The Flandoodle is a cross between a Bouvier des Flandres and a Poodle. This designer dog was originally bred in the United States.

If you are looking for a large dog that’s active and engages in lots of fun activities outdoors, this dog breed is the perfect choice for you. Due to their playful nature, they’ll enjoy going for a jog with your everyday or long walks.

Breed Overview

Flandoodles make excellent family pets because they are protective, loyal, and alert. They are known as good watchdogs; therefore, they will fit perfectly if you have small children.

As a big dog, it needs to be supervised around children under five years. When properly socialized, this dog breed gets along with other pets pretty well.

Flandoodle Puppies

Because the Bouvier des Flandres and the Poodle are large breed non-shedding dogs, the Flandoodle also inherits the same traits. The Bouvier des Flandres was first spotted in Belgium in the 1600s, where it was used to herd cattle and pull carts. By 1931, the American Kennel Club recognized the breed, and it is now the 83rd most popular breed in America.

On the other hand, the Poodle has been around since ancient times. The tiny Poodles were created in the 1400s and were mainly used for hunting ducks. Later, they became famous as show and circus dogs. As one of the oldest dog breeds, it was acknowledged by the AKC in 1887 and became the 7th most popular dog breed.

The mix between the two resulted in the Flandoddles, which are now popular pets among dog lovers. These dogs are perfect for people with allergies because they come from parents who are hypoallergenic.

Temperament & Intelligence of Flandoodles 🧠

Flandoodles have an amazing personality. These lovely dogs enjoy being part of the family and will engage in all household activities. This dog breed is a loyal animal and likes to stick around family members and follow you around as you do your daily duties.

They are also energetic dogs; therefore, as long as they get the proper amount of exercise, they’ll be well-behaved. Once you bring this dog home, expect a lot of entertainment.

They are very playful and always ready for an adventure. To prevent your dog from becoming bored and engaging in destructive behaviors, provide your dog with mental and physical stimulation.

Flandoodles are also highly prone to separation anxiety; therefore, they shouldn’t be left alone for extended periods. If you provide your puppy with enough attention and companionship, they’ll become very affectionate and loyal.

These dogs are highly intelligent, making it easier to train them. Although they learn quickly, they might be stubborn during training, which means you must have patience.

You can also make the process easier by using positive reinforcement instead of yelling or punishment. It might take some time, but they become receptive to commands and instructions in the long run.

Are These Dogs Good for Families? 🏡

The Flandoodle enjoys being part of the family activities. However, the owners need to supervise them if they have smaller children below five years.

Before you bring the dog home, consider that this dog breed has separation anxiety. Because of this, if you leave the dog alone for most of the day, they’ll start showing signs of sadness and anxiety.

These dogs thrive well when there are a lot of people. Therefore, you should ensure that your dog interacts with a lot of people throughout the day and is not left alone.

Separation anxiety can cause your dog to act out and become upset. If your home doesn’t have someone to keep the dog company at any given time, it’s better to go for another breed.

It would be best to consider your availability and the time needed to care for the dog. The Flandoodle is a higher maintenance dog, especially with grooming and exercise needs.

Therefore, a busy and absent family will not be ideal. However, if you have a yard, you can easily incorporate games and activities that the children can play together with the dog.

Once you meet all these needs, you can comfortably raise and keep a Flandoodle.

Does This Breed Get Along with Other Pets? 🐶 😽

Flandoodles like to play with other animals but may be inclined to hunt smaller animals like rabbits, squirrels, birds, and guinea pigs. You’ll need to be more careful if you have other smaller pets. These dog breeds love a good chase; therefore, they will go after smaller animals.

Their high prey drive and hunting skills are genetically inherited; hence, it will be challenging to stop the dog from chasing the smaller pets. If you have rabbits or other smaller animals in the yard, it’s better to keep them away or consider getting a dog instead. Flandoodles will get along much better with fellow dogs and give you less to worry about.

This dog is very friendly and doesn’t exhibit any aggressive behavior. If you are bringing in another dog, it’s best to introduce them to each other when they are still young so that you can socialize them to get along with each other. When well-socialized, your canine friend will have no problem co-existing with another dog.

