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Complete Mini Aussiedoodle Guide

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3.5K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Mitzi  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
The Mini Aussiedoodle is a popular crossbreed created by crossing the Miniature Poodle with the Miniature Australian Shepherd. Also known as Miniature Aussie-Poos and Ozzepoos, these small dogs are well-loved for their affectionate and loyal nature. When fully grown, they stand 12 to 18 inches tall and typically weigh between 15 and 45 pounds, depending on the size of their parents.

Although not considered a pure breed, the Mini Aussiedoodle is recognized by the Designer Dogs Kennel Club (DDKC) and other hybrid dog registries. This mix brings together the beauty and intelligence of the Australian Shepherd with the non/low-shedding coat of the Poodle.

With their cute puppy faces, almond-shaped eyes, and floppy ears, Mini Aussiedoodles are known for their fun-loving personalities and cuddly, hypoallergenic coats. Whether you're looking for an F1, F1b, or F2 Miniature Aussiedoodle, this crossbreed embodies the best traits of both parent breeds.
 
#2 ·
The Mini Aussiedoodle dog is a popular breed
Please don't call it a breed. Its a crossbreed.

This perfect breed is accepted by the Designer Dogs Kennel Club (DDKC)
That's just a set-up organisation to make it sound like a legitimate breed. It's not a designer dog, it's a crossbreed. There's nothing wrong with crossbreeds if they are crossed for the right reason but you can't tell people that this is a breed.
 
#3 ·
Your guide also leaves out some important information. You mention nothing about the line brushing technique, which is essential for maintaining this kind of coat. You also recommend taking the dog in for grooming every 2-3 months. You mentioned nothing about the coat change period. You should take the puppy in for the first grooming session as early as possible, ideally 12 weeks after the first vaccine boosters, for an introductory grooming session. Taking the pup in while it is still young and emotionally malleable sets you up for better grooming behavior in the future. Schedule monthly grooming sessions until the coat change is done after adolescence. Waiting three months between sessions will pretty much guarantee your pup will need a shave down at each session, especially if you don't know about line brushing. Plus your pup will be smelly.

I also question whether the traits of an Aussie cross well with the traits of a poodle. You say Aussies are loyal. My experience is they are beyond loyal. The ones I've known have been one person dogs; the rest of the world is just background noise to them. They are also right up there with poodles as far as smarts. If the idea of crossing an Aussie to a poodle is to dial back the poodle energy and emotional intensity, well, the Aussie isn't the breed I'd choose for that cross.
 
#4 ·
The mutt that is created by crossing a poodle with an Australian shepherd ....note, this is as JoanneF says, not a breed at all but a mongrel or mixed-breed.....is not something I would recommend to anyone.

For one thing, Aussies and poodles are just fine breeds in themselves. Nothing is gained, let alone improved, by mixing them together to create a cross breed mutt. And, depending on how the genetics fall out in this mix, the coat can be an absolute nightmare to maintain. Certainly, it will need grooming more often than every two or three months. The combination of the long shaggy coat of the Aussie with the curly hair of a poodle often creates a coat that mats up constantly, and requires daily brushing and combing unless it is kept slipped very short. They are also not hypo-allergenic.

The "Designer dogs kennel club" is a joke. It's not a real registry, just a way for people breeding mutts to try to get big money for their mixed-breed dogs.
 
#5 ·
Some of the designer breeds or more accurately breed mixes, are really great dogs. Example, our beloved Samantha who passed a year ago, was a Miniature Poodle/ Bischon mix. She acquired the best from both breeds as far as appearance and behavior. She unfortunately also acquired some undesirable health genes, which left her with an auto-immune disorder and some additional health issues, at least so we speculated. Over a year later she is still terribly missed.
 
#6 ·
Both of my current dogs are mixed-breed dogs, and they are both simply excellent dogs. Wouldn't trade them for the world.
I certainly have not one thing against mixed breed dogs. I do object to people deliberately creating mixed breed dogs that they then pretend is a "breed" of dog, and pretend to register it with a "dog club" that was created only to attempt legitimize the creation of these mixed-breed dogs, and to fool unsuspecting people into paying large amounts of money for the puppies. To me, that is just wrong; it is unethical because it's a lie and a scam.

