Our Goldendoodles are great family dogs. There are several things that make a good family dog.
Good breeding, size and socialization. We breed mellow English Goldendoodles, and therefore the right temperament is wonderful for families. When we are talking families, we really mean children. They are the safest breed we can imagine a little one being around. The second thing is size. No matter the breed, when dogs are under 20 lbs, their world is very big. Children are big, have sporadic movements and unexpected sounds.
There's nothing you can do to tell your 18 month old to be careful or slow with a dog or puppy. Children at that age and beyond are simply unpredictable, even with teaching in place. When dogs are slightly larger, their fear of quickly moving objects or people, strange sounds and actions aren't as scary. The larger the dog, the more likely they are to be unaffected by those things. However, we feel like the 20-30 lb range still gives a good size to allow for some variations while not creating fear. The last thing is socialization. When puppies are young, they are getting used to their world and what is normal. The better we and you socialize your puppy, the better they will handle change.
