Sorry Mr. "He's Got Some Airedale In Him" Guy...You Were Wrong

My son picked up his new puppy at the end of June of this year. Since then, we've wondered just what kind of dog he was. The paperwork said Standard Poodle, but he was also a rescued dog and he could be something else mixed in. Since any dog with "doodle" in its name is all the rage right now, people came up to us when we were taking the puppy on a walk telling us our dog looked exactly like their Labradoodle, or other type of doodle.

A couple of people even said they thought our dog had a little Airedale Terrier in him. That actually made sense. We saw some whiskers on his face, and his snout seemed fatter, not as narrow. The past couple of months, the hair on the puppy grew and filled out. We thought he was just getting bigger, bigger legs, bigger face, bigger everything.

Turns out, we were wrong.

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. His hair had grown since I snapped the photo. My son and wife took the dog to the groomers this morning and if they weren't there to see the transformation, I'd swear they brought home a different animal. He answers to his name, but he doesn't look like the same dog.

He's a poodle--I don't think there's any way of getting around it.

We didn't care if he was a pure breed poodle. We've all grown to love him and he us. Next time we go walking and someone says, "hey, that looks like a--fill in the blank with a doodle--dog." We'll just say, nope--he's a poodle. And we love him.

Ever Heard Of An Airedoodle? Looks Like We Got One...

When we found the puppy online, they said it was a Standard Poodle. We have friends who own Poodles. We've seen pictures of Poodles. When we saw the little fella he was covered in black curly hair.

He looked like a Standard Poodle to us.

But then, he didn't. People who know a lot more about Poodles told us he looked like he had some Labrador in him. We have friends who had Labradoodles. We've seen pictures of Labradoodles.

We thought he looked like he might be a Labradoodle.

But then, he didn't. Since he was a rescue and we weren't going to breed him, it really didn't matter to us, but that nagging question remained. Just what kind of dog did we get?

A few weeks ago we took the puppy out for a walk. A passerby said he thought our dog has some Airedale Terrier in him. Then yesterday another passerby said the same thing. We did a little google search on Airedoodles (I didn't know there was such a thing...) and we think we have our answer. From all indications, it looks like we adopted an Airedoodle.

My friend's Standard Poodle has a longer, thinner nose, bigger eyes, and a distinct break between where the nose ends and the forehead begins. Our dog has a stubbier nose, smaller eyes, and almost no break between nose and forehead. Also, the end of our dog's nose is more brown than the rest of his body and he has whiskers on his chin. Plus, he's got long legs, and a narrow frame. Labradoodles have thicker shoulders. I just don't see how he can have any Labrador in him.

Of course, we could get a DNA test to prove once and for all what type of dog we have. But, since we're not going to breed him, I don't think we'll spring for the expensive test. Still, it's cool to have the first Airedoodle I've ever seen.