There's nothing wrong with having, or with wanting, a mixed-breed dog. There's much wrong with lying to people about them saying that they are a breed, and charging a lot of money for the puppies that are not purebred and often are not bred with any consideration for the genetics involved and the inheritable problems these may carry.

If a person wants to get a mixed breed dog, the animal shelters and rescue organizations all over the world are always full of them, all different kinds and sizes and ages of them, and the vast majority of those dogs and puppies are excellent pet prospects. You can find just about any kind of look, size, age, type, or mix you want just by visiting those organizations, and you will be getting the same thing -- a mixed breed dog -- for less money and will be doing a good thing by adopting a dog who needs a home rather than supporting an unethical breeder.
 
#7 ·
Really I think there is too much emphasis put on 'breeds'. A dog is a dog, no matter what breed or breed mix they may be. Each has its own personality and characteristics and each deserves to be taken care of and loved just as much as any and every other dog. Whats more important, when selecting a dog, are things like, size of dog, individual temperament, are they hypo-allergenic if that is a concern, and how they will fit in with the family. I agree with @Madra Anamchara that shelters and rescues are excellent places to look for your new family member, as every conceivable size, temperament, personality, and whatever else is important to anyone, are all available and ready to be adopted into their forever loving new home and family.
 
#8 ·
I think my issues here are that people are crossing dogs with no regard for temperament issues, but just going for the cute factor.

Cross a dog that's bred to protect with a dog that's bred to retrieve, and you could get a very conflicted dog. Random crossing brings a lot of problems. Proper, total mutt, mongrels are great. So-called ”designer” crosses are risky.
 
#9 ·
And also often with no regard for the temperament of the individual dogs being bred, or for the inheritable flaws, diseases, and poor health conditions of all kinds that they may have.

These so-called "designer" mutts very often come from puppy mills, where dogs are kept in horrible conditions in tiny cages and bred over and over just to make more puppies to make money for the owners. They treat the dogs and the puppies like a plastic product, with no regard for the fact that they are sentient, feeling, thinking individuals.

The breeding of "designer" cross breeds has created a market for these dogs that shouldn't ever have been bred on purpose in the first place. And people who don't know any better are being scammed into paying top dollar for these dogs, who often turn out to be disastrously poorly bred, with bad health and bad temperaments, and will cost their poor owners even more money. Not to mention that in these cases the dogs themselves suffer life-long health conditions.

It annoys me greatly when someone comes onto a forum and tries to promote these "designer" mixed breed dogs because they are basically encouraging people to buy puppies that more often than not come from these puppy mills or from backyard breeders who are also often mistreating the dogs horribly. If you have seen these places, as I have, you would not be pleased either to see someone trying to promote these so-called "designer" dogs.

I notice that the OP has edited their post so that now they are no longer calling this mutt a "breed", but in the original post they did.
 
#10 ·
Ignoring the topic of which organizations are allowed to call themselves a breed registry...the purpose of a breed is to select for and stabilize the traits you find desirable. These traits could be size, working ability color, body type, coat type, etc. Aussiedoodles are not a breed. There is no defined standard as to what traits an Aussiedoodle should have. Long legs and short back like a poodle? Bobtail like an Aussie? Shades of white, cream, and apricot like a poodle? Herding drive like an Aussie? Bounciness and springy movement of a poodle? High head carriage of a poodle? Low head carriage and hard eye of a herding dog? Absence of the MDR1 mutation that makes so many herding dogs vulnerable to medication overdoses and death? Even if there was a defined set of traits, the population of Aussiedoodles lacks the genetic uniformity to consistently produce these traits when bred to each other. Therefore, they are not a breed.
 
#12 ·
I am not a doodle fan. It seems you are ruining that each breed is bred for and everyone expects them to be. All doodle I have ever met shed just as much or maybe more than the purbred. Aussie are double coated and should never be shaved whereas a poodle does get shaved. Seem it would ruin the coat to me.