owner owns his own successful pharmaceutical company.

Also years ago, we were interviewed for an article about shedding and allergy issues by a writer with WEBMD. Although the article basically touched base with allergy issues and dog owners, along with problems of shedding, I didn't so much mind being interviewed for the article as I did being misquoted. Things can be easily misinterpreted by readers when someone is misquoted and I like to set the record straight any time an article appears in a magazine article that we were interviewed for.

Today, August 2, 2007 I finally was able to see the article written by Vera Lawlor (http://www.parentpaper.com) after she had called me back in July for a near 2 hr interview by phone. As is always the fear when you get interviewed by writers, the article "From Labradoodles to Cockapoos" is not 100% accurate, although the article over all is fairly well written. I really hate being misquoted or having my words twisted around because the information gives out the wrong impression to the readers and the readers don't get the full story or an accurate story. I think anytime someone is interviewed by another writer, it's easy to be misquoted and I am sure it was not intentional. However, as a writer myself, I do know that tape recorders come in real handy!

Vera says in her article that I said "Then one day someone told me that there was actually a breed called a Goldendoodle and it had been started in Australia in 1989 as a guide dog for blind people who suffered from allergies"...and she goes on to talk about when my first Goldendoodle (Miss Henny) died. Well, part of that statement she wrote is accurate although the sequence of events is not accurate.

I actually began my Goldendoodles AFTER Miss Henny passed away. Yes I was crushed when we had to have Miss Henny euthanized when she began to go into kidney failure from the medication "Rimadyl" that was prescribed to her from our vet after she was diagnosed with an inner ear infection. Miss Henny was a Poodle/Golden Retriever mix, but we had never known about the term "Goldendoodle" nor the name "Goldendoodle". I was a purebred Golden Retriever breeder at that time (From 1996) and had no intention of ever creating or breeding Poodle mixes. I was not, at that time, even a Poodle fan. A friend of mine, a long time Poodle breeder of 25 years would occasionally ask me to help her groom her Poodles. So I would help her out when I had the time. After Henny died, I missed her terribly. I missed her smile...her kisses...her soft low shedding coat....I just missed everything about her. I had plenty of Golden Retrievers, but Henny was special.

Miss Henny loved being brushed and have her nails painted as well as having her hair trimmed in so many different ways. She went everywhere with me. Henny had the ability to look at you (Just like Sonny does) straight in the eyes and seem like she knew everything you said to her. We definitely had a special connection and bond. After she died, the emptiness broke my heart on a daily basis. Every time I visited my friend and her Standard Poodles, I would think of Henny; especially when I saw one particular Poodle of hers...a lovely apricot Standard Poodle I eventually named Scisco. He's since been retired because he's been around the longest. My second addition was Darby. He too is now retired due to his age. We would laugh about the possibility of breeding Scisco to one of my purebred Golden Retrievers and it concerned me that I would not find homes for the pups because I only wanted ONE of the pups to replace Henny. We would chuckle over what we would call them...."Curly Goldens"??? "Golden Poo"??? The list went on about the name possibility but never did "Goldendoodle" cross our minds. AFTER my first litter was ready to go, I advertised them as "Curly Goldens". A person who came to purchase a puppy brought with them an article about "Goldendoodles" and the article was about some breeders in Australia who did create the Goldendoodle for assistance dogs for those who had allergies. I don't remember telling Vera "1989" because I only saw the article briefly that the person had brought with him. My first litter of Goldendoodles was in 1999....after Henny died.

I did tell Vera that we created our first doodle litter in Henny's honor and every litter since has been created in her loving memory. I am proud to say that our Goldendoodles have brought so much happiness to so many people over the years. I have continued my doodles because of Henny and the huge love she spread to every stranger she met. Everyone loved Henny! Vera also goes on to say that I told her I was going to retire in one year. I never said that. I don't even know where she even got this idea because I never discussed retiring with her or anything about retiring. It's very frustrating to read so much inaccurate information about the Goldendoodle especially from laymen who have no clue as to what they are talking about. Since 1999, I've dedicated my life to researching everything there is to know about a Goldendoodle and all the research has been from my own personal experiences and data. I've spent since 1999 documenting, researching, photographing and discussing or writing about the Goldendoodle and all of my knowledge comes from "doing", "seeing", "watching" and hands on experience. I did not tell Vera during our my interview that I "stopped breeding Golden Retrievers and concentrated on Goldendoodles". I said to her that because my allergies have become worse over the years, that I've cut back on breeding purebred dogs and that I stick more with my Poodle hybrids instead. The only time I breed our Golden Retrievers is when we are taking them out of our breeding program and are in need of a younger Retriever. I then only sell the pups that I'm NOT keeping for my Goldendoodle breeding program. In the article written by Vera, she claims I said to her that my Goldendoodles were "clingy". I never said that to her. What I did say was that I thought the Goldendoodle may not be everyone's cup of tea because they DO love attention....they are ATTENTION HOGS...they love to be loved and they love go GIVE love! Some people don't want a dog that is always around them. If you buy a Goldendoodle, it's going to always want to be around YOU! They DO NOT NEED alot of attention...THEY DEMAND IT! I didn't say to Vera that my Goldendoodles come from a "strong" lineage.