Things to Know When Owning a Flandoodle

Once you understand how a Flandoodle behaves, you can now easily take care of one as a pet. These animals require a little bit more maintenance.

You need to take care of the food, grooming, exercise needs, training, and health issues. Here’s all you need to know before you bring a Flandoodle home.

Food and Diet Requirements 🦴

Like other large dogs, Flandoodles will require a substantial amount of food. Each day, you can feed the dog 3-4 cups of dry dog food. These portions can be divided into multiple servings to ensure your pup is well-fed throughout the day.

When choosing the food, stick to high-quality brands of dog food. A good brand has wholesome ingredients and a balance of nutrients, with no chemicals and fillers. On top of this dry food, you can feed your pup canned food but in the right portions to prevent your dog from overeating and obesity.

The amount of food also differs according to age, size, and health condition. Suppose you don’t know how much you need to feed your dog; it’s best to consult your vet to provide you with the specific amounts your pet needs.

As you budget for your dog, include food costs because dog food is not cheap. It could be as high or low depending on your dog’s needs.

Exercise 🐕

Flandoodles have a lot of energy and enjoy being active. So, before purchasing or adopting one of these for your family, ensure that you have the time and energy to allow your dog to get plenty of exercises daily.

These dogs love to run, chase, and play. They’ll be a perfect pet if you are an outdoor person who enjoys hiking or swimming. If you are a hunter, these dogs will provide companionship because they still maintain some of their hunting skills which they use to catch small animals.

Once you adopt a Flandoodle, you should take them for a walk twice a day. You should have several puzzle toys and games to stimulate their minds and keep them physically active in the house.

The dog can run around and play safely for families with a yard as long as there are no smaller pets. If you don’t have a yard, the local dog park will still serve the purpose.

Due to the high exercise needs, this dog is not ideal for small apartment living. They require a large space to burn off all the energy and thrive properly.

Flandoodles need to burn off all their energy lest they become mischievous. As the owner, you’ll need to tire out your dog every day by ensuring they get enough physical exercise for the day. However, if you ignore this, your pet will pile up too much energy and become troublesome to manage or start barking excessively, chewing on things, and digging.

Exercise with the kids is ideal for keeping the dog physically stimulated and preventing separation anxiety. If you are never home, have someone run around with your dog or take it for a walk to keep it happy.

Training 🦮

Training a Flandoodle requires patience and firmness. These dogs are intelligent, therefore learn quickly, but can be challenging to train. However, the trainability level is averagely the same as other dogs.

Before they pick up on behaviors, it will take several tries and failed attempts; therefore, be prepared for consistency.

When you are consistent, your pet will become more attentive. To keep them engaged throughout, ensure you offer positive reinforcements and rewards. As long as you don’t yell or punish the dog, they are more likely to learn faster and at a steady pace.

For the training to be much easier, start the training when your Flandoodle is a young puppy. The earlier you start, the better the results.

For a family dog, it’s best to ensure that the dog is getting the same training from everyone. Involve all your family members and have the same commands to make it easier for the dog to keep up.

Grooming ✂️

The Flandoodle has easy-to-moderate grooming requirements. This depends on the type of coat inherited from the parent breeds.

Despite being a low-shedder, this dog still has grooming requirements. The fur coat needs to be brushed once per day to keep it mat-free and to remove tangles. If you ignore this daily habit, you might have to spend money on a professional.

For pups with more of a Poodle coat, you can take them to a professional groomer to have the fur coat groomed and trimmed. Also, you need to bathe your dog only when they are dirty, and when you do this, ensure you use the proper dog shampoo that will not strip off oil from your Flandoodle’s skin.

Apart from the fur coat, it would be best to clean your pup’s ears and teeth at least once a week. Because a Flandoodle is a Poodle descendant, they can be prone to ear infections and other ear-related issues. By keeping the ears clean, you can easily avoid these infections. In addition, you need to cut the nails to keep them short.

You should start all these grooming practices with your Flandoodle when they are still young. They’ll begin to enjoy being brushed with time, and you can make this your bonding time.

