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trends Apr. 6, 2022

THE UBIQUITY OF THE ‘PUMPKIN SPICE OF DOGS’

By Liz Krieger
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images

You can find one-year-old Ruby Schwartz ambling along a certain stretch of
Seventh Avenue in Park Slope each morning, greeting every person, place, and
thing with a giant smile and a warm hug. Ruby is gentle, hopelessly friendly,
and perpetually shaggy, but she’s hardly unique. Ruby is a dog, by the way. A
floppy-haired, cinnamon-colored cockapoo (that’s a cocker spaniel and poodle
mix) who happens to look remarkably like a Pickles, and a Cooper, and an Ozzie,
and a Loki, and a Bronzely, and a Roti, and a Snoopy, and a Shelby, and a
Winnie, and of course a Ginger — all real, similarly bred dogs belonging to my
neighbors, who’ve brought them home seemingly simultaneously sometime within the
past few years. An entirely adorable invasive species, if you will.

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Look around the park, the farmers’ market, the sidelines of the suburban soccer
field — anywhere, really; it’s impossible not to notice that they’re everywhere
and there are so many of them. A button-nosed stuffed animal en vivo! The
modern-farmhouse look of dog breeds: approachable, easygoing, bougie. (For the
record: I, too, love them and may or may not secretly want one, because I am
human.)

A “doodle” is a dog that is part purebred poodle, part something else. Popular
combos include the Labradoodle (Labrador retriever and poodle), the goldendoodle
(golden retriever and poodle), the Bernedoodle (Bernese mountain dog and
poodle), the sheepadoodle (sheepdog and poodle), the Cavapoo (Cavalier King
Charles spaniel and poodle), and the Australian Labradoodle (Labrador retriever,
poodle, and cocker spaniel). “There’s pretty much any combo you can think of
these days,” says Shelby Semel, a New York City–based canine-behavior expert and
trainer. “As we’ve seen dog ownership go up overall, we’ve also seen a huge
increase in doodle dogs specifically.”

The first doodles were bred in the ’80s in Australia by a man named Wally
Conron, who was hoping to create a guide dog for a blind woman whose husband was
allergic to dogs. Conron wanted all the highly desirable traits of the poodle —
who don’t shed and are therefore less likely to cause discomfort for those who
are allergic, and who are also considered intelligent and athletic — while
adding in some qualities of other breeds that people have come to adore: the
easygoing, affable Lab; the sweet, faithful golden; the beautiful, mellow
Bernese.

Even better, a doodle has none of the obvious “poodleness” like the froufrou
“show dog” haircut or the perception that they’re high-strung and
high-maintenance.

The trouble is some doodles do shed to some degree or another, and any breeder
who tells you the puppy they’re selling 100 percent for sure won’t drop a hair
isn’t being truthful, says Karen, a co-founder of the nationwide doodle
organization Doodle Rescue Collective who requested we not include her last
name, and who for the past decade and a half has helped rehome hundreds of
doodle dogs in the Chicago area, many of whom come her way after owners found
that their dogs shedded more than they wanted.

“There is not actually one specific gene for shedding, although there are a few
other coat-related genes that breeders look at as sort of proxy markers,” she
says. “So it’s always going to be a gamble. To me, saying a dog is ‘low
shedding’ is kind of like ‘a little bit pregnant.’”

There’s no such thing as a completely “hypoallergenic” dog, says Jodi Novak, a
veterinarian in Altamont, New York, because all dogs of every breed have dander
(a.k.a. doggy dandruff, or flakes of skin) and saliva, both of which contain the
protein that can prompt allergies. Poodles don’t shed (and aren’t excessively
drooly), but their dander is much more likely to stay trapped next to their skin
as opposed to strewn in hair all over your home or clothes, as happens with
shedding dogs. While some folks can adapt to a lifestyle that involves popping a
daily Claritin, others have more severe allergies that can make it a miserable
situation. “Unfortunately, this misconception is often perpetuated by
unscrupulous sellers profiting from unassuming optimism.”

Before the pandemic, I would get maybe five to ten requests a day about
puppies,” says Lisa Haney, who breeds Cavapoos in Western New York. “But during
the pandemic, it’s been more like 75 to 100 emails a day. I literally had people
calling me at 3 a.m. to ask about puppies.

For his part, Conron has famously said he regrets having opened a “Pandora’s
box” that inadvertently kicked off a crossbreeding frenzy. He’s claimed that
most of today’s mopheads are “crazy” or have a “hereditary problem.” While
that’s probably an exaggeration, some doodles can be a handful, says Semel,
which is a large part of why so many people want one — and why they reconsider
that decision. “High-energy dogs tend to be athletic dogs who need quite a bit
of exercise, and I think some people underestimate this. The poodle genes bring
them brains and the desire to work and do fun tricks and be mentally stimulated.
If they don’t have that, they can start to display anxiety and just act nutty.”
Kelly Ballantyne, a veterinary behaviorist at Insight Animal Behavior Services
in Chicago, says she has seen a ton of doodles lately, “mostly for separation
anxiety, noise phobia, and aggression issues.” Ballantyne points to a recent
study that found that first-generation goldendoodles in particular displayed
more problematic behaviors than either parent breed.

While there are no statistics on exactly how many doodles are adopted every
year, pet ownership overall has been soaring, especially during the pandemic.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, more
than 23 million American households — nearly one in five nationwide — adopted a
pet during the pandemic. And the demand for doodles has definitely grown as
evidenced by the prices for doodle puppies, which range from $2,000 to $5,000 in
some areas and for certain kinds. “Before the pandemic, I would get maybe five
to ten requests a day about puppies,” says Lisa Haney, who breeds Cavapoos in
Western New York. “But during the pandemic, it’s been more like 75 to 100 emails
a day. I literally had people calling me at 3 a.m. to ask about puppies.”

As a result, doodles have become what one sheepish goldendoodle owner called
“the pumpkin spice of dogs” (wildly popular but oversaturated and, according to
some, overrated). Ruby’s owner, Lisa Schwartz, certainly didn’t think doodles
were “edgy and cool,” but she does believe “there’s a reason everyone wants one:
She doesn’t shed, she isn’t anxious, she’s great in the car, she trains easily,
she’s sweet and friendly.” In short: “Ruby has really adapted to our lifestyle.”
”

“I’ll be honest: It does feel embarrassing to walk around with a ‘designer’
dog,” says Anne, a teacher in Brooklyn whose name isn’t really Anne and who just
brought home a $3,500 Australian Labradoodle two months ago. “And to know we
went with a breeder rather than rescue a dog who needs a home! I find myself
explaining to every single person that we would have gotten a rescue if I wasn’t
allergic and that there were other factors that made a doodle seem ‘right’ for
our ‘lifestyle,’ which feels … obnoxious.” (Plus her vet recently informed her
that the new pup will likely be twice the size promised to them, a 30-pound
jump.)

The sudden uptick in the doodle population has created a loose head nod of a
community of those who have opted for a doodle or feel like they are on a
parallel canine journey. “Now we are connected with all these fellow doodle
people we see on the street and in the park — and there are so many of them,”
Anne tells me. “But what do we really have in common? Like we are in a whole
subcommunity now, but are these really my people? I feel like I am a rescue-dog
owner trapped in the body of a doodle owner.”

Not that being a rescue-doodle owner is actually an option for most. “When one
comes into the shelter, it’s insane,” says Tiffany Lacey, the executive director
of Animal Haven in New York City. “We have had doodles who have had over 100
inquiries in just a few hours and 50 applications.”

And with the vast majority of breeders using search- and sneeze-friendly terms
such as “the perfect family dog,” “hypoallergenic,” and “no shedding,” it’s hard
not to get swept up in the fervor and want to bring one home. Shari, a doodle
owner in Toronto, thought she asked “all the right questions” of her breeder,
but her eight-year-old goldendoodle sheds and has prompted allergic reactions in
herself and several other people. (Thankfully, her allergies eventually abated.)
“I believe my breeder believed what she shared with me, but I think breeders
don’t always understand the dogs they are breeding,” she says.

A lot of misinformation about doodles and overzealous marketing is fueling the
doodle boom. “Doodles aren’t ‘different’ than other dogs,” says Adina Pearson,
who runs the doodle information and appreciation website Doodle Kisses and hosts
a podcast of the same name. “They bark, they poop, many of them shed, they have
health issues like their breed parents, and they need training.” The problem is
in perception, says Pearson — the perception that they are an exception to so
many of these problems. (Pearson currently has a Labradoodle and a poodle.)

At the end of the day, “even if they spent $4,000 on a dog that is twice the
size and sheds, most people will brush over the mistake with the halo of love,”
says Pearson. “That’s what we all hope people will do, whether it’s a mangy mutt
from a stinky shelter or the offspring of a champion-bred standard poodle.”

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The Ubiquity of the ‘Pumpkin Spice of Dogs’

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