They DO have a strong lineage, but My exact words to her were "Our Goldendoodles have over 400 OFA Champion ancestors that I spent 2 years researching. Their lineage (That is out of Wycliffe, Dassin, Eaton and Bel Tor lines) dates back to the 1930s for the Poodles but I am sure it dates back even further. Because I was able to trace their ancestors to Europe, it was difficult to continue my research due to not being able to contact the Kennel Clubs that vary in each country. Where our Golden Retrievers are concerned, for some reason, we were only able to trace their lineage to the early 70s, even though the breeders "Pekay Kennels" has been a very strong, reputable kennel since the early 1960s. It could be that they did not permit certain puppies to be registered....or perhaps because they gave limited registrations to people who did not plan to show their pups, the dogs may just simply NOT been registered and I really hate that because it breaks the ancestral chain on a pedigree. This is another reason I do not believe that having a breeding dogs' hips x-rayed will tell you anything about the offsprings' hips. We prefer that individual available doodles are given a hip x-ray to determine THEIR hips. The offspring do not always have perfect hips just because their parents had an x-ray of normal hips! Also many dogs have a "broken" lineage due to dogs having NOT been registered by their owner. When a dog is NOT registered, there is no way of knowing if it was or wasn't tested or what it carried in the gene pool. DNA IS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE where dogs and their health is concerned. X-rays don't tell you anything about whether or not that dog is a carrier that could produce dysplastic offspring. DNA will definitely say yay or nay where health issues are concerned and whether or not it was genetic. Vera was right that there are alot of purebred fanatics...critics...out there who write nasty things about hybrids and those who create them...claiming hybrid breeders only create the Poo dogs to live off of them. Most breeders who live off of their dogs are purebred show breeders. Show breeders fetch thousands of dollars per puppy just because one or both of the parent dogs has a Champion pedigree and aspired as a little show dog. Little Miss Molly won top Championships, its pups are fetching thousands of dollars per puppy. Just because that particular breeders' dog won numerous ribbons does not mean the pups will too. Many people seeking a puppy or dog just want a good family pet for their kids and are not in the least interested in showing the dog. I remember the Bichon Frise who earned the World's Champion title and the breeder got $20,000 per puppy! This was definitely a breeder living off of her dogs. Now, remind me again whose breeding for the big bucks? Both my husband and I bust our butts working nearly around the clock for the paltry sum we obtain from a puppy sale. No one could afford a puppy from us if I actually put the price tag on their heads that should be there. No one who has purchased from us since 1996 has ever reimbursed me for all the hard work both my husband and I have put forth over all these years or ever repaid us for all the thousands of dollars we have spent out of our own pocket for these animals. We aren't rich; we're just hard working people. It isn't the average breeder who is living off of their dogs. Most breeders who live off of their dogs are the ones who are fetching thousands of dollars for them. On the last page of the article, Vera goes on about how to find a responsible breeder. I disagree with the very last page of her article because I do not agree with her analogy of how to find a responsible breeder. I personally told her that I felt a responsible breeder WOULD NOT permit the general public to rummage through their puppies and litters like they were flea market merchandise. That responsbile breeders would NOT allow their puppies who were six months of age or older to leave their premises without being spayed or neutered....something we implemented just this year (2007) because so many people have NOT abided by our purchase contract of sending us proof their doodle was spayed or neutered by age six months. I also told her that responsible breeders would have an application process and a strict purchase policy. That they would NOT allow every Tom, Dick or Jane to just waltz over to their home or kennel and go everywhere spreading the germs from whatever other dog they previously handled before entering the other breeders' premises. Too many people disrespect breeders by handling multiple dogs in a single day from multiple places and they don't even give an ounce of care to the fact they could have handled a puppy infected with parvo or distemper. Perhaps she also has not heard the latest scams going on across the United STates where people visit a breeder under the pretense of buying a puppy only to either rob them at gun point of their puppies and dogs or they say they'll have to get back with them and shortly later, the breeder finds their dogs have been stolen! A breeder is placed in a very vulnerable position if they do not protect themselves and their dogs and pups. Many people think its a breeder who is scamming people when in fact, many breeders are scammed! We use to always get scammed by people writing bad checks but it didn't take long before we stopped allowing any dog to leave our premises on a check. Her idea of how to find a responsible breeder, I definitely disagree with. I Especially disagree with what she said about the Human Society organization. According to what I had read about the Human Society organization a few years back, those actually in control of this society are reaping in millions of dollars in revenue from YOUR donations! They live in million dollar homes...own multiple homes and fancy cars and have a huge salary because of all the donations that pour into the society when in fact, very little of that money ever actually makes it to the dogs' welfare or care. Many shelters are kill shelters and only give animals three days to find a home. I'm not talking about the workers at the shelters...I'm talking about the top of the food chain for the Human Society and its organization. The article I read years ago was blasting those very people and raised many eyebrows about the fact they live in very wealthy neighborhoods while many dogs are dying while in their facilities or lying out in their cold concrete slabs eating small bowls of kibble waiting to be euthanized. The last place a breeder wants their dogs to be in, is a shelter. We have incorporated just recently obedience training requirements from inexperienced dog owners who purchase from us. This is in hopes that it will cut down on the need to rehome the animal. Obedience training will help the inexperienced dog owner learn who to be a responsible pet owner as well as help them learn how to train their purchased pet. We DO advocate spaying and neutering and if more breeders would ensure that their puppies are spayed and neutered, if old enough, this would cut down on the puppy issues that so many animal rights activists have an issue with. A responsbible breeder requires their pups to be spayed or neutered...which we do.

Vera had written in her article that I had planned to retire in 2008 of which I did not tell her. I had not discussed retirement with her at all. I did tell her that we have spent the last few years spaying and neutering many of our dogs. My husband nearly lost his leg in 2004 from a severe motorcycle accident. It took him over a year to recover. He will more than likely need more surgery down the road. Operating even a small kennel requires alot of hard, manual labor and due to problems with his leg that was severly damaged from his accident, we've scaled back our kennel quite a bit. We have no intention of retiring any time soon.

I don't mind being interviewed for Goldendoodle articles. I love talking about the Goldendoodles. What I don't like is having an author write words that were not spoken by me or misquote me for things I did say. I'm sure this happens to most people who are interviewed by writers.