Health Conditions ❤️

Like all hybrid dog breeds, the Flandoodle, may be prone to health conditions that affect their parent breeds, the Poodles or Bouvier des Flandres. However, some dogs may not always inherit these medical problems. Overall, these dog breeds are very healthy dogs but have a shorter lifespan of 10-12 years on average.

Some of the health conditions are minor, whereas some are serious. Let’s take a closer look.

Serious Conditions

These are some of the severe medical problems your dog can go through.

This is a common medical problem for most dogs. Flandoodles also experience this joint problem which appears in either the elbow or the hip.

If your pup has hip dysplasia, it will experience lameness in the hind legs. For elbow dysplasia, the lameness will be in the front legs.

Your dog might have cancer which might not exhibit until you go for a scheduled vet visit. To detect cancer in your pup’s body, it’s essential to have regular screenings and inform your vet if there are any health concerns or strange behaviors.

Flandoodles develop heart problems that exhibit themselves in various ways. Your pup might have heart disease or even congestive heart failure.

You can detect these problems early by carefully monitoring your pup’s health. Immediately you notice any issues, you should alert your vet to start treatment.

This is a serious condition that can be fatal if it is not handled promptly. Bloating occurs when too much air has entered your dog’s stomach and is trapped there.

This additional air will cause the stomach to expand, transferring the pressure to other body organs. If untreated, this pressure can interfere with blood circulation and organ function.

Cushing’s disease mainly occurs in older dogs; however, it can also exhibit in younger dogs. Your Flandoodle will get this disease when there is a benign tumor on the pituitary gland.

Minor Conditions

Your pup might experience some minor conditions that, if left untreated, might become severe. Here are some of them.

Flandoodles can have various eye problems. These can range from cataracts, eye infection, retinal atrophy that can eventually lead to blindness.

Your pup might also get some skin conditions if they are prone to allergies. Once this allergy starts, your dog might itch a lot or have a skin rash. Your vet can treat this problem by prescribing allergy medication.

Male vs. Female

Male and Female Flandoodles like alike and have similar personalities. However, the female is slightly smaller than its counterpart. For dog lovers who want a large dog but slightly shorter, a female Flandoodle is an excellent choice.

3 Little-Known Facts About the Flandoodle

Here are some facts about this dog breed that you should know.

1. They Are Ideal for People with Allergies

Just like their parents, the Bouvier des Flandres and the Poodle, these dogs are non-shedding species. Therefore, if you have dog allergies, these dog breeds might be the best choice for you. They are hypoallergenic and will be more comfortable for you.

However, even hypoallergenic breeds can spark allergies among highly sensitive individuals. Therefore, before you bring this dog breed home, it’s best to spend some time with the dog and confirm whether it’s suitable for you. You can either visit a friend with such a dog or spend some time with one from the breeders.

2. They Have a High Prey Drive

Flandoodles love a good chase. If they are not socialized properly, they’ll tend to chase smaller animals such as birds, squirrels, or kittens. When you take them to the park or for a walk, it’s best to keep the dog on a leash; otherwise, they may run off to chase other animals.

For houses with other pets such as cats and birds, it’s best to train your dog first before allowing the two animals to interact freely.

3. Their Parent Breeds are Popular

The Bouvier des Flandres and the Poodle are very popular among dog lovers. According to the American Kennel Club, these two breeds rank very highly.

The Poodle is the 7th most popular dog breed in the United States, whereas the Bouvier des Flandres is the 83rd most popular. The Flandoodle is a crossbreed of these famous dogs.

Conclusion

Flandoodles are excellent family pets. They are friendly, affectionate, playful, and very energetic. If you have a family, this dog will become instantly loyal and protective.

As an active breed, this dog loves engaging in all family activities. Because of this, it also requires a lot of exercises daily to burn off the extra energy.

These dogs have separation anxiety; therefore, they are a perfect choice for households with people at home at all times. Before getting a Flandoodle, you’ll need to consider whether there’s someone to take care of and exercise the dog throughout. In addition, you should have enough space or a yard for the pup to run around.

Flandoodles will instantly become your family members as long as you give them enough attention. They’ll also get along with other dogs when socialized properly. When properly trained and taken care of, this breed makes a great companion dog.

Featured Image Credit: Felicia Lee, Shutterstock