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Goldendoodles
Goldendoodle board and train in Gloucester, MA
The AKC does not register the goldendoodle, so its traits come from two parents the AKC describes in detail: the outgoing golden retriever and the eager, wickedly smart poodle. Which mix of the two your own dog inherited is partly luck. Here is what that means for a training stay.
The breed
A goldendoodle inherits a people-loving golden and a busy-brained poodle, in proportions nobody can predict
From the golden side comes sociability: the AKC rates the golden five out of five for openness to strangers and for getting along with other dogs. From the poodle side comes a quick mind. The AKC calls poodles eager, athletic and wickedly smart, rates the standard five out of five for mental stimulation needs, and says poodles are quick to please when training is fun and positive, as long as you are consistent about what you ask.
Because each puppy draws its own mix from two quite different parents, doodles vary from litter to litter and even within one, in temperament as much as in coat. So a stay plans for the dog that arrives, not for a label or a breeder's promise. Two habits do turn up in many doodle households, though, and they are the ones this page is about: pulling toward company on the leash, and following a favorite person from room to room.
- Golden side: five out of five for friendliness to strangers and dogs
- Poodle side: the AKC's top rating for mental stimulation
- Both parents: rated highly trainable by the AKC
- Individual dogs vary widely, so the plan follows the dog
Which program
Foundation starts slack-leash walking and settling apart; Advanced tests the leash where people and dogs pass
In Foundation's single week, a doodle works through obedience basics and the leash, place, stay and recall, impulse control, and manners in the crate and the house, with enrichment and playgroup time once ready. For a young doodle the leash and place work matter most. In a sociable dog, pulling is rarely about getting somewhere; it is about getting to someone. So the stay rewards the spot beside the handler, and it makes greeting a person or dog a reward that only a slack leash can earn.
Over two weeks, Advanced keeps all of that and adds proofing against distractions, outings into the real world, neutrality, confidence work and structured socialization, closing with two coaching lessons. That suits the adolescent doodle that drags toward every dog on the sidewalk. Most passes end without a greeting at all, which teaches that other dogs and people are part of the scenery. Settling apart runs through both programs: a cot while the trainer walks across the room, then out of sight for a few seconds, then longer.
- 01
Reward the dog at your side every few steps while the leash hangs loose
- 02
When a person or dog appears, pay a glance back at you before the leash tightens
- 03
Walk past without a greeting most of the time
- 04
Now and then, release the dog to say hello, only while the leash stays slack
- 05
If the leash goes tight, turn away, add distance and try the pass again
Separation worries
Separation worries are treated at home, but a stay can build the independence skills underneath them
An AKC article calls dogs that follow their people everywhere Velcro dogs, and says such dogs are more likely to develop separation anxiety, though they do not always, and that tackling clinginess early can help. Shadowing is not the same as panic. The ASPCA describes separation anxiety as distress triggered by separation from the guardian, with signs such as house soiling, howling, destruction and escape attempts when the dog is left.
A stay cannot rehearse the real trigger, which is you leaving your own home, so a doodle in true distress needs a plan you carry out in your own home, built in private sessions from $94 after a vet visit to rule out medical causes, as the ASPCA advises. What a stay can build is the groundwork: a relaxed settle on a cot while people move away, comfort in a crate or suite, and calm time with a long-lasting chew. Gabriella Pope will tell you at the assessment which side of that line your dog is on.
- Following you room to room but calm when you leave: clingy, and trainable in a stay
- Howling, chewing exits or soiling only when alone: talk to your vet first
- Distress that starts as you pick up your keys: a home program, not a stay
- Never punish what happens while you are out
Common mistakes
The two big doodle mistakes are greetings on a tight leash and departures that turn into events
The first mistake is letting a pulling doodle reach the person or dog it is straining toward. Each of those greetings pays for the pull, and a dog that meets the whole neighborhood on a tight leash learns that pulling works. A retractable leash teaches the same lesson, since the line only gets longer when the dog leans into it. A standard leash and a walk that stops whenever it tightens are slower at first and far quicker overall.
The second is drama at the door. Long goodbyes and excited homecomings make your comings and goings the biggest events of the day. The AKC's advice for clingy dogs is to give the dog its own settled spot and reward it there, practice place and stay, build short spells apart, and let other adults in the house share the walks. The ASPCA adds that anxious behavior is not spite or disobedience, so scolding it only adds stress.
After the stay
After pick-up, keep the slack-leash rule on every walk and the settle in your daily routine
The go-home lesson, or the two coaching lessons that close Advanced, show you the leash routine and the settle exactly as your doodle learned them. Use them every day for the first month: one short walk where passing without a greeting is the whole goal, and two or three settles on a mat while you cook, work or take a call. Leave and return calmly, and keep any time alone short and predictable while the new habits form.
Daycare gives a sociable doodle company and play once it has passed the free evaluation, held weekdays between 6:30 and 9:30 AM by appointment; a full day is $42 and a half day $33. Dogtown Academy, at $89 or $69, adds trainer time, and Canine Campus continues the training by day with nights at home. Families in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea can use the Pup Van at $10 each way. Our board and train overview covers how a stay is booked.
At Dogtown
Where a doodle goes after training
The board and train itself, then daycare and Academy days that give a social dog company while the manners settle in.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Can board and train fix my goldendoodle's separation anxiety?
My doodle follows me everywhere. Is that a problem?
Will a stay make my goldendoodle less friendly?
Is a mini goldendoodle trained differently from a standard?
Can my goldendoodle go to daycare after the stay?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- AKC: Golden Retriever
- AKC: Poodle (Standard)
- AKC: why does my dog follow me everywhere?
- ASPCA: separation anxiety
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
A social dog on a slack leash.
Send the training form with your doodle's age, how walks go and what happens when you leave the house. We come back to you within the hour on weekdays